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Neb. Woman Found Guilty for Posing Nude at Lincoln Pius X

Valerie Dodds
Valerie Dodds

(AP) — A December sentencing has been scheduled for a woman who posed naked on a Lincoln Catholic high school campus.

Online court records say 19-year-old Valerie Dodds was found guilty of trespassing and public nudity after a nonjury trial before Judge Thomas Fox. He set her sentencing for Dec. 20.

Prosecutors say Dodds made various poses on the football field at Lincoln Pius X in May and then posted the photos on her adult website.

Dodds said on her site that the photo shoot was revenge against students and teachers who gave Dodds grief when she shared her plans for a career in porn.

Lincoln Man Who Dragged Officer Sentenced to a Year

Jermaine Dabney
Jermaine Dabney

(AP) — A Lincoln man who sped away from an arresting officer, dragging the policeman, has been sentenced to time served and released.

33-year-old Jermaine Dabney was sentenced Tuesday to a year in jail. Because he had spent the last year in jail awaiting trial, he was released.

Prosecutor say Lincoln Police Officer Luke Bonkiewicz stopped Dabney’s vehicle last November and learned that Dabney was wanted on a warrant. When the officer ordered Dabney out of his vehicle, Dabney refused, rolled up his window on the officer’s arms and sped off, dragging Bonkiewicz nearly 300 feet.

A Lancaster County jury found Dabney guilty in August of operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest, but not guilty of assaulting an officer.

Neb. Travelers Likely Won’t Have to Pay Toll to Cross Missouri River

no-tolls(AP) — Traveling over the Missouri River at Decatur, Neb., should soon be cheaper and a little quicker.

Motorists will no longer have to pay a toll to use the bridge, which links Nebraska and Iowa about half way between Omaha and Sioux City.

The change comes as the Burt County Bridge Commission turns over ownership of the bridge to Iowa and Nebraska.

Bridge manager Clark Beck says it’s good news for Decatur residents who will no longer have to pay the $1 toll to drive a car or pickup truck over the span. But he notes it also means the loss of more than a dozen part-time toll-taking jobs.

Iowa and Nebraska still must give final approval to the ownership change, but that’s expected soon.

Public Invited to Omaha Tree of Lights Ceremony

salvation-army(AP) — American National Bank in midtown Omaha will again be the site of The Salvation Army’s Tree of Lights.

The public is invited to the lighting ceremony of the giant Christmas tree on Friday evening. A special 125th anniversary illuminated display will also be unveiled.

Friday is also the day The Salvation Army’s red kettles and bell ringers begin appearing outside businesses in the Omaha area.

The campaign continues through Dec. 24.

The money collected during the six-week campaign supports Salvation Army programs and services throughout the year, including food pantries, housing, utility assistance, behavioral health services and education. All money raised through the Red Kettle Drive stays in the community where the funds are collected.

Nebraskan Denies Assaulting 2-Year-Old

nuckolls-county-sheriff(AP) — A 24-year-old man has denied sexually assaulting a child in the south-central Nebraska town of Hardy.

James Wheeler Jr. pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in a Nuckolls County courtroom.

Authorities say a baby sitter discovered Aug. 19 that the girl was assaulted.

Wheeler’s next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 7.

Upper Big Blue District Prepares Groundwater Limits

upper-big-blue-nrd(AP) — A proposed groundwater allocation plan is worrying several southeast Nebraska farmers.

More than 100 people attended a Tuesday hearing about the proposal at the Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District office in York.

The district oversees groundwater and other natural resources in Adams, Butler, Clay, Fillmore, Hamilton, Polk, Saline, Seward and York counties.

The district in 1990 set a groundwater trigger level for imposing limits. The current allocation proposal is 45 inches over five years, which would be imposed in 2015 if spring 2014 tests show the trigger level has been reached.

Farmers fear that such restrictions and other proposed regulations would cause crop profits to dry up.

The district board has no deadline for a decision and didn’t make one Tuesday.

Hall County Board Debates Facial Hair on Officers

Hall-County-Sheriff(AP) — Hall County supervisors have decided to split a few hairs but leave a grooming issue to the corrections boss.

The board on Tuesday considered a request to let corrections officers grow facial hair as part of a Christmas fundraiser for children at the Hope Harbor homeless shelter.

Board chairwoman Pam Lancaster described the proposal as “so on the edge.”

Corrections Director Fred Ruiz is on the shelter’s board of directors. He told supervisors he doesn’t like facial hair on the officers, preferring they maintain a professional look. But he said the cause is a good one.

The board asked Ruiz to shorten the proposed growing period to 100 days from 150 days and to ensure the beards, sideburns or mustaches are well-groomed.

Neb. Pardons Board Members Don’t Have to Testify

Judge Richard Kopf
Judge Richard Kopf

(AP) — A federal judge says the three members of the Nebraska Board of Pardons will not have to give depositions explaining the pardons of six people wrongfully convicted of a 1985 Beatrice murder.

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf’s order Monday granted the request of the Pardons Board members — Gov. Dave Heineman, Secretary of State John Gale and Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning — to quash plans to question them.

The order came in the lawsuits filed by James Dean, Kathleen Gonzalez, Debra Shelden, Ada JoAnn Taylor, Joseph White and Thomas Winslow. They were convicted in the 1985 murder of Helen Wilson and spent a combined 87 years in prison before they were exonerated in 2008 after DNA testing implicated another man.

They say Gage County officials fabricated and coerced evidence.

Omaha Woman Convicted in Gun-In-Ambulance Case

Justine Dubois
Justine Dubois

(AP) — An Omaha woman accused of pulling a gun on a paramedic has been convicted.

Twenty-four-year-old Justine Dubois made the pleas Wednesday to charges of threats, theft and other crimes. Her sentencing is scheduled for January. Prosecutors dropped other charges in exchange for Dubois’ pleas.

Dubois was arrested July 1, accused of driving a stolen car. Officers say she appeared to have a seizure in an Omaha police car. In an ambulance taking her to a hospital, she pulled a gun and started making threats. Police say two shots were fired as Dubois and a paramedic struggled over the gun. One shot hit Dubois in a leg. The other shot caused minor wounds to the paramedic’s abdomen.

Dubois admitted the gun was in the waistband of her pants.

Marijuana’s Tax Potential Attracting New Allies

marijuana-farm(AP) — Colorado’s hearty embrace of a 25 percent marijuana tax this week could prove a turning point for legalization backers. They’ve long argued that weed should come out of the black market and contribute to state revenues instead of prison populations.

But it’s too soon to say how much revenue the marijuana taxes in Colorado and Washington will produce when retail sales begin next year.

Colorado’s vote Tuesday showed there’s an appetite for the tax benefits, which the state estimates at nearly $70 million a year. Voters approved by a 2-to-1 margin an excise and sales tax that could add more than 25 percent to the sales price of weed.

Washington’s tax rate is steeper. Many will be watching to see how much the states collect and whether smokers stay in the black market.

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