LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A 29-year-old who used a BB gun to threaten another man has been sentenced to a year in jail.
Arthur Richardson, a transient, was sentenced on Wednesday. He’d pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault. Prosecutors had lowered the charge from felony threats and dropped a felony charge of strangulation, in return for Richardson’s plea.
Police say Richardson was walking with another man on Nov. 29 when the other man made a comment that upset Richardson. Police say Richardson pulled out what looked like a handgun and pointed it at the man’s face. The man and another struggled with Richardson for control of the weapon, but he fended them off and left. The weapon turned out to be a BB gun.

 

 

PLEASANTON, Neb. (AP) – A 53-year-old man hired as a live-in caregiver for a 71-year-old south-central Nebraska woman has been accused of abusing and threatening her.
Authorities say Gary Buchanan is charged with felony abuse of a vulnerable adult and felony terroristic threats. Buchanan was arrested last week.
Authorities say Buchanan was hired to help the woman and moved into her home about nine months ago. On April 17 she reported that he was physically and verbally abusing her. She also told Buffalo County deputies that in the past, Buchanan put a gun to his head and said he was going to kill her and himself.
A Buffalo County jailer said Buchanan remained in custody on Wednesday, pending $50,000 bail. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

 

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) – A man killed in an accident involving trucks at a railroad crossing in Hastings was the safety officer for the Wood River Volunteer Fire Department.
A pickup driven by 52-year-old Neal Sahling was struck by a truck that crossed over into his lane Tuesday morning. The Nebraska State Patrol says a truck had stopped at the railroad crossing. It was hit in the rear by a semitrailer, pushing it into Sahling’s pickup.
Wood River Fire Chief Todd King says the department is shocked and grieving the loss of Sahling, whose first concern was always safety.
Wood River is 30 about miles northwest of Hastings in south-central Nebraska.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Lincoln authorities say an autopsy has been scheduled on the body of a toddler.
Lincoln Police Capt. Jim Davidsaver said that police and firefighters were called to a Lincoln residence around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday. They found the body of a child who appeared to be under 3 years old.
Police have not characterized the nature of the subsequent investigation. No arrests have been reported, and the names of those involved have not been released.
The autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

 

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) – About 400 employees of Aurora Bank in Scottsbluff have been given layoff notices.
They work for the Aurora Loan Services division that is being bought by a Lewisville, Texas-based mortgage company, Nationstar.
Aurora Bank FSB is a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy in 2008.
Nationstar Executive Vice President says his company has talked to Aurora’s managers and supervisors and will be holding a job fair Wednesday and Thursday to talk to the rest of the employees. He says Nationstar intends to hire a significant number of the Aurora employees.
The purchase is expected to close May 31. The deal includes the Aurora Loan Services building.

 

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) – A South Carolina man convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Fremont in 2008 has been sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison.
Thirty-year-old Joshua Keadle, of Swansea, S.C. was sentenced for first-degree sexual assault on Tuesday in Dodge County District Court. A jury last month rejected Keadle’s impotence defense and found him guilty of assaulting the girl in a college residence hall.
Keadle sought a new trial, which the judge rejected on Tuesday.
Keadle was a student at what was then Midland Lutheran College. His accuser, now 18, didn’t report the crime until 2011, after Keadle was questioned in the disappearance of a Peru State College student, Tyler Thomas, in December 2010. No charges have been filed against Keadle in that case.

 

 

ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) – Officials believe an equipment malfunction may have caused a major power outage in Alliance in the Nebraska Panhandle.
The outage happened Monday night and lasted for more than four hours. The blackout also affected Hemingford, which lost power for about an hour.
Alliance officials believe there was an equipment problem with the city’s electric supplier, the Western Area Power Agency.
City Manager J.D. Cox the utility is still sorting out the problems and will update the city as more information becomes available.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Alegent Health is acquiring Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, a move that will make the not-for-profit healthcare provider a primary teaching site for the university’s health science schools.

Officials of both institutions announced the acquisition of the medical center from Creighton University and Tenet Healthcare on Tuesday. The transaction is expected to close by July 1. No financial terms are being disclosed. Alegent would also assume operations of Creighton’s physician group. Creighton Medical Associates.

Creighton University President Timothy Lannon says the affiliation will provide more training opportunities for students.

Creighton is a Jesuit university and has over 4,200 undergraduates and 3,500 professional school and graduate students. Alegent Health is sponsored by Catholic Health Initiatives and Immanuel. CHI has more than 70 healthcare facilities across the United States.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – First lady Michelle Obama will speak at a charity lunch in Omaha on Tuesday.
Obama is the featured speaker at Tuesday’s fundraiser for Girls Inc. After the lunch, Obama will speak at campaign events in Omaha and Des Moines, Iowa.
Michelle Obama is just the latest in a long line of prestigious speakers who have helped Girls Inc. raise money. Past speakers have included President Barack Obama, who appeared in 2005, and billionaire Warren Buffett.
Girls Inc. provides educational and recreational programs for girls.

 

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A judge has ruled that United Healthcare can intervene in a lawsuit filed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska over the state’s planned switch to United Healthcare for health insurance.
Blue Cross had sued earlier this month, alleging improper lobbying on United Healthcare’s behalf.
Judge Steven Burns on Monday approved United Healthcare’s request to intervene.
Nebraska officials have said switching health insurance companies will save taxpayers and state employees a combined $8 million annually, so the state plans to change to United Healthcare on July 1.
Blue Cross officials have argued the change actually will cost an additional $10 million per year because of limits in the United Healthcare network.