MEMBERSHIP MEETING
and PRESENTATIONS
CENTRAL
NEBRASKA LEGAL PROFESSIONALS
January 5, 2012
Our first
meeting of the new year was held at Perkins Restaurant
in Grand Island
with a full house in attendance! Lynelle
Homolka gave a presentation on juvenile abuse and neglect. Lynelle is the current Merrick County
Attorney and is passionate about protecting the innocent in our society from
abuse and neglect. She has extensive
experience as a prosecutor
and trial lawyer and shared some of her stories to help us be
more aware of what is going on behind closed doors in our society. We were startled to learn that Nebraska is ranked 4th
in the nation for child abuse related deaths.
10% of those who die under the age of 4 are victims of abuse. If you would like to become involved on a
layperson level to help eradicate child abuse the Association for Child Abuse
Prevention (ACAP) is a good place to start.
We also learned that the general public is required to report suspicions
of child abuse to the authorities, Neb.Rev.Stat.
§ 28-711.
December 1, 2011
Our December
member meeting was spent Christmas Caroling at several retirement homes in Grand Island. Since we spent time practicing our carols we
sounded really good!! It was once again
a very enjoyable worthwhile evening and thanks to Merry Johnson for making all
the arrangements. Thanks also to Alan
Nielsen who accompanied us on his guitar.
We ended our evening with supper at Perkins. I recommend the Tomato basil soup…. Mmmmmmm
November 3, 2011
The November
meeting was held at the Liederkrantz in Grand
Island, Nebraska. Our speakers were Ron Trampe and Matt
Armstrong who gave presentations on retirement savings and some changes in
federal tax laws that we should be aware of.
The speakers were informative and sometimes downright funny! We enjoyed the food and hospitality presented
by the Liederkrantz and hope to return again.
October 12, 2011
Our October
meeting was at the Grand Island Woman’s Club and our meeting was actually a
book signing and presentation by author Jamie Tallman who wrote a book entitled
"The Notorious Dr. Flippin".
We opened the presentation to the public and had a wonderful turnout for
Mr. Tallman who was surprised at the number of interested folks who showed
up. Mr. Tallman was introduced by
Valorie Bendixen, the Hall County District Court Clerk whose office was a major
source of information for the research that went into the writing of the
book. We learned that Dr. Flippin was born a slave in the
southern United States who
rose to a position as a trusted, loved and talented medical doctor who tended
to many in the central Nebraska
area. Dr. Flippin was often the
defendant in lawsuits brought against him in the area courts usually by
disgruntled medical practitioners, but I would suggest that you read a copy of
the book to satisfy your curiosity about the life of this interesting man. After his presentation Jamie Tallman
autographed books purchased by the group and the Grand Island Woman's groups
offered tours of the magnificent Hargiss House.
September, 2011
Our new
season opened at the Saddle Club on September 1, 2011 at the Grand Island
Saddle Club with our speaker Bob Sivick joining us for supper and speaking
about his position at the Grand Island City Attorney. Mr. Sivick, a native of Pennsylvania and graduate of Creighton Law,
was formerly employed by the Federal government in the disaster relief loan
program. A department which originally
employed eight federal attorneys ballooned to 300 federal attorneys to work
with the Hurricane Katrina disaster relief applicants in 2005. Mr. Sivick has an extensive background in Nebraska law having
served on the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission (Sunshine Law),
the Omaha City Council, and as the Howard and Greeley County Attorney. As the Grand Island City Attorney he works
closely with the Mayor and a great majority of his time is spent on taxation
issues.
July, 2011
This is a
quick recap of what has been whirlwind of a spring!
In March, the Central Nebraska Legal Professionals
held two events; Bosses Night wherein we selected Mark Porto
of Shamberg, Wolf, McDermott and Dupue as the Boss of the Year. Mark was nominated by JoAnn Oseka. Myself, Shelly Nielsen was greatly surprised
and honored at being selected Legal Professional of the Year. My family showed up and I found out that they
were a part of the "secret" all along. We held our March membership meeting after
the festivities and thank you to JoAnn Oseka for taking the minutes for me as I
was "kidnapped" by my family and taken out to my favorite restaurant
to eat. Nominations and elections were
held at that membership meeting as well.
Our new board is JoAnn Oseka, President, Merry Johnson, Vice-President,
Shelly Nielsen, Secretary, Nikki Campos, Treasurer and Cariena Birchard,
Chapter Representative. A big Congratulations to each of you (and me) and we are all
looking forward to our coming year as officers.
On March 19,
CNLP hosted the NLPA Spring Seminar and although it took a
great deal of work and planning, the committee members were spectacular
in bringing it all together and the day was wonderful! The Grand Island Woman's Club is an excellent
historic venue in which to hold a day long meeting of this sort and it made the
event a huge success!
The April
meeting was our new member night and we met at the Saddle Club and listened to
Shane Thielen, an attorney from Lincoln,
who discussed on-line social networking and its use in the law office as possible
evidence in lawsuits. We had one guest
join us, Cris Larson from Central City
who attended on an invitation from Teresa Hartwig.
Mahoney State Park was the venue for the annual
State meeting hosted by the Omaha Legal Professionals the last weekend in April. It was a wonderful time! Interesting topics and
speakers, great food, and a rollicking mock trial involving Humpty Dumpty and
his great fall. The banquet on
Saturday was beautiful and as a first time attendee I am looking forward to the
next one and getting to know more of the members and renew acquaintances!
Our May
meeting was held at President JoAnn Oseka's home. We discussed the speakers we would like to
hear this next year and possible venues in which to hold our meetings. JoAnn
did indeed open that bottle of wine purchased from the Tasting Room in Ashland and it tasted
even better at her house! J
Our next
meeting is in August. Our
annual "Picnic". This
year we are picnicking at the vineyard near Ravenna.
Details on the webpage.
February 3, 2011
We met at the
Saddle Club in Grand Island
for our February members meeting and shared our meal with the Honorable Philip
Martin, attorney John Sellers and DHHS supervisor Kacee Zimmerman. Bobbie Barta also joined us as our guest. Our speakers introduced us to the "Through
the Eyes of the Child" initiative which began in 2005 in Nebraska City, Nebraska
at a mandatory attendance summit. The
initiative's purpose is to keep families who are in the legal system working as
team members with the legal system. The
State of Nebraska
was divided into districts which implement their initiative mandates as fits
their district needs. The purpose was to
make the journey through the legal system as quick and smooth as possible, for
example creating a case plan for the family in 30 days and not 90 days as had
been done previously. Foster children
were brought before a meeting of Judges, attorneys and caseworkers and told the group that they had no relationship with their
Guardian ad Litem nor their Judge. The
initiative seeks to make the child and the parents a part of the team who meets
and sets goals to reunify the family if possible.
The speakers
were well informed and passionate about the hopes for this initiative and its
future. The website address is: www.throughtheeyes.org. Our monthly meeting followed.
January 6, 2011
We met at
Uncle Ed's Steakhouse in Grand Island
for our January meeting and we welcomed Susan M. Koenig of Mayer, Burns, Koenig
and Janulewicz as our speaker. Susan has
a general law practice but has specialized in adoptions for the last 15
years. Adoptions are statutory, not
common law. There are several technical
steps to be complied with in order for the adoption to be granted. The legal effect of an adoption is that the
child and parents have the same relationship as though the parents are
biological. The child must be adopted by
both husband and wife is couple are married.
Nebraska
law does not recognize same sex parent adoptions because the biological parent
would have to relinquish their parental rights and would defeat the
purpose. Adoptions are filed in the
county where the parents live unless the juvenile is involved in a juvenile
case in another county. Then there is a
choice of venue between the two counties.
With a
stranger adoption (no blood relationship) a home study is done. In a step-parent adoption no home study is
required.
With all
adoptions a criminal history, central registry check and fingerprint cards are
all required to be done. In a
step-parent adoption the bioparent must give consent. If the bioparent is absent, their parental
rights can be terminated. There must not
have been any contact with the bioparent for at least six months. If child support is being
received from the absent parent that is considered contact. If the child is over 14 years of age, the
child must consent.
An adoption
can be private, through an agency or through the Department of Health and Human
Services.
The County Judges
prefer to review the exhibits before the Petition for Adoption is filed. The hearing is at least four weeks after
filing but within eight weeks of filing.
Both parents and
the child must be present at the adoption hearing. The hearing is closed but the family can
invite friends and family to attend.
Pictures can be taken in the courtroom.
Three certified copies of the Decree of Adoption are prepared. A Report of Adoption is prepared and given to
the Clerk Magistrate for filing with the Vital Statistics office in Lincoln which prepares the
new birth certificate. If the adopted
child was born in another state other than Nebraska, that state's form is prepared and
mailed in with the correct dollar amount.
Our monthly meeting followed.
December 3, 2010
Christmas Caroling
NOVEMBER 4, 2010
Members and guest Bobbie Barta met at the Saddle Club in Grand Island, Nebraska. Speaker was Attorney Fred Vipperman on DUI
Interlock Device.
Old Business: There
still has been no response from the Scholarship receipient. Teresa Hartwig
will check with Mary Nuss to determine who the runner-up was so that the
scholarship may be awarded. Karen Bortz is working on the Articles of
Incorporation for CNLP.
New business:
Discussions were held regarding filings with the State of Nebraska and new
stationary available for our chapter's use.
Committee reports were given. Our next meeting is our holiday party which
we have chosen to spend caroling at retirement homes. Meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
Merry Johnson, Secretary Pro Tem
OCTOBER 7, 2010
The members and a guest of the Central Nebraska Legal
Professionals met at the Child Advocacy Center
in Grand Island, Nebraska on October 7, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. for
a guided tour of the facility. Our tour
guide was Will Kramer who then joined us for supper at Nathan Detroit's along
with Roberta Barta, a paralegal student.
Traci Dusatko Vauble, Executive
Director and Will Kramer presented the history of the Center, its purpose and
the services provided to Grand Island, Hall County,
and the surrounding counties. We toured
the facility left there being very impressed with the child-friendly
surroundings and the dedication of the staff working to provide a safe
environment for the children. As
individuals, we donated stuffed animals for the children and supplies for CNCAC
use.
-- Karen Niedfelt
Secretary Pro-Tem
SEPTEMBER 2, 2010
The members
and guests of the Central Nebraska Legal Professionals met at the Riverside
Country Club in Grand Island,
Nebraska on September 2, 2010 at
6:00 p.m. for speakers and supper.
Our speakers
were William Miller, Deputy Court Administrator for I.T. and Sherri Dennis,
Senior JUSTICE Business Analyst. The
discussion began with an introduction to JUSTICE the on-line court system used
in the State of Nebraska.
An annual fee of $50.00 per year to
Nebraska.gov gives access to the system for JUSTICE case look-up of legal
filings.
E-filing is
being utilized across the State in all 93 county courts and a large majority of
the District Courts. E-filing is 24/7
and the file stamp date is the date and time that the pleading is filed by the
attorney, not when the clerk's office accepts the document.
As of the
date of meeting all but one of the 93 county courts have used e-filing and all
but three of the District Courts have e-filed.
Many
advantages of e-filing were shown including more time for clerks to perform
other tasks other than accepting and filing documents; saves money in the
Court's budget as they do not have to mail case information and more time for
the attorney's and their staff to perform other tasks other than court house
filings.
We were given
a demonstration and questions were asked and answered satisfactorily. We learned a great deal from these speakers
and took some vital information back to our employers.
Another excellent choice of speakers!
After our enjoyable dinner meal we held our September
meeting and lively and spirited discussions were held regarding our next
meeting activities. Watch the calendar!
We adjourned at 8:31 p.m.
Shelly Nielsen, Secretary