NEWSWRITING
Nebraska City graduate remembers his time as a Husker during tour stop
NEBRASKA CITY, NE – Bret Clark and Chris Kelsay were among four former Nebraska football players who visited Nebraska City during the final stop of the Huskers Tour Friday.
Clark, Kelsay, Steve Taylor and Brenden Stai were joined by current head football coach Mike Riley, Nebraska Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst, and Nebraska wrestling coach Mark Manning.
The group spoke about their respective athletic programs, answered questions, signed autographs and snapped photos with a sold-out crowd of scarlet and cream at Table Creek Clubhouse.
Clark, an all-state defensive back for Nebraska City High School before graduating in 1980, says an event like this gives Husker fans a chance to get to know Coach Riley.
“It shows that he cares about the communities. People see this and it makes the kids, that live in a town like Nebraska City, maybe want to go up there and try to play.”
Clark earned a scholarship from Head Coach Tom Osborne and became an All-American by several publications during his senior season in 1984. He was a consensus All-Big Eight Conference safety in 1983 and 1984, and he held team records for passes broken up in a season, passes broken up in a career, and career unassisted tackles by a defensive back.
He says Friday’s event brought back a lot of good memories from his time at Nebraska.
“Just seeing some of the guys. This is the first time I’ve got to meet Brenden Stai and I’ve known Steve Taylor for quite a few years, because he wasn’t too far behind me. It’s good to see those guys.”
Clark was drafted in the seventh round of the NFL Draft in 1985. He played for the Atlanta Falcons from 1986-1988 before an injury ended his career. He finished with nine career interceptions and one sack as a pro football player.
As for putting the helmet and pads back on to play for Coach Riley: “No, no. I’ve had enough of that.”
Kelsay was an all-state defensive lineman during his senior season for Auburn High School, registering 142 tackles, 14 sacks, 3 fumbles forced and two fumble recoveries. His career at Nebraska included 135 tackles with 13 sacks. He was drafted by Buffalo in 2003 and played his entire NFL career with Bills until 2012.
27-year-old woman rushed to hospital after rattlesnake bite at Lake McConaughy
LAKE McCONAUGHY – What felt like a bee sting on the inside of her left ankle turned out to be a rattlesnake bite on 27-year-old Brooke Namuth late Friday night at Lake McConaughy in western Nebraska.
Brooke and her husband Jordan, 27, were calling it a night after their two-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter fell asleep around a friend’s campfire at the Cedar View beach access at around 11:30.
On a windy night, the pair packed their things and began to trek back to their vehicle located on a blacktop parking area on a grassy hill over looking the lake, using the bright moonlight to help guide them. The family of four were approaching their vehicle when Brooke, who was carrying their son, stopped and said, “dang, a bee just stung me on the ankle.”
At first, Jordan didn’t think much of it and continued to walk until he began to hear a rattling noise. He threw everything down, grabbed a phone to shine towards the rattle and there was the adult rattlesnake, curled in a strike position in the middle of the trail the two have taken many times over the years.
“Instantly, my heart dropped and I switched to full panic mode, threw all of our coolers and chairs on the ground.” Jordan said. “I ran up to Brooke, pulled her sweat pants up and there were two little bleeding holes. Brooke, still thinking it was a bee sting, was trying to get our son buckled in his seat and started to get dizzy and short of breath. That’s when I grabbed her and yelled, ‘It was a rattlesnake, Brooke! Get in the vehicle.'”
Jordan thinks his daughter stepped right over the snake and his wife stepped right on it, because the rattler didn’t give any warning. Jordan elevated Brooke’s ankle and rushed her and her two kids to Ogallala Community Hospital, 26 miles away.
“Instantly after the bite, she began to faint a little and get dizzy,” according to her husband of eight years. “It was hard for her to stay awake on the way to the hospital. She started swelling up in the face and neck, and was short on breathe. Her heart rate also skyrocketed before we started the treatment.”
Brooke was treated with four sessions of anti-venom every six hours to flush the venom. She is scheduled to leave the hospital after one more treatment Saturday evening and is expected to make a full recovery. The family has been at the hospital since midnight Friday.
Nebraska Game and Parks Conservation Officer Terry Brentzel, who is expecting a big crowd for the weekend before the Fourth of July, says this is the first reported snake bite he has heard of this year.
Jordan says this was a first for him and his family.
“You always heard the stories and we both grew up living around rattlesnakes and hunting old prairie dog towns for snakes, learning how to look and listen for them. But this is the first time with an actual bite first-hand.”
Lake McConaughy is a popular destination, especially during holidays like Independence Day on Wednesday. Jordan advises visitors to keep your eyes and ears open.
“Think of your kids first while in areas with tall grass. I’m thankful it was one of us to get bit instead of our daughter or son. I don’t know what it would have done to one of their little bodies. This is real thing, they are around the lake but if you are cautious around such areas, you’ll be fine.”
Lake McConaughy shooting witness: “I was just scared for my kids”
OGALLALA, NE – A woman who was shot in the head by her husband Saturday night at a campsite at Lake McConaughy in western Nebraska is expected to survive.
Sean K. Long of Aurora, CO was arrested on suspicion of first degree assault and use of a firearm to commit a felony.
Long’s wife, who was not further identified in a press statement released by Keith County Attorney Randy Fair, was flown by medical helicopter to a Colorado hospital.
Witnesses said a group of 12-14 people from Colorado and Wyoming were at the campsite near Martin Bay at the time of the shooting. Witnesses said a man, presumably Long, was led away in handcuffs by law enforcement officers.
According to law enforcement officials, the woman was shot in the back of the head, but did not comment on the severity of the injury or circumstances that led up to the shooting. Witnesses said they believed alcohol was being consumed at the campsite. Alcoholic beverages are not permitted at Lake McConaughy, according to state regulation.
Two tents, a jet ski and jet ski trailer were still at the scene Sunday afternoon.
A Denver woman, camping with her family next to the site where the shooting occurred, said after the gunshot went off, someone who appeared to be with the group, apparently took the gun from the suspect and began to run for help.
“We heard what we thought was a gunshot or a firework and then a bunch of people running down the road. One of them said they had the gun and next thing we know, a bunch of police cars were showing up.”
The Denver woman, who wished not to be named, said she was scared for her kids and the other kids in the camping area at the time of the shooting.
“I just wanted to make sure all the kids were okay, but luckily my kids were already inside asleep so they didn’t have to witness any of this. It was just kind of more or less a lot of cop cars around and just wondering what the heck is going on.”
The Keith County Sheriff’s Office, Ogallala Police Department, Nebraska State Patrol, Keystone Lemoyne Fire Rescue and the Nebraska Game and Parks responded to the scene at 10:30 p.m. Witnesses say law enforcement remained on scene until approximately 5 a.m. on Sunday.
A phone call during lunch seals Hayden Miller’s basketball future
NEBRASKA CITY, NE – Surrounded by classmates, friends and teammates, Hayden Miller took a moment out of his lunch hour at Lourdes Central Catholic High School last week to make one of the most important phone calls of his life.
University of Nebraska – Omaha Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach Tyler Erwin was the person Miller was supposed to call.
“They’re like ‘just go ahead and call him now. We want to hear what’s going on.’ So, I actually walked over into the bathroom, just so I can hear. Then I came back and they’re like ‘well, what did he say? Are you going to tell us?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s good news.’ So, they were pretty excited, too.”
The good news: Miller was offered a preferred walk-on spot with the Mavericks. On Wednesday, during the Lourdes Central Catholic High School Activities Awards, Athletic Director Joe Tynon announced the two-time Class D1 Player of the Year accepted the offer and will attend UNO in the fall.
Miller chose the Mavericks over Doane University, Concordia and Ottawa University in Kansas. He took an individual visit to tour the UNO’s campus facilities and establish relationships with the basketball administration and coaches.
“What I really like about these coaches, they’re great coaches, but you can be in contact with them. You can talk with them about anything. That’s really big for me.”
The 6’1″ senior guard averaged 17.4 points per game, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals, leading the Knights to their second straight Class D1 State Championship in March. He played in 107 career games, averaging 11.7 points per game, 3.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals.
Miller plans to major in criminal justice and get a minor in Spanish during his time at UNO.
Scott Frost Aims to Unite the People of Nebraska Behind Husker Football
LINCOLN, Neb. – Athletic Director Bill Moos called Sunday a “celebration for the University of Nebraska and Husker football” as he introduced former NU standout Scott Frost as the new football coach.
At a press conference on the third floor of Memorial Stadium in Lincoln Sunday afternoon, the program’s 33rd head coach said “I can’t say how special it is for me, a kid from Nebraska.”
“Words can’t describe how much it means to me to be back here at a place that I love, a place that I understand, a place that I want to represent.”
Frost became a prep legend at Wood River High School and was the last quarterback to start for Tom Osborne before his retirement.
After playing two years at Stanford, Frost transferred to NU, serving as scout team quarterback on the 1995 national title team. He started 26 games for Nebraska and won 24 of them. In 1997, Nebraska won the Big 12 title and beat Tennessee 42-17 in the Orange Bowl.
The Huskers are coming off their worst season in a half-century, but Frost said he believes the leadership is in place to bring glory back to Nebraska, saying he thinks the state is hungry for unity.
“When I walked into that weight room and saw all those players there, it really made me excited about the fact that we can get this entire state behind this football program. Get this entire state behind this football program. Get this entire state pulling for these players. Get this entire state excited about what’s going on and we’re going to put a product on the field that this entire state can be proud of.”
He also said former Husker and Tecumseh native Matt Davison played a key role, “pestering me until I agreed to come here.”
Frost and his staff will coach his former team, the University of Central Florida Golden Knights, in their bowl game, the Jan. 1 Peach Bowl vs. Auburn, even as several assistants, including future Husker defensive coordinator Erik Chinander, follow Frost to Nebraska.
A seven-year, $35-million deal will make Frost the highest-paid coach in school history and one of the top 15 highest-paid coaches in the sport.
LINCOLN, Neb. – Athletic Director Bill Moos called Sunday a “celebration for the University of Nebraska and Husker football” as he introduced former NU standout Scott Frost as the new football coach.
At a press conference on the third floor of Memorial Stadium in Lincoln Sunday afternoon, the program’s 33rd head coach said “I can’t say how special it is for me, a kid from Nebraska.”
“Words can’t describe how much it means to me to be back here at a place that I love, a place that I understand, a place that I want to represent.”
Frost became a prep legend at Wood River High School and was the last quarterback to start for Tom Osborne before his retirement.
After playing two years at Stanford, Frost transferred to NU, serving as scout team quarterback on the 1995 national title team. He started 26 games for Nebraska and won 24 of them. In 1997, Nebraska won the Big 12 title and beat Tennessee 42-17 in the Orange Bowl.
The Huskers are coming off their worst season in a half-century, but Frost said he believes the leadership is in place to bring glory back to Nebraska, saying he thinks the state is hungry for unity.
“When I walked into that weight room and saw all those players there, it really made me excited about the fact that we can get this entire state behind this football program. Get this entire state behind this football program. Get this entire state pulling for these players. Get this entire state excited about what’s going on and we’re going to put a product on the field that this entire state can be proud of.”
He also said former Husker and Tecumseh native Matt Davison played a key role, “pestering me until I agreed to come here.”
Frost and his staff will coach his former team, the University of Central Florida Golden Knights, in their bowl game, the Jan. 1 Peach Bowl vs. Auburn, even as several assistants, including future Husker defensive coordinator Erik Chinander, follow Frost to Nebraska.
A seven-year, $35-million deal will make Frost the highest-paid coach in school history and one of the top 15 highest-paid coaches in the sport.
* 2018 Nebraska Broadcasters Association Gold Award Winner - Best In-Depth Sports Story or Series
Nebraska City High School faculty member: "I've never been through anything like this in my life"
NEBRASKA CITY – Nebraska City Public Schools went quickly into a “lockout”, but soon upgraded to an official “lockdown,” after a threat to the high school and middle school was received by Otoe County Dispatch at 10:06 Thursday morning.
Police Capt. Lonnie Neeman said a student was detained after authorities acquired a cell phone the threats came from.
There was a heavy police presence of Nebraska City Police Department officers, Otoe County Sheriff Deputies and Nebraska State Patrol troopers at both schools.
High School Faculty member Julie Denniston, who is the para educator for ninth-grade special education, says staff members were not informed of any drills. When they got an email from administration about the threat, they knew it was real.
“We went through our drill: turned out the lights, went to our corner and everything was running smoothly. The police responded very quickly. Our kids were very calm. Some of the other kids were panicking. Thank goodness everything came out well.”
In accordance to school protocol, students got underneath their desks during the entire lockdown, stayed quiet and teachers locked their classroom doors, not answering to any knocks or shakes on the door.
Witnesses inside the high school said law enforcement searched classroom-to-classroom with weapons drawn.
Officials have said there was never an active shooter and there was no indication of anyone inside the schools with a weapon.
Denniston has two kids in the school system, a high school student and a middle school student. She wasn’t hearing much from the middle school, because students are not allowed to have their cell phones.
“Thank goodness I know a couple of the teachers, personally. I was able to correspond with them and I think without having that, I would have had a breakdown.”
Denniston says everything went great, protocol was followed and everything was organized. She hopes they never have to do it again.
The state patrol does not anticipate any other arrests at this time. No injuries have been reported.
All public school activities Thursday, including tennis, baseball and middle school track and field, have been cancelled.
Police remain on scene at the schools and the situation remains under investigation.
*2018 Nebraska Broadcasters Association Gold Award Winner - Spot News