An Ogallala man will spend the next 35 months in federal prison after he was sentenced for possessing child pornography.

According to a news release from Deborah Gilg, United States Attorney, 28-year-old Ryan Freitag was sentenced by the Honorable Laurie Smith Camp on Monday.

Prosecutors say Freitag entered into an internet relationship with a 15-year-old girl who lived in West Virginia.  They say the girl sent Freitag a series of images consisting of “erotica and child pornography.” In return, Freitag sent pictures of his genitalia to the girl.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. It is led by United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).

Freitag will serve a ten year term of supervised release after his release from prison, and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Great Plains Regional Medical Center opened the Great Plains Wound Healing Center on October 29, 2013. This center brings specialty care previously not found in the region for those suffering from chronic non-healing wounds.

Diseases and conditions such as diabetes, obesity, aging, and the late effects of radiation therapy often can lead to chronic, non-healing wounds. More than 8 million people in the U.S. suffer from such wounds.

“We’ve been seeing an increase in population needing the types of services we provide for quite some time now,” said Tara Harper, program director, Great Plains Wound Healing Center. “Having this center allows us to care for patients in an outpatient setting with advanced therapies that are specifically designed to aid in the healing of chronic wounds.”

Bioengineered skin substitutes are one of those therapies. Bioengineered skin accelerates wound healing by introducing living cells to re-establish the conditions needed for repair. “Our staff are specially trained to use these treatments,” Harper said. “We begin with a thorough exam to determine the type of wound and identify underlying problems that might be preventing the wound from healing.”

Other state-of-the-art treatments the Wound Healing Center offers include hyperbaric oxygen therapy, negative pressure therapies, and biosynthetics. Patients also may have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials and multi-center studies.

A member of the Healogics™ network, Great Plains Wound Healing Center employs a rigorous scientific approach to explore, test, find and develop the clinically proven methods and technologies which reintroduce the body’s innate ability to heal. The network, comprised of academic medical centers, hospitals, and thousands of professionals, is committed to advancing wound healing by creating, sharing, and activating wound prevention and care expertise.

A patient with a wound that has not begun to heal in two weeks or is not completely healed in six weeks may benefit from the center’s services. This includes those suffering from diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers, infections, radiation injuries to soft tissue and bone, and compromised skin grafts and flaps.

“Without this center, people would have to travel over 350 miles in any direction to obtain the services that we now provide,” said Harper.

A North Platte man arrested in a July shoplifting case is now facing a drug charge after police received lab results from the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP).

According to Officer Rodney Brown, on the afternoon of July 28, 2013, North Platte Police responded to a reported theft at Wal-Mart.

The suspects had left the store prior to the officer’s arrival, but they were soon located walking north on Cottonwood.

One of the suspects, 27-year-old Jeremy Torres, was found to be in possession of several baggies and a glass pipe commonly used to smoke meth.

Recently, NSP lab results on the items were returned and showed the items tested positive for methamphetamine.

On Friday, police located Torres at his residence, where he was arrested and transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center on a charge of felony possession of a controlled substance-methamphetamine.

Online records show Torres is being held on $10,000 bond.

 

Related Content:

https://www.northplattepost.com/2013/07/29/np-man-charged-with-third-offense-shoplifting/

 

 

A North Platte woman who declined the opportunity to just walk away is now facing a felony possession charge.

At around 8:30 p.m on Saturday, North Platte Police responded to a disturbance in the 2300 block of East Philip.

According to Officer Rodney Brown, a 37-year-old female told responding officers that 47-year-old Yolanda Conerly and several other people were pounding on her door, demanding money for a vehicle Conerly had sold to the victim.

Officers repeatedly ordered Conerly to leave the area, however, she refused and, as a result, was arrested and charged with 2nd degree criminal trespassing.

Following her arrest, a search of Conerly led to the discovery of a little less than a gram of methamphetamine.

Conerly was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center where, in addition to trespassing, she was also charged with felony possession of methamphetamine.

Three Kansas men are facing a felony charge in a North Platte vandalism case that dates back to early September.

On September 1, officers with the North Platte Police Department (NPPD) responded to the report a vandalism to a vehicle in the parking lot of South Oak Manor, 1100 South Oak.

A 64-year-old male told officers that an unknown person or persons slashed three tires and scratched the paint on his 2002 Hyundai, causing about $4,500 in damage.

Following further investigation, police identified the suspects as 18-year-old Blake Swartz, 22-year-old Lucian Peterson and a 17-year-old male juvenile, all of Atwood, Kansas.

According to officer Rodney Brown, the three had been in North Platte in September to help a family member move.

After receiving assistance from the Atwood Police Department, NPPD investigators were able to find probable cause to charge the three with felony criminal mischief.

On November 23rd, Swartz, Peterson and the juvenile came to North Platte where they were placed under arrest.  Brown said the trio was processed and released from the Lincoln County Detention Center.

The crime is a felony due to the cost of the damage.

November 23 marks the anniversary of the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Now, 15 years later, Lincoln County is benefitting from some of the money the tobacco companies are required to pay each year to the states.

The agreement settled a dispute between the four largest tobacco companies and 46 states, along with five U.S. Territories and the District of Columbia. The plaintiffs had taken the tobacco companies to court over deceptive marketing practices, and wanted to recoup their huge monetary losses related to the health effects of tobacco.

The agreement requires the tobacco companies to pay the states a total of about $10 billion per year. The Nebraska State Legislature allocates some of its share to fund  tobacco prevention and cessation programs, including Tobacco Free Lincoln County coalition (TFLC), which operates under Community Connections. George Haws is coordinator of TFLC. He said the coalition:

• Encourages residents to keep their homes and vehicles smoke-free.
• Conducts tobacco prevention programs with children and teenagers.
• Gives guidance to apartment owners and managers who want to establish smoke-free policies
• Refers tobacco users who want to quit, to helpful resources.

The allocation is administered by Nebraska Dept. of Health & Human Services through the Tobacco Free Nebraska program. They fund nine coalitions across the state, including Tobacco Free Lincoln County.

“Tobacco use rates have dropped steadily in the last 50 years, but tobacco continues to be the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.” said Haws.

More information can be found on the Community Connections Web site at www.CommunityConnectionsLC.org, under the link for Tobacco Free Lincoln County. People can go to the site to sign a pledge to keep their homes and vehicles smoke-free. The sites also includes a list of companies that offer smoke-free apartments in North Platte and Lincoln County.

A 32-year-old man has quietly ended a standoff of nearly three hours in Kearney.

Police were sent to the house around 6 p.m. Sunday. Officers believed the man had several weapons inside the house, and they soon set up a perimeter and called in a SWAT team.

The man, Trenton Nielsen, was taken into custody without incident around 8:50 p.m. He was arrested on suspicion of terroristic threats, false imprisonment and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

Other residents of the home told officers they were held against their will.

There were no reports of any shots being fired or any injuries.

• Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 44. North wind 8 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
• Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 16. Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph.
• Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 32. North northwest wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 10. North wind 5 to 8 mph becoming calm.

(AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker is once again planning to introduce a bill that could let teachers bring concealed weapons into schools.

Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial says he’s preparing a new version of the bill that failed in 2011 in response to recent school shootings.

Christensen says the new proposal includes more stringent requirements than earlier versions. The new measure would first require teachers to hold a concealed-carry permit. They then would have to take additional training, possibly with a simulator. After that, the local school board would have to approve them to carry the weapon.

Education and law-enforcement groups have opposed such bills in the past. The president of the Nebraska State Education Association says her group has a zero-tolerance policy for deadly weapons on school property.

(AP) — Now that the Great Platte River Road Archway wiped away most of its debts in bankruptcy, supporters of the museum that spans Interstate 80 hope local officials will help pay the attraction’s bills.

Museum supportes will ask the Kearney City Council Tuesday to provide $75,000 a year for the next three years. Buffalo County supervisors are expecting a similar request.

If the city agrees to support the museum financially, Kearney will also oversee the attraction and make sure it is operating efficiently.

City Manager Mike Morgan says the city would use money from Keno sales to support the archway, not tax revenue.

Joel Johnson, who leads the archway board, has said financial support from local institutions will be important to the museum’s future.