HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A Hastings construction company has been fined for safety violations following the death of a worker there earlier this year.

Television station KSNB reports that the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined M&M Industrial Construction $17,000 for six safety violations that investigators say led to the man’s death.

Rafael Ayala Orozco, of Grand Island, died Jan. 26 when he fell about 60 feet from a platform at a fertilizer plant construction site near Hastings.

An OSHA investigation determined that the 39-year-old Orozco was not using fall protection at the time of his death. OSHA says the company violated federal safety codes covering use of aerial lifts, use of hoists and rigging, training and fall protection.

OSHA says M&M Industrial has since taken steps to comply with federal regulations.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man accused of helping kill another man in Lincoln over a drug debt has taken a plea deal.

Lancaster County District Court records say 36-year-old Paul Clark pleaded no contest Tuesday to assault and weapons charges. Prosecutors dropped or lowered other charges, which included kidnapping and second-degree murder. He’s accused of helping 37-year-old Dominic Aguirre kill 35-year-old Phillip Madlock on June 28 last year.

Clark’s sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 25.

Aguirre has pleaded not guilty to murder, kidnapping and other charges. His trial is set to begin Feb. 4.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Health officials say a resident of the Omaha area has died from complications related to the West Nile virus.

The Douglas County Health Department said Wednesday that the person was 66 or older, had been hospitalized and had underlying health conditions.

The department says the number of Douglas County cases is significantly higher than last year. The 11 cases to date in Douglas County include 10 confirmed in the past week, compared with seven for all of 2017.

The virus is spread to people through the bites of mosquitoes that fed on infected birds. Most people who test positive will either have no symptoms or mild flu-like signs. Some may experience headache, body aches, vomiting, fatigue or weakness.

The disease can be fatal. The state reported two deaths last year.

WAVERLY, Neb. (AP) — A Waverly mother accused of being drunk and rolling onto her infant son, smothering him, has pleaded not guilty to a felony child abuse charge.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that an attorney for 35-year-old Ashley Bean issued a statement Wednesday criticizing the sheriff’s investigation into the baby’s death. He says a thorough medical examination would have shown the boy died from sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS.

Investigators say Bean was highly intoxicated Dec. 17 when she fell asleep in the bed with her son, Axel Xavier Arizola, causing his death.

Court documents say Bean’s blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.19 percent, more than twice the legal limit to drive, two hours after deputies were called to the home.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — State officials say an insect that’s killed millions of ash trees in the U.S. has been found further west into Nebraska.

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture says the emerald ash borer has been found in Lincoln and Fremont. The insect was found in a baited trap in Lincoln set up by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of a national survey.

In Fremont, an ash tree with signs indicating an infestation was also recently discovered.

Infected trees usually lose leaves at the top of the canopy and the die-off spreads downward. The trees usually die within four years.

The insects are native to Asia and were first reported in the U.S. in Michigan in 2002. They were first detected in Nebraska in Omaha and Greenwood in June 2016.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska school board has decided to leave the words “gender” and “sexual orientation” out of anti-discrimination policies for students and staff.

The Hastings Board of Education made the decision Monday after spending months considering potential updates for the district’s policies on discrimination, harassment and retaliation. The board ultimately opted to add “other protected statuses” to the local school district’s anti-discrimination policy.

The policy currently includes protections “on the basis of sex, disability, race, color, religion, veteran status, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, pregnancy or childbirth or related medical condition.”

About 50 people attended the Monday board meeting to discuss the issue, including former Hastings High School student Jake Rundle. The 2004 graduate said he came out as gay during his senior year and said having an anti-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation would help students feel accepted.

“I want you to remember you have an inclusive policy, yes, but you are excluding someone who is already in a minority … (this policy is) giving a student who might be afraid to go to school a little peace of mind that everything will be OK because I’m OK,” he said.

But resident James Carson told board members that he’d prefer that the anti-discrimination policy take on similar language to the district’s separate anti-bullying policy, which doesn’t have specific groups or classifications.

“The best policy is to be inclusive, not create separate classes,” he said.

Board member Bob Sullivan, who is also an attorney, said the additional language would open up the district to lawsuits. Sullivan also said he believes parents should handle issues of sexual orientation and gender at home.

“The parents have the greatest influence on their children, and we have to let them take care of how they teach their children things like sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, marriage and love and those types of things,” he said.

Board member Laura Schneider said those who support the gender and sexual orientation protections should petition lawmakers to make changes at the state or federal level.

An Endangered Missing Advisory has been activated to determine the whereabouts of Charles Folsom.

An Endangered Missing Advisory has been issued for Eastern Nebraska. The Fremont Police Department is attempting to locate Charles Folsom, who is a 90 year old, white male, approximately 5’09″ tall, approximately 145 pounds, with hazel eyes and who is bald. Folsom was last seen wearing a black and white checkered shirt and black pants. Folsom currently has a sling on his right arm and drives a 2006 Gray Chevrolet Equinox bearing Nebraska license plate number 5-B2344. Folsom was last seen in the Fremont, Nebraska, at approximately 11:00 a.m. on August 21, 2018. If you have any information, please call 911, or contact the Fremont Police Department at 402-727-2677, immediately.

For more information visit our website at https://nsp.ne.gov/ema.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha-based company has agreed to pay a $500,000 fine levied by federal regulators citing spill protection violations at production facilities in Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says Ag Processing Inc. didn’t have adequate Clean Water Act protections at several vegetable oil and biodiesel production facilities. The facilities are in Algona, Eagle Grove, Everly, Manning and Sheldon, Iowa; Hastings, Nebraska, and Dawson, Minnesota.

AG Processing also will be installing an electronic monitoring system on seven large crude soybean oil storage tanks at its Everly and Emmetsburg, Iowa, facilities.

The settlement’s consent decree is subject to 30 days of public comment and review by a federal court.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — A man has been imprisoned for robbing a bank in downtown Fremont.

The Fremont Tribune reports that 53-year-old Leonard Lovell was sentenced Monday to four to eight years. He’d pleaded no contest to robbery.

Police say Lovell entered the U.S. Bank branch on April 18 and soon handed a note to a teller that threatened violence toward the bank and employees. He displayed no weapon.

Lovell was caught about 15 minutes later in the bank’s vicinity.

He said in court Monday he knows “it was a very foolish and very wrong thing for me to do.”

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have rescued goats, rabbits, a tortoise, a dog and more than 200 chickens found on a Grand Island property.

The animals were seized Thursday and Friday. An animal control officer said some of the animals were dying as they were being moved. Several carcasses also were found, as well as chicken bones.

Officials say the property owner is being cited for the excessive number of animals on the property, their condition and the lack of shelter, food, and water.