From KOL and Lincoln and KGIN Grand Island, this is 10-11 news at six.
Good evening everyone.
Thank you for joining us.
New developments today in the death of John Welch.
Welch is the Lincoln man who died from injury suffered while in a holding cell at the Lincoln-Lancaster
County Jail.
County Attorney Gary Lacey today met with family members of John Welch and then the
media.
10-11's Terry Tiber was there and tells us about the autopsy results and what they mean
in terms of charges.
After an hour long meeting today, John Welch's family filed out of County Attorney Gary Lacey's
office.
We did get an answer for the autopsy and that's a relief to me because I suspected John, his
death was due to injuries.
At an afternoon news conference, Lacey explained the cause of death was two blows to the head.
With respect to the first blow, that was the result of a fracture in which the head hit
an object and that is consistent with a fall or being shoved in fall.
It will take two weeks to determine what caused the second blow.
If it was accidental, prosecution could be difficult because doctors cannot say whether
the first fall alone could have killed him.
As to whether jail staff acted appropriately, no one in the cell mentioned that Welch had
threatened to start a fight or that 24-year-old Jose Feliciano shoved Welch causing the fall.
So why move Welch to another cell?
Because Lacey says his cellmates complained he was acting goofy.
Cell personnel asked Mr. Welch if he, they noticed that he appeared tired or sleepy and
they asked him if he was okay and if he needed anything and Mr. Welch responded that he didn't,
that he wanted to go to sleep and he was given a blanket and taken to the other cell.
There's still a lot of unanswered questions and I'm not sure that we'll ever get to know
him really but we're going to not let this rest.
We are happy that, you know, I guess it's kind of premature.
We need to wait and see what the grand jury says and of course we're praying for an indictment.
One thing family members are clearly still upset about is the fact that Jose Feliciano
could bond out for $1,000 based on charges unrelated to this case, Deb.
Terry, didn't Lacey say earlier that he would file manslaughter charges if Welch died?
Yes, he did but now he says he may have misspoke.
Now he wants to wait to find out what caused that second blow and what the grand jury will
find.
Any idea when the grand jury will be called?
Well, Gary Lacey says he expects autopsy, the final autopsy results in two weeks and
he expects to convene the grand jury in three weeks.
He's hearing.
Lawmakers face a number of constitutional amendments in the legislature.
One amendment would give the governor the sole power to grant pardons in capital offense
cases.
An appeal in the case of Harold Ote brings the issue to the forefront.
Some say there was a conflict of interest because the attorney general was able to vote
in the pardons hearing.
The governor, the secretary of state and the attorney general would work as a board on
all other cases.
At least one board member says this is wrong.
Why would you keep the board of pardons intact for lesser cases but have that power arrest
in one person for life and death cases?
That is exactly backwards and I think makes sense to me as a person.
Supporters of the amendment say the measure would reduce the number of future appeals.
Governor Nelson did not testify personally at today's hearing.
A Beatrice police officer is injured and a 16-year-old boy arrested following an incident
involving a tire iron.
It all happened last night when 28-year-old officer Mike Oliver found the young man allegedly
vandalizing the Metropolitan Federal Bank.
The 16-year-old then began attacking Oliver.
The officer suffered cuts, tendon damage and chipped teeth.
Officials say they're both fortunate.
He was very close to a deadly force type of situation and certainly his ability to handle
it without having to use deadly force in the big pictures obviously saved this young fellow's
life as well as being able to deal with minimal injuries.
Officer Oliver will be on medical leave for a week.
The 16-year-old boy has been booked on felony criminal mischief and assault on a police
officer.
This week two Nimaha County Sheriff's deputies filed suit in federal court claiming they
were forced to be on call without pay.
In the following report Amy Hibles takes a look at how other small communities tackle
the challenge of protecting citizens 24 hours a day on a shoestring budget.
Being on call a lot of times they can't go anywhere or do anything where I know what
my days off are and I can go do what I want to do on my days off and not have to worry
about being called in.
After six years on the job Deputy Phil Dittbrenner says he likes having his days off and knowing
when he has to report to work.
Federal regulations require sheriff departments with five or more employees to pay staff
hourly.
If I call someone in to work on their day off or on their time off whatever then I have
to pay them overtime for that time that they come in.
The issue of overtime doesn't become real critical until a big case breaks forcing the
sheriff's department to go to the county to ask for more money.
They can also ask for outside help on the case from other agencies.
This day and age the money is not there for one agency to just go out and try to do everything
by themselves in my opinion because there are so many other resources out there and
there is good information and everybody has a different view and different resources that
you can use and why not use them.
Despite cooperation from other agencies officials say the bottom line is more manpower requires
more dollars.
The public is demanding the service that they get from law enforcement with all county and
state entities.
They have to understand that if they want this service and we're going to provide this
service then it's going to cost.
DeWitt says the current 4% lid the county is under makes it unlikely its budget will
allow for more spending any time soon.
Amy Heibel, 10-11 News.
Nebraska's hearing impaired ask to be heard.
A new bill would make alcohol, drug and mental health agencies and services accessible to
them.
The bill asked for a coordinator to work with existing facilities.
A public hearing gave concerns to Nebraskans an opportunity to discuss the need for the
bill.
Some think it's been a long time coming.
When these people go into hospital programs there are no interpreters and so basically
they're denied services and the deaf person, the hard of hearing person becomes worse.
The bill asks for $62,000 to fund the request.
We'll have more on this story tonight at 10.
Our hopes for another day of sunshine could lie in the hands of Ken Schimmey.
His forecast is coming up.
Hopes that a smoke detector could save your life is behind a new campaign in Grand Island.
10-11 News continues in just a moment.
More than 20 Hastings residents are still living in temporary housing today after being
forced out of their apartment complex.
On Monday the Bel Air apartments were condemned after fire officials found a collapsed wall
in the basement.
Building inspectors and the city engineer examined the structure and determined it was
unsafe.
Residents had only a few hours to collect belongings.
The owner of the condemned building has 90 days to make repairs.
It fits in the palm of your hand yet it can save the lives of an entire family.
It's a smoke detector and the Grand Island Firefighters Union has started a campaign
to put one in every home in that community.
Paige Kelton joins us from our Grand Island Bureau.
Paige tell us about this campaign and what makes it different from past efforts.
Mel, as we know the message about smoke detectors and fire safety is a nationwide effort.
What Grand Island officials are doing is enlisting the public's help and offering their own
time to make sure all residents have smoke alarms.
Just last November a woman and her daughter were killed when a faulty refrigerator compressor
sparked a blaze.
Firefighters say a smoke detector could have saved their lives.
I'd like for everybody to have a smoke detector in their home, at least one, preferably one
in each bedroom and one outside the sleeping area and one on each level of the house.
A three bedroom home with a basement could have five detectors in it.
But fire safety is not just about having a smoke detector, it's about making sure that
detector is working properly.
Fire officials say anyone who is having difficulty installing one can call the fire department
and someone will come out to their home and inspect the alarm or change the batteries.
The public is being asked to donate a smoke detector so families who may not be able to
afford one won't have to go without.
Mel?
How does the page work and people make their donations?
They can either drop it off at their local fire hall or come to the Conestoga Mall this
weekend and drop it off at the collection center there.
They'll even earn Mel a $1 mall gift certificate for their contribution.
Sounds like a great project.
Thank you, Paige.
As a general rule, much of Nebraska enjoyed 40 degree temperatures today as we head further
into the winter of 95.
One almost dares to dream of an early spring.
Could it actually happen?
We'll find out in a moment.
We'll see what we can and his forecast for coming up next.
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Dear Dave, I know you like cars so I enclosed a picture of mine.
Wow, that's cool.
It's a tricked out El Camino with a punched out 454 rat.
I guess you know how much car stuff costs.
That's probably why you have a Wendy's 99 cents super value menu.
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Well, my friends, not only was today the nicest day of the past four or five, it was also
the nicest day of the next four or five.
So with that in mind, I hope you had a chance to enjoy it.
It was a very pleasant January day for most of Nebraska and northern Kansas.
Temperatures even at this hour are still in the 30s and lower 40s.
We've got 42 degrees reported at McCook 41 in Goodland, one of the cooler locations right
here in the capital city.
At the top of the hour, we're at 33 degrees in Lincoln with clear skies.
The barometer is rising.
The relative humidity reading is 78 percent and we have calm winds.
Our high and low today, we hit 44.
That's about 12 degrees above normal for this time of year in Lincoln after a low this morning
of 17.
And in Grand Island, we did it one degree better.
We topped out at 45 after a low this morning of 19 in the third city.
Check out your 24-hour satellite loop.
There has been some big news and a big storm across portions of the country, but it did
not affect Nebraska and northern Kansas.
Look at the swirl.
Look at the clouds.
Look at the moisture associated with a huge winter storm system just off to our east.
More on that in just a little bit.
Plenty of moisture continues to feed into that system.
We had basically partly the mostly sunny skies over much of 1011 country today.
Be a little bit different tomorrow.
More on that in a second.
And mainly dry conditions over the west today, but the next weather system is beginning to
move onshore.
Here's a look at the current surface analysis, show you what's going on at the surface.
Nice day for us today.
A little bit cooler tomorrow as the frontal system will probably drop into our area.
We're dealing with snow business just off to our east.
Heavy rains ahead of this system and very heavy snows back behind this weather system.
Just how heavy?
Well, not that far, dangerously close to Nebraska and northern Kansas, but this one missed us.
And it was big snow and big snow business.
Anywhere from 6 to 14 inches of snow across portions of the Midwest from Missouri back
into extreme eastern sections of Iowa into southern Wisconsin and western sections of
Illinois.
And that area surrounded by another swath of snow anywhere from 3 to 6 inches there.
The snow capital of the country, Springfield, Missouri.
14 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours.
Columbia not far behind, 13 inches of snow in Moline, Illinois.
Checking in with 10.
That snow will head east tomorrow as the area of low pressure heads east as well.
But significant snows will be falling from the Great Lakes back into the Ohio River Valley.
There'll be some heavy rains over portions of the northeast.
We will get cooler tomorrow as well as variably cloudy.
We will see some sunshine I think in many locations, but not near as much as we saw today.
There'll be flurries off to our north, a little bit of a disturbance over the Four Corners region,
no big deal.
Here comes the next weather system.
This one may try to bring some portions of our viewing area, a chance for a little light snow
as we move into Saturday.
Right now, that's a little bit up in the air and it looks like most of us are just going to get cold
and kind of cloudy right on through the weekend.
You'll forecast for tonight partly cloudy skies, overnight lows holding in the teens to lower
20s over much of the area.
Places in northwestern Nebraska with heavy snow still on the ground will certainly drop into the single digits.
19 should do it, Lincoln 19 in Grand Island.
On Friday, a little bit cooler than today, we'll have that north wind at 10 to 20 miles per hour.
Temperatures ranging from the upper 20s and across the extreme northeastern part of the state
to the lower to mid-30s for most of us.
Some folks in southern Nebraska and northern Kansas could make it into the lower 40s,
but quite a bit different than today.
37 in Lincoln, 35 in Grand Island.
And on Saturday, there could be some light snow developing late in the day over the far western sections
of Nebraska, otherwise just a few flurries around with mainly cloudy conditions and cold.
Temperatures holding in the upper teens to 20s.
Here's a look at your outlook Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Get used to the cold, it's back.
I guess we'll put spring on the back burner for a while as we head into the first part of next week
with temperatures close to normal, a little chillier in the 20s.
Thank you, Ken.
Coming up in sports, the other national champion begins defending its title.
We'll tell you who.
And how to win by the skin of your teeth.
The Huskers show us how it's done.
Vince has the details and all the day sports next.
[♪upbeat music playing
Catch the latest update of high school basketball scores.
Watch the Lincoln Telephone Sports Roundup Friday night at 11 only on 10-11.
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Well, Vince, the Huskers escaped from Kansas City last night with a victory.
They just fairly, and they really should have won it a lot better than what they did.
Coach Danneese said himself his team plays best when they're on the edge.
Evident last night when they were on the verge of losing a game, they should have won blindfolded.
They were down most of the first half, then scrapped together a few second half runs, and a key defensive stand late in the game escaped.
KC with a 63-60 win.
Nea Greed, his team, was lucky to win the game where most everyone was in foul trouble.
Eric Strickland, the man of the night with 16 points.
The effort will have to be better Monday night.
They're not only on the road again, but at number seven, Kansas.
On the women's front, Huskers forward Tina McLean's knee injury is not as bad as we thought.
The medial collateral ligament in her left knee is strained and not torn.
She says she may only be out, well, just about a week.
I'm not really concerned about the injury right now.
It's just the timing of the injury.
I mean, we're in the middle of the big eight season, and I'll be out for a week, possibly a little longer.
It depends on how well I heal.
The team minus McLean hosts Missouri tomorrow night, a preview tomorrow night at 6 o'clock.
Briefly this evening, Cambridge's Ed Thompson signs with or actually verbally commits to the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
The NFL players named Dan Moreno and Barry Sanders as their players of the year.
And Andre Agassi won his first match at the Australian Open today.
Coming up this weekend, wrestling duels at the Coliseum here at NU.
Number one, Iowa. Number two, Oklahoma State. Arizona State amongst the teams joining Nebraska at the duels both Saturday and Sunday.
Small colleges and prep basketball abound Saturday night and Sunday.
The Jaw Bones versus Saw Bones, the third annual game in Grand Island.
This is the Lawyers against the Doctors.
The Doctors beat up the Lawyers. I guess they'll fix them for free.
If the Lawyers lose, they'll probably sue.
The Nebraska football program is still basking in the glow of its national title,
but it's time for the other NU championship team to defend its crown.
And here's 10-11's Steve VanHoozen.
Nebraska won its eighth NCAA gymnastics title last year on the strength of four senior All-Americans.
But the celebration hasn't lasted long for those coming back.
It's a challenge. I mean, I love a challenge.
So this year with the young team, I think it's going to be a great challenge for us to go to the NCAAs and win it again.
Richard Grace is one of only two seniors leading this year's team. It includes six newcomers.
I keep trying to tell the freshmen what it was like to win the national championship
and tell them one day they're going to experience that and hopefully this year they'll experience it.
And I keep telling them what the feeling was being number one, walking out and receiving the trophy.
And it's kind of hard to explain the feeling because it's not really something you can say in words.
It's really tough, but that's what I keep referring back to last year's NCAAs, winning and trying to let these guys feel what I felt.
Nebraska stands ready to make another run at the national championship.
This year they're going to go about it a little differently. They'll rely on youth to take them to the top.
This team I really feel like it's got some upperclassmen on it.
We've got three great all-arounders. We've got Ted Harris coming back from last year.
And Bill Mulholland is not a freshman by any means. He's 22 years old. He's been around a lot.
So I don't call him a freshman.
So that's why I think that those people are going to be the new to us of our team.
We've got all these other guys and we're going to be just fine.
We've got a different team. It's definitely a younger team.
Not to say this team is any more talented or less talented. I think that we're just a different team this year.
We definitely have a shot. I mean I have no doubt that we are a definite contender for the NCAA championship this year.
The road to a second straight title starts for Nebraska this weekend at the Rocky Mountain Open in Colorado Springs.
Steve Van Hoosen, 10-11 Sports.
And they start defending the title very soon.
We wish them luck. That's it.
We'll be right back.
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Let your wedding fantasy become a reality. Win 10-11's Wedding of Your Dreams.
KOLN, KGIN-TV and participating sponsors will give one lucky couple a deluxe wedding package,
including $300 toward wedding bands from Borschheim's, America's largest independent jewelry store.
If you're planning a wedding on or before December 31, 1996, and are at least 18 years of age,
register to win a grand prize package that includes store credit toward bridesmaid dresses from Chantilly Bridal of Kearney,
an evening of disc jockey entertainment from Complete Music of Lincoln, catering by It's the Pits of Lincoln, and much more.
Each contest sponsor will also give away one smaller prize to a runner-up winner.
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10-11's Wedding of Your Dreams. It could be yours.
Today marks the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision making abortion legal.
Tonight in Lincoln Pro-Choice Groups, hold a rally in honor of that right. We'll take you there at 10.
Mental Health Services for the Hearing Impaired will tell you how a bill before the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee
would help provide for those who can't hear. Join us for these stories and more on 10-11 News at 10.
When you go see the movie Star Trek Generations, be sure to check the credits for a Nebraska native.
Her face may not be familiar, but her name is attached to some big projects in Hollywood.
And if you're a UNL theater student, you may have her as a teacher soon.
UNL's Mary Jane Bruce has tonight's State of the Arts report.
Sandy Veneziano wanders through the set of a recently produced play, offering advice and opinions to the student designer.
She started on the ground floor herself, moving to Los Angeles after finishing graduate work at UNL.
Today, Veneziano is at the top. A life of limos and luxury, right?
It's not true. It is. Getting up at 5 o'clock in the morning, getting home at 9 o'clock at night.
There's fun and exciting to see your design come to life, but it is a lot of work.
Solid training, energy, and perseverance took Veneziano from her first job as set designer for the TV show Dallas
to designer for films like Dead Poets Society and Home Alone 2.
Veneziano will share her expertise with UNL students starting next summer when she teaches a design class,
an act as producing artistic director of the Nebraska Repertory Theater.
She'll continue her own career based out of Lincoln.
Through continuing my career, that way I can help the students open doors and help teach the process as it goes along and the changes in the movie industry.
There have been changes. Veneziano says the industry is not as friendly as it used to be,
and there's more pressure to keep budgets in line. But she said success is possible.
Because of the university, again, the quality in which they taught that you can do anything if you want to.
If you work hard enough, you can be and do anything you want. It's really what got me in the door. I didn't give up.
This is the Kleon ship. Veneziano will help others reach for the stars.
Reporting for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I'm Mary Jane Bruce.
Some fortunate students that will have her as a teacher.
Another Nebraska native makes good.
And speaking of fortunate, we have been very fortunate so far this winter, at least for the past week,
and I hope you had a chance to enjoy today because beginning with tomorrow things start to turn a little bit cooler.
Here's what you can expect, however, between now and 10 o'clock.
Pretty nice out there, clear to partly cloudy, a bit on the cool side, but most temperatures holding in the 20s.
Some folks in the low 30s by 10, so a very pleasant evening ahead.
Thank you, Ken.
That Jawbones versus Sawbones game Sunday out in Grand Island is a charity game.
All proceeds do go to charity. It's a great thing. It's the third annual game if you're in Grand Island out west.
Please go see them. It's for a good cause.
Check it out.
For 10-11 News, happy to be here.
Thanks for joining us. We'll see you back here at 10.
The 22nd annual Tri-City Street Rods Auto Exhibition with classic cars like this 1932 Cabriolet Street Rod and 29 Plymouth Coupe.