LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska prison officials will continue offering $2,500 hiring bonuses to find new guards for prisons in Lincoln and Tecumseh.

The bonuses were scheduled to expire, but Corrections Director Scott Frakes announced they will be extended to Jan. 2.

The bonuses are paid out quarterly over a new employee’s first year of service.

Since the bonuses began on Oct. 2, Frakes said 50 new staff members have been hired at the two prisons.

Frakes says adding more guards should reduce the need for mandatory overtime at both prisons.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service is taking applications for over 900 temporary jobs that will be filled in the region next year.

The Forest Service plans to hire that many temporary workers to help at national forests and grasslands in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming next year.

The jobs include a variety of duties, including firefighting, wildlife, recreation, forestry and administrative support.

Applications can be submitted for firefighting and other early-season jobs from Dec. 15 to Dec. 21. Applications for the other jobs will be taken from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1.

The job listings are available online at www.fs.usda.gov/main/r2/jobs. Applications can be submitted at www.usajobs.gov.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — The Scottsbluff zoo is collecting Christmas presents for the animals.

The Riverside Discovery Center posted a list of items online that animals might enjoy for entertainment and enrichment.

The list includes paper lunch sacks, CD players, nuts, vanilla wafers and feather dusters.

The zoo says the items will be used throughout the year. The full list of requested items is online at www.RiversideDiscoveryCenter.org.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Game and Parks has scheduled three free Family Ice Fishing clinics in January.

The first, a classroom clinic, will be held Jan. 6 at Yanney Heritage Park’s Environmental Resource Center in Kearney from 5 to 9 p.m.

An on-ice clinic will be held Jan. 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Fort Kearny State Recreation Area Lake No. 6. And the commission will hold another on-ice clinic Jan. 20 at Lake Wanahoo State Recreation Area north of Wahoo from 1 to 4 p.m.

Loaner equipment will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Bait and instruction will be provided. Participants are encouraged to bring their own equipment.

Park vehicle entry permits are at Fort Kearny and Lake Wanahoo.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska high school student has fabricated a metal bracket that lets police officers remove their body cameras and place them on their body shields.

Kearney High School senior Ryan Lundell created the device after the Kearney Police Department approached the school’s metals instructor about the project.

Cameras are typically worn on officer’s uniforms or on their helmets. Pat McLaughlin is the school’s resource officer and an officer at the police department. He says the camera’s view can sometimes be obstructed by other equipment.

Lundell’s bracket slides onto body shields and provides a place for officers to put the cameras for a clearer view.

Officers trained with the new device during a recent set of their monthly drills.