LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska State Patrol says a wayward text message has led to a drug bust.
It started when someone sent a message about buying drugs – to a trooper in North Platte.
Patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins says the trooper began receiving text messages from an unknown number on Nov. 7. The trooper played along and arranged to meet the sender that night in Broken Bow.
The trooper showed up and arrested 23-year-old Aaron Sartin, of Kearney. He’s charged with driving under the influence of drugs, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Collins says Sartin was cited and released.
His case isn’t listed on the online court system. There is no public phone listing for Sartin in the Kearney area.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A rural McCook man has pleaded guilty to robbing a southwest Nebraska credit union at gunpoint.
Joel Witt pleaded guilty to bank robbery and brandishing a firearm in connection with a crime of violence on Monday in U.S. District Court in Lincoln.
He was accused of robbing the Pioneer Community Federal Credit Union in Palisade in April. Prosecutors say he took nearly $11,600.
No one was injured.
Nebraska State Patrol troopers arrested Witt about an hour later near Grant and recovered the firearm and the money.
Witt faces up to 25 years in prison for bank robbery and 10 years on the firearm charge. Sentencing is Feb. 13.

 

GOTHENBURG, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska State Patrol says two people have died of injuries suffered in a crash on Interstate 80 in south-central Nebraska that killed a 2-year-old Colorado boy earlier this month.
The accident happened Nov. 7 near Gothenburg when a westbound car ran into the median and rolled after passing a semitrailer. The patrol says the toddler, Joshua Atkins, of Brush, Colo., died shortly after the crash.
The patrol says Tuesday the boy’s mother, 23-year-old Katie Griggs, of Brush, Colo., died Nov. 11 at a hospital in Kearney.
Authorities say 36-year-old Simon Jacinto-Mendez, of Kimball, died after being taken off life support at an Omaha hospital.
All three were passengers in the car. The driver survived.

 

CHADRON, Neb. (AP) – A small earthquake shook areas of northwest Nebraska and southwest South Dakota but no damage was reported.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the 3.7 magnitude quake happened a little before midnight Sunday along the Nebraska-South Dakota border near Ardmore, S.D.
Eagle Communications station KQSK reported that residents in Ardmore, Chadron and Crawford could feel the shaking. The radio station says one woman in Crawford reported hearing her windows rattle and feeling her bed shake. The woman says the quake lasted about 20 seconds.
Geophysicist Don Blakeman of the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo., says a 3.7 magnitude quake is large enough to be felt but not big enough to cause any serious damage.

 

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (North Platte Post)- Lincoln County Emergency Management Director Jim Nitz passed away last Saturday, November 12th. He was 65.
Nitz was responsible for keeping the public informed in case of emergencies- storms, flooding, or worse; if disaster struck, Nitz worked closely with local law enforcement, the National Weather Service and the media to ensure the fullest extent of community safety.
Nitz served as Lincoln County Emergency Management Director from 2000 until his death this past weekend. During that time, Nitz worked tirelessly in the face of adversity. He was patient, highly intelligent, and his impact during local emergencies will truly be missed.
A memorial service for Jim Nitz will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 17th at Harvest Christian Fellowship South Campus. Burial will be at Ft. McPherson National Cemetery near Maxwell with military honors.

 

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (North Platte Post)- The number one question being asked of NEBRASKAland DAYS coming off a successful 2011 Celebration was how to top the US Cellular Summer Jam Country Concert. The answer has been found in a tall Oklahoman.
Toby Keith will headline the 2012 Concert Series, with a June 22nd, 2012 show in the Wild West Arena.
Special Guest Brantley Gilbert will also make an appearance.
“We really wanted to find a big name headliner to keep the momentum going coming out of 2011,” says Board President Lance Carlson. “We think Toby is the guy that can deliver.”
Keith owns 20 number one singles over the course of his career, including his latest “Made in America” off his new album “Clancy’s Tavern”.
Gilbert is an up and coming star with a top five hit already to his credit with his current single “Country Must Be Country Wide”. Gilbert is also an accomplished song writer, having penned hits for Jason Aldean and Colt Ford.
Tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, November 15th for NEBRASKAland DAYS Sponsors and Sustaining Members. Tickets go on sale to the public on November 21st at 9 am. The first 500 General Admission tickets will be $55. After those tickets are gone, the remaining GA and Reserved seats will be priced at $65. Golden Circle tickets, the 300 standing tickets directly in front of the stage, are $89. All ticketing and facility fees are included in the price of the ticket.
The easiest and most convenient way for the public to buy tickets is online at www.nebraskalanddays.com. “You can buy and print your ticket to see Toby Keith right from the comfort of your home or at the office,” says Carlson.

 

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (North Platte Post)- The names of three women killed in a single-vehicle rollover crash near Maxwell on Friday, Nov. 11, have been released.

Killed in the 2:00 p.m., crash were Claudia J. Cerda-Hernadez, 25, Albuquerque, NM, Romelia Pacheco, 32, Denver, CO and Viridiana Becomo, 23, Denver, CO.

The three women killed were unrestrained passengers in a 1998 Chrysler minivan. The minivan was eastbound on I-80 when the tread on the right rear tire separated, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle. The minivan entered the median and rolled numerous times before coming to a rest, partially blocking the westbound passing lane.

There were a total of eight females in the minivan, along with an infant male. Six of the females including the fatalities were all ejected from the vehicle. Restraints were in use by the driver and front seat passenger. The infant was also properly secured in a child restraint.

Cerda-Hernandez and Pacheco, died at the scene of the crash. Becomo, died from her injuries at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. The remaining six occupants were transported to Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte for treatment. The names of those injured are not being released at this time pending identification and notification of family.

MCCOOK, Neb. (AP) – A father and son accused of causing a crash that injured four people in southwest Nebraska have made plea deals.
53-year-old Leslie Sides and his son, 26-year-old Eric Sides, earlier this week pleaded no contest to two felony counts and two misdemeanor counts of assault. In return, prosecutors dropped several charges.
Prosecutors say the Sides got into their trucks on Aug. 19, 2010, and chased a vehicle that had driven through the horseshoe driveway at their home in rural Bartley.
Prosecutors say the Sides drove up on either side of the other vehicle so Eric could run his truck into it. The vehicle was knocked into a spin and overturned.
Four people in it were injured, including one man who was paralyzed.

GERING, Neb. (AP) – A new arraignment date in district court has been set for a Kimball city councilman charged with sexually assaulting a mentally disabled teenage boy.
Forty-eight-year-old Scott Haun was charged in October with first-degree sexual assault on a child more than 12 years of age but less than 16.
A court affidavit says the alleged abuse took place Sept. 3 at the boy’s home in rural Scotts Bluff County.
Haun has denied the allegation.
Haun was to be arraigned Thursday but had asked for a delay. The hearing has been rescheduled for Thursday.
He’s been on the Kimball City Council for a total of 12 years and has said he won’t resign.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – It looks like two can play that game.
Republican-aligned group Crossroads GPS has launched a new television ad that criticizes Democratic U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson as having supported President Barack Obama’s stimulus spending.
Crossroads GPS has spent more than $134,000 to air the ad for two weeks in Omaha and Lincoln. The group is running similar ads targeting Democrats in Missouri, Montana, Massachusetts and Virginia.
But Nelson struck first. He has for weeks appeared in a series of issue ads sponsored by the Democratic Party in which he says three Republican candidates looking to take his Senate seat support cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
The state GOP has filed complaints claiming Nelson has violated federal election law by appearing in the ads.