An Ogallala man has been identified as the victim in an industrial accident at a Hershey fertilizer plant.
At around 11:50 a.m., on Saturday, Lincoln County deputies responded to the report of an accident at Simplot Soil Builders, on the northeast side of Hershey.
Deputies and rescue personnel arrived and found that the victim, 59-year-old Russ Peterson, was already deceased.
According to Chief Deputy Roland Kramer, Peterson was working with a crew of several men, when he climbed a fertilizer leg at the plant.
Kramer said the leg appeared to be rusted out at the base, which caused it to give out and collapse onto the roof of the building.
He said Peterson became trapped inside the ladder’s safety cage, between the grain leg and the roof of the building.
Peterson was pronounced dead at the scene. Kramer said the cause of death has been ruled accidental.
A North Platte man and woman are facing multiple felony charges following a traffic stop on Valentine’s Day.
According to a news release, a deputy with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office was on patrol whey they observed a vehicle parked in a secluded area near the Scouts Rest Ranch Campground.
As the deputy approached the area in his vehicle, the suspect vehicle left the area at a high rate of speed.
The deputy eventually got the vehicle to stop near Buffalo Bill Avenue and Scouts Rest Ranch Road, and made contact with the driver, 34-year-old Sara Henderson, and a male passenger, 30-year-old Lucas Sellers.
The deputy reported smelling burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle and said Henderson admitted that there was marijuana in the vehicle.
Following a subsequent search, the deputy located the marijuana along with a large bag of what appeared to be methamphetamine.
As the deputy attempted to detain the duo, Henderson escaped, got back in her vehicle and drove off.
She was soon located hiding in a storage shed at her residence. However, Henderson was not ready to give up and had to be pepper sprayed before she was taken into custody.
A further search of Henderson’s person revealed a large amount of meth. Deputies also conducted a more thorough search of her vehicle and located a large amount of cash, stolen property and stolen credit cards.
Henderson was placed under arrest and charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, flight to avoid arrest, obstructing a peace officer, criminal possession of a financial transaction device, theft by deception and theft by shoplifting.
Sellers was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana.
Both were jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.
Authorities say the investigation is still ongoing, and will likely lead to more charges.
CHICAGO (AP) — A 20-year study says U.S. teens are getting sleepier. The result show many lack even seven hours of shut-eye each night and the problem has worsened over two decades.
The research involved nearly 300,000 teens asked in surveys since 1991 if they regularly got at least seven hours of sleep nightly. They were also asked if they got enough sleep.
Experts generally recommend nine or 10 hours of sleep for teens; over half of the 15- to 19-year-olds surveyed in 2012 said they didn’t even get seven hours each night.
The results heighten concerns about the impact of sleep deprivation on teens’ health and academics.
Washington’s Birthday: A 20 percent chance of snow showers after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38. North northwest wind 5 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18. North northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 32. Breezy, with a north northwest wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 19 to 24 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 8. Wind chill values as low as -5. North northwest wind 9 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 32. Northwest wind 8 to 13 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 12.
KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska at Kearney has dropped its policy limiting chalk messages and drawings on its sidewalks after students and faculty criticized it as restricting free speech.
In November, the university’s Office of Business and Finance implemented the policy allowing student organizations to use chalk on sidewalks only on Mondays and Tuesdays to advertise events. It also prohibited them from sharing social or political messages using sidewalk chalk and mandated a $50 “cleaning” fee on the faculty adviser of any student organization that violated the policy.
The policy was implemented shortly after political science and anti-abortion groups held events and chalked messages on school sidewalks.
UNK spokeswoman Kelly Bartling says the UNK Chancellor’s Office, in collaboration with senior administrators, pulled the policy.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Politicians who use campaign money illegally could have a harder time hiding their violations under a bill that will go before Nebraska lawmakers this week.
The measure by Sen. Sue Crawford of Bellevue would close a loophole that allows candidates and office-holders to self-report the amount of money in their campaign accounts. If it’s approved, candidates would have to submit bank statements to the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission.
Supporters say the bill might have helped officials catch former Omaha Sen. Brenda Council earlier, before she gambled away $63,000 in campaign money.
Frank Daley, the commission’s executive director, says most of the reporting errors his office sees are innocent mistakes, but they can build up over time.
A 59-year-old man has died after an accident at a fertilizer plant in Hershey.
Between 11:00 a.m., and 11:30 a.m., on Saturday, deputies with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received a report that a man had been injured in an industrial accident at the Simplot Grower Solutions fertilizer plant, on the northeast side of Hershey.
According to Chief Deputy Roland Kramer, Hershey and Sutherland Rescue responded to the scene, but the man was deceased upon their arrival.
Kramer said the investigation showed that the man was working on a fertilizer auger with large equipment when the accident occurred.
The name of the man has not been released, pending the notification of family members.
Kramer said more information will be released on Tuesday.
Two North Platte men are are receiving treatment for severe burns after a Saturday afternoon fire.
According to fire officials and neighbors, Brent Farley and his son Nathaniel were performing work on a motorcycle in a garage at 416 South Chestnut, at around 1:00 p.m., when gasoline vapors were ignited by a heater.
The Farleys were both transported to St. Elizabeth Burn Center in Lincoln.
A source close to the situation said that Nathanial suffered 3rd degree burns to over 80% of his body, and Brent suffered 3rd degree burns to over 90% of his body.
The garage is considered a total loss, but friends say material things can be replaced. What they are asking for is prayers for Brent and Nathaniel.
The Post has also received information that Nathaniel does not have insurance, and will need assistance with medical expenses. A Facebook page, Nathanial Farley Medical Expenses, has been created for those wanting to help.
The fire was brought under control at around 1:40 p.m.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) â Three free workshops have been scheduled next month for people interested in pond and lake management.
The workshops are a joint effort of the Nebraska Extension, Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
The workshops topics include lake function, maintenance problems, and project funding and regulations.
All the workshops will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The first is set for March 4 in Lincoln at the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District office. The second is scheduled for March 12 in Grand Island at College Park. The third workshop is scheduled for March 18 in Omaha at the Nebraska Extension Office.
Reservations are required.
To register, visit go.unl.edu/lincolnpondworkshop, go.unl.edu/GIpondworkshop or go.unl.edu/Omahapondworkshop. For more information, contact Katie Pekarek at kpekarek2@unl.edu or 402-643-2981.
An Ogallala man has been identified as the victim in an industrial accident at a Hershey fertilizer plant.
