GERING, Neb. (AP) – Drivers are being urged to be on the alert for a moose spotted in the Wildcat Hills south of Gering in western Nebraska. Hod Kosman of Platte River Basin Environments told KNEB radio in Scottsbluff that there are programs to reintroduce moose in
habitats in Colorado and Wyoming, and those habitats seem to be expanding into Nebraska. Kosman says motorists need to use caution on state Highway 71 and other roads in the Wildcat Hills because moose are big and unpredictable.
HOLDREGE, Neb. (AP) – A Holdrege woman has pleaded not guilty to child abuse in an incident at her daycare. The Kearney Hub reports 38-year-old Kendra Fritsche entered the plea Wednesday in Phelps County District Court. The Nebraska State Patrol said a 3-month-old girl that had been in Fritsche’s care was brought to an emergency room on Oct. 15. Tests later showed she suffered a skull fracture.
BROKEN BOW, Neb. (AP) – Broken Bow district officials are planning another school bond issue. The $5.8 million proposal is aimed at upgrading one of the
district’s elementary schools. The proposal seeks far less money than the last two, which voters defeated. Last August, nearly 59 percent of district voters rejected a
bond issue of nearly $10 million that would have paid for additions to North Park Elementary and improvements at the middle and high school. In May 2008, a $9.4 million bond issue for a new elementary school was overwhelmingly defeated. Superintendent Virginia Moon told North Platte television station KNOP that the buildings are not air-conditioned, and several mechanical updates are needed at North Park Elementary. The bond election is scheduled for Sept. 13.
CHADRON, Neb. (AP) – An investigator has found no evidence that Chadron City Manager Sandy Powell misused city funds or treated city workers unfairly. Radio station KQSK reports that the City Council released a summary of the investigator’s findings Thursday night. Earlier this year, the city hired Scottsbluff attorney Paul
Snyder to investigate allegations against Powell, including claims she improperly used city funds for a pilot training program and set up an unfair salary structure for city workers.
Snyder completed his report late last month. The City Council has spent more than eight hours in closed-door sessions reviewing it. The council did not release the full report, just a summary.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A 26-year-old man who was involved with Lincoln youth groups has been given three-to-six years in prison for having sex with an underage girl.
Curtis Green had pleaded no contest to sexual assault. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Green was sentenced on Wednesday. Prosecutors say Green met the 15-year-old girl online. State law prohibits people 19 or older from having sex with anyone under 16 years old. Green’s attorney said before sentencing that Green didn’t have a significant criminal history but did have letters of support from the community and had worked with youth programs. Miner sought probation for his client. Judge Jodi Nelson rejected the idea of probation, saying he “didn’t hear one ounce of responsibility taken by Mr. Green at
this juncture.”
WASHINGTON: House Speaker John Boehner (BAY’-nur) is looking for
more support of his plan to cut spending and raise the debt ceiling before the Aug. 2 deadline. But the White House threatening veto if the legislation passes, and the bill is creating tensions within his own party. The House is expected to vote on it today.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The number of abortions performed in Nebraska
dropped 9 percent in the first half of the year over the same period in 2010.
Nebraska Right to Life attributed the decline to enactment of an abortion ban tied to the disputed notion that a fetus can feel pain at 20 weeks. The law that went into effect in October targeted Dr. LeRoy Carhart and his Bellevue clinic. The group’s executive director, Julie Schmit-Albin, says the law forced Carhart’s practice into other states, which has caused the drop in abortions. A message left for Carhart through the Center for Reproductive Rights wasn’t immediately returned. The state says there were 1,153 abortions performed in Nebraska
in the first six months of 2011. The figure was 1,288 for the same period last year.
COMSTOCK, Neb. (AP) – The organizer of the Comstock Music Festivals has put off its 2011 events until next summer.
A statement on the festivals’ website cited financial issues for the postponement of the August concerts.
It also says those who already bought tickets to the festivals can request a refund or use them in 2012. The dates for the 2012 festivals are: Country Fest, May 31-June 3; Rock Fest, July 12-15; and Christian Fest, Aug. 2-4. Henry Nuxoll founded the music festivals near Comstock in 2000. They pulled in thousands of people over the years. But Nuxoll ran into financial trouble in 2008. He pleaded guilty
to writing bad checks to vendors and was ordered to serve four years’ probation and pay nearly $100,000 in restitution. The festival has since changed hands.
