KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A former Nebraska probation officer sentenced to federal prison for having sex with probationers, then lying about it, is appealing his conviction.

An attorney for 57-year-old Thomas Peterson, of Kearney, filed notice of intent to appeal back in November.

Peterson began serving his nine-year sentenced on Monday.

Peterson was convicted by a jury in July of four counts of violating probationers’ civil rights and one count of lying to the FBI.

Prosecutors say he had sex with four different women while they were on probation under his supervision and that he tipped off probationers to planned drug tests. Officials say he also threatened to have one woman’s probation revoked unless she left the state.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska wildlife officials say a fatal deer illness has now been confirmed in the southeastern corner of the state.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says testing done on deer killed by hunters in Thayer, Saline, Cass and Polk counties showed evidence of the disease.

Chronic wasting disease affects deer and elk and is always fatal. No human cases have ever been recorded.

The disease was first discovered in Nebraska in 2000 in Kimball County.

Officials have tested nearly 49,000 deer over time and found 296 that tested positive. The disease has been found in 34 Nebraska counties.

More information about the disease is available online at www.OutdoorNebraska.gov/cwd.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s senior U.S. Senator Deb Fischer will again chair a Senate subcommittee dealing with transportation.

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune, a fellow Republican from South Dakota, announced Fischer’s reappointment earlier this week as head of the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security.

Fischer has long been a champion of transportation and infrastructure issues, dating back to her time in the Nebraska Legislature.

The subcommittee’s jurisdiction includes safety of the traveling public, America’s freight and passenger transportation network, and oversight of federal agencies involving transportation research, rail, pipelines, maritime shipping and ports, and commercial trucks and busses.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Hy-Vee food store chain has recalled store branded candy distributed to 242 stores in eight states after learning an ingredient from another company could be contaminated with salmonella bacteria.

West Des Moines-based Hy-Vee says a milk powder ingredient used in chocolate coating has the potential for contamination and the candy’s manufacturer, Palmer Candy Co., announced a recall of some of its products.

The candy is in a clear plastic container with sell-by dates between Jan. 26 and Feb. 23. It includes chocolate almond bark, chocolate almond pretzels, dazzled peanut brittle, holiday candy trays and others fully listed on the FDA recall website .

The candy was distributed to Hy-Vee’s eight-state region, including Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

No illnesses have been reported.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A former Hastings police detective has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor theft count for running a fraudulent fundraising site.

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office says Jerry Esch entered the plea Friday in Adams County District Court.

Prosecutors say that in November 2015, Esch was an officer with the Hastings Police Department when he created a GoFundMe page, asking for money to cover medical expenses for cancer treatment. He raised more than $30,000.

Officials say that while Esch did have cancer, he did not have the medical bills he claimed to have incurred.

Esch has been ordered to pay $7,500 in restitution. He is no longer employed by the Hastings department.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The director of the U.S. Agriculture Department Rural Development for Nebraska has announced she’s leaving her post.

Maxine Moul said in a news release that her exit is effective Jan. 20.

She was named to the position in June 2009 and managed a staff that ran more than 40 housing, business, electric, telecommunications, water and wastewater and community facility programs.

Moul served the state from 1991 to 1993 as lieutenant governor for Ben Nelson, who was governor. She resigned in 1993 to become the director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.