A 12-year-old boy died after a collision on an icy highway near Gordon. 

The Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office says the accident occurred around 7:30 a.m.

Thursday, about five miles west of Gordon. The office says Melissa Jaggers, of Rushville, lost control of her vehicle on U.S. Highway 20 and slid into the path of an oncoming truck. 

National Weather Service records say light snow had been falling in the area since Wednesday night. 

Deputy Richard Anderson says Jaggers and her 12-year-old son were taken to Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, where the boy died Thursday evening.

Jaggers’ 10-year-old daughter was flown to a Denver hospital. The children’s names have not been released. 

The truck driver, 32-year-old Ken Costello, was treated at Gordon Memorial Hospital and released. 

Bridges dominate Dawes County’s 1-and-6 year road plan, adopted Wednesday following a public hearing at which no one from the public spoke.

Replacement or refurbishing of three bridges and the removal of one bridge make up the 1-year portion of the plan with replacement of 8 other bridges in the 6-year section.

The bridge slated for removal…the Lemmon Bridge over West Ash Creek…is currently closed. County Road Superintendent Larry Hankin says the wooden structure is rotting with increasing concerns over the stability of the abutment.

One of the three bridges slated for work this year, the Sand Creek Bridge, won’t cost the county anything because Hankin says he’s received confirmation that 100% of the cost will be covered by state and federal funds.

The other two bridges are both on Bethel Road…the Soester Bridge and the Bethel Loop Bridge. The county board Wednesday approved the design for the Bethel Loop Bridge by engineer Larry McCaslin of McCaslin Consulting of Scottsbluff, but also talked with him about expanding his involvement in the project.

They want McCaslin to also be in charge of surveying, material testing, and supervision of compaction work. McCaslin said he could on a per-hour basis, but would need to contract out the actual work. That led the board to ask him to submit his proposal in writing.

Over 300 people are expected Friday and Saturday at Chadron State College for the school’s 24th annual Excellence in Early Childhood Conference…targeted at educators, child care givers, parents, and anyone else who cares for or about children.

This year’s theme is “United We Stand for Children … Yes, We Are Ready – Embracing Social and Emotional Development.”

Friday offers 3 free workshop sessions. Conference organizer and CSC professor Dr Kim Madsen says says participants will choose between one of two presentations running from 3:00 till 5:00.

Jessica La Chere, an early childhood trainer with the Nebraska Department of Education, will lead a session on Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scales, which will provide a basic understanding of what the rating scales are and how they’re used.

UNL extension educator Jackie Guzman’s session is titled Enhancing Emotional Literacy. Her goal is to increase the awareness of participants to the kinds of interactions between adults and young children that help increase the emotional competency of the children.

Friday evening offers another free 2-hour session at 6:30  that Madsen hopes parents will be able to attend.  Scottsbluff psychologist Dr Mark Hald will offer a primer on the Circle of Security…a relationship-based program designed to give parents a “roadmap” to viewing the behavior of their children as communication and not just misbehavior.

There is a fee for Saturday’s daylong portion of the conference…which offers 4 sessions with college or continuing education credits

The featured speaker will be Holly Elissa Bruno…author, attorney, and online radio host who also teaches leadership courses. Bruno will offer 4 different sessions, broken up by lunch a pair of 15-minute “mini-session” with “I am moving, I am learning” activities.

Bruno’s first talk begin at 8 am and is titled Hats off to You: Everyday Miracle Workers in Children’s Lives. It urges Early Childhood professionals to stop and appreciate what they accomplish in the lives of the children they help.

At 10:20, she’ll talk about developing and using Emotional Intelligence – the ability to read people and their emotions since 65-to-90% of human emotion is communicated without words.

After lunch, Bruno will encourage participants to use humor and play to build their brains…basing her presentation on brain research that show fun and lightheartedness can chase the blues and restore enthusiasm.

She’s titled her final presentation at 2:30 “Fired Up or Burned Out: Your Power to Make a Difference,” and will offer tips on avoiding burnout from “caregivers syndrome” and rediscovering enthusiasm for a profession.

    A Cheyenne man has pleaded Not Guilty in Torrington to 4 felony counts in a fatal rollover accident last June just west of the Nebraska-Wyoming state line that killed 2 Scottsbluff teenagers and injured 2 other teens.

22 year old Ethan Kaufman remains free on $50,000 bail on 2 counts of aggravated homicide by a vehicle and 2 counts of drunk driving causing serious bodily injury. No trial date has been scheduled.

Alexis Wheeler and Hallie Anderson…both students at Western Nebraska Community College…were killed while Tyler Hill of Lyman and Stetson Allen of Morrill…both 19…were seriously injured in the accident. All were riding with Kaufman.

Testimony at Kaufman’s preliminary hearing included evidence and witness statements that showed he was legally intoxicated and traveling 99 mph at the time of the accident, and that he may have been texting on his cell phone just prior to losing control of his pickup.

      Former World Champion Bull Rider and Rodeo Hall of Fame member Charlie Sampson is spending Thursday and Friday at Chadron State College a part of the school’s celebration of Black History Month.

Visit co-organizer and Mari Sandoz Center director Sarah Polak says Sampson…an inner city Californian who used horses as a way to escape violence…will share his inspirational history tonight at 7:00 with a free presentation in Memorial Hall.

One of just 6 black members when he joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1977, the 5-4 Sampson became the first black cowboy to win a PRCA world title in 1982. He retired in 1994 and was elected to the Hall of Fame 2 years later.

Sampson’s career saw him ride at the Crawford Old West Trails Rodeo, and Polak says he’s bringing some of his memorabilia and cowboy gear with him to Chadron.

While in Chadron, Sampson…who turns 56 this summer…will talk with Chadron State students, address the younger students who will be there Thursday for the Western District History Day Competition, and join the CSC Rodeo Team for its Black Tie Calf Fry Friday night. Polak hopes his presence brings the Calf Fry a bigger crowd.

For tickets to the Calf Fry, contact CSC Rodeo Coach Dustin Luper at (308) 432-6286.

The Nebraska State Patrol has bestowed its Honorable Service Award on two troopers…one of them from the Panhandle…who injured in the line of duty last year.

Trooper Timothy Flick #382, Troop E- Scottsbluff and Trooper Brian Detlefsen #478, Troop B- Norfolk were presented their awards by Patrol Superintendent Colonel David Sankey at recent troop meetings.

Trooper Flick was honored for his actions during the 14-hour June 12 armed robbery and standoff at the Thiele Pharmacy in Alliance, as he was wounded in the torso and arm by gunfire from robbery suspect who died in a shootout with police.

Trooper Detlefsen was honored for his actions during a December 18 incident involving an individual using a tractor to destroy property in rural Antelope County. His cruiser was rammed by the tractor at a high rate of speed, causing the air bag to deploy.  Detlefsen suffered a laceration to his head requiring medical treatment.

Colonel Sankey says that while the two situations were very different, the response from Flick and Detlefsen was similar…with both officers demonstrating “their bravery, courage and self-sacrifice in the face of danger and in the protection of others.”

The Nebraska State Patrol’s Honorable Service Award was established to bestow recognition to commissioned officers who, while in the performance of their duties, are injured or killed while encountering deadly force or bodily harm.