DEWITT, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 2-year-old Nebraska boy died after he was hit by a bus driven by his father.

The Beatrice Daily Sun reports the incident happened Saturday in the driveway of the family’s rural home about 5 miles east of DeWitt in southeast Nebraska.

Just before 1 p.m. Saturday, the family called for help after the boy was run over. Two-year-old Maddox Weber died at the scene.

The Nebraska State Patrol is investigating.

Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) arrested a Washington man following a traffic stop near Wood River on Interstate 80.

At approximately, 12:30 p.m. Saturday, a trooper observed an eastbound 2005 Lincoln Navigator traveling with a defective taillight on I-80 near mile marker 305. During the traffic stop, an NSP K9 detected the odor of a controlled substance coming from inside the vehicle.

Troopers searched the vehicle and found more than 6 pounds of marijuana, 1 gram of mushrooms, 78 grams of shatter, 2 grams of methamphetamine, and 43 grams of marijuana seeds. Troopers also found five swords in the vehicle.

The driver, Kasey Miles, 43, of Yakima, Washington was arrested for possession of marijuana – more than one pound, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession with intent to deliver. Miles was lodged in Hall County Jail.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha is planning a pilot project for electric scooters that would be available for rent at public spaces and could be left most anywhere in the city.

The scooters would be dockless, meaning they’d have no permanent home. The scooters would have GPS devices so users could find them. The devices would also enable the company that owns the scooters to find and retrieve them to be recharged for more use.

Scooter companies such as Lime and Bird operate across the United States and describe their services as affordable and convenient ways to get around. A company app would let people access the scooters.

The rental cost varies from city to city, but it generally costs $1 to start the scooter and 15 cents per minute of use.

Scott Dobbe, executive director of the urban planning organization Omaha by Design, said the scooters will be a good option for what urban planners call the last mile.

“They can fill a role as an option for those short to medium-length trips — traversing a few city blocks, or connecting the ‘last mile’ from a transit stop to home,” Dobbe told the Omaha World-Herald.

As many as three companies will be chosen for the pilot project, which will run from late March until mid-November. They companies would have to pay for the privilege: $10,000 for a permit, 50 cents per scooter per day, and 5 cents per ride per day.

The scooters likely would be barred from sidewalks and major thoroughfares with far higher speed limits than the scooters can scoot: about 15 mph (24 kph).

The GPS technology can keep scooters out of certain areas through “geo-fencing,” a virtual boundary that would disable the scooter if it entered a restricted area such as company grounds or a college campus

STANTON, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are searching for a man and motorcycle last seen on the ice of a lake in northeast Nebraska.

Dive teams were called in Monday to help search an area of open water spotted at Maskenthine Lake. He was last seen riding on Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t clear whether the open water was a result of the motorcycle or something else breaking through the ice. The lake sits about 2 miles (3 kilometers) north of Stanton in Stanton County.

The man’s name hasn’t been released.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln paramedic went on hundreds of emergency calls before the one that took he says took his soul.

Rob Ravndal said a service dog he acquired, Pride, has helped calm his anxieties but Pride couldn’t save his job.

The drowning of a 3-year-old in October 2015 sent Ravndal — a father of young children — into a spiral and an eventual diagnosis of a post-traumatic stress disorder. He struggled at home and at work.

“”After that (call) I … lost my soul,” he told the Lincoln Journal Star.

In May 2017 a therapist who specializes in working with first responders told Ravndal to take time off to heal.

He burned through sick time and vacation time until August 2017, when he took family medical leave. He returned to light duty at his Lincoln Fire & Rescue station a month later. He got worse.

Ravndal eventually spent weeks learning new coping strategies at the International Association of Fire Fighters Center for Excellence in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Ravndal said he emailed Fire Chief Michael Despain in January 2018, asking for accommodation under the Americans With Disabilities Act for the service dog he was getting.

On Feb. 20 Ravndal again asked to discuss bringing the dog, Pride, to work, but city officials said they needed other information about Ravndal’s medications.

The next day, Ravndal faced a tough decision: Show up for work on light duty — without Pride — or be terminated because his time under the Family Medical Leave Act had expired.

So Ravndal went to work.

On Feb. 22 Assistant City Attorney Don Taute told Ravndal his light duty was the city’s accommodation for his condition.

Ravndal’s therapist continued to push the city to let Ravndal take his service dog to work. On Aug. 27 Taute sent an email approving Ravndal’s request to have his dog at work for up to six weeks.

“In summary, the City is willing to allow the requested accommodation, but there must be considerable progress exhibited during the time the dog is with Mr. Ravndal in the workplace,” Taute said.

After those six weeks, Ravndal had to make another decision: He still couldn’t go out on emergency calls, so he had to take a disability retirement or be fired for exhausting his time on light duty.

He retired last September.

Ravndal still loves the department, he said, but not the way he was treated.

“I may have gone back to the rigs,” said Ravndal. “What is clear is that I tried to go back, and City Hall would have no part of making an accommodation.”

“It is the city’s position the handling of Mr. Ravndal’s case was done completely in compliance with the law taking into consideration the factual circumstances and medical information available throughout the pendency of Mr. Ravndal’s case,” Taute said in an email to the Journal Star. “The matter has now been voluntarily settled by the parties, and Mr. Ravndal is currently receiving full duty disability benefits pursuant to the provisions of the City’s Police and Fire Pension Plan.”

Since his retirement, Ravndal has focused on rebuilding the relationships with his family and considering the next step in his career.

“I still have bad days,” Ravndal said. “(Pride) doesn’t cure it, but it definitely makes it far easier to go and do things … and just stay focused. Life itself is not simply survival.”

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police are investigating Omaha’s first homicide in more than four months.

Omaha Police say 21-year-old Jacque Holbert was found early Sunday in northeast Omaha with a gunshot wound. He died later at a hospital.

Police said Holbert was in bed when he was wounded by gunfire outside.

Holbert’s death was the first homicide reported in Omaha in 125 days.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha’s power utility is reporting a spike in scammers calling its customers in the wake of harsh winter weather.

Omaha Public Power District reports that it learned of more than 100 scam phone calls by Friday alone. The utility says in a news release that the callers appear to be calling from a legitimate OPPD number and aggressively demand that customers pay overdue bills or for equipment.

The utility reports that such phone scams rose from 480 in 2017 to 714 in 2018. The calls tended to spike during bad weather.

The utility says it does not cold-call customers and demand immediate payment and warns any customers getting such calls not to give out personal information or credit or debit card numbers.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former Lincoln priest has been ticketed by police on suspicion of giving alcohol to a minor.

57-year-old Charles Townsend was cited last week. Police believe he gave alcohol to a 19-year-old at a Lincoln home in July 2017 while Townsend was still a priest, and later drove the intoxicated teen home. Townsend was later removed as a priest.

Townsend was formerly a priest at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in south Lincoln.

A message left Saturday at a phone listing for Townsend in Lincoln was not immediately returned.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Patrol says about 1,000 illegally-held anti-anxiety pills have been seized from an Omaha home.

The patrol says the Xanax pills were found Thursday after investigators served a search warrant at the southwestern Omaha home.

A 21-year-old resident was arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

Xanax is a prescription drug that is addictive and often abused.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A fired Omaha bar manager has been given 30 days in jail for harassing, grabbing and kissing female employees.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that 57-year-old John Thompson was sentenced Thursday in Douglas County Court after pleading guilty to four counts of third-degree assault. He had been charged with six counts of third-degree sexual assault and six counts of disturbing the peace.

In addition to the jail time, Thompson received two years of probation and was ordered to write letters of apology to each of six women he’s accused of harassing.

The women say Thompson touched their backs, buttocks and thighs and yelled insults and obscenities at them. One woman said he forcibly kissed her. The women received settlements of $10,000 to $40,000, but were required to sign nondisclosure agreements.