COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — Officials have decided to explore the creation of a full-time position for fire chief of Columbus.

The City Council voted Monday night to have staffers review for comparison fire department organization in other Nebraska cities.

Mayor Mike Moser and others expressed concerns about the cost of a full-timer. The part-time chief, Dean Hefti, is paid nearly $20,700 — a figure expected to rise if it were to become a full-time job.

Hefti told the Columbus Telegram (https://bit.ly/1RxZRex) Tuesday that he doesn’t think “the constituents or the taxpayers in Columbus can afford what would happen if you went to a full-time chief.”

The city of about 22,500 residents has 15 paid firefighters and around 55 volunteers.

STANTON, Neb. (AP) — The last of four northeast Nebraska teenagers accused of torturing a cat and an opossum has been sentenced.

The boy was sentenced Tuesday and given a similar sentence: a year of probation, 50 hours of community service, more counseling and a mental health evaluation.

Stanton County authorities say the boys made an audio recording of the cat being tortured. Only two of the four participated in both incidents last fall.

An adult also has been charged: Kirk Van Pelt, a Stanton school board member and a former sheriff’s deputy. Van Pelt has pleaded not guilty to two counts of aiding and abetting and four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child. His pretrial hearing is scheduled for April 26.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 28-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a 2012 gang-related killing in Omaha.

Tavar Hudson made the plea Tuesday to a charge of second-degree murder after prosecutors lowered the charge from first-degree murder. He’ll be sentenced in May.

Prosecutors say he shot 19-year-old Deanthony Bryant outside a nightclub in Omaha’s Old Market district on June 17, 2012. It was the opening weekend of the College World Series.

Investigators have said the shooting stemmed from a feud between the 40th Avenue Crips gang and the 16th Street Bloods. They say Bryant was a Crip, Hudson a Blood.

Hudson was arrested last April.

PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. (AP) — A Cass County man accused of shackling his teenage nephew to a bed has taken a plea deal.

Court records say 36-year-old Wade Merry pleaded no contest Monday to a misdemeanor count of negligent child abuse after prosecutors lowered the charge from a felony. His trial has been scheduled to begin April 6.

Police say the 14-year-old was shackled to the bed at least a dozen times. A court document says Merry told police he restrained the boy while Merry worked overnight shifts at a bakery. Merry says he was frustrated by the boy’s behavior problems.

Police say Merry gave the boy a cup in case he needed to use a bathroom while shackled.