NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — A North Platte man who spotted a fire underneath a van couldn’t extinguish it before the flames spread to a home.

The Saturday afternoon fire heavily damaged the van and home, but didn’t cause injuries.

Jay Miller was driving by when he noticed the fire, and tried to put it out with the extinguisher he carries in his truck. Miller says the fire was spreading too fast for him to stop.

Three people and a dog who were in the house at the time were able to get out safely.

The family that lived in the home was in the process of moving out.

North Platte Battalion Chief Jason Trimble says the other half of the duplex that caught fire escaped without significant damage.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Several Nebraska boards that oversee licensing for different health care professions have openings.

The State Board of Health is encouraging members of those professions to volunteer to serve a five-year term on one of the boards.

The boards with vacancies include ones regulating registered nurses, alcohol and drug counseling, cosmetology, dentistry and chiropractic.

Applications are available online at the Department of Health and Human Services site,https://1.usa.gov/RGMvoM . They must be submitted by Aug. 1.

LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — A status hearing has been set to determine whether a man imprisoned for life as a juvenile for the 1990 shooting death of a Gothenburg police officer will be paroled.

KNOP television reports (https://bit.ly/S50NQy ) Eric McCain is seeking a way out of prison after Nebraska lawmakers passed a law last year that ends mandatory life sentences for juveniles who commit first-degree murder.

The law is a response to a 2012 US Supreme Court ruling that declared mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juvenile killers are unconstitutional.

The guidelines now call for a sentence of 40 years to life for juveniles.

Dawson County District Judge James Doyle set a status hearing for McCain for August 22nd at 1:15 p.m.

McCain, now 41, was 17 when Police Sgt. Glenn Haas was shot.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Public Power District is warning customers of a phone scam attempt to defraud customers of electric utilities, including those in the Kearney area.

KOLN television (https://bit.ly/1jU6Ou7 ) reports the scam involves telephone callers claiming to be from a utility company and then employing a variety of techniques to defraud customers.

Some threaten customers with disconnecting electric service to their home or business if they don’t make a payment immediately. Customers are instructed to send money via prepaid card or online payment service.

The scammer’s caller-ID even appears to originate from the utility company.

NPPD customer service spokesman Ken Curry says customers are encouraged to contact local law enforcement about any suspicious calls demanding immediate payment of their electric bill.

(AP) — The virus is common and usually harmless. But in a rare, unlucky set of circumstances, it can be devastating for infants whose mothers become infected during pregnancy.

The complications include brain damage, deafness and other birth defects. But because those complications are so rare, most people have never heard of CMV — shorthand for cytomegalovirus.

Infectious disease specialists, parents of affected children and, now, some legislators are trying to spread awareness about the virus. Utah has the only law in the nation that mandates a CMV educational campaign.

Pregnant women who contract the virus often get it from young children, who tend to be more contagious than adults. Health officials recommend not sharing food, utensils or toothbrushes used by young children and thorough hand-washing after changing diapers.

(AP) — A state official is recommending that lawmakers look into Nebraska’s use of solitary confinement on Nikko Jenkins, who was kept in isolation for up to 23 hours a day before his killing spree in Omaha.

Nebraska Ombudsman Marshall Lux told a legislative committee Friday that administrative segregation may have worsened Jenkins’ mental health problems. Jenkins was found guilty last month of four Omaha murders, committed shortly after his release from prison in July.

Lux says Jenkins spent the last two years of his prison term in segregation, but the state had nothing in place to help him transition back into the general population before his release.

Lawmakers also plan to trace Jenkins’ path through Nebraska’s child welfare system, on suspicion that other problems occurred.

• Christopher William Nelson, 23, North Platte NE and Crystal Dawn Sorrells, 30, North Platte NE

 

• Rodney Russell Lamp, 57, North Platte NE and Jill Marie Terry, 43, North Platte NE

 

• Anthony Otto Amos, 40, North Platte NE and Christy Lynn Nelson, 39, North Platte NE

 

• Jaden David-Wayne Moe, 20, North Platte NE and Rosalee Grace Rivera, 20, North Platte NE

(AP) — A newly released report says Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent in April.

That’s two-tenths of a point below the revised March rate of 3.8 percent, which was a tenth of a point higher than the preliminary March rate of 3.7 percent.

The Nebraska Labor Department said in the report released Friday that the preliminary April rate is four-tenths of a point below the revised rate of 4 percent in April 2013.

The new Nebraska figure remained well below the preliminary national unemployment rate of 6.3 percent in April, which is down four-tenths of a point from March’s 6.7 percent.

A workshop in North Platte this weekend will give area dance students the opportunity to work with some of the world’s best choreographers and dancers.

The Stage Dance Studio is hosting the “LA-2-NE” dance workshop, featuring four of Los Angeles’ best.

The workshop will be led by instructors Peterson Thelisma, Antwon Collier, Starkesha Brown and Janaya French.

Thelisma was part of Striker’s All-Stars on America’s Best Dance Crew, a dance crew competition that aired for several seasons on MTV.  Thelisma has also appeared on America’s Got Talent.  This is his third visit to North Platte to work with area students.

Antwon Collier is a dancer/choreographer who works in the entertainment industry as a back-up dancer for singers and entertainers.  Collier has worked with Missy Elliot, Nick Cannon and others.  He will give students a different twist on Hip Hop with his Hip Hop Fusion style of dance.

Starkesha Brown has been a dancer for the Detroit Pistons and the San Diego Chargers.  She also appeared on first season of VH1’s “Hit the Floor,” and toured with numerous singers.  This is Brown’s second visit to North Platte.

Janaya French specializes in Lyrical and Contemporary dance.  She made the Top 20 of Season 9 on Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance.”  French has worked with many choreographers, including Stacy Tookey, Travis Wall, Nappy Tabs and more.  She also performed on the Emmy Awards and Teen Choice Awards with Paramore.  French currently lives in Los Angeles, but is originally from Denver.

The 2-day workshop will be held May 17 and 18 at the North Platte Community Playhouse, and will feature a dance showcase on Saturday.  The cost is $170 to register for the workshop, and $35 to participate in the showcase Saturday Night.

The instructors will also be special guests at The Stage’s recital May 16 at 6:00 p.m at the North Platte Community Playhouse.  Admission to the recital is free and open to the public.  They will also be available for a meet and greet on the 16th from 1:30-3:00 at the North Platte Community Playhouse.

For more information, or to register, contact The Stage owner, Janna Ryan, at 308-532-0825 or visit their website, behindthestage.com.

 

• Today: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly between 8am and 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. Southeast wind 8 to 10 mph.

• Tonight: A 10 percent chance of showers before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. South wind around 9 mph.

• Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61. South wind 7 to 11 mph.

• Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. South wind 6 to 11 mph.

• Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 72. Breezy, with a south wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph.

• Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. Breezy.