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2 Dead, Several Hurt After 2 Crashes in Butler County

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RISING CITY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say two people died and at least four others were hurt in two weekend crashes in Butler County.

The fatal accident happened Saturday evening on U.S. Highway 81, north of where it meets Nebraska 64.

The Nebraska State Patrol says alcohol was a factor in that crash when a motorcycle and car collided. The name of the deceased person wasn’t immediately released.

Earlier Saturday, a Ford F-150 pickup rear-ended a minivan as it tried to turn off of Nebraska Highway 92 east of Rising City.

The Butler County Sheriff’s office says one of four people in the minivan — 8-year-old Calleb Prellwitz of Rising City — died.

Three others in the minivan and the woman driving the truck were also taken to hospitals.

Omaha Crash Kills Berkshire Hathaway Investor from India

fatal-accidentOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An investor from India who attended Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting Saturday has died in a two-vehicle crash, and three other people were hospitalized with injuries.

The crash happened before 7 a.m. Sunday in midtown Omaha. A 2014 Volkswagen Jetta was struck by a 2011 Chevrolet pickup.

Omaha Police said 60-year-old Parag Parikh of Mumbai, India, died at a local hospital. His wife, 59-year-old Geeta Parikh was in critical condition with head and chest injuries.

Two others in the Volkswagen — 42-year-old Rajeev Thakkar of Mumbai and 29-year-old Raunak Onkar of Maharastra, India — sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Shailesh Shah says Parag Parikh was a stockbroker and his brother-in-law. Shah told the World-Herald that all four were in Omaha to attend Berkshire’s shareholder meeting.

Lincoln Police Officer Cleared in Fatal Dog Shooting

lincoln-policeLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln police say the officer who fatally shot a dog charging at him earlier this year didn’t violate the department’s rules.

Lincoln Police Chief Jim Peschong said an internal investigation determined that Officer Jason Papke didn’t use excessive force in the March 21 incident.

Papke was looking for a teen involved in a disturbance when he encountered the 9-year-old pit bull named Opie. The dog was on a leash, but Peschong says the officer couldn’t see the leash in the dark when the dog charged.

Peschong says Papke had not had department training on handling aggressive dogs because he was hired after the most recent session.

Two Lincoln police officers have shot and killed dogs this year.

Ex-Doctor Seeks 2 Separate Trials for 2008, 2013 Omaha Killings

Anthony Garcia
Anthony Garcia

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former doctor charged with killing four people with ties to an Omaha medical school in separate attacks in 2008 and 2013 is seeking separate trials for the killings.

Attorneys for Anthony Garcia will ask a Douglas County District judge on Monday to order separate trials in the March 2008 slayings of Dr. William Hunter’s 11-year-old son and the family’s housekeeper and the May 2013 killings of Dr. Roger Brumback and his wife, Mary.

Defense attorneys Bob and Alison Motta of Chicago argue that trying the cases together could unfairly sway jurors.

But a major piece of prosecutors’ case is that Garcia was motivated by revenge for being fired from Creighton’s pathology department in 2001 by Roger Brumback and William Hunter.

Omaha Man Shot in Leg in Fort Dodge, Iowa

fort-dodge-iowaFORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — Police in central Iowa are investigating the shooting of a Nebraska man in the leg.

29-year-old Alex Clayton, of Omaha, Nebraska, suffered injuries not expected to be life-threatening in the Friday morning shooting.

Police Chief Kevin Doty says officers were called to Trinity Regional Medical Center around 12:30 a.m. Friday for a man being treated for a gunshot wound in the emergency room.

Doty says officers tried to speak with Clayton and witnesses and are tracking down leads in the case. No arrests have yet been reported.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Fort Dodge Police Department or Webster County Crime Stoppers.

Omaha Public School Teachers, District Strike Pay Deal

omaha-psOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha Public Schools and its teachers union have struck a deal for a new contract that would give teachers raises over the next three years and increase the starting salary for new teachers.

But, the deal would also require employees to pay more toward health care.

Megan Neiles-Brasch, the district’s attorney and chief negotiator, says the Omaha Education Association voted Friday to ratify the three-year contract. The union covers about 4,100 teachers.

Teachers will receive a 5.2 percent pay raise next year, a 2.7 percent raise for the 2016-17 school year and a 5.7 percent raise in 2017-18.

In return, employees will contribute 3 percent more toward health insurance for the first two years and 4 percent more in the contract’s third year.

UNL to Open Student Veterans Resource Center in Fall

UNLLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s student military veteran population will soon have a center dedicated to supporting them with all aspects of university life.

UNL’s new Student Veterans Resource Center will open in the fall and be located in the Nebraska Union. Its mission will be to support student veterans’ transition to academic life and provide services related to them.

The center will provide academic and transition coaching and peer mentors to help student veterans in and out of the classroom. Darrell Everhart, a retired U.S. Navy captain, will be the center’s founding director. Everhart is an academic success coach at UNL and the adviser for the university’s Veteran Student Organization.

Last fall, UNL had more than 500 veterans or dependents enrolled who received Montgomery GI or Post-9/11 educational benefits.

Omaha Choir Offers Release for People with Disabilities

good-newsOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A choir group for people with physical and cognitive disabilities has held its first performance on the University of Nebraska at Omaha campus.

The Heartlight Choir made its public debut Thursday at the college’s Community Engagement Center. It’s the largest program organized by Gotta Be Me, a local nonprofit dedicated to the inclusion of people with disabilities.

Tiffany Clifton founded Gotta Be Me last November. She said the nonprofit’s purpose is to introduce the community to people with disabilities, as well as provide those people with activities.

The group has met every Monday for choir practice since its inception. Its members have varying degrees and types of disabilities, including Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and verbal dysphasia.

Nebraska High Court: Judge OK Not to Recuse Self from Case

ne-supreme-courtOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court says a farmer who dug around for information on the landowning business of the judge hearing his lawsuit had no right to then expect the judge to excuse himself from the case.

The decision came in the case of Thomas Kalkowski, who sued a foundation from which he leased land over an irrigation issue.

While the lawsuit was pending, Kalkowski sought information from an official about property owned by the judge overseeing his case. The official, believing Kalkowski wanted to buy the property, contacted the judge.

Kalkowski then sought to have the judge removed, saying he should not have talked to the official, and that the judge’s leasing of land to a farmer was similar enough to Kalkowski’s situation as to create a conflict of interest.

Nebraska 17-Year-Old Takes Responsibility for 4 Crash Deaths

fatal-accidentOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 17-year-old Gretna boy has accepted responsibility for causing a three-vehicle collision that killed four people on Easter Sunday.

The boy admitted his role on Thursday in Douglas County Juvenile Court. He was charged with four counts of misdemeanor vehicular homicide. He’ll be sentenced next month. The Associated Press generally doesn’t name juveniles accused of crimes.

The accident occurred around 8:30 p.m. on April 5 northwest of Omaha. Authorities say the boy was driving a pickup north and didn’t halt at a stop sign at an intersection with Nebraska Highway 36. The pickup knocked an eastbound vehicle into oncoming traffic, where it was struck by a westbound vehicle. The four killed were in the eastbound and westbound vehicles.

The boy and his teenage passenger were hospitalized.

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