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The Honorable James Kube saw an abbreviated criminal docket when he presided from the bench in the Antelope County district courtroom in Neligh last week. Sentencing for Rider Short, 24, of Oakdale is continued to July 31, on a motion of the prosecution, due to a witness being out of state. Bond posted July 5, 2023, in the amount of $20,000, 10%, is continued. Short was convicted of felony flight to avoid arrest and unauthorized use of a vehicle, stemming from a July 4, 2023, escapade in downtown Neligh following the annual holiday parade....
A new Miss Clearwater Rodeo Queen will reign over the 57th annual Clearwater Big Rodeo. Three contestants - Jozlyn Anderson, Luci Koinzan, and Aubrey Blackburn - will compete for the title. The three will start competition Friday, at 2 p.m., on rodeo grounds. Queen contest chairman Devon Baum said contestants will be judged in multiple areas, including personality, appearance and horsemanship. Contestants will compete in the horsemanship portion of the contest, which includes a reining pattern,...
GENERAL ELECTION NOTICE & OFFICES TO BE FILLED BY ELECTION AND FILING DEADLINES I, Lisa Payne, Antelope County Clerk/Election Commissioner, hereby give notice of the offices to be filled by election that will appear on the 2024 General Election Ballot to be held Nov. 5, 2024, in Antelope County, Nebraska, as per State Statute 32-601. Notice is also given that the filing deadline for such offices are: July 15, 2024, for incumbents and Aug. 1, 2024, for non-incumbents. An incumbent is anyone serving in an elective office, even if they are filing...
Several defendants were scheduled for first hearing or preliminary hearing on felony charges in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh last Wednesday, June 5. Shane R. Farrier, 32, of Genoa appeared for first hearing on a charge of theft by unlawful taking, more than $5,000, a Class 2 felony. Farrier requested court-appointed counsel. As the Honorable Donna Taylor questioned him regarding finances, he indicated he had been incarcerated for the last six months in a different jurisdiction. Taylor found him indigent and appointed Antelope County...
Hector A. Perez, 46, of Orchard appeared in front of the Honorable Donna Taylor in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh last week for sentencing on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, second offense, a Class W misdemeanor committed April 23, one mile west of Royal. Perla Alarcon-Flory appeared as interpreter, via Zoom. An enhancement hearing was held. Taylor found sufficient evidence of a previous DUI conviction, making the crime second offense. Taylor sentenced Perez to a nine-month term of probation, including related fees...
Christopher Brady, 33, of Oakdale appeared in the Antelope County courtroom for first hearing on a Class 3A felony, third-degree domestic assault, second offense, alleged May 13. If convicted of the felony, Brady faces up to a $10,000 fine and/or up to three years of incarceration. He requested court-appointed counsel. The Honorable Donna Taylor appointed Antelope County public defender Pat Carney and set preliminary hearing for June 5. Bond was set at $10,000, 10% cash, with order for no contact with the alleged victim. “You can’t live wit...
Hector A. Perez, 46, of Orchard appeared in front of the Honorable Donna Taylor in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh last week on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, second offense, a Class W misdemeanor committed April 23, one mile west of Royal. Perla Alarcon-Flory appeared as interpreter, via Zoom. Perez waived his right to counsel. His waiver was verified by Taylor, through Alarcon-Flory, numerous times during the hearing. She asked if he had ever been represented by counsel in the past. “Si,” he answered. He also answ...
James A. Brady, 69, of Neligh faced the Honorable Donna Taylor in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh on May 1 to be sentenced for third-degree assault. Antelope County attorney Joe Smith recommended probation, pursuant to conditions of a plea agreement. He said issues with alcohol and violence had been addressed. Brady’s attorney, Joel Carlson of Norfolk, told Taylor that his client disagreed with a statement in the presentence investigation report, regarding throwing a phone. “He didn’t think it hit them,” the attorney said. “The good new...
April 24 saw a short criminal docket in the Antelope County district courtroom in Neligh. The Honorable James Kube sentenced two individuals, sustained a motion to withdraw a not guilty plea and two motions to continue. Haiden Sleister, 22, who was ordered by Kube to reside at the Norfolk Rescue Mission when he appeared in March, admitted violating provisions of post-release supervision as part of a plea deal with Smith. In return, the prosecutor recommended one year of incarceration. Kube revoked Sleister’s PRS and sentenced him to a o...
ColdType Publishing, LLC, the Clearwater-based printing firm known for its commitment to community journalism, announces the acquisition of Living Here Magazine. The publication, previously owned by Pitzer Enterprises, of Oakdale, is a 20-year old magazine known for its celebration of the people, heritage and communities in northeast Nebraska, southeast South Dakota, and northwest Iowa. The publication was founded in 2004 by Dale and Mary Ann Hoebelheinrich, of Yankton, South Dakota....
Shane Sleister, 49, (in custody), appeared in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh last Wednesday, April 17, for sentencing in two similar cases. The Honorable Donna Taylor sentenced Sleister to terms in the Antelope County Jail on each of two charges in each case. In the first case, committed Sept. 20, 2023, Sleister was committed to the Antelope County Jail for 60 days on Count I, obstructing a peace officer, a Class 1 misdemeanor, and 10 days on Count II, driving under suspension, a Class 3 misdemeanor, and he was taxed $1 costs....
In an exciting development for high school athletics and activities in Northeast Nebraska, eight schools have announced the formation of the Greater Northeast Activities Conference . The participating schools include Elkhorn Valley, Hartington-Newcastle, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, Lutheran High Northeast, Neligh-Oakdale, Plainview, Summerland and West Holt for the 2024-2025 school year. The decision to establish the GNAC comes as a testament to the shared commitment of these schools to enhance...
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...
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...
The Niobrara Valley Conference recently announced post-season honors for the 2023-2024 boys' basketball season. Three Bobcat players landed on the first team, including Preston Hoke, Michael Koenig and Sam Cheatum. They are joined by Lincoln Konrad, West Holt; Gage Hedstrom, St. Mary's; Derris Hansen, Boyd County; Kellyn Ollendick and Korbin Werner, Elkhorn Valley; Chase Furstenau, Neligh-Oakdale; and Hunter Tubbs, Stuart. Alec Schindler was named to the second team, along with Dawson Hanson,...
Three Bobcat girls' basketball players have been recognized by the Niobrara Valley Conference for contributions to the team during the 2023-2024 season. Ady Mlnarik received first-team honors. She joins Josilyn Miller, Niobrara/Verdigre; Mya Hedstrom, Alissa Brabec and Lorissa Reiman, St. Mary's; Ashlynne Charf and Keyera Eisenhauer, Elgin Public/Pope John; JJ Black, Elkhorn Valley; Paige Drueke, Boyd County; and Adisyn Anderson, North Central. Lydia Robertson was named to the second team....
Austin Mendoza, a Summerland freshman, was named to the Niobrara Valley Conference second team, for wrestling, in the 132-pound class for the 2023-2024 season. Mason Nitz was named to the first team in the 132-pound weight class. Other competitors receiving post-season honors include • 106: Tyson Blakeman, Neligh-Oakdale, first team; Brett Olson, North Central, second team; • 113: Andrew Henery, NO, first team; Even Decker, Elkhorn Valley, second team; • 120: Owen Vondra, EV, first team; Dylan...
A March 6 crash, near Neligh, claimed the life of an Orchard man and injured another individual. The collision occurred at approximately 3:49 p.m., near the Antelope County Road Department shed, east of Neligh on Highway 275, said Antelope County Sheriff Bob Moore. Billy Ziegenbein, 76, of Orchard, was traveling west in a 1997 Ford pickup when the front driver’s side tire blew out, causing the pickup to swerve into the eastbound lane, resulting in a head-on collision with another vehicle. Dean Baker, 76, of Columbus, was driving a 1997 Ford E...
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...
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...
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...
The third time playing Elgin Public/Pope John wasn't the charm for the Lady Bobcats in the girls' subdistrict final. At the end, EPPJ outlasted Summerland, 44-42. Coach Jacob Birch said, against EPPJ, his team had an outstanding first quarter and led the game 14-1 at that point. "EPPJ battled back and it was a back-and-forth fight until the end," he said. "I was very proud of the way our girls competed and played all out. Defensively and on the rebounds, we brought great energy and intensity."...