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Woman Apologizes to Nebraska Church for 50-Year-Old Sin

first-plymouth-churchLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An Oklahoma woman has apologized to the First-Plymouth Church in Lincoln for a “sin” that she says she committed 50 years ago.

The Rev. Jim Keck, the senior minister of the church, received an anonymous letter from a Tulsa woman, who said that she was writing to make peace with a sin she committed as a little girl. The woman said that she shattered one of the church’s windows with a rock.

A $300 money order was included with the letter. Keck says the money might not cover the cost of the damage, but that it was more than enough, spiritually.

Keck says the church experiences a fair amount of vandalism and theft since it is open to the public.

Nebraska Court Says Cases Tainted by Prosecutor’s Misconduct

ne-court-of-appealsOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Court of Appeals has reversed the kidnapping and rape conviction of a Lincoln man, finding that the misconduct of a Lancaster County prosecutor unfairly swayed the jury in his case.

Frederick McSwine was convicted by a jury of kidnapping, first-degree sexual assault and other counts for allegedly forcing a woman from her apartment at knife-point and raping her in October 2012. He was sentenced in 2013 to 57 to 85 years in prison.

On Tuesday, the state appeals court found that the Lancaster County prosecutor in the case knowingly providing false information to the jury during his closing arguments in the case.

Because of that, and the failure of McSwine’s defense attorney to object, the appeals court determined that a new trial must be held.

Omaha English Teacher Accused of Sex Assault on Student

Bryan Black
Bryan Black

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 36-year-old English teacher at a west Omaha high school has been charged with sexually assaulting a student at the school.

Bryan Black, of Omaha, also is charged with enticement by electronic communication device and visual depiction of explicit sexual conduct. All three charges are felonies.

Prosecutors say Black began a relationship with a Millard North High School student in September. The girl made her allegations on Friday, a day before Black was arrested. On Tuesday a judge set bail at $250,000 and scheduled a preliminary hearing for March 31.

Black’s attorney, Joseph Howard, has said Black will be pleading not guilty.

The Millard district has placed Black on paid administrative leave.

Fremont Schools May Soon Require Geography, Personal Finance Classes

fremont-neFREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Fremont students would have to learn more about the world and personal finance in order to graduate, under a proposed revision of district requirements.

The school board rendered its preliminary approval of the measure on Monday.

Darin Kelberlau is executive director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, and he told the board the revision is predicated in the district’s social studies state standards.

The proposed changes will affect the graduating class of 2019, which will be next fall’s freshman class. The revised policy wouldn’t include drastic changes for graduation, but it would require every student to take a couple of courses that previously could have been electives.

Bellevue Council Nixes Proposal for Citizen Code of Conduct

city-of-bellevueBELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — The Bellevue City Council has rejected a proposed “Citizen Code of Conduct.”

The council took the action Monday night, following public criticism and a lawsuit warning by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska.

City administrators had said they wanted a policy that would help the city deal with residents who cause problems for city staffers.

Council President Paul Cook said at Monday’s meeting, however, that the city instead can do better by training staff and developing internal procedures to deal with people whom city employees determine consume too much staff time.

The ACLU’s Amy Miller said in a letter to the city that the proposed policy was unconstitutionally vague and would have covered speech that is protected by the First Amendment.

Allied Insurance Cutting 140 Lincoln Jobs in a Few Years

workforceLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Allied Insurance is giving employees lots of notice about job cutbacks at its regional office in Lincoln.

140 jobs will be eliminated in claims and customer service between 2017 and 2020. That will slice the Lincoln workforce in half.

Eric Hardgrove is a spokesman for Nationwide Insurance, which owns Allied, and he says the company wanted to give employees plenty of time to find other jobs, either with Allied or Nationwide or elsewhere.

Hardgrove says the jobs will be eliminated by attrition as much as possible, and employees who don’t find other jobs will be offered severance.

He says the Lincoln jobs likely will be consolidated to either Des Moines, Iowa, where Allied is based, or Columbus, Ohio, where Nationwide is based.

Driver Killed in Holt County Crash

fatal-accidentINMAN, Neb. (AP) — A 56-year-old O’Neill woman has died after crashing off U.S. Highway 20/275 in northern Nebraska.

The accident occurred west of Inman on Saturday. The Holt County Sheriff’s Office says Debra Christensen’s westbound vehicle crossed the center line and eventually slid sideways into a roadside ditch and rolled, landing on its top.

Christensen, who was ejected, was taken to an O’Neill hospital and then flown to Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City, Iowa. Mercy Medical Center spokeswoman Dianne Krier (kreer) said Tuesday that Christensen died around 5 p.m. Sunday.

Iowa Inmate Who Left Work Release Back in Custody

jailSIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A prison official says an Iowa work release inmate who’s been on the loose since Jan. 1 has been apprehended.

Corrections Department Assistant Director Fred Scaletta said Tuesday that Timothy Denney was caught somewhere in Nebraska. Denney was placed on escaped status after he didn’t return to the work release center in Sioux City on New Year’s Day.

Denney was sentenced in August 2004 to 15 years in prison on convictions for robbery and going armed with intent. He’d been transferred to work release on Oct. 8.

Nebraska Mom Accused of Driving Drunk with Baby Inside Car

omaha-policeOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police have arrested a 31-year-old mother they believe was driving drunk with her 1-month-old girl in the back seat.

According to a police report, officers spotted a vehicle last week leaving a gas station and saw it swerve, nearly hitting a patrol car and another vehicle.

Police pulled over the vehicle, and noted the woman appeared highly intoxicated and smelled of alcohol. The woman denied drinking and refused to take alcohol tests, but police say she had a hard time standing up.

The woman faces a charge of driving under the influence.

Omaha Woman Must Repay Social Security Administration $125K

social-securityOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha woman who was found guilty of bilking the Social Security Administration out of nearly $125,000 over a 20-year period has been ordered to repay the money she stole.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 48-year-old LaTosha Bolton must pay back the $124,960 she stole from the Social Security Administration. A jury found Bolton guilty in October of stealing government property and mail fraud.

The office says from 1993 until 2013, Bolton received Supplemental Security Income benefits on behalf of her child who has a disability. The jury determined that Bolton didn’t use the money for her child as required by law.

Bolton was sentenced to more than a year in prison and three years of supervised release in addition to the ordered restitution.

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