NORTH PLATTE – Around 300 people gathered Saturday, October 1st for the 9th annual G.R.E.E.N. (Generating Resources for Educational Excellence Now) fundraising event for the North Platte Catholic Schools. The event which features dinner, silent and live auctions, games and a lottery drawing raised close to $100,000 for McDaid and St. Patrick’s schools. Money raised at the annual event helps fund teacher retirement and defray the operating costs of North Platte’s Catholic School system. North Platte Catholic Schools Endowment-Trust Executive Director Wendy Dodson estimates the net income to be right around $100,000. The G.R.E.E.N. “Lucky Lotto” brought in $18,800, with 180 tickets being sold. The $10,000 grand prize winner is Orlin and Nancy Faulhaber of North Platte. The $1,000 second prize winner is Loretta Hamilton of Thedford. The 2011 Lucky Lotto sponsors are: Dan and Sandy Keenan, Pat and Kathleen Keenan, Jeff and Robyn O’Connor, CG Architects, and Bill and Sherry Snodgrass. The “Irish Heads or Tails” game, contributed over $2,000 to the event total.
Kevin Wood of North Platte won the game and received a $1,000 cash prize sponsored by Adams Bank and Trust. Money was also raised during the live auction to fund a “Wish List” for needed facility repairs and classroom enhancements, as well as nearly $2,000 for the purchase of some new chairs for teachers at St. Pat’s High School. Dodson says that thanks are in order to the entire community of North Platte for making G.R.E.E.N. a success. She says that local businesses and individuals donated over $50,000 dollars worth of auction items to the event and contributed over $20,000 in cash for auction items and expenses. Dodson explains that, “North Platte responds to G.R.E.E.N. in a big way every year, and we are extremely grateful for the support of this event and our school system.” Next year’s G.R.E.E.N. is scheduled for Saturday, October 13th, 2012.

STAPLETON, Neb. (North Platte Post)- A large fire continues to burn in Logan County. According to Stapleton Fire Chief Frank Kramer, approximately 20 fire crews from around the area continue to battle the blaze which is located to the west/southwest of Stapleton. Kramer estimates the fire to be 8 miles long and 5 miles wide and has already claimed one residential property and sent one person to the hospital with burns. Kramer says that the crews are keeping the fire “at bay” and although the danger has not completely subsided, some evacuated residents have already returned to their homes.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – Trial is set for Dec. 6 for a North Platte woman charged in the overdose death of her sister this summer. 40-year-old Elizabeth Crawford of North Platte pleaded not guilty Monday to manslaughter and drug charges in the Aug. 3 death of her sister, 45-year-old Ester Smith. Smith died after overdosing on methamphetamine. Another person, 41-year-old Jeff Manary, also pleaded not guilty to charges in the case. Trial for Manary also is set for Dec. 6. Bond for Manary is set at $150,000. Crawford’s bond was lowered to $50,000. Her attorney, Bob Lindemeier, says the question is who actually supplied the methamphetamine to Crawford’s sister.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – A North Platte man charged with holding paramedics hostage and threatening to kill them has pleaded not guilty. 19-year-old Carlos Charging Elk allegedly lured paramedics to his home with a false 911 call in August. Police say he pulled a knife and held the paramedics hostage. He is charged with terroristic threats, false imprisonment and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony. Trial is set for Dec. 6. Charging Elk is being held under $125,000 bond.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A state education official says demand for online distance learning courses in Nebraska schools could grow beyond what officials anticipate. Nebraska Department of Education liaison Brian Halstead testified Monday that a distance-learning incentive program launched in 2006 has worked well. Halstead told the Legislature’s Education Committee that the program will require continued partnership among educational service units, school districts, teachers and higher education officials. Several distance-learning experts told the Legislature’s Education Committee that the program has especially helped high-achieving students and those who struggle in a traditional learning environment. Officials say small, rural districts have turned to distance learning when schools lack resources. Halstead points to two aspects of Nebraska’s program that have helped it succeed: quality-control and accreditation requirements, and the use of certified teachers.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – The Judicial Nominating Commission has forwarded the names of two nominees to Gov. Dave Heineman for his consideration to fill an open judgeship in central Nebraska. The nominees are North Platte attorney Richard Birch and Lincoln County Attorney Rebecca Harling. They are seeking appointment as Nebraska’s 11th Judicial District judge to replace Judge John Murphy, who retired last month. The district consists of 17 central and western Nebraska counties and is based in North Platte. The governor’s office says Heineman will schedule interviews with nominees in the coming weeks.

COZAD, Neb. (AP) – A western Nebraska farmer whose tractor was struck by a train managed to survive the collision. Dawson County Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Hudson said that the crash happened shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday evening. The farmer was trying to cross the tracks about three miles east of Cozad in his John Deere tractor while pulling a baler. The train hit the tractor. Hudson says the farmer suffered head injuries in the crash, but those are not believed to be life-threatening. The farmer’s name and condition were not immediately available Friday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – New Census estimates show that Nebraska’s population grew at a faster rate than the total U.S. population for two years in a row between 2008 and 2010. Nebraska’s population grew nearly 1 percent to 1.83 million between July 2009 and July 2010. During that same span, the U.S. population posted its smallest growth since 1945 by increasing only 0.84 percent to 309.35 million. University of Nebraska at Omaha Census researcher David Drozd says this is the first time that Nebraska’s growth rate has exceeded the national one two years in a row. Drozd says Nebraska’s population growth rate improved partly because the state’s economy remained relatively strong while the nation was going through the worst recession since the Great Depression.

ATKINSON, Neb. (AP) – Nebraskans will have another chance to comment on the proposed pipeline that would carry Canadian oil across the Great Plains to refineries in Texas. The U.S. State Department is planning to hold a second hearing on the $7 billion Keystone XL project in Nebraska’s Sandhills on Thursday. The event from 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. is likely to significantly increase Atkinson’s population because the first hearing in Lincoln earlier this week attracted several hundred people. TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL project would cross Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. TransCanada also has proposed connecting it to the Bakken oil field in Montana and North Dakota. The pipeline’s proposed route crosses the massive underground Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies water for irrigation and drinking to people in eight U.S. states.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska agriculture officials are concerned that cattle imported into the state from drought-stricken areas of Texas and Oklahoma could bring diseases with them, so they are encouraging ranchers to follow import rules. State Agriculture Director Greg Ibach said Wednesday that officials have begun quarantining herds if ranchers haven’t followed import rules. The Agriculture Department is concerned that cattle from southern states could be infected with trichomoniasis. That disease can cause infertility and miscarriages in cattle. Ranchers must be able to prove the cattle they import are disease-free. Ibach says any Nebraska cattle producers who are thinking about importing animals should contact the state veterinarian’s office to make sure they understand the restrictions. More information is available on the Agriculture Department’s website, www.agr.ne.gov.