RIVERTON, Neb. (AP) — A former village clerk in south-central Nebraska has been given six months’ probation for stealing from her community.

Court records say 32-year-old Kelly Jackson also was fined $1,000 at her sentencing Monday in Franklin County Court. She’ pleaded no contest to misdemeanor theft after prosecutors lowered the charge from a felony count.

Court documents say a state audit alleges that Jackson took nearly $16,000 from Oct. 1, 2013, through Jan. 31, 2015, from the village of Riverton, which has about 90 residents.

Several former and current village board members told investigators that a village official signed blank checks so Jackson could pay village bills. Officials say Jackson instead wrote checks to herself.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new advertising campaign is seeking to raise awareness of the dangers of opioid abuse before it becomes a major public health crisis in Nebraska.

The statewide campaign announced Monday includes public service advertisements in radio and television outlets and newspapers.

Attorney General Doug Peterson says the campaign is a pre-emptive effort to keep Nebraska from experiencing the same problems as Ohio, New Hampshire and other states where opioid abuse has become an epidemic.

Gov. Pete Ricketts says state officials want to make sure the public is educated about the problem.

The partnership that launched the campaign includes state and federal officials as well as the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and the Nebraska Press Association.

Nebraska launched a prescription drug monitoring program earlier this year.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska could become the third U.S. state to raise its smoking age to 21.

Sen. Merv Riepe of Omaha presented a bill to a legislative committee Monday that would apply to smoking, chewing tobacco and alternative nicotine products such as e-cigarettes.

Riepe says adolescents are particularly vulnerable to addiction because their brains aren’t fully developed. He says raising the age also could keep cigarettes from younger teens because they’re more likely to be around 18-year-olds than 21-year-olds.

The Nebraska Nurses Association, Nebraska Hospital Association, and American Lung Association support the bill. They say it could save lives and money.

Advocates for vaping say e-cigarettes are less dangerous and shouldn’t be included. Opponents also contend raising the smoking age takes away rights from teens old enough to join the military.