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Lawsuit Accuses Omaha Plant of Failing to Pay Proper Wages

greater-omaha-packingOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former Greater Omaha Packing Co. boiler room operator is suing the company, saying he wasn’t paid for the half-hour lunch breaks he was never allowed to take.

Frederick Baglio is seeking class-action status, saying the company routinely clocks out workers for breaks they haven’t taken and fails to pay for time worked in violation of federal law.

Company attorney Mark Theisen categorically denies the allegations, saying that Greater Omaha Packing has “a long history of treating our 1,000-plus team members with respect” and paying a fair wage.

Baglio is seeking an amount equal to what he says were the unpaid wages, plus interest, legal costs and any other damages determined by a jury.

Baglio’s attorney, Robert Cowan of Houston, Texas, declined to comment.

Woman Gets Jail Time for Trying to Poison Boyfriends Mother in Nebraska

jailBEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A Minnesota woman who admitted pouring carpet cleaner in the ice tea of her boyfriend’s mother has been sent to jail in Nebraska.

Online court records say 26-year-old Amanda Nelson, of Worthington, Minnesota, was sentenced Wednesday in Gage County District Court. She’d pleaded guilty to felony assault.

Nelson told Beatrice police that she wanted to kill the woman after arguing with her the previous evening last June. Court documents say the intended victim told officers her tongue went numb and that she vomited after taking a drink of the poisoned tea.

Commission Approves Plan for Rehab Facility in Lincoln

lincoln-nebraskaLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission has approved revised plans for a short-term rehabilitation facility.

The commission voted unanimously in favor of the revised plans Wednesday. Commissioners had split their votes two weeks ago because of issues with patient rooms in the facility’s original layout that would have been as close as 195 feet to adjacent properties zoned for industrial uses.

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department recommends residential uses be no closer than 300 feet to industrial-zoned property, even if the current use isn’t industrial.

Promontory Healthcare Companies of Portland, Oregon, revised the plans to get patient rooms 275 feet away from the industrial-zoned land, saying it could not push rooms any farther because of grade issues on the property’s west side.

Promontory hopes to open the facility by spring 2017.

Police to Answer Questions About New Gun Range in Omaha

gun_omahaOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police officers will hold an informational meeting for neighbors of an outdoor shooting range to be built at a Public Safety Training Center in Omaha.

Starting Wednesday and continuing through Feb. 13, the meetings will allow neighbors to ask the Omaha Police Department about any concerns.

The training center’s addition will cost $2.47 million. The city will pay $1.27 million and the FBI will pay $1.2 million.

Construction of the 20-lane gun range is slated to begin this fall. The range is expected to open for federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in late 2017.

It isn’t thought that gunshot noise will be a problem because the area is zoned for industrial and rural use.

Iowa Woman Takes Plea Deal in Sex-with-Teen Case

gavel-moreCOUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A 27-year-old woman has been given two years of probation after taking a plea deal in an Iowa sex-with-a-teen case.

Court records say Jessica Pritchard was sentenced Monday in Pottawattamie County District Court. She’d pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor and dissemination of obscene material to a minor. Prosecutors had lowered the charges in return for her pleas.

Pritchard was given a deferred judgment, which means her two convictions will be removed from her record if she successfully completes probation.

She must register for 10 years as a sex offender.

Authorities say Pritchard now lives across the Missouri River in suburban Omaha, Nebraska. She was arrested in July in Alliance, Nebraska.

City Council Approves Contract to Demolish Omaha Auditorium

omaha-civic-auditoriumOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha City Council has voted to approve a $3.1 million contract to demolish the Omaha Auditorium.

The demolition contract with Illinois-based DeNovo Constructors Inc. was approved Tuesday.

Workers could start removing asbestos from the auditorium in about two weeks, and exterior demolition should begin in the spring.

The auditorium is being demolished to make way for a redevelopment project. The building was closed June 30, 2014.

The council had expressed some reservation about the contract because the firm had not submitted a plan for using local small and emerging businesses in the project. DeNovo officials told the council Tuesday that they will subcontract 24 percent of the work to a Lincoln business certified with Omaha’s Small and Emerging Business program.

Patrol Releases Name of Northeast Nebraska Crash Victim

fatal-accidentMACY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a man who was killed in a rollover crash in northeast Nebraska.

The Nebraska State Patrol says in a news release that 21-year-old Noah Parker was ejected from his vehicle when it crashed around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday on U.S. Highway 75, four miles south of Macy. He was alone in the vehicle.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash.

Nebraska Man Gets New Trial on Count of Practicing Law without License

judgeshipOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man sent to prison for practicing law without a license and taking money for it has been granted a new trial on one count.

Authorities say Clinton Brooks Jr. accepted $1,500 to give legal advice and draft documents in 2011 for a man seeking divorce and child custody. Brooks, who has never been licensed to practice law, was convicted in 2014 and sentenced to 15 to 35 months in prison for theft and 3 months for the unauthorized practice of law.

The appeals court agreed with Brooks that the trial court wrongly instructed the jury to consider periods of time that Brooks was accused of practicing without a license before June 2012. The appeals court said that violated the 18-month statute of limitations.

Brooks’ theft conviction was upheld.

Man Suspected of Killing Omaha Police Dog Dies in Custody

omaha-policeOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man suspected of killing an Omaha police dog while holding officers at bay for more than 25 hours has died in custody.

The Douglas County Department of Corrections says in a news release that 59-year-old Mark L’Heureux was taken from the jail to an Omaha hospital Tuesday afternoon.

The release does not say how L’Heureux died. Douglas County Chief Deputy Sheriff Tom Wheeler said Tuesday that his office is investigating, adding, “I don’t know if his death was medical or otherwise.”

L’Heureux was being held on $1.5 million bail on weapons charges and a count related to the dog’s death.

Police say L’Heureux shot the dog, named Kobus, twice on Jan. 22 as officers tried to serve a warrant ordering him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Man Who Killed Blair Woman as Teenager Resentenced in Case

gavel-and-scaleOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A judge has imposed the same sentence on the second man who as a teenager raped, robbed and bound a Blair woman in a car, which was sent hurtling into the Missouri River.

A judge sentenced 49-year-old Brian D. Smith to 90 years to life in prison Monday for the January 1983 crime that led to the death of 21-year-old Mary Jo Hovendick.

It was the same sentence given to 50-year-old Dale Nollen last month.

The men initially were sentenced to life in prison in May 1983. The new sentences were prompted by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says judges must have the ability to sentence juveniles to something other than an automatic life term.

The men will be eligible for parole in 12 years with credit for time already served.

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