We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Ashland Man Gets 20-25 Years for Punching, Shaking Baby Son

jailWAHOO, Neb. (AP) — A 22-year-old Ashland man has been imprisoned for injuring his 2-month-old son.

The office of Saunders County Attorney Steven Twohig (TOO’-ihg) says Scott Neemann was given 20 to 25 years in prison for child abuse.

Online court records say the boy had breathing problems and was taken to an Omaha hospital on June 19 last year. Doctors discovered the boy had a skull fracture, a broken leg and other injuries consistent with being shaken.

A court affidavit says Neemann told an Ashland police officer about punching and shaking the child. Neemann told the officer he was frustrated because the baby wouldn’t stop crying.

Court records say Neemann was sentenced on April 13.

Omaha Woman Battling Rare Cancer Fighting Taxes on Donations

irsOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha woman who’s been fighting a rare cancer says she’s now battling the Internal Revenue Service, which says she owes nearly $15,500 in taxes on donations

Doctors found tumors throughout Casey Charf’s body when they were searching for injuries she suffered in a 2013 accident. People who learned of her plight through the GoFundMe website contributed nearly $50,000 to help pay her medical expenses.

But the 20-year-old Charf said the IRS notified the Charf family last month that the nearly $50,000 collected through GoFundMe should’ve been claimed as income. The IRS wants more than $19,100 in back taxes, penalties and interest.

A tax expert told the station that the donations are gifts that shouldn’t be taxed. The IRS declined to discuss the case.

Flames from Fire Pit Spread to South Sioux City House

south-sioux-citySOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) — A blaze that spread from a backyard fire pit has damaged a house in South Sioux City.

Firefighters were sent to the home around noon on Sunday.

The homeowner says a toy caught fire in the pit, and the flames spread to the house exterior. The house sustained major damage outside and water damage inside. No injuries have been reported.

Texas English Teacher Named National Teacher of the Year

teacher-of-the-yearLUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — A Texas high school English teacher has been named the 2015 National Teacher of the Year.

The Council of Chief State School Officers announced the honor Monday for Shanna Peeples.

Peeples, who works at Palo Duro High in Amarillo, will be recognized by President Barack Obama in a ceremony at the White House on Wednesday.

She says growing up around domestic violence helps her connect with students who are refugees from war-torn countries and are traumatized by what they’ve seen.

She came to teaching after working as a disc jockey, medical assistant, pet sitter and journalist.

Peeples teaches AP English and serves as the English department chair and is an instructional coach for other teachers.

She is the first teacher from Texas to win the award since 1957.

2 Bellevue Officers Suffer Minor Injuries in Fracas

bellevue-police-patchBELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — Two Bellevue police officers sent to keep the peace have been treated for minor injuries after a fracas erupted over the towing of a vehicle.

The incident occurred outside an apartment building around 9:30 a.m. Sunday. The two officers were dispatched to calm a dispute between the tow truck driver and the vehicle owner and relatives.

Bellevue police Lt. Kurt Stroeher says the fracas began when officers tried to arrest someone who’d been blocking the tow truck. Stroeher says two of the people arrested kicked out windows in the police cruisers, and one of the officers was cut by the broken glass as he wrestled with one of the people.

Police say a total of four people eventually were arrested and will face a variety of charges.

‘Batman’ Killer Studied Brain Disorders Before Mass Murder

james-holmesCENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — James Holmes was becoming unhinged in the months before he dressed in a gas mask and body armor and began shooting at a packed midnight “Batman” premiere.

Prosecutors say the 24-year-old neuroscience graduate student told a classmate he wanted to kill people. He also threatened his psychiatrist, and began massing an arsenal of weapons, including thousands of bullets and enough chemicals to rig his apartment into a potentially deadly booby trap.

His trial starting Monday could finally help explain why a promising scientist-in-training would kill 12 people and wound 70 more during the July 20, 2012 attack in suburban Denver.

But experts say anyone looking for a single trigger or tipping point may be disappointed, since mass shootings often mark the end of a killer’s long decline.

 

Nebraska Girl’s Friends, Nurses Plan Prom for Her

childrens-hospital-omahaOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Hospital staff and friends turned 16-year-old Madison Hurd’s room into a prom when they learned she wouldn’t be able to attend the dance she helped plan at school.

Madison Hurd is being treated at Children’s Hospital in Omaha for a sepsis infection, so she was going to miss Milford High School’s prom.

Madison Hurd had been looking forward to the dance and had even worked a part-time job to pay for her dress.

Hurd’s mother, Catrece Hurd, said the nurses did a wonderful job of helping make prom happen for her daughter this weekend.

Madison Hurd says it’s awesome that everyone did so much work to make her hospital prom happen. Her boyfriend even dressed in a tuxedo and brought her a corsage.

Hall County Court Security Detail Regularly Makes Arrests

Hall-County-SheriffGRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Roughly once a week someone is arrested while entering the Hall County Courthouse either because of an outstanding warrant or something in their pockets.

Sheriff Jerry Watson said he tries to have a uniformed officer on hand at the security checkpoint in case an arrest needs to be made.

Between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014, 89 people were arrested on warrants at the courthouse. That’s up from 77 the previous year.

Sometimes people forget what they have in their pockets and go through the security checkpoint with something illegal, such as drug paraphernalia or a weapon.

Student Accused of Theft from UNL Fraternity

Dakota Grimm
Dakota Grimm

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 20-year-old University of Nebraska-Lincoln student is accused of taking nearly $9,000 from the fraternity for which he served as treasurer.

Dakota Grimm was charged Thursday.

Prosecutors say Grimm has worked as treasurer for the Theta Chi fraternity since March 2014. UNL police say that during that time, Grimm wrote 29 checks totaling $8,941 and took the money.

Assistant Chief Todd Duncan says members of the fraternity discovered the theft and reported it to UNL police Tuesday night.

Grimm, a sophomore, is charged with felony theft. Grimm has been released on $2,500 bond.

A telephone listing for Grimm could not be found Saturday. The Lancaster County Public Defender’s Office, which is representing him, could not be reached for comment Saturday.

Strategic Air and Space Museum to Get New Name, Logo

strat-air-and-space-museumASHLAND, Neb. (AP) — For years, the Strategic Air & Space Museum near Ashland has been colloquially known simply as “the SAC museum.”

Later this year, the museum’s name will officially include a direct reference to the Strategic Air Command, the Air Force unit that made its home at Offutt Air Force Base until 1992 and gave the museum its start in 1966.

The museum’s board recently approved a plan to change the museum’s name.

Museum officials will work with an advertising agency to come up with as many as five ideas for a new name and logo that will reflect the museum’s connection to the Strategic Air Command.

The choices will be presented to the museum’s board in June.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File