Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 201
PROCEEDINGS ANTELOPE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Neligh, Nebraska March 12, 2024 Chairman opened the meeting. Notice of meeting published as required by statute. Approved agenda. Tabled minutes of the 4-2-2024 BOC meeting. Approved payroll. Approved vendor claims. General: AMERITAS LIFE INS CORP ins 19,887.11; ANTELOPE CO COURT ex 50.00; ANTELOPE CO SHERIFF ex 126.33; APPEARA ex 33.28; APPLIED CONN TECH ex 7,620.75; BLACK HILLS ENERGY ut 207.68; BCBS ins 67,690.28; BROCKHAUS-HARLAN FUNERAL HOME ex 2,000.00; CARNEY LAW ex 3,800.00; CASEYS ex 2...
How does Antelope County define an unimproved road? "An unimproved road is defined as any officially-declared minimum maintenance road and any road not graded or contains surfacing material," county zoning administrator Megan Wingate told commissioners. The question of who is responsible for upgrades to an unimproved road occupied discussion amongst commissioners when they met in regular session, April 2 and again April 9. According to county attorney Joe Smith, county resident Gary Yoder...
A plea agreement was initiated in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh last week, prior to a Beatrice man’s arraignment on March 28 charges. Christopher A. Palmer, 29, pleaded guilty to Count I as charged, obstruct a peace officer, a Class 1 misdemeanor; and an amended Count II, drive under suspension, a Class 3 misdemeanor. Antelope County prosecutor Joe Smith reduced Count II from a Class 2 misdemeanor, driving under revocation, and dismissed counts III and IV, no proof of financial responsibility and unlawful/fictitious display of p...
Koda Fernau, 20, of Neligh was an 18-year-old Summerland High School student when he made comments on a school bus and at a Neligh workplace in September 2022, comments that resulted in his arrest on a felony terroristic threat charge. According to arrest affidavits, while riding on a Summerland bus Sept. 2, 2022, Fernau commented about purchasing a firearm and, while at work on Sept. 9, threatened to “shoot up” a Summerland bus. Fernau pleaded guilty early this year to a Class 1 misdemeanor charge of third-degree assault (threaten another in...
County court cases in Antelope County are routinely heard by the Honorable Donna Taylor, one of three county court judges presiding from benches in the Nebraska’s Seventh Judicial District. Last week, Taylor passed a case to one of her peers. The Honorable Ross Stoffer will travel to Neligh to hear a case involving a former Neligh police officer, Michael D. Wright. Wright is set for further arraignment May 1. Bond is continued at $5,000, 10% cash. Referring to previous work through Antelope County involving Wright as an officer, county p...
Two defendants who are accused of absconding from post-release supervision appeared in front of the Honorable James Kube in the Antelope County district courtroom in Neligh last week. Haiden Sleister denied information to revoke his post-release supervision. Kube set an evidentiary hearing for April 24. He was remanded to the custody of Antelope County sheriff Bob Moore, pending posting of $5,000, 10% cash bond. Sleister’s court-appointed attorney, Brad Ewalt of Norfolk, requested bond modification to personal recognizance. Antelope County a...
Two South Dakota men were sentenced to prison last Wednesday, March 27, by the Honorable James Kube in the Antelope County district courtroom at the courthouse in Neligh. Christopher Barta, 29, Irene, was sentenced for aiding the consumption of a felony. Kube sentenced Barta to one year in a facility under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, the maximum jail sentence allowed for the Class 4 felony. He must serve at least six months before his mandatory release. Barta received credit for 65 days previously...
Joaquin S. Echeverria, 28, of Brenham, Texas, (in custody) appeared in front of the Honorable Donna Taylor in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh last week for preliminary hearing. Escheverria is accused of a Class 1C felony, possession of more than 28 grams of methamphetamine, with intent to deliver. Antelope County attorney Joe Smith called Nebraska State Patrol trooper Seth Miller to the stand. Miller testified that Escheverria possessed 74-76 grams of methamphetamine when he was stopped for speeding Feb. 19. Miller also testified that...
Sentencing on a 90-year-old Tilden man’s latest conviction of violating a harassment protection order was delayed last week after court officials discussed his felony charge in Pierce County. The Honorable Donna Taylor granted a defense request to delay sentencing for the third time, in Denis Kerkman’s current Antelope County case, after hearing that a felony charge of violating of the same protection order in Pierce County had been bound over to district court. Local sentencing was previously scheduled Feb. 7 and Feb. 21 and was continued eac...
An Elgin man, who had moved from Arizona last fall, has learned about icy road conditions and Nebraska law regarding vehicle and driver’s licenses. Tyler S. Zawacky, 30, of Elgin appeared in front of the Honorable Donna Taylor in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh on March 6 for pretrial hearing on Count I, leaving scene of property-damage accident, a Class 2 misdemeanor; Count II, no proof of financial responsibility, a Class 2 misdemeanor; and Count III, fictitious plates, a Class 3 misdemeanor. Pursuant to a plea agreement with a...
Joaquin S. Echeverria, 28, of Brenham, Texas, (in custody) appeared in front of the Honorable Donna Taylor in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh last week for preliminary hearing. Escheverria is accused of a Class 1 C felony, possession of more than 28 grams of methamphetamine, with intent to deliver, alleged Feb. 19. Antelope County public defender Pat Carney requested continuance. Taylor continued the hearing to March 20. Escheverria was remanded back to the custody of Antelope County sheriff Bob Moore, pending posting $100,000, 10%...
Two defendants, who were recently arrested on warrants issued Feb. 1, appeared in front of the Honorable James Kube in the Antelope County district courtroom in Neligh last Wednesday morning. Harley J. Snyder, 21, last known address, Lincoln, and Haiden Sleister, last known address, Oakdale, were both in the custody of Antelope County sheriff Bob Moore. Snyder had turned himself in to Lincoln authorities, while Sleister was arrested at the Madison County Jail when he posted bond on charges alleged there. Both men requested court-appointed...
Kristopher Dorrie, 39, of Albion appeared in front of the Honorable Donna Taylor in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh last Wednesday, Feb. 21, on a third-degree assault charge. Dorrie pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement with Antelope County prosecutor Joe Smith. In return, Smith recommended a fine only. Although Dorrie testified he didn’t think the victim, Cody Luscomb, was injured, he agreed to pay Luscomb’s restitution claim of $500. “I picked him up and we went to the ground, no punches,” Dorrie said. “(Luscomb) said he was (i...
Two separate jury trials have been set for an Oakdale man accused of driving during revocation/suspension and other crimes in September 2023 and in January. Shane Sleister, 49, of Oakdale (in custody), appeared in front of the Honorable Donna Taylor in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh on Feb. 21, in the two similar cases. Sleister’s attorney, public defender Pat Carney, asked Taylor to set separate trials in front of different juries. Antelope County attorney Joe Smith estimated one- to two-day trial in each case. Taylor set the t...
Casey Dittrich, of rural Tilden, will serve as the District 5 commissioner for Antelope County. Dittrich was appointed Feb. 7, following interviews with Antelope County attorney Joe Smith, county treasurer Deb Branstiter and county clerk Lisa Payne. One other candidate, Duane Miller, also interviewed for the position which came available following the resignation of Keith Heithoff....
The Honorable Donna Taylor handed sentences down from the county court bench in Neligh last Wednesday, Feb.7. Joe Hurd served as prosecutor in the absence of Antelope County attorney Joe Smith. Kegan J. McAllister, 19, of Tilden faced Taylor for sentencing on a count of third-degree domestic assault, committed July 6, 2023. Antelope County public defender Pat Carney asked the judge to consider probation. He said the assault was not a “fist to cuffs type of thing.” Taylor noted a presentence report did not recommend probation because of sev...
The Honorable Donna Taylor presided over Antelope County court at the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh on Feb. 7. Handling prosecutor duties in the absence of Antelope County attorney Joe Smith was Joe Hurd, special deputy county attorney. Denis Kerkman, 90, of Tilden faced Taylor for sentencing on his latest conviction of violating a harassment protection order. Although Hurd indicated he had no evidence regarding sentencing, other than what was included in a presentence investigation report, he recommended probation with no jail time, a...
Several defendants either admitted to committing crimes or allowed themselves to be found guilty by pleading no contest when they faced the Honorable James Kube in the Antelope County district courtroom in Neligh last Wednesday, Jan. 31, Plea bargains with Antelope County attorney Joe Smith were announced in five cases, with defendants set for sentencing March 27. Koda Fernau, 19, of Stanton appeared with his court-appointed attorney, Ryan Stover, of Norfolk, charged with a Class 3A felony, terroristic threats, related to . He pleaded guilty to...
A one-day bench trial scheduled for Monday in the Antelope County district courtroom in Neligh did not occur, due to an 11th hour plea deal. Rider C. Short, 23, of Oakdale appeared with his attorney, Frederick Bartell of Norfolk, facing charges included in a second amended information filed by Antelope County attorney Joe Smith on Oct. 25, 2023, Count I, operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest, a Class 4 felony, with notation that the charge included the willful reckless operation of the vehicle; Count II, unauthorized use of a propelled...
Residents in Antelope County District 5 will soon know who will serve as their supervisor following the resignation of current supervisor Keith Heithoff. Antelope County Clerk Lisa Payne announced that applications will be reviewed during a public meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m., in the commissioners' meeting room at the courthouse in Neligh. County attorney Joe Smith, county treasurer Deb Branstiter and Payne will conduct the interviews. The individual selected must be a...
Ryan Brummels, 23, of Ewing appeared in front of the Honorable James Kube in the Antelope County district courtroom in Neligh last Friday, Jan. 19, to be sentenced for first-degree sexual assault of a minor, a Class 2 felony committed Dec. 26, 2022. After reviewing a report provided by the Nebraska probation office and school records submitted by the defendant, Kube found Brummels was not a suitable candidate for probation, indicating a sentence lesser than incarceration would depreciate the seriousness of the offense and promote disrespect...
Jeffrey A. Reinke, 35, of Omaha faced the Honorable Donna Taylor last Wednesday, Jan. 17, in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh, in a five-year-old case. He was charged with Count I, leave accident, fail to furnish information, a Class 2 misdemeanor, and Count II, no operator’s license, a Class 3 misdemeanor. Reinke’s attorney, Gregory Pivovar of Bellevue, had filed a motion to dismiss or discharge, on Jan. 14. He indicated, in the motion, that neither the complaint filed Feb. 26, 2018, nor a warrant issued in May 2018, were ever ser...
Shane Sleister of Oakdale appeared in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh last week, for trial on an Oakdale nuisance violation, alleged last February on his property at 606 Rath Street. Special village assistant attorney, Joe Smith, had previously offered a deal after some abatement work was completed by the defendant. Smith agreed to dismiss the charge if Sleister paid $50 court costs. Sleister did not comply and the case was set for trial. Sleister, who was self-represented, told the Honorable Donna Taylor that two vehicles that remain...
Denis F. Kerkman, 90, of Tilden appeared in front of the Honorable Donna Taylor in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh on Jan. 3, for pretrial conference on a charge of violating a protection order, a Class 1 misdemeanor. Kerkman pleaded guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement. In return, Antelope County attorney Joe Smith agreed to recommend probation, with no jail time. Taylor ordered a pretrial investigation and set sentencing Feb. 7. Bond is continued, in the amount of $20,000, 10%, with an order for no contact, neither direct nor...
Since we're writers, we, at SAM love lists. Trust us, we keep and use them every single day. But, how does one determine which articles should be at the top of the yearly list? In the past, we've based it by reader count from our website. This year, we're still relying on reader count, featuring the top-read article by month. We wrote nearly 2,000 articles in 2023 and, while some of our favorites don't appear on the list, we're sure these are a newsworthy representation of the Summerland region....
