Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Mental health treatment within the criminal justice system plays a pivotal, yet often overlooked, role in both the well-being and rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals. This is often overlooked by the general population due to attitudes against the incarcerated and the lack of overall media attention. It is my belief that change needs to take place. Firstly, while many in society have negative outlooks on incarcerated or previously incarcerated individuals, most fail to realize that approximately 45% of Americans have had an immediate...
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...
Transitioning to become a parent can be one of the most pivotal changes in a person's life. Rarely are the hard moments of this change talked about enough. For example, did you know one in five women and one in 10 men suffer from postpartum depression? Parents of any culture, race, age or income level can be affected. We commonly hear and get confused about postpartum depression being the "baby blues." This is a common misconception. The baby blues are very common and happen to 80% of women in...
As the conversation and stigma surrounding mental health continue to evolve, access to care, or lack thereof, remains a barrier, even in the presence of heightened public awareness and empathy. “We need kind of both,” Dr. Marley Doyle said. “We need an increase in mental health awareness. But then we also need an increase in access to care. Because if you don’t have both, then it’s not going to really improve things.” Doyle, a psychiatrist serving as director of the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska, said the shortage of mental h...
The Honorable James Kube handed two defendants, who had been convicted of two misdemeanor counts apiece after accepting plea deals in August, concurrent 18-month probation sentences during the Oct. 25 session of Antelope County district court at the courthouse in Neligh. They were also informed of their right to petition the court to have their convictions set aside after successful completion of their probation. Jordan Knievel, 22, of Neligh faced Kube for sentencing on two Class 1 misdemeanors, third-degree assault and obstruction of a peace...
Aristotle is said to have referred to the female as a mutilated male, and this philosophy seems to have carried forward into much more modern times. In 1977, official FDA guidelines recommended that women of “childbearing potential” be excluded from early stage clinical trials. Men, particularly white men, were considered the ideal model, from which the success and side effects of any particular treatment could be judged. Somehow, women’s menstrual cycles made them too difficult to study, while...
At a time when people's trust in government is waning, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers issued an opinion that the Legislature's Office of the Public Counsel, better known as the Ombudsman's office, is unconstitutional. The office exists to promote accountability in government by independently and impartially investigating issues related to state agencies and employees. The departments of Health and Human Services and Corrections, which are subject to this oversight and often make...
Michael F. Doty, 30, Norfolk, formerly of Page, appeared in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh for sentencing May 31, on a count of making terroristic threats, a crime committed last June in Orchard. Upon questioning by the Honorable James Kube, Doty said he had only a vague recollection of threatening his sister and brother-in-law June 28, 2022, at their Orchard home. He said he was under the influence of alcohol and methamphetamine at the time. He told Kube he is currently living in a...
Confront the tough truth that each of us will eventually die? In my years as an internist caring for young and old alike, some people understand this early and some people never get it. In denying death, we intensify our fear of it. Usually, however, it is sometime during their 50s that people first look into the eyes of death. Put it off as we may, the hard certainty is that we are all aging and one day an end will come. Shakespeare described advanced age in his play "As You Like It," Act II,...
A 54-year-old O’Neill man was sentenced last week after he was found to be in possession of child pornography in 2021. Mark P. McDermott faced the Honorable Mark Kozisec in the Holt County district courtroom in O’Neill on Jan. 9 for sentencing on two Class 2A felony counts of possessing visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct. Kozisec sentenced McDermott to a three-year term of probation, 60 days in the Holt County Jail, with credit for 14 days previously served and taxed him $147 costs of prosecution. Provided he loses none of his goo...
The Honorable Donna Taylor passed sentence on two individuals and denied requests from a woman sentenced earlier in the year when she presided from the bench of the Antelope County court in Neligh on Oct. 19. Ryan J. Pelster, 22, of Petersburg faced Taylor, alongside his attorney, Brad Montag of Norfolk, for sentencing in Antelope County and Madison County cases. Prior to the judge passing sentence, Montag presented a counseling discharge summary and photos of the victim and his client in the Madison County case, as addendums to the...
It’s tempting to blame the pandemic for the dizzying rates of mental health concerns among American teens. We are all familiar with the impact Covid is having on our lives and the disruption it continues to cause in the lives of young people. Kids witnessed vehement disagreements between neighbors, friends and family over the decisions that had to be made in response to the pandemic, and felt the stress at home as parents faced economic and work changes, all without many of their usual s...
The Honorable Mark Kozisec sentenced a 19-year-old O’Neill man last week in the Holt County courtroom in O’Neill, for crimes committed Aug. 5, 2021. Drake D. Ruegge was sentenced to four years of probation and 90 days in the county jail, with credit for four days previously served, for Count I, possession of a controlled substance (oxycodone), a Class 4 felony, along with probation for Count IV, third-degree domestic assault, a Class 1 misdemeanor. As part of his probation, Ruegge was ordered to initiate in-patient alcoholism/mental health tre...
Summertime. For most, this signals thoughts of warm weather and good times with family and friends. Sadly, what brings happiness for some can trigger stress and sorrow for others. In the words of a Vietnam War veteran, "The fourth of July was once my favorite holiday with friends and family ... but now it is a day I wish never existed." Now ask, what could this veteran, a victim of a farming accident, a female sexual-abuse victim, a child who lost his mother to domestic violence and a survivor o...
WARSAW, Poland – The 3-year-old was too sick to leave his hotel room. He has had congenital heart disease since he was born. A second surgery was already planned for when he turned three. Then the war started. Now, as the young Ukrainian lay in his hotel bed 500 miles from home, his oxygen levels dipped dangerously low. His pulse raced. He'd spent the night feverish and throwing up. His lips and fingertips had turned purple. Downstairs, a volunteer doctor hustled from patient to patient in the h...
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and Antelope Memorial Hospital is spreading awareness of the challenges of receiving mental health access in rural areas. While mental illnesses have a similar prevalence in both rural and urban environments, the circumstances and access to treatment look different. The National Rural Health Association tells us that rural residents face more obstacles in obtaining behavioral health services. As a result, distinct mental health differences are seen rurally compared to urban residents. Studies have also s...
Six-year-old Elijah Wastell started feeling anxious last fall. It came hard for the Omaha kindergartener at bedtime. His parents tried breathing exercises. They attempted to build his confidence. The anxiety got worse. It got to the point where "he wanted to be in bed with a blanket over his head before the sun went down, which can be tricky in September," said mother Anna Wastell. Elijah himself didn't tie his newfound anxiety to the pandemic that has altered the lives of everyone – i...
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, was first listed as a medical diagnosis in 1980. However, it has been recognized and called by many different names throughout history. The first recorded description of PTSD is in the Epic of Gilgamesh, which dates back to 2100 B.C. In The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer wrote about Trojan War soldiers exhibiting symptoms of PTSD. Shakespeare described a character in King Henry IV who suffered from post-traumatic nightmares. During the Civil War, the terms...
LINCOLN - Doctors may have a legal way to deny services based on their personal views, under a bill considered by the Nebraska Health and Human Services Committee, March 2. Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil introduced LB963, the Medical Ethics and Diversity Act, which would legally state medical practitioners and healthcare institutions cannot be forced to perform procedures that go against their ethical, moral or religious beliefs. This is also commonly known as a right of conscience. Medical practitioners include doctors, physicians assistants,...
Hope M. Petite, 28, of Orchard faced the Honorable Mark Kozisek in the Holt County district courtroom in O’Neill on Monday, Dec. 19, for sentencing on six crimes committed Sept. 27, 2020. Kozisek sentenced Petite to 30 days in the Holt County Jail on Count I, attempted possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). The jail sentence is ordered consecutive to one imposed in an Antelope County district court case. Provided she loses none of her good time, she must serve 23 days before her mandatory release in the Holt County case. She w...
Alcoholism, and addiction overall, isn't a character flaw, or a weakness of self-control. It's a disease. And, if you are like most of us, you've probably been affected by it. Maybe you struggle with alcohol consumption yourself or have a friend or family member who does. I rarely talk with anyone who doesn't have a personal story about how addiction has affected their life. About 14 million adults have an alcohol use disorder and there are about 95,000 alcohol-related deaths every year in this...
SUBMITTED ARTICLE September is National Suicide Prevention and Awareness month and Antelope Memorial Hospital's Senior Life Solutions is working to raise awareness and educate the community on the risk factors and warning signs of suicide. Talk of suicide should never be dismissed. "If you, or someone you know, are thinking of suicide call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255." said a spokesperson. Senior Life Solutions is an intensive outpatient group therapy and...
BROOKE WRAGE Nebraska News Service As of March 31, Gov. Pete Ricketts approved 16 bills to become state laws. The bills include topics varying from transportation and health care to government and military affairs. An overview of the new state laws follows. View the full list of bills that received approval on the Nebraska Legislature at https://nebraskalegislature.gov/calendar/agenda.php?day=2021-03-25. LB 14: Adopt the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue introduced LB 14, which will allow...
Wesley D. Hattula, 21, formerly of Oakdale, who had spent the previous nine plus months locked up in the Antelope County Jail on a $100,000, 10% cash bond, faced the Honorable Mark Kozisek for sentencing on two felonies last Wednesday. Johnson sentenced Hattula, to a term of not more than 16 years, nor less than 10 years, in a facility under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, on Count I, incest with person under 18, a Class 2A felony, giving him credit for 279 days previously served. On Count III, possession o...
The Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts released results of Holt County’s annual audit late last month. The report covers July 2019 through June 2020 and includes numerous areas of concern for internal control that were listed in a letter sent to the county board of supervisors Sept. 25. The report is a matter of public record and is posted on the APA’s website. Deann Haeffner, APA assistant deputy auditor, noted in the letter that the report is “critical in nature” as it addresses areas noted for improvement and does not include observa...
