GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (North Platte Post)- A traffic stop for speeding landed an Arizona man in the Hall County Jail, after a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol seized 99 lbs of marijuana from the trunk of his car.

Just before 8:00 p.m., on Friday, Dec. 16, a trooper stopped an eastbound 2008 Chevy Malibu for speeding on Interstate 80 near Alda in Hall County. An NSP canine alerted to the odor of marijuana coming from the rear of the vehicle. A search of the vehicle led to the seizure of 99 lbs of wrapped baled marijuana from the car’s trunk.

The driver and lone occupant of the car, William R. Reid, 75, Mesa, AZ, was arrested and lodged in the Hall County Jail on a charge of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.

 

STANTON, Neb. (AP) – Authorities say a dog and a Nebraska State Patrol helicopter have been used to help find an armed man in a rural, wooded area in northeast Nebraska.
Deputies were sent to a residence Sunday evening. Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger says a man had left the residence carrying a gun, and there was concern the man might harm himself.
The man was found about 2 1/2 hours later in northeast Stanton County and taken to Faith Regional Health Services in Norfolk for evaluation. His name was not released.
No injuries to the searchers or the man were reported.

 

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) – A Kimball city councilman charged with sexually assaulting a mentally disabled teenage boy wants his trial moved out of Scotts Bluff County.
Scott Haun was charged in October with first-degree sexual assault on a child more than 12 years of age but less than 16. His trial is set for March.
Haun’s attorney, Don Miller, filed several motions this week, including a request for a change of venue, citing pre-trial publicity.
According to court records, the alleged abuse took place in September at the boy’s home in rural Scotts Bluff County. Haun has denied the allegation. Haun, who has been on the Kimball City Council for a total of 12 years, says he won’t resign.

 

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska’s longest-serving death row inmate has withdrawn his request to act as his own attorney.
Carey Dean Moore last week asked a Douglas County district judge to let him file pleadings, motions and other legal documents. But in paperwork filed Thursday, Moore says he’s changed his mind.
Moore was convicted of murder for killing cab drivers Maynard Helgeland and Reuel Eugene Van Ness in 1979. Six days before Moore was scheduled to be executed in 2007, the state’s high court issued a stay because it wanted to consider whether the electric chair should still be used. Nebraska lawmakers have since replaced electrocution with lethal injection as the state’s preferred method of execution.
Moore’s execution has faced additional delays because of controversy over one of the drugs required for the execution.

 

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. (AP) – Millions of dollars for a major construction project at Offutt Air Force Base are included in a defense authorization bill that’s been sent to President Barack Obama for his signature.
The measure approved by the U.S. Senate on Thursday includes money for U.S. Strategic Command’s new headquarters facility at Offutt, which sits next to Bellevue, south of Omaha.
U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Ne., says the new facility is needed so StratCom can carry out its nuclear, space and cyberspace missions.
Construction could begin next year.

 

MCCOOL JUNCTION, Neb. (AP) – The entertainment has been chosen for next year’s Cattlemen’s Ball, which raises money to support cancer research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Country music singer Justin Moore will headline the event that will also feature a fashion show, silent auction, art show and wine tasting. A magician and Barney Fife impersonator will also perform.
Moore’s hit songs include “Small Town USA,” “If Heaven Wasn’t so Far Away” and “Backwoods.”
The 2011 Cattlemen’s Ball raised a total of nearly $1.5 million, and since its inception, the event has raised more than $6.29 million.
The 2012 ball is scheduled for June 1-2 at McCool Junction.

 

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) – A 20-year-old Columbus man has pleaded not guilty to a charge that he stabbed another man to death in a motel parking lot.
The trial for Ozzy Tilden is scheduled to begin on April 16. He’s charged with first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon.
Tilden is accused of stabbing 36-year-old Jerry Garcia during a fight in the parking lot of the Sundown Motel in Columbus on Oct. 8.

 

CRETE, Neb. (AP) – Authorities have blamed a heater for starting a fire in a horse stable near Crete.
Two adult dogs and nine puppies were killed in the fire that began about 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Damage to the stable and its contents was estimated at $40,000.
Owner Scott Blomker said that the puppies’ mother was one of the adult dogs that died. The other adult dog was due to give birth in two weeks.
Blomker says he has “to be thankful we were able to save the rest of our dogs.”

 

JACKSON, Mich. (AP) – Michigan authorities say they’ve arrested a Nebraska man wanted for murder.
Jackson County Sheriff Steve Rand says a deputy stopped Craig Johnson’s car about 4:30 a.m. Thursday, but the driver hit the gas as the officer approached the vehicle.
After a 10-minute chase on Interstate 94, Johnson’s car was disabled with “stop sticks,” which puncture tires. Rand says the 46-year-old Johnson is charged with the death this week of a 42-year-old woman in Cheyenne County, Neb.
The sheriff says he doesn’t know why Johnson was in Michigan. He says Johnson is staying silent. The suspect will remain in jail until he waives extradition or is ordered back to Nebraska.

 

NEMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The estimated size of the mess created after a bulldozer ruptured two fuel pipelines has been reduced considerably, but the 119,028-gallon spill remains one of the worst in Nebraska.
Pipeline operator Magellan Midstream Partners cut its estimate of the spill’s size on Tuesday to less than half its original 252,000-gallon estimate. The spill that started Saturday included gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
The pipeline southwest of Nemaha has been repaired and resumed operations Monday. But the cleanup of spilled fuel will take longer because some soil will have to be replaced and a nearby creek must be cleaned up.
This incident remains the biggest pipeline spill in Nebraska since 2001. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration says the next-worst spill happened in 2007 when 72,450 gallons spilled.