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Warm today as a front moves in.. Wait.. Cooler temps on the horizon?

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Photo Courtesy NWS

This Afternoon: Sunny, with a high near 91. West wind around 10 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 52. Northwest wind between 7 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Northeast wind 5 to 11 mph becoming south.

Tuesday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. Southeast wind between 5 and 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. East northeast wind between 10 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

McCook murder defendant not competent, exam says

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Stathis Kirkpatrick

McCOOK, Neb. (AP) – A psychiatric examination submitted by lawyers for a Bartley man says he isn’t mentally competent to stand trial on a charge that he killed a 14-year-old McCook girl. The examination was discussed during a hearing Thursday for 19-year-old Stathis Kirkpatrick. He’s pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and three lesser felonies in the death of Kailee Clapp. The teen’s burned body was found the evening of Jan. 21 in a Bartley cemetery. She had been reported missing that morning from her McCook home. Red Willow County District Court Judge David Urbom is giving prosecutors time to review the examination. He scheduled an update hearing via conference call on Sept. 19.

Dawes County board OKs Crawford policing deal

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CHADRON, Neb. (AP) – Dawes County commissioners have approved a contract to provide police coverage to the town of Crawford. The commissioners had approved the concept already. The contract goes to the Crawford City Council, which is expected to vote on it on Tuesday. Dawes County Sheriff Karl Dailey and some Crawford residents had submitted the original proposal to the commission. The four-year agreement will cost the city a base price of nearly $228,000 a year. It can be renewed by mutual agreement or terminated by either side with six months’ notice. Under the contract, three deputies would be stationed in Crawford. The city would be their main duty, but they would be available to answer calls elsewhere in the Panhandle county.

Western Nebraska man accused of sexting teen

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GERING, Neb. (AP) – A 24-year-old Gering man accused of sexting a 14-year-old girl will stand trial on three felony charges in the case. Scottbluff radio station KNEB reports that Michael Hof was bound over Wednesday for trial in Scotts Bluff County District Court. He faces three felony counts: visual depiction of sexual contact, possession of child pornography and enticement by electronic device. Court documents say police were contacted by the girl’s mother. The girl told investigators that sexting had occurred, but said she had erased the messages on her phone. Police then obtained search warrants for Hof’s phones and say they found incriminating text messages to the girl. Hof is being held on $300,000 bail. Hof’s public defender was in court Thursday and did not immediately return a message left for him.

Nebraska flags to be lowered for 9/11 victims

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The governor has ordered U.S. and Nebraska flags to be lowered at all state facilities and buildings in observance of Patriot Day. The observance this Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Flags will be flown at half-staff in honor of the victims. Gov. Dave Heineman’s office says in a release that all Nebraskans are encouraged to join the remembrance by lowering their flags.

Nebraska audit blasts child welfare services

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NE State Auditor Mike Foley

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A new state audit alleges that Nebraska’s effort to privatize child welfare services has increased costs by 27 percent over the last two years and led to millions of dollars in overpayments to one service provider.  Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley told a legislative panel Wednesday that the Department of Health and Human Services failed to publicly bid multi-million dollar contracts with private service providers, and spent thousands of dollars on duplicate claims and payments to the wrong contractors. Foley called the agency’s lack of cooperation with his auditors “among the worst ever encountered in my office.” Kerry Winterer, the department’s CEO, says agency officials “strongly and fundamentally disagree” with the findings. He disputes claims that the service provider was overpaid, and says the agency cooperated with auditors.

Scottsbluff OKs incentives for food processor

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SCOTTBLUFF, Neb. (AP) – Financial incentives have been approved by the City Council to lure a food processing facility to Scottsbluff.  Scottsbluff radio station KNEB reports the incentives for KYS Foods includes $110,000 in grant funds and $250,000 for a low-interest loan that would help the company buy equipment. Redevelopment officials say the $4.2 million plant would provide 22 new jobs to the area. The Scottsbluff site is one of two location finalists for the plant. A decision could be announced by the end of the month.

Study: Tar sands oil will reach US sans pipeline

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Oil pipeline workers

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A U.S. State Department consultant’s report says Canadian tar sands oil will almost certainly move to U.S. refineries even if a $7 billion pipeline from western Canada to the Gulf Coast fails to get federal approval. The report from EnSys Energy & Systems Inc. says if the proposed Keystone XL pipeline or a similar pipeline project is halted, the oil would still likely move to U.S. refineries by rail, barge or trucks. The report estimates that rail alone could haul 1.25 million barrels of Canadian crude daily by 2030, or nearly twice the amount that would be carried by the pipeline proposed by Calgary-based TransCanada. The report cites North Dakota’s booming oil patch as an example of how railroads can quickly ramp up to meet demand.

Nebraskan accused of growing pot next door

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Marco Vieyra

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – A resident was surprised when he found six dozen marijuana plants growing in a windbreak near his rural home northeast of North Platte in south- central Nebraska. They weren’t his plants, Don Haws told the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department on Saturday afternoon, when he reported his discovery.  The North Platte Telegraph says sheriff’s investigators soon made another discovery: A sprinkler system and buried hose led them next door, to Haws’ neighbor Marco Vieyra. The 56-year-old Vieyra was arrested on suspicion of manufacturing marijuana. Vieyra remained in custody on Wednesday, pending $50,000 bail. Online court records don’t list his attorney.

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