NEBRASKA DOCTORS HELPING TO RESTORE HOSPITAL FOUNDED BY NATION'S 1ST NATIVE AMERICAN PHYSICIAN

LINCOLN — Nebraska’s doctors are stepping up to help restore a historic hospital founded by the nation’s first Native American physician.

The Nebraska Medical Association just launched a fundraising effort to encourage doctors to donate to the final phase of restoration work on the long-closed Walthill hospital founded by Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte, the nation’s first Native American physician.

Dr. Britt Thedinger, an Omaha ear doctor and surgeon, said he was astounded a couple of years ago to learn the story of Picotte, who, after years of using a horse and buggy to visit her patients on the Omaha Indian Reservation, opened the hospital in 1913. 

“This is a remarkable woman who accomplished incredible things,” Thedinger said. “How did this go under the radar?”

It prompted the doctor, a former president of the Nebraska Medical Association, to join the effort to restore and reopen the historic Picotte hospital, and to ask fellow doctors to get involved.

“The physicians of this state need to know this story. She’s a colleague, she’s a member of our profession,” Thedinger said. “Our idea is to bring awareness of Susan La Flesche and her story, to honor her service, sacrifice and dedication.”

Restoration of the Picotte hospital, first launched in 2017 in conjunction with the Omaha Indian Tribe, already is underway.

A new roof was installed two years ago, and the original windows and lap siding of the wood-sided, 33-room structure have been restored.

Now, the nonprofit foundation behind the restoration work is seeking to raise the final $2.5 million to complete the job of turning the once-neglected hospital into a modern community center. It will include a medical/mental health/substance abuse clinic for the tribe, as well as programs for youths, Native American arts and culture, and a historical exhibit of Picotte’s life and work.

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GENDER IDENTITY REFERENCES ‘LARGELY STRICKEN’ FROM 2ND DRAFT OF NEBRASKA HEALTH EDUCATION STANDARDS

LINCOLN- The Nebraska Department of Education has revised its proposed health-education standards, stripping out many of the sex-education references that provoked a groundswell of opposition to its first draft.

Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt said he hopes the changes are enough to move the standards forward.

This second draft of the standards is expected to be posted Thursday morning to the website of the Nebraska Department of Education and is open to public comment. Blomstedt said he expects that some people still won’t be satisfied — whether they are critics still upset by what’s included or others upset by what’s been cut. He said he hopes that, moving forward, both sides can find common ground.

Supporters of the first draft said the original wording would save lives. They had said the language recognizing diverse family structures, gender identities and sexual orientations would make those children and families feel welcome instead of leaving them ostracized and vulnerable to depression and suicide.

Blomstedt said he did not run the revisions past Gov. Pete Ricketts, who sharply criticized the first draft, but he said the two have talked about the governor’s concerns. Ricketts has been touring the state calling for scrapping the sex-education topics from the standards, saying they were not age-appropriate and that they were developed with input from activists.

As of last week, 47 Nebraska school boards had passed resolutions or sent letters to the department expressing opposition to the first draft. An opposition group calling itself Protect Nebraska Children has flooded meetings of the Nebraska State Board of Education to voice its displeasure.

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GOV. RICKETTS DECLARES STATE DISASTER FOR AREAS AFFECTED BY JULY 9-10 WINDSTORMS

LINCOLN- Governor Pete Ricketts issued a disaster declaration in response to the severe windstorms that struck Nebraska on July 9-10, 2021, knocking out electricity and causing extensive damages.  The declaration allows for use of the Governor’s Emergency Fund in response to damage that occurred as a result of storms and high winds that downed power lines and trees and created power outages.  The state declaration is needed to request a federal disaster declaration for public assistance.

The State of Nebraska and local agencies continue to conduct damage assessments.  Once sufficient information is gathered, a request for Federal Public Assistance will be sent to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regional office, then to FEMA headquarters, and finally to the White House for review and approval.

“It is important to note that the phrase Public Assistance refers to assistance for public entities such as utilities and infrastructure,” said Nebraska Emergency Management Assistant Director Bryan Tuma.  “On this event, Nebraska would qualify for the FEMA Public Assistance program but not the FEMA Individual Assistance program.  Individual Assistance is based on extreme impact such as widespread loss of housing for individuals and families, loss of employment, loss of services across multiple sectors which results in extreme hardship, etc.  This event, while significant, does not meet those thresholds.”  

If a person or family needs help replacing spoiled food, removing tree limbs, cleaning up property damage, or has any other unmet needs, they are advised to contact:

• United Way’s 211 system — Call 2-1-1 or text your zip code to 898211.

• Nebraska Rural Response HOTLINE — 1-800-464-0258 which offers the same services.

• Insurance Provider — Many insurance policies include incidentals such as food spoilage, debris management, etc.

County Emergency Management Directors are compiling damage reports and may be aware of additional resources in their local communities to assist individuals or families in need.  Contact information for County Emergency Management Directors is available on the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency website: https://nema.nebraska.gov/overview/county-emergency-management-directorscoordinators.

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EDITORIAL: TO TRULY BE PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEES, COPS AND FIREFIGHTERS MUST BE VACCINATED

OMAHA- It was disheartening to learn that 41% of Omaha police officers have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 — and further discouraging to see that the police union president is steeped in disinformation that justifies their decision.

Police officers’ self-declared role is to protect and serve society, but these unvaccinated officers risk endangering themselves and members of the public.

The Fire Department has done better than police, with 73% of firefighters vaccinated, but those numbers can still improve.

As much as we all dearly wish otherwise, the pandemic is not over.

It is the availability and acceptance of vaccines by a majority of Americans that has enabled society and the economy to reopen to the extent we enjoy this summer. With some exceptions, it is the often-ideological refusal of a minority that fosters a breeding ground for mutations of the virus and jeopardizes our progress.

While the general population cannot be coerced into being vaccinated, the city can and should do more to minimize the danger posed by our unvaccinated public safety employees. The city has taken a good step in ending a policy that generally presumed first responders who contracted COVID had done so on the job, making them eligible for workers’ compensation. Now, workers’ comp won’t be approved for unvaccinated employees.

We urge the city to employ further carrots and sticks to increase the safety to the public of public safety employees — even if it doesn’t want to require vaccinations, which according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission would be within its power.

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'OPERATION BLINDSIDE': PROPOSED KANSAS-NEBRASKA NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA DEALT A SERIOUS BLOW

LINCOLN — From his farm west of Davenport, Iowa, Glen Keppy has watched as a plastics factory and now an Amazon warehouse have gobbled up acres that used to produce corn, beans and wheat. The encroachment of development, Keppy said, is one of the reasons why it’s so important to preserve the history of farming through efforts like a multicounty National Heritage Area, a locally governed adjunct to the National Park Service.

“People come in by the busload,” he said, to watch demonstrations of old-time farming with teams of horses and steam-powered tractors.

“That’s what you call preserving what Iowa was made of,” said Keppy, a former president of both the Iowa Pork Producers Association and the National Pork Producers Council.

He just ended a three-year stint on the board of the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, which promotes historic farms, museums, bed-and-breakfasts and tourism in a 37-county area of northeastern Iowa.

When asked if such heritage areas threaten private property rights — as has been claimed by critics of a proposed heritage area in Nebraska and Kansas focused on prairies and homesteading — Keppy said not at all.

“We are not at all into forcing preservation; we’re just suggesting it. We’re just an organization that tries to put things together,” he said. “There’s not an evil bone in the body of the organization, or the individuals.”

Some officials at tourist attractions in south-central Nebraska and north-central Kansas express similar puzzlement.

They say they were blindsided, and disappointed, after Gov. Pete Ricketts and a coalition inspired by a retired Colorado researcher-writer whipped up a firestorm of protest over the proposed Kansas-Nebraska Heritage Area.

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NEBRASKA COULD WIND UP WITH $100 MILLION FROM OPIOID SETTLEMENTS

LINCOLN — Nebraska is in line to potentially receive $100 million as part of national settlements over the distribution of opioids that contributed to a national addiction epidemic.

A settlement announced this week requires three major drug distribution companies — AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson — to pay a combined $21 billion over 18 years to a coalition of state and local governments. The settlement also requires drug maker Johnson & Johnson to pay $5 billion over nine years.

It’s the second opioid-related settlement Nebraska has been a party to. Earlier this year, Attorney General Doug Peterson announced that the state would receive $2.59 million as part of a $573 million settlement with McKinsey & Company, one of the world’s largest consulting firms, which worked with drug manufacturers in a promotional role.

Nebraska is also a party to a settlement being negotiated with Purdue Pharma.

Peterson said he expects the state to receive about $100 million total from the three cases over the next 18 years.

Most of that money will go directly into Nebraska’s Opioid Recovery Fund to be used for treatment and prevention purposes. Some of the money will go to counties and cities that joined the suit individually.

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REPUBLICAN HOPEFULS HEAD TO IOWA, TAKING CARE NOT TO STEP ON TRUMP'S TOES

DES MOINES — No notable Republican has declared outright a challenge to President Joe Biden in 2024. But plenty of them are flocking to Iowa — courting activists, establishing political action committees and criticizing Democrats — signaling that the GOP presidential primary is already underway.

But this cycle has a Trump-induced twist. As the former president keeps Republicans guessing on whether he will run again, politicians are being especially circumspect about their own White House aspirations.

“Usually, when the race is over and (Republicans) don’t win ... the very next day, the race is on,” said Bob Vander Plaats, president of the Family Leader, an influential network of Christian activists in the state. “That hasn’t been the case so much. A lot of people are still asking, ‘What is Trump going to do?’”

The looming question has added an extra degree of coyness as possible contenders cozy up to voters in Iowa, which traditionally has held the first contest of the nominating season. Despite some prominent conservatives in the state sensing desire for a new Republican standard-bearer, politicians are working hard not to alienate Donald Trump, who still enjoys broad popularity with the party’s base.

The prominent Republicans who have visited so far include former Vice President Mike Pence; Sens. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Rick Scott of Florida; ex-Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley; and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.

“It’s been earlier, and more intense, for year one of a four-year presidential cycle, but I would also say all of them are very, very careful not to even intimate that they are potentially looking at a presidential run,” said Jeff Kaufmann, chairman of the Iowa Republican Party.

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RICKETTS' ORDER ON 30-BY-30 CONSERVATION EFFORT IS SHORT ON ACTUAL ROADBLOCKS

LINCOLN — In his battle against the federal government, Gov. Pete Ricketts has directed state agencies to take “any necessary step” to resist a federal initiative to conserve 30% of American land and waters by 2030.

He signed the executive order last month, in the leafy shade of the garden at the Governor’s Mansion, flanked by allies from rural county governments and agricultural organizations.

“Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers are the original conservationists and they have a long tradition of being great stewards of our state’s land and water,” he said. “Supporting their conservation efforts is the best way to ensure that we can grow the food we need to feed the world and pass along the land to the next generation of ag producers.”

Ricketts said his order is aimed at stopping implementation of what he calls “the 30x30 land grab.” But a closer look at the order shows it to be long on education and information-gathering and short on steps that would block the expansion of conservation efforts.

The Republican governor’s target is a goal that Democratic President Joe Biden included in a January executive order intended to bring attention to climate issues. A follow-up federal report called for the 30% by 2030 initiative to be voluntary, locally led and respect private property rights.

But Ricketts argues that the federal government will have to use strong-arm tactics to reach its goal. He raises particular concern about conservation easements, especially permanent ones.

“It could be the federal government already knows exactly what they want to do and they’re just not telling us,” he said. “It could be devastating to rural Nebraska.”

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SHOTS FIRED, FORCING REP. FORTENBERRY, OTHERS TO DEPART FUNERAL FOR HAITIAN LEADER

LINCOLN — U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry and a delegation of American officials were forced to abruptly exit a funeral service for assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse on Friday after shots were fired nearby.

Fortenberry and a group that included United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield and U.S. Rep. Greg Meeks, D-N.Y., were hustled to an airplane and returned to the U.S. safely Friday afternoon, according to Andy Braner, Fortenberry’s chief of staff.

In a video shot before the delegation boarded their plane, Fortenberry sounded shook up but expressed regret that the Americans had to leave the funeral service so hastily.

“Circumstances on the ground here are very tense. The situation is volatile. There’s a lot of anger,” he said.

Fortenberry, who serves on the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee on Appropriations, said he was invited to attend as part of a White House delegation for the funeral for Moïse, who was assassinated on July 7.

The Associated Press reported that hundreds of protesters gathered outside the private compound where Moïse’s funeral was held. Some mourners inside shouted, “Justice for Jovenel!” and others jeered and threatened the national chief of police when he arrived, accusing him of contributing to the attack.

U.S. and United Nations delegations left about 10 to 15 minutes after arriving. Gunshots were heard, and tear gas cannisters were fired at protesters. 

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NEBRASKA'S CROPS DOING BETTER THAN NEIGHBORS', BUT DROUGHT COULD 'INTENSIFY VERY QUICKLY'

NEBRASKA- Compared with its neighboring states plagued by drought, Nebraska has fared well — so far, anyway. But that could change with the heat wave set to hit the state this week. And that could potentially affect Nebraska’s crops.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, parts of North and South Dakota, Colorado and Wyoming are dealing with extreme drought conditions.

According to Bloomberg News, in North Dakota, where the entire state is in a drought, hay crops are only 10% to 25% of normal, while cattle ranchers already are reducing herds by boosting animal sales at auction, Jeff Schafer, president of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association, said during a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration webinar.

In Nebraska, severe drought has crept over the South Dakota border into parts of five counties in the northeast corner of the state. Pockets of moderate drought have been recorded in central and southern Nebraska and the Panhandle, according to the Drought Monitor.

Mark Svoboda, director of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said almost 22% of the state is experiencing some form of drought. The counties experiencing severe drought make up just about 2% of the state.

“In Nebraska, we’re holding the drought at bay right now,” he said. “But our fear is that these droughts can intensify very quickly.”

Right now, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the condition of Nebraska’s crops is quite strong.

A report from Monday shows that 76% of the 9.7 million acres of corn planted are in good or excellent condition. Ditto for the 5.4 million acres of soybeans planted, with 82% of that crop considered in good or excellent condition.

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OMAHA'S BLACKSTONE DISTRICT PROPOSES WIDER SIDEWALKS, NEW LIGHTS

OMAHA- The Blackstone District has revealed plans for a streetscape makeover expected to boost pedestrian safety and commerce by widening sidewalks and narrowing driving lanes along the trendy midtown Omaha strip.

A burst of sparkle — in the form of light strands across a stretch of Farnam Street — also is part of the $4.4 million package. The plan comes on the heels of a Blackstone apartment dweller getting struck and seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver in June as she crossed Farnam between 39th and 40th Streets.

Blackstone leaders say proposed changes have been in the making a few years, though, dating back to a merchant’s search for signature lighting for the area. They describe the streetscape proposal as the next major infrastructure upgrade since car flow through the district turned from one way to two way in 2014.

Funds have yet to be raised, but leaders from three Blackstone groups supporting the plan are optimistic the district can be sporting its new look in 2023.

The focus of the redesign is Farnam Street, the spine of the business district that’s also been buoyed by growth of its bookends: the University of Nebraska Medical Center to the west; Mutual of Omaha’s Midtown Crossing and downtown to the east.

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NEBRASKA BEGINS BUDGET PERIOD WITH A $101 MILLION DEFICIT. WHY OFFICIALS AREN'T WORRIED

LINCOLN — Despite coming off a year of record tax revenue, Nebraska looks to be starting its current two-year budget period in the red, according to a report released Thursday.

The report from the Legislative Fiscal Office points to the state’s new property tax relief program, along with other tax cuts and a drop in federal coronavirus relief, as the reasons for a newly opened $101 million budget gap.

But a key state lawmaker expressed confidence about closing that gap without cutting the state’s $9.8 billion budget for the two-year period ending June 30, 2023.

“There’s a good betting chance” that revenue projections will improve when the numbers are reviewed again, said State Sen. John Stinner of Gering, the Appropriations Committee chairman. The state’s economic forecasting board will meet to update those projections in October.

“I will almost guarantee the forecasting board will take care of the deficit,” he said.

Legislative Fiscal Analyst Tom Bergquist sounded a similarly optimistic note in delivering the report to the Tax Rate Review Committee, a group that includes four top legislative leaders and State Tax Commissioner Tony Fulton. The group meets between legislative sessions to review the state’s fiscal status.

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JOSLYN ART MUSEUM BREAKS GROUND ON $100 MILLION ADDITION

OMAHA- Construction will begin soon on a pavilion that will add 42,000 square feet to the Joslyn Art Museum, dramatically altering the museum’s profile and creating space for an important collection of modern art, museum officials and the pavilion’s designer said Tuesday.

“It will be really great for the city for decades and decades to come,” said Jack Becker, Joslyn's executive director and CEO.

The pavilion will be named for Omaha philanthropists Rhonda and Howard Hawks of the Hawks Foundation. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Tuesday on the museum grounds.

Becker declined to reveal the cost of the project, but a public application for a Nebraska COVID-19 relief grant listed it at $100 million. The project so far has been financed by specified private funds, he said.

The Rhonda and Howard Hawks Pavilion is scheduled to open in 2024, though Becker said no date has been set. The museum, at 22nd and Dodge Streets, will close from spring 2022 until the pavilion is completed. Becker said that’s common for museum projects as a safety measure for staff, visitors and valuable art.

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HERBSTER'S RUNNING MATE IN GUBERNATORIAL RACE STEPS ASIDE

OMAHA- Former State Senator Theresa Thibodeau, announced that she would be stepping aside as Charles Herbster's running mate in the gubernatorial race due to what she described as "potential opportunities that would conflict with the campaign."

“At this time, I do not feel I will be able to devote the needed time to the campaign," Thibodeau said in a press release. "In fairness to Charles and his wonderful team, I want to thank them for their support, and wish them the best for a successful election. I look forward to the continuation of conservative leadership in Nebraska.” 

“I greatly respect Theresa’s decision as well as her devotion to her community," Herbster said in the same press release. "She is a great steward of conservative values, and I look forward to working with her in the future.” 

Neither of Herbster's leading Republican primary opponents, University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen or State Sen. Brett Lindstrom, have named running mates at this point.

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PFIZER OUTLINES A CASE FOR BOOSTER SHOTS, BUT THERE'S A DEBATE OVER WHETHER THEY'RE NEEDED

GLOBAL- Pfizer reported on Wednesday that the power of its two-dose Covid vaccine wanes slightly over time, but nonetheless offers lasting and robust protection against serious disease. The company suggested that a third shot could improve immunity, but whether boosters will be widely needed is far from settled, the subject of heated debate among scientists.

So far, federal health officials have said boosters for the general population are unnecessary. And experts questioned whether vaccinated people should get more doses when so many people have yet to be immunized at all.

“There’s not enough evidence right now to support that that is somehow the best use of resources,” said Natalie Dean, a biostatician at Emory University in Atlanta.

Still, the findings raise questions about how much the Pfizer vaccine will prevent infection in the months to come. And with coronavirus cases surging again in many states, the data may influence the Biden administration’s deliberations about delivering boosters for older people.

In a study posted online but not yet peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal, Pfizer and BioNTech scientists reported that the vaccine had a sky-high efficacy rate of about 96 percent against symptomatic Covid-19 for the first two months following the second dose. But the figure declined by about 6 percent every two months after that, falling to 83.7 percent after about four to six months.

Against severe disease, however, the vaccine’s efficacy held steady at about 97 percent.

“It’s not a big drop, but it is noteworthy,” Dr. Dean said. “Overall, they find that the vaccine is still performing very well, at very high efficacy.”

For the full article click HERE

OMAHA CITY COUNCIL BLOCKS APPOINTMENT OF BEN GRAY TO LAND BANK BOARD

OMAHA- The Omaha City Council rejected Mayor Jean Stothert’s appointment of Ben Gray to the Omaha Municipal Land Bank Board of Directors on Tuesday.

Stothert had sought to appoint Gray, who lost his City Council District 2 seat in May, to be the District 2 resident representative on the board. But council member Juanita Johnson, who defeated Gray in the May election, opposed his appointment. So did a number of District 2 residents who testified at a public hearing on the appointment earlier this month.

Council members Vinny Palermo and Danny Begley joined Johnson in voting “no” on Tuesday. The vote was 4-3 in favor of appointing Gray, but that fell one vote short of the supermajority required by city code.

“My reason for opposing it is because land banking can be used as a tool to help those in underserved communities have a leg up in purchasing property in the area,” Johnson said. “In order for that tool to be effective, we have to be very mindful with who we choose to manage that.”

The land bank board has seven voting members, one from each council district. The City Council recently appointed Johnson to the land bank board as a nonvoting representative of the council.

Gray had extensive experience with the land bank, including working on state legislation that enabled its creation and on the city ordinance that created the land bank.

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OMAHA'S EXECUTIVE DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF WILL FILL IN FOR SCHMADERER WHEN HE'S UNAVAILABLE

OMAHA- Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer will handpick one of his five deputy chiefs to serve as chief when he’s unavailable thanks to a newly created position that was approved last week by the City Council.

But the executive deputy chief position — which comes with a 6% raise for whoever gets it — raised questions from two council members about the selection process and whether the appointment is essentially a succession plan.

The municipal code addition reads that the police chief has the “authority to designate” a second in command from among anyone who holds the rank of deputy chief.

The language outlining the new position doesn’t list a specific job description. It says, however, that the person will “perform the administrative and supervisory duties determined by the Chief” and will be acting police chief when the chief is away.

At the July 13 City Council meeting, Schmaderer said he thinks the position would have helped during Omaha’s protests last summer and for other large events.

“... (A) clearly identified No. 2 will streamline operations in my absence and provide an extra layer of accountability to the department,” he said. “Just like when the council president is gone, we know who the vice president is, it’s not a guessing game.”

The ordinance was approved July 20 on a 7-0 vote. But no one has yet been named to the post, and Schmaderer has not announced a timeline for when he will fill it, Lt. Neal Bonacci, a police spokesman, said Tuesday.

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40 COUNTIES IN NEBRASKA HAVE SUBSTANTIAL OR HIGH COVID TRANSMISSION

NEBRASKA- Forty of Nebraska’s 93 counties, including Douglas County, are considered communities with substantial or high rates of transmission of COVID-19.

Under the revised recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that means even vaccinated people in those communities should mask up in indoor public places.

And, yes, it’s a recommendation, not a mandate. While school districts and governmental entities in some states have rushed to require masks, what appears to have been Nebraska’s last mask mandate — the one enacted by the Omaha City Council — expired in late May.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said Tuesday that the state will not be adopting the CDC’s recommendation. Ricketts repeatedly has opposed mandates for masks or vaccines.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC’s director, said some counties and states now have 300 cases per 100,000 residents, an “extraordinary amount.”

Some of the Nebraska counties with substantial or high transmission, however, actually may not have a large number of COVID cases. In counties with smaller numbers of residents, even a relatively small cluster of cases can skew the numbers. Rates also can fluctuate from week to week.

For the full article click HERE

OMAHA-AREA SCHOOL DISTIRCTS REVIEWING NEW COVID GUIDANCE FROM CDC, UNMC

OMAHA- Officials with Omaha-area school districts are reviewing new federal and local COVID-19 guidance as they prepare for the upcoming school year.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, experts from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the American Academy of Pediatrics all have recommended that students and staff wear masks in school, regardless of their vaccination status.

With the highly contagious delta variant on the rise, the CDC on Tuesday recommended that even some vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in areas of the U.S. where the virus is surging.

The indoor spaces include schools, the agency said, meaning the agency is recommending that all teachers, staff and students wear masks in buildings this fall.

Some metro-area school districts already had released their COVID-19 safety protocols for the upcoming school year, but school officials on Wednesday said they are closely monitoring conditions. District officials have said plans could change.

Wednesday evening, OPS sent staff and families specifics on health and safety protocols for the upcoming school year. The district said many safety protocols from the 2020-21 school year will continue, such as frequent handwashing and enhanced disinfecting of high-touch surfaces, classrooms and shared materials. 

OPS is recommending that everyone who is eligible be vaccinated against COVID-19. The district also is recommending that anyone who has not been vaccinated wear a mask while on district property. 

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SARPY COUNTY BOARD ASKS PUBLIC DEFENDER TO RESIGN AMID ALLEGATIONS HE HAD SEX WITH SUBORDINATE

SARPY- County Board members have asked another elected official to step aside amid allegations of misconduct.

Tuesday, the board voted 4-0, with one member abstaining, to pass a resolution objecting to Sarpy County Public Defender Tom Strigenz’s behavior, which, they say, included having sex with a subordinate on county property.

“Strigenz is having a sexual relationship with a subordinate employee, engaging in sexual conduct on County property, and his conduct is causing discontent in the Public (Defender’s) Office,” said the resolution, introduced by Board Chairman Don Kelly.

The board has “asked Strigenz to voluntarily resign, which he declined to do,” according to the resolution.

Kelly wrote that the County Board has no authority to force an elected official to resign. However, the board “encourages employees to promptly report any additional information or concerns to Human Resources.”

The board said it received three anonymous complaints about Strigenz and his relationship with an employee.

The World-Herald received a copy of one of those anonymous complaints. In it, the unnamed writer complained that Strigenz had a sexual relationship with an employee that included “sex in the office.” It also alleged that Strigenz gave the woman a higher salary and job duties.

For the full article click HERE