ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) — A former police sergeant has been accused of stealing money from his father in western Nebraska.

Box Butte County Court records say 42-year-old Forrest Hickman is charged with felony theft. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call Thursday from The Associated Press. Hickman’s next court date is Sept. 7.

The documents say Hickman transferred more than $28,000 of his father’s money to his own accounts while handling his father’s finances from Sept. 1, 2015, to December 2017. His father was receiving medical care then.

The documents also say Hickman sold his father’s airplane and station wagon without his father’s authorization.

Hickman worked several years for the Alliance Police Department.

As Father’s Day weekend draws to a close, all of us at Panhandle Post would like to salute Dads all over the panhandle.  Facebook profiles are loaded with funny, heartwarming, and memorable photos of Dads and their children.  We’ve also seen great Dad pics entered into our “Picture Perfect Pops” contest here on the Post.  On Monday (6/18) at 1:00pm voting will close and the Dad whose photo has the most votes will win an amazing prize package valued at over $200!

This amazing prize includes restaurant gift cards, barbecue supplies, Chamber Bucks, gift certificates and more!

Stay tuned to hear which Dad gets all these goodies!  Our “Picture Perfect Pops” photo contest is powered by All American Drywall, The Grocery Kart/Grocery Kart Liquors, and The Animal Center.  Additional sponsors include:

Zesto’s in Alliance
William’s Jewelry in Alliance
Great Western Bank
Total Reflections Salon
Dairy Queen in Alliance

Tonight at 8:00pm at Newberry’s in Alliance, the Main Street Players community theater group will present an evening of entertainment beginning with the one-act play “The Monkey’s Paw”.  The night will also include a performance of live improv comedy in the vein of “Whose Line Is It Anyway”, with audience suggestions integrated into comedy scenes created on-the-spot.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors.  A cash bar will be open at tonight’s performance.

“Monkey’s Paw” Actor/Director David Kuskie spoke with Eagle Radio’s Jason Wentworth about the production:

1,598 ballots were counted in today’s Box Butte County primary election.

Box Butte County residents re-elected Kevin Horn as Clerk of the District Court.  Horn received 654 votes (54.18%) to Woods’ 553 (45.82%).

The City Council vote ran as follows:

Earl Jones 20.34%
Mike Dafney 17.60%
Annora Bentley 17.54%
Ralph Yeager 16.63%
Pasha Korber-Gonzalez 16.20%
Jim Fistler 6.82%

All 6 candidates return for the final vote in November.  Evan Mehne (who withdrew from the primary) had 4.78%.

Winning their primaries in Box Butte County were 3rd district representative Adrian Smith (71.04%) Republican Governor Pete Ricketts (71.96%),  Republican U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (68.19%), Democratic Governor Bob Krist (38.93%), and Democratic U.S. Senator Jane Raybould (57.63%).

A 4th and 5th grade teacher at Alliance’s Immanuel Lutheran School has been named Panhandle Post’s May 2018 Teacher Of The Month.

Diane Schnare, who has taught for over three decades, is the current 4th and 5th grade teacher at Immanuel Lutheran.  During a classroom visit by Panhandle Post News Director Kalin Krohe and KCOW “Wakeup Show” host Jason Wentworth, Mrs. Schnare was described by her students as “smart”, “a good music teacher”, “really kind”, and “sweet”.

Mrs. Schnare received a certificate and a variety of gifts including a salon gift set from Total Reflections.  Her class enjoyed treats provided by Great Western Bank.   With the school year about to end, both Mrs. Schnare and her class admitted to some excitement about summer vacation; however, Mrs. Schnare also noted that she will miss her students during the break.

According to Al Lorensen of the Alliance Volunteer Fire Department, the fire dept. was called to Highland Park Care Center at 10:38am Saturday morning.  Two vehicles and five personnel reported to the care center and observed a small water line break on its fire protection sprinkler system.

Lorensen reports that AVFD personnel shut down the water system and contacted Highland Park’s maintenance provider and sprinkler company.

The incident resulted in some water damage; no injuries were reported.

 

A group of skillful contestants, cheered on by a small but energetic audience, made United Way’s 3rd Annual Game Showcase a fun-filled evening for a great cause.  A series of “Minute To Win It”-style games tested contestants’ speed, agility and concentration.  Many prizes were awarded as the evening went on; however, the final challenge, with a possible $500 payoff, was not completed before the sound of the buzzer.

Game Showcase is one of several events held each year to raise awareness and funds for the United Way and their partner agencies in Alliance and Chadron.  Whether you are able to attend such events or not, it is always easy to make a donation.  If you are a business owner, you can invite the United Way to speak to your employees about supporting the organization through payroll deductions.  Call Karen Benzel at 763-8031.

Below, see our gallery of highlights from the fun and games.

Even after nearly seven decades of broadcasting, the old ‘COW is learning a new trick.

Since February 15, 1949 KCOW Radio has had a cozy little spot at 1400 on the AM dial.  Now, as the station approaches its 70th anniversary, its listeners will soon be able to enjoy Classic Hits, Open Mic, Husker and Bulldog sports and more on a new FM translator at 92.5 on the FM band.

The new station, which will be a 100% simulcast of KCOW-AM programming, will allow listeners to enjoy classic rock and roll music in stereo.  The FM station is also expected to offer better signal quality at night, when interference and other factors sometimes compromise AM radio signals.

The new FM translator is expected to be up and running by late Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.  Listeners will experience outages on KCOW-AM as the tower crew does the installation of he FM antenna.

Eagle Radio Alliance/Chadron General Manager Olivia Hasenauer and KCOW Operations Manager Mike Glesinger discuss the new FM translator: