Lincoln officials unveil tech that allows 911 callers to provide livestream; residents near AltEn 'still getting exposed'; Jeff Sims' status remains unclear.
The "new, cutting edge technology," called Prepared Live, is meant to give first responders the most accurate assessment of a scene possible before they arrive while also mitigating communication barriers that phone calls present to callers who are deaf, hard of hearing or who don't speak English.
Dispatchers at the city's 911 center can send a Prepared Live link to callers that, with the caller's consent, initiates a live video stream from the caller's smartphone camera.
Telecommunicators can then relay the intel they're gathering to first responders, helping police or other emergency personnel assess the situation before they arrive.
Residents near AltEn 'still getting exposed'
As cleanup of pesticide-contaminated waste at a former ethanol plant near Mead ramps up, researchers studying the aftermath on humans and the environment say area residents continue to show exposure to insecticides.
A study of 21 people found one-third of residents living near AltEn had measurable amounts of pesticides commonly used in seed treatments in their urine.
AltEn used discarded seeds coated with neonicotinoids to make ethanol, which also created heavily contaminated solid and liquid byproducts. Those waste products were spread on area farm ground or stockpiled on AltEn’s facility roughly 2 miles south of Mead where they were exposed to the elements.
The plant shut down in 2021 after the company came under scrutiny of environmental regulators and efforts to clean up the site began shortly after.
Jeff Sims' status unclearÂ
And, Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims’ status for the Huskers' game against Northern Illinois remains unclear.
On Thursday, head coach Matt Rhule did not say definitively whether Sims will be available to play on Saturday. Rhule indicated that he won’t know Sims’ status for certain until NU gets through Friday practice.
Nebraska and Northern Illinois are set for a 6 p.m. kickoff Saturday. The game will be broadcast on FS1.
That’s it for Friday, Sept. 15. Stay in the know with Lincoln’s longest-standing news source at JournalStar.com., we’ll see you back here on Monday.
