LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Local project costs are going up for most of Nebraska’s airports.
A provision of the Federal Aviation Administration legislation passed last month by Congress doubles the share airports must provide for projects paid for mostly with federal grants.
They’ll now have to provide 10 percent of a project’s funding instead of the 5 percent they have been paying.
Director Mike Olson of the Central Nebraska Regional Airport in Grand Island says that means the airport will have to come up with an additional $850,000 to $900,000 for its match on $17 million to $18 million worth of projects planned for the next several years.
The 25 percent match that Omaha’s Eppley Airfield pays won’t change.

 

McCOOK, Neb. (AP) – A 19-year-old Bartley man has been ruled competent to stand trial for murder.
Stathis Kirkpatrick is accused of killing 14-year-old Kailee Clapp. The teen’s burned body was found the evening of Jan. 21, 2011, in a Bartley cemetery. She had been reported missing that morning from her McCook home.
Kirkpatrick has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and three other felony charges.
In September, Red Willow County District Judge David Urbom ruled Kirkpatrick wasn’t mentally competent and committed Kirkpatrick for treatment at the state psychiatric hospital in Lincoln.
In court documents, Urbom now says that after reviewing a letter from a psychiatrist and psychologist who treated Kirkpatrick at the hospital, the court has determined that Kirkpatrick is competent to stand trial.
A trial date has not been set.

 

 

GERING, Neb. (AP) – The attorney for a 27-year-old murder suspect says his client was acting in self-defense when he killed the father of his girlfriend’s child in Scottsbluff last year.
The defense and prosecution attorneys made opening statements Monday at the trial of Daniel Morgan, of Scottsbluff. He is charged with murdering 33-year-old Dominic Marquez on May 13.
Morgan’s attorney, Jerry Soucie, told the court that Morgan had gone to Marquez’s home to say he was going to stop dating the woman.
But, Soucie said, Marquez was in his vehicle and drove it at Morgan. Soucie says Morgan fired at the vehicle in self-defense.
Prosecutor Doug Warner says it wasn’t self-defense. He says Morgan acted with premeditation and deliberation in killing Marquez.
The first witness is expected to testify on Tuesday.

 

 

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – A North Platte man has been arrested on weapon and explosives charges after a two-week investigation.
The Nebraska State Patrol says 61-year-old Gary Wilson was arrested last Friday. He was taken into custody without incident near a grocery store.
The patrol says a search of his car and home led to the seizure of firearms, ammunition and explosive materials.
Wilson is charged with possession of firearms by a felon and possession of explosives. He was released from the Lincoln County jail on Sunday on $15,000 bond.
Wilson’s case is not on the online court system, and it’s not known if he has an attorney.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (North Platte Post)- A Hershey woman has been recognized for her volunteer work. Shelli Arensdorf was awarded the Justin Boots Standard of the West Committeeman of the Year award Feb. 25 for her volunteer efforts with the Buffalo Bill Rodeo in North Platte. She has been on the Buffalo Bill Rodeo committee for five years and is the first woman to be on the committee. Prior to that, she volunteered as scoreboard operator at the rodeo.

Arensdorf has been involved in rodeo in other capacities. She currently judges the cowgirls events at Nebraska State High School Rodeo Association rodeos and served as finals coordinator for eleven years with the Nebraska State Rodeo Association. She also produces the Cowboy Christmas gift show in North Platte every November.

The cowgirl, who grew up in the Bridgeport area, competed as a team roper and breakaway calf roper at the junior, high school, and college rodeo levels. She was the Team Roping-heeler Rookie of the Year in 1996 in the Professional Women’s Rodeo Association, and finished third in the nation in the year end standings the same year.

 

GERING, Neb. (AP) – A 32-year-old Gering woman is scheduled to be sentenced in April for thefts.
Linda Carrillo pleaded no contest to the charges and faces up to 20 years in prison.
Court records say Carrillo also is known as Linda Cerillo, Linda Cerrillo-Mendoza, Linda Rivas and Linda Mendoza.
Prosecutors say that in one case, Carrillo wrote a fraudulent check on her former employer’s account. In another case, Carrillo had used her employer’s credit card to buy an iPad 2.
Carrillo is scheduled to be sentenced on April 18.

 

HARRISON, Neb. (AP) – A 32-year-old Nebraska Panhandle man has been given life in prison for murdering his 8-year-old stepdaughter.
Salvador Lopez, of Mitchell, admitted killing Kerra Wilson.
Lopez was sentenced Friday in Sioux County District Court. Sioux County Attorney Adam Edmund says Lopez deserved to die in prison In exchange for Lopez’s guilty plea, prosecutors dropped a provision that could have led to the death penalty.
The little girl’s body was found Sept. 22 on remote ranchland in Sioux County.
Prosecutors say Lopez killed Wilson because she told him she was going to tell her mother that he “had touched her in a bad way.”

 

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Seven states are asking a federal judge to block an Obama administration mandate that requires birth control coverage for employees of religious-affiliated hospitals, schools and outreach programs.
The lawsuit in U.S. District Court of Nebraska alleges that the new rule violates the First Amendment rights of groups that object to the use of contraceptives.
The rule, announced as part of the federal health care law, has come under fire from religious groups that object to the use of birth control. In response to the criticism, Obama administration officials have said they will shift the requirement from the employers to health insurers themselves.
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning says the proposed change still fails to address their concerns.
Joining the lawsuit are Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.

 

 

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – A trust has donated 1,000 acres of farmland in south central Nebraska valued at over $4 million to benefit the Nebraska Children’s Home Society.
The land in Dawson and Gosper counties is from the Nellie M. Cole Trust.
Proceeds are invested in the nonprofit’s endowment to support services to children and their families.
According to the society, Nellie Cole and her husband, Stephen Cole, started buying land in Gosper County in 1889.
Estate trustee Tom Hedstrom says Nellie Cole’s daughter, Hazel Sitlington died last year, and the instructions were the sell the land with proceeds going to the society. Those wishes were granted last month.
The agency, which has 10 statewide offices, provides a host of services, including pregnancy, adoption and foster care.

 

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) – The U.S. Postal Service plans to close mail processing centers in Norfolk, Grand Island and Alliance to cut costs.
The list of the facilities the Postal Service plans to close was released Thursday.
It was not immediately clear Thursday morning what will happen to all the jobs at those centers. The Grand Island center employs 66, Norfolk has 58 and Alliance has 8.
The mail processing currently being done in Grand Island and Norfolk would be move to an Omaha facility.
The western Nebraska mail processing done in Alliance will move to a facility in North Platte.
The Postal Service is predicting it will lose a record $14.1 billion this year. The agency is dealing with declining revenue because people are switching to electronic communication tools instead of mail.