OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — No one was injured when a kiln in an Omaha middle school art room sparked a fire overnight.
The fire occurred Wednesday night at Beadle Middle School in southwest Omaha.
Authorities say the fire activated the school’s fire alarm and sprinkler system. Officials say the sprinklers put out the fire before firefighters arrived.
Investigators say the fire was confined to the art room and no students were in the school at the time.
BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District officials say the federal government won’t help pay for levee repairs around Offutt Air Force Base.
The district voted 10-0 last week to approve a $15 million application for the levee project from the Nebraska Natural Resources Commission’s water sustainability fund.
District officials had considered submitting a smaller application if federal money came through.
If the application is approved, state money will cover 60 percent of the project’s approximately $25 million cost. The district has pledged $5 million, and the city of Bellevue, Sarpy County and the city of Omaha have each pledged up to $3 million.
The repairs are needed to recertify 19 miles of levees that protect the base and surrounding area from flooding from the Missouri River.
NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska sheriff’s deputy jumped into the cab of a runaway semitrailer after the driver apparently passed out at the wheel, stopping the vehicle from possibly crashing off a busy viaduct bridge.
Deputies responding to a 911 call about a reckless semi on U.S. Highway 81 caught up with the truck in Madison County, but it wouldn’t stop.
The truck slowed as it neared Norfolk, 110 miles northwest of Omaha, allowing Deputy Todd Volk to leap into action. He jumped from a cruiser onto the highway, then into the truck’s cab, where he was able to stop the big rig on the bridge.
Volk says the driver appeared to be sick and officials said it may have been a diabetic reaction.
The incident happened Dec. 2.
NEWCASTLE, Neb. (AP) — Officials say a northeast Nebraska house fire sparked by a propane tank explosion has injured one firefighter.
The firefighter was taken to a taken to a Sioux City, Iowa hospital Monday after battling the house fire at Newcastle, Nebraska. Newcastle is about 34 miles northwest of Sioux City.
Newcastle Volunteer Fire Chief John Kneifl (kah-NEE-fahl) says the explosion occurred about 10:30 p.m. Monday.
Kneifl says the firefighter’s injuries were not life-threatening.
Kneifl says a man and his dog were inside the home at the time of the explosion, but escaped unharmed.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Grand Island police are investigating the death of 33-year-old man earlier this month, saying a preliminary autopsy has shown the man was asphyxiated in bed.
Eric Lathrop died early Dec. 7 staying at the home of a friend in Grand Island.
Police say the man’s death is suspicious. Investigators are awaiting final autopsy results, which may not be available for several weeks.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln fire investigator says a bathroom light overheated and ignited a fire inside a vacant downtown building.
The fire occurred before 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Investigator Damon Robbins says a trespasser inside the building likely left the ceiling light on in the bathroom on the northwest side of the building.
The fire burned through the walls of one of the rooms inside, but was under control shortly within an hour. No one was in the building at the time of the fire, but two firefighters suffered minor injuries in bringing the fire under control.
A fire investigator is working to determine how much damage was done to the building owned by New Generation Investments LLC.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln high school math teacher has been charged Monday with driving drunk for a third time.
41-year-old Terry Harms, of Cortland, was stopped by a city police officer around 2 a.m. Saturday.
The officer says Harms smelled of alcohol and that his blood alcohol level registered at .165 percent — more than twice the legal limit to drive in Nebraska.
Harms teaches at Lincoln North Star. He pleaded not guilty Monday to third-offense DUI and not having a valid registration.
Court records show Harms was convicted of drunken driving in 2007 and 2011.
School district officials say they are reviewing the case and that Harms has been asked not to return to work until a decision on his employment is reached.
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COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — Police in the eastern Nebraska city of Columbus have said they will not cite a 94-year-old driver who hit and injured a woman Friday in a pharmacy parking lot.
The decision followed a police investigation into the accident.
According to a police report, the 94-year-old man was attempting to back out of a parking stall Friday afternoon at Bob’s U-Save Pharmacy when he accidentally put the vehicle in drive.
His car then accelerated onto the sidewalk and hit a 42-year-old Columbus woman, who was pinned between the vehicle and building.
Police say the woman was taken by ambulance to Columbus Community Hospital for injuries that weren’t life-threatening.
The crash caused an estimated $5,000 damage to the pharmacy building.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 15–year-old boy is facing two first-degree murder charges for his role in the shooting deaths of two Omaha teens.
The 15-year-old was charged Monday in connection with last Wednesday’s fatal shooting of 18-year-old James Star and 17-year-old Brandon Phelps. He is being held at a juvenile detention center without bail.
Two other teens boys, ages 17 and 18, have been charged with conspiracy to commit a felony in connection with the shootings.
The Associated Press typically does not name juveniles charged with crimes.
Prosecutors says the teen suspects were trying to buy guns before the shooting began.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A crash between a church van and another vehicle just north of Colon has killed one person and injured about seven more.
Saunders County Sheriff Kevin Stukenholtz says a northbound church van carrying about 12 passengers tried to make a U-turn and crashed into a southbound vehicle around 8 p.m. Monday on Nebraska 109.
One person inside the other vehicle died and the other was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
About half a dozen passengers from the van were taken to local hospitals with injuries that aren’t considered to be life-threatening.
A firefighter directing traffic also sustained an injury that’s not life-threatening.
Stukenholtz says officials are working to identify everyone involved. The person who died hasn’t been identified pending notification of family members.
