OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man is taking road repair into his own hands by patching hundreds of potholes near his home over the past several years.

62-year-old Steve Robinson lives on a street that, like others in the area, is not paved with concrete and makes the driving surface very rough.

Robinson estimates that by summer’s end he will have spent $10,000 on 10 tons of pothole patch.

The streets are part of an estimated 300 lane miles in Omaha that weren’t built to city code, which the city stops maintaining once those roads become too worn down.

Robinson says he would prefer that Omaha city crews at least “did minimal maintenance.”

Mayor Jean Stothert said Tuesday she plans to formalize a city ordinance to pay for at least half the cost of street pavement.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — Cargill will celebrate the $111 million expansion of its plant in Columbus this week.

Gov. Pete Ricketts and other state officials are expected to join company executives at the plant Thursday.

The project converted the plant from a ground beef operation to a cooked meat facility that makes cooked ground beef, sausage and hot dogs.

Cargill says it expects to eventually have about 460 employees at the plant to handle peak production. That’s up from 240 before the conversion.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An inaugural ceremony will take place next week for Nebraska’s newest target court: the Lancaster County Veterans Treatment Court.

The special court is just for veterans, similar to drug courts especially for non-violent, first-time offenders better served by treatment than jail.

The veterans court ceremony is set for Wednesday afternoon in Lincoln’s City-County Building.

The new court is only for veterans who’ve suffered traumatic brain injury or developed post-traumatic stress disorder as the result of serving in a combat zone.

Participants would have to plead guilty to their crimes before being allowed to enter the special court. Their charges would be dismissed if they complete requirements set by the judges.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The Grand Island City Council has hired a company to assist the city with deciding how to use land that will become available when the veterans home moves to another town.

The council unanimously voted Tuesday to approve a resolution to enter into a contract with Olsson Associates to review possible uses for the land.

Jeff Palik of Olsson says the company intends to have multiple public meetings to gather input from Grand Island residents on the land’s new purpose.

Mayor Jeremy Jensen says there are many residents who feel the land should be given back to the veterans and urges citizens to “trust that we are doing things the right way” by preserving the heritage of the Grand Island Veterans Home.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service has announced that Grand Island’s main post office will relocate from downtown to a building on the western edge of town.

The announcement was made Friday. The new office will be on Old Potash Highway.

The Postal Service says the move is being made to save money. The postal service is currently leasing the downtown post office space. The new office will be in a building already owned by the Postal Service.

The postal service will continue to operate out of the current downtown location until the new facility is open sometime before June 1, 2018.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln middle school industrial arts teacher and former Nebraska football player has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault of a child.

39-year-old Sean Applegate was arrested Thursday after police say a woman reported that she had been molested by him at his Lincoln home between 2013 and 2014, starting when she was 15.

An email from school officials Friday night informed parents of the arrest. The email says there is no indication the arrest is related Applegate’s work at Pound Middle School. Applegate has been placed on administrative leave.

Applegate was a wingback for the Huskers from 1996-99.

A phone number for Applegate couldn’t be found Saturday, and it was not clear whether he had an attorney.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Police say a crash of a pickup truck into people praying outside a Lincoln Planned Parenthood clinic was unintentional.

The truck jumped a curb Friday when its driver veered to avoid a slowing vehicle in front of him, hitting three people on a sidewalk outside the clinic. The three were taken to a hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.

A witness tells the newspaper that the crash happened as about 200 people were praying outside the clinic. A spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln says anti-abortion protesters usually gather outside the clinic once a week.

Lincoln police are investigating. The driver was cited for negligent driving.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha officials are reviewing the practice of police offering rides in a department helicopter to the highest bidders in at least a half-dozen fundraisers.

City Council President Ben Gray began questioning the practice after Police Chief Todd Schmaderer donated a helicopter tour of Omaha two weeks ago to a Roncalli Catholic High School fundraiser. The event raises money to support the school, which is Schmaderer’s alma mater.

Gray says that that while offering an inside look at police work is well-meaning, the ride “went a little far. It didn’t follow (the state law) chapter and verse.”

Common Cause Nebraska chairman Jack Gould says that offering public equipment for a payment, even for charity, is illegal.

City officials have canceled rides recently won by bidders.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A woman suspected of abusing a child at an Omaha day care has been taken into custody in Iowa.

Omaha police say 58-year-old Lynn Rowe is charged with intentional child abuse, no injury, and was being sought on an arrest warrant. Police said Friday that she turned up in Missouri Valley, Iowa. Her attorney declined to comment.

Police say the parents of a 4-year-old girl reported April 3 that Rowe had abused their 4-year-old daughter while at Rowe’s day care.

Here’s a link to the video:

https://www.facebook.com/collinruanewowt/videos/1319749138122107/