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Ex-clerk at center of Nebraska town theft cases dies

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former city clerk accused of stealing from several southeastern Nebraska villages has died.

60-year-old Ginger Neuhart died at Mary Lanning Healthcare in Hastings on Tuesday, a day after pleading guilty to theft and agreeing to pay restitution to Alvo of $39,000. Her sentencing had been set for May 29. It’s unclear how she died.

Neuhart was also facing charges forgery and theft charges in Saunders County. She was accused of embezzling from the villages of Ithaca and Memphis while working as clerk/treasurer.

The charges followed Nebraska State Auditor reviews that found Neuhart had altered her monthly paychecks to add $1,000 to $2,000 to them after they’d been signed.

The audits found $160,500 in fraudulent payments to Neuhart since 2005 from Memphis coffers; $41,000 in overpayments in Ithaca since May 2013, and $105,000 from Alvo over seven years.

Lawsuit filed by woman in massage therapist sex assault case

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A woman has filed a lawsuit against the Omaha massage and spa business, saying it’s liable for her sexual assault by one of its employees.

The lawsuit was filed Friday in Douglas County District Court against Oasis Massage & Spa and seeks an unspecified amount in damages. It says Oasis failed to properly supervise 62-year-old Melvin Buffington, who has been criminally charged with 14 counts of sexual assault for incidents involving massage customers.

The woman, who goes by the pseudonym “Jane Doe” in the lawsuit to protect her identity, says Buffington sexually assaulted her in January, causing her mental anguish.

Lincoln parent group pushing for officers in middle schools

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A newly formed group of parents and grandparents is pressing the city of Lincoln and the Lincoln school district to put police officers in all 12 district middle schools.

Parents United For Greater School Safety asked the Lincoln Public Schools board and City Council to consider the proposal.

“We need these (school resource officers) to be a first-responder in the event of an incident,” said Greg Jeffers, a member of the group.

The Lincoln Police Department currently has six resource officers assigned to the district’s six high schools. The city pays for two-thirds of the cost and the district covers the rest.

The district previously had four school resource officers covering the middle schools until 2011, when officials decided the officers were needed for regular duty.

Adding the middle school officers would give more than half of the district’s students access to a resource officer, said Cheryl Bullard, a member of the parent group.

The group encouraged the city to apply for a federal COPS grant to help pay for the new positions. The grant would cover up to 75 percent of salary and benefits of police officers for three years, Bullard said. Those federal funds could drop the school district’s and the city’s contribution to as low as $187,500 annually.

City and school officials are discussing the possibility of adding school resources officers and hiring more officers to do a threat assessment, said Rick Hoppe, chief of staff for Mayor Chris Beutler.

School board committees are considering a variety of security issues, such as having social media-monitoring software to detect potential threats, improving school entrances, having sensors detect open doors and improving communication about lockdown drills and protocols.

Omaha zoo’s theater reopens after $1.2M renovations

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The theater in Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Nebraska has reopened after a $1.2 million renovation.

The zoo’s theater reopened Friday. It had been closed starting Jan. 15 for a revamp that included a new screen, sound system, chairs, carpet, lighting and cup holders.

The newspaper reports that the zoo ditched the Imax screen and replaced it with a 3-D 4K system. The new screen is smaller than the old one at 41 feet high and 75 feet long. Zoo officials say that will give the theater more film options and better sound quality. It’s also a cost saver compared to screening Imax movies.

The renovations were funded through donations. Films now screening at the theater include “Oceans: Our Blue Planet 3D” and “Meerkats.”

Woman accused of chasing bike before fatal crash sentenced

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha woman accused of angrily chasing a motorcyclist before the bike crashed into another, killing three people, has been sentenced to a year of probation.

57-year-old Rhonda Boisseau also had her driver’s license revoked for 30 days at Thursday’s sentencing. She was also ordered to take anger management and empathy classes.

Police say Boisseau chased the motorcycle in a road rage incident last June after confronting a group of bikers in a parking lot. Police say the motorcycle driver, 24-year-old Andrew Torrice, ran a red light in an effort to flee Boisseau, crashing into another motorcycle. The crash killed Torrice, 34-year-old Adam Kammann and his passenger, 37-year-old Christine Zadina.

Nebraska man pleads not guilty to Iowa sex assault charges

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A convicted Nebraska sex offender has pleaded not guilty to Iowa accusations that he sexually assaulted two women in Sioux City.

Court records say 30-year-old Zachary Person entered a written plea Thursday to six charges, including sexual abuse by a habitual offender, assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, serious assault and other crimes. No trial date has been set.

The records say he assaulted a woman at Morningside College on Feb. 12, 2017, and another woman the same night at a motel.

Nebraska records say Person, from Norfolk, was sentenced in October to 15 to 20 years for trying to assault a woman in Omaha. The Nebraska Sex Offender Registry says he’s also been convicted of sex crimes in 2012 in Dawson County and 2016 in Dodge County.

Grand jury will review death of Lincoln man during standoff

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A grand jury will review the weekend death of a 62-year-old Lincoln man because he died during a standoff with police.

A police report says psychiatrist Subramanyam Rajagopal died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his home Saturday.

Police closed streets near Nebraska Highway 2 and 40th Street for several hours during the standoff Saturday evening.

Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister says officers didn’t fire their weapons. They found Rajagopal dead with four gunshot wounds when they entered the home.

Rajagopal’s medical license was suspended from 1998 to 2007. State records say that a review committee found he was mentally and physically unfit. After he was reinstated, Rajagopal worked briefly at the Lincoln Correctional Center.

Police say man fatally shot in Lincoln; no arrests reported

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the shooting death of a 22-year-old man in Lincoln.

Officers sent to a residence a little before 2 p.m. Monday found a gravely wounded Edgar Union Jr. Medics soon pronounced him dead at the scene.

A neighbor who heard a gunshot reported seeing two or three people leave in a car shortly after the shot rang out. No arrests have been reported.

Man gets year in jail for leaving scene of fatal crash

YORK, Neb. (AP) — A York man has been given a year in jail for leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

56-year-old Douglas Sandall was sentenced Monday in York County District Court. He’d pleaded no contest in January.

Deputies found the body of 41-year-old Chad Chapman in a roadside ditch on Aug. 19, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) west of York. York County Attorney Christopher Johnson says Sandall was driving on Road 11 when he passed a truck parked in the road with a door open. Sandall reported that he thought he hit a gravel embankment, so he stopped to check the damage and saw the body in the ditch.

Johnson says Sandall went home. He and his wife soon returned to the scene, and she called 911.

Officials say 2 students injured in school bus-car collision

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say two students were taken to a hospital after the school bus they were in collided with a car in northwest Omaha.

The crash occurred around 6:55 a.m. Tuesday as about 20 students on board headed for Millard North Middle School.

Millard school spokeswoman Rebecca Kleeman told the Omaha World-Herald that the hospitalizations were “more precautionary than anything.” She also says other students’ families picked them up at school and took them to be medically checked.

The names of those involved and other details about the crash haven’t been released.

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