LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and Fulbright’s EcoLeadership Program have scheduled two educator workshops on bats.

The workshops are open to teachers of kindergarten through 12th-grade students. The teachers will be taught the natural history of bats as well as their importance to the ecosystem. Teachers also will be taught how to incorporate the study of bats into their science curriculums.

The first workshop runs from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday at Homestead National Monument near Beatrice. The second is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Aug. 13 at TaHaZouka Park in Norfolk.

The workshops are free; registration is required. To register, teachers must send their names, school or organization names, email addresses and phone numbers to Lindsay Rogers, lindsay.rogers@nebraska.gov.

A North Platte man has been charged with a felony after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend Monday night.

At around 10:40 p.m., on July 28, officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to a domestic disturbance at the Blue Spruce Motel, 821 South Dewey.

Officers located a 37 year old female and her boyfriend, 34-year-old Nathan Edmund, a short distance away from the motel.

The female told officers that, following an argument, Edmund grabbed her face with his hands which prevented her from breathing.

According to Officer Rodney Brown, a neighbor intervened, and the victim was able to escape the room.

Brown said the victim also sustained injuries to her face as a result of the assault.

Following further investigation, officers determined there was probable cause to place Edmund under arrest and charge him with felony strangulation and 3rd degree domestic assault.

Edmund was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and jailed.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials are monitoring the Ebola outbreak in Africa but say the risk of the deadly germ spreading to the United States is remote.

The Centers for Disease Control on Monday sent a health alert to U.S. doctors about the outbreak. There are no travel restrictions to the West Africa region hit by the disease. But last month, the CDC issued a mid-level travel advisory for health workers.

Two American aid workers in Liberia have tested positive for the virus and are being treated there. The family of one worker — a doctor — recently returned to the U.S. for a visit. The CDC said they are fine.

Officials stressed people are not contagious until they show symptoms, and the doctor’s family left Liberia days before he got sick.

• Today: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. East southeast wind 9 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.
• Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. Southeast wind 3 to 8 mph.
• Wednesday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 7am and 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. East northeast wind around 6 mph becoming north northwest in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. Southeast wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm.
• Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. North northwest wind 6 to 11 mph.
• Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 60.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska farmers are making good progress in the state’s wheat harvest thanks to recent dry weather.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that 79 percent of Nebraska’s winter wheat crop had been harvested, which is only slightly behind the average of 83 percent.

About 74 percent of the state’s corn crop remains in good or excellent condition.

The USDA says 72 percent of the soybean crop is also in good or excellent condition.

SCOTTBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Scottsbluff police have been joined by a Philadelphia-based crime-solving organization to find out who killed a 40-year-old Nebraska man nearly 6½ years ago.

Chief Kevin Spencer presented the cold case of Jason Vesper to The Vidocq (vee-DAWK’) Society. Vesper was found mortally stabbed on Jan. 2, 2008, a few houses away from his home. There have been no arrests in the case.

The society meets each month to discuss crimes, focusing on unsolved deaths and disappearances. It’s been credited with helping solve crimes or reinvigorating old, cold cases. Members include a profiler, FBI agents, experts in forensics and other experts.

Spencer says members gave him some “sage advice,” and his investigators have been following up on it. He says he believes the case is solvable.

The West Central District Health Department (WCDHD) is reminding people to be vigilant in preventing West Nile Virus.

WCDHD says it has received official notification that a mosquito pool in their jurisdiction has tested positive for the virus.

Officials say these positive results should serve as a reminder of the importance of taking precautions to protect yourself from mosquito exposure, saying the best defense against the virus through the use of repellent and eliminating environments that allow mosquitoes to lay eggs and develop.

WCDHD offers the following tips for preventing mosquito exposure:

• Use repellents that contain DEET (up to 30%)
• Wear long sleeves and pants
• Drain standing water
• Dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots or similar water-holding containers that have collected on your property
• Drill holes in the bottom of recycling containers left outside
• Have clogged roof gutters cleaned regularly
• Turn over plastic wading pools and wheel barrows when not in use
• Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish
• Use landscaping to eliminate standing water that collect on you property

WCDHD says there have been no confirmed human cases of West Nile Virus which typically peaks in August and September.

A transient was arrested at the Lincoln County Fair over the weekend after he refused to leave despite warnings from deputies.

At around 1:50 p.m., on July 26, deputies with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint of an intoxicated transient at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds causing problems.

Deputies met with 51-year-old Larry Williams and escorted him from the fairgrounds with a warning not to come back.

At around 2:50 p.m., deputies received another complaint that Williams had returned and was in a barn on the west side of the property.

Deputies confronted Williams and placed him under arrest for trespassing.

As they were walking him back to a patrol car, officials say Williams began cursing and physically resisting deputies.

Williams then allegedly kicked the door of the patrol car, causing damage.  He was then placed in leg restraints and transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center with no further problems.

Williams has been charged with trespassing, criminal mischief and resisting arrest.

A North Platte couple are facing multiple charges following a disturbance Saturday night.

At around 11:30 p.m., on July 26, North Platte Police responded to a disturbance in the 500 block of West 9th Street.

55-year-old Rhonda Frye, who resides at the residence, called police to report that her husband, 60-year-old James Frye, was being belligerent and vulgar toward a child in the home.

Officers arrived to find both Frye’s intoxicated.  According to Officer Rodney Brown, James was verbally abusive to both his wife and officers.

Brown said officers attempted to calm him down, but to no avail.

James was asked to spend the remainder of the evening separated from his wife and the two-year-old child they were babysitting.

Brown said James refused to comply, and continued to argue and yell with his wife, in the presence of the child.

At one point, officers say James picked up the child and carried him downstairs, against the direction of police.  He then became aggressive toward one of the officers.

James initially resisted officers’ attempt to handcuff him and place him under arrest, but eventually, they were able to take him into custody.

As officers escorted James from the residence, Brown said Rhonda began pushing her husband back into the residence, and refused to let officers leave with him.  As a result, Rhonda was placed under arrest as well.

In the end, both James and Rhonda were charged with child abuse, resisting arrest and obstruction of justice, all misdemeanors.

Both were jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

 

 

BROKEN BOW, Neb. (AP) — A 60-year-old Broken Bow man has died after his motorcycle ran off a road in central Nebraska.

The Custer County Sheriff’s Office says Kenneth Neville was driving south on Sumner Road around 5:30 p.m. Sunday when he lost control of his motorcycle about three miles south of Broken Bow. The bike entered a ditch and then struck a barbed wire fence.

Neville was pronounced dead at the scene. He had been wearing a helmet.