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Eastern Neb. Homeless Shelter Battling Bedbugs

bed-bugFREMONT, Neb. (AP) — A homeless shelter in Fremont is battling bedbugs, but it lacks the money needed to upgrade to metal bedframes.

Mike Wehling, executive director of the Care Corps shelter, says the shelter is treated with heat to kill bed bugs whenever the pests show up.

But he says it can be hard to irradicate them with so many people coming and going.

Wehling says part of the problem is that the shelter still has wooden bed frames that might allow bedbugs to hide.

The shelter recently received a $20,000 grant to help pay for metal bed frames, but Wehling estimates it will cost $45,000.

Nebraskan, Iowan Chosen to Be Honored as Heroes

Caleb Admundson
Caleb Admundson

FAIRBURY, Neb. (AP) — An 18-year-old volunteer firefighter from Nebraska and a full-time Iowa firefighter Iowa will be honored as heroes Friday at the Iowa-Nebraska football game in Lincoln.

The Big Ten Conference has dubbed the Iowa-Nebraska meeting each year as the Heroes Game, honoring one person from each state who has performed extraordinary acts of heroism and service.

Caleb Amundson, a rural Fairbury volunteer firefighter, dove into Harlan County Lake on Labor Day and saved a man in a wheelchair who was trapped inside his truck when it rolled into the water.

The Iowa honoree is Mike Klemmensen, a Sioux City firefighter who saved the lives of six people the night of Aug. 20. He raced inside their home, woke everyone and made sure they escaped.

Man Who Planned Neb. School Attack Cleared to Leave Psych Hospital

gavel-more(AP) — A man who was a teenager nine years ago when he planned to attack fellow Nebraska high school students has been cleared to leave a state psychiatric hospital.

26-year-old Joshua Magee is being transferred to a residential program and will receive outpatient care through the Community Mental Health Center.

The transfer order was approved earlier this week by Lancaster County District Court Judge Karen Flowers. She’d ordered his commitment to the Lincoln Regional Center after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Charges against him included attempted first-degree murder.

Magee was arrested in March 2004 at Malcolm Middle and High School after taking bomb materials and a rifle to school in his car.

FAA: Plane Crashes at Neb. Airport; No Injuries

faaOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a small plane has crashed while landing at an airport in Omaha, but there are no injuries.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the crash happened Wednesday afternoon at Millard Airport as the single-engine Aeronca aircraft was landing. It bounced, damaging the front landing gear.

FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro in Chicago says two people including the pilot were on board. No one was injured.

Additional information about the plane is limited. FAA records show it was registered in Nebraska, but the name of its owner is not available.

Omaha, Police Union Reach Tentative Agreement

omahaOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The City of Omaha has reached a tentative agreement on a two-year contract with the union representing Police Chief Todd Schmaderer and four deputy chiefs.

Mayor Jean Stothert’s office said in a release Wednesday that the negotiations focused on salaries. The exact amounts weren’t immediately available, but Stothert said the annual cost of the salary increases for the management team is about $22,000.

Other details of the agreement include changes to some pension benefits and a change to the period required to achieve top salary.

The City Council must approve the agreement. A public hearing is scheduled Dec. 17, and a final vote will be held Jan. 7.

Lincoln Counterfeiter Gets 7-10 Years in Prison

Antwon Williams
Antwon Williams

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 32-year-old Lincoln man has been sentenced to prison for forgery in a counterfeiting case.

Online court records say Antwon Williams was sentenced on Monday to seven to 10 years. He’d pleaded guilty to a lone count of forgery.

Prosecutors say Williams passed fake $100 bills in October 2012 at a shoe store, a pizza place and a convenience store.

Omaha Bar Accused of Violating Music Copyrights

copyrightOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A suburban Omaha bar is being accused of violating copyright law by playing songs like “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Born to Be Wild” for customers at its Waterloo location.

Broadcast Music International leads a list of music industry plaintiffs on the lawsuit filed Friday against the Fire Barn Sports Bar & Grill.

Neither the lawyer representing the music licensing agencies nor the bar’s manager responded immediately to messages about the case.

Federal law says writers and publishers of music are entitled to be paid for public performances of their music. Bars and other businesses usually pay an annual fee to groups such as BMI for a blanket license to their songs.

The lawsuit says the Fire Barn played the songs without a proper license to do so.

Tongue Pierce Lets the Paralyzed Drive Wheelchairs

Georgia Tech Photo: Gary Meek
Georgia Tech Photo: Gary Meek

WASHINGTON (AP) — An experimental device is letting paralyzed people drive wheelchairs simply by flicking their tongue in the right direction. But they had to get their tongue pierced first.

The system is being developed by a Georgia Tech engineer, in hopes of offering the severely disabled more mobility and independence. Wednesday, researchers reported that 11 people paralyzed from the neck down rapidly learned to use the Tongue Drive System to pilot wheelchairs through an obstacle course. And the device operated a computer, too.

Here’s how the system works: The tongue is pierced with a magnetic stud that resembles jewelry. A headset detects the tongue’s position when the user flicks that stud. The headset beams that information to a smartphone. An app then commands the wheelchair or computer cursor to move.

Suspect Captured in Death of Kansas Mom, Children

independence-kansas-police(AP) — A man wanted in connection with the deaths of a southeast Kansas woman and her three children has been captured.

Independence Police Chief Harry Smith says the man, who has not been formally charged yet, was arrested while walking along a street Tuesday talking on his cellphone to a friend who’d alerted police about the man’s whereabouts.

Details of his capture emerged Wednesday. More than 100 law enforcement officers from numerous agencies were involved in the manhunt.

Smith says officers spotted the suspect shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday about a block from the local hospital. His clothes were soaking wet and frozen.

The man had been sought in the deaths of 29-year-old Cami Umbarger, of Parsons, and her three children, ages 9, 6, and 4.

Omaha Slayings Suspect Probed in Another Shooting

Nikko Jenkins
Nikko Jenkins

(AP) — Authorities say a man charged with four Omaha slayings is suspected in another shooting

On Wednesday Omaha police said 27-year-old Nikko Jenkins is being investigated in the shooting, but officers wouldn’t provide any details about what happened. They did say county prosecutors are aware of the investigation.

Jenkins has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Juan Uribe-Pena, Jorge Cajiga-Ruiz, Curtis Bradford and Andrea Kruger. The four were killed within weeks of Jenkins’ release from prison on July 30.

Earlier this week a judge ordered that Jenkins be evaluated at the state psychiatric hospital in Lincoln. The judge wouldn’t accept Jenkins’ new plea of guilty until Jenkins has been checked by state psychiatric experts.

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