SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) – A Nebraska Panhandle man charged with vehicular homicide and manslaughter in the death of a passenger wants his case to be heard by a judge, not a jury.
19-year-old Bryan Bloom, of Henry, waived his right a jury trial during a pre-trial conference on Thursday in Scotts Bluff County District Court.
Bloom was driving a van to Torrington, Wyo., on June 20, 2011, when a passenger, 18-year-old Johrdan Stone, stuck his head out the window and was hit by a road sign.
Bloom told police he didn’t know Stone had been hurt until they arrived at a home in Torrington. Stone died of neck and head injuries.
Officials say Bloom was driving drunk. Court documents show Stone also had been drinking.

 

GERING, Neb. (AP) – A Kimball city councilman accused of sexually assaulting a mentally disabled teenage boy has pleaded no contest to a lesser charge.
Scott Haun was charged in October with first-degree sexual assault. He pleaded no contest to attempted first-degree sexual assault on Thursday in Scotts Bluff County District Court. He faces up to 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced June 11.
Haun has been on the Kimball City Council for a total of 12 years.
Under Nebraska law, council members convicted of crimes while in office must resign.
Haun resigned Thursday morning prior to his plea hearing. The council will hold an emergency meeting April 25 on the vacant seat.

 

WASILLA, Alaska (AP) — Don’t bogart that bottle, my friend.

In the counterculture world, “420” is the code for cannabis consumption, and April 20 — or 4/20 — is the holy day.

On this April 20, the Alaska Distillery is introducing its hemp seed vodka.

This is the same company that two years ago brought you smoked-salmon flavored vodka.

Now they’re importing hemp seeds from Canada to distill their newest product.

But don’t worry about getting any extra buzz. The hemp seeds are sterile, and the government makes sure there’s no THC in them.

The makers say the hemp makes the vodka a tad sweeter and gives it a hint of nut. While they say it’s a good drink straight up, you can also make a mean cosmo with it.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska Panhandle man charged with vehicular homicide and manslaughter in the death of a passenger wants his case to be heard by a judge, not a jury.

19-year-old Bryan Bloom, of Henry, waived his right a jury trial during a pre-trial conference on Thursday in Scotts Bluff County District Court.

Bloom was driving a van to Torrington, Wyo., on June 20, 2011, when a passenger, 18-year-old Johrdan Stone, stuck his head out the window and was hit by a road sign.

Bloom told police he didn’t know Stone had been hurt until they arrived at a home in Torrington. Stone died of neck and head injuries.

Officials say Bloom was driving drunk. Court documents show Stone also had been drinking.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas prison officials have removed all inmates housed at a county jail after four escaped, including a convicted murderer who remains at large.

Department of Corrections spokesman Jeremy Barclay says the 18 inmates who were being held at the Ottawa County Jail because of state prison overcrowding have been returned to a state facility in Ellsworth.

Barclay says the temporary decision was made after four inmates escaped Wednesday morning from the jail in Minneapolis, a town about 120 miles west of Topeka.

Two of those men, including a convicted killer, are still missing Thursday.

Barclay says the move is temporary as the department investigates the escape and reassesses placing inmates in the jail.

Kansas allows some county jails to house prison inmates under state contracts to help alleviate prison overcrowding.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska environmental officials have released the new proposed corridors for the Keystone XL pipeline that avoid the state’s Sandhills region.
The developer’s preferred route unveiled Thursday would run through Keya Paha, Holt, Antelope, Boone, Nance and Merrick counties before connecting with the route the company had originally proposed. It would still exit the state through Jefferson County.
Pipeline developer TransCanada says its new preferred corridor affects the fewest number of landowners, leaves the smallest environmental footprint, minimizes the risk to workers constructing the pipe, and reduces erosion risk.
Gov. Dave Heineman signed a bill this week that will allow a state review of the Keystone XL pipeline through Nebraska to proceed. The original route would have cut through Nebraska’s environmentally sensitive Sandhills.

 

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) – A Scottsbluff man has been sentenced to at least 50 years in prison for sexually abusing a child and physically abusing other children.
34-year-old Eric Rocha was sentenced for first-degree sexual assault of a child and felony child abuse on Wednesday in Scotts Bluff Count District Court. He was convicted in February of sexually abusing a 7-year-old child and beating three other children.
Rocha was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for sexual assault and three to five years on each of the four counts of child abuse.
The abuse came to light after the children were interviewed by state authorities. The children are in state care.

 

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) – Two southeast Nebraska people have been given a year behind bars because one of them asked the other to stab her.
22-year-old Jessalyn Stierwalt, of Beatrice, was convicted of obstructing government operations. Authorities say Stierwalt asked two friends to stab her in the abdomen and shoulder last July so she could avoid going to a probation appointment the following morning. She later told authorities she needed time to “sober up.”
Court records say one of the friends was 20-year-old Scott Roberson-Turman, of Fairbury, who also was sentenced on Wednesday.
The other friend, 33-year-old Jerry Duke II, of Beatrice, is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday.
Gage County District Judge Paul Korslund said Stierwalt’s scheme “takes stupidity to a new extreme. It’s just unbelievable.”

 

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) – A 34-year-old Beatrice man who tossed explosives into the Big Blue River while boating has been given 18 months of probation.
In a deal with prosecutors, Grant Crannell had pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of attempted assault, criminal mischief and use of an explosive without a permit. He was sentenced on Wednesday in Gage County District Court.
Crannell also most perform 20 hours of community service.
Authorities say Crannell was throwing the explosives into the river from a crowded boat on Aug. 13 when one of the devices detonated under the craft. A pregnant woman suffered minor injuries when she and others were thrown into the water. The fetus was not harmed.
Court records say the explosives were homemade devices about 5 inches long, wrapped in tape.

 

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) – The Adams County Board of Supervisors has barred the use of paunch manure as a soil supplement.
The board resolution was passed on Tuesday.
Paunch manure is the partially digested material taken from an animal at the time of slaughter.
The board’s resolution allows dewatered byproducts from animal processing plants to be applied on farmland, as long as there is a use permit and the material has been composted.
The Adams County Planning and Zoning Commission chairman, Jim Kostal, says the resolution protects the health and welfare of county residents, because paunch manure is an extremely noxious and hard-to-manage material.