NORTH PLATTE — The organizing committee of the ATV Jamboree at Lake McConaughy has cancelled the event that was slated for September 17 through September 20 this year due to high-water levels.

In order to have the Jamboree, water levels would need to be at 3245 feet to provide a sufficient riding area. Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District will be trying to get the lake elevation down to 3260 by October 1, which is the normal full pool of the lake during the winter, leaving no riding areas for the Jamboree.

Chris Vail, Chairperson of the ATV Jamboree at Lake McConaughy said: “The Ogallala/Keith County Chamber of Commerce, organizers of this event, and the committee members of the ATV Jamboree at Lake McConaughy are disappointed that we will not hold the 2015 Jamboree, however, the water levels managed by Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, are not anticipated to reach a level that will provide the sandy beaches needed for the riders.”

During this annual event is the only time ATVs are allowed on the beaches at Lake McConaughy. The Jamboree typically has a riding area on the beaches stretching from Little Thunder Campground to Sandy Beach. The Jamboree takes place two times a year with an event in the spring and fall.

Event coordinators are planning to organize a fall ATV Jamboree in 2016.

MCCOOK, Neb. (AP) — A 54-year-old Culbertson woman has been given 18 to 36 months in prison for embezzling more than $814,000 from a livestock auction company in McCook.

Trina Hoyt was sentenced on Monday in Red Willow County District Court. On June 1 she’d pleaded guilty to one count of theft.

Hoyt was accused of writing 26 unauthorized checks on Tri-State Livestock Commission Co. accounts between January 2012 and December 2013 and depositing them into her own accounts.

Her former employer says Hoyt took more than $1.2 million between 2010 and 2013. Investigators did not include 2010 and 2011 in their probe, because of the statute of limitations.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska judge has struck down a policy that prevented same-sex couples from serving as foster parents or adopting state wards.

Lancaster County District Judge John Colborn declared the rules unconstitutional, citing the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed same-sex marriage. A spokeswoman for Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson said Thursday that their office was still reviewing the decision.

The policy was put in place in 1995, but the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services quietly stopped enforcing the ban in 2012.

According to the ruling, the lack of enforcement created confusion within the department. Same-sex couples were also forced to undergo a more rigorous review than others.

The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of three same-sex couples.

HARRISBURG, Neb. (AP) — Banner County authorities say a 60-year-old man has died in a tractor accident on his mother’s farm in the Nebraska Panhandle.

The accident occurred Wednesday afternoon at the farm, which sits along Nebraska Highway 88, about three miles west of Nebraska Highway 71.

Sheriff Stan McKnight says Brad Cross was on the ground, trying to start the tractor, when it ran over him after he gave it a shot of starter fluid. McKnight says the tractor was in gear.

The sheriff says the farm is owned by Cross’ mother, Barb Cross.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services has released a plan outlining steps officials will take in the wake of a May prison riot that left two inmates dead and heavily damaged the state prison at Tecumseh.

The plan released Thursday by corrections director Scott Frakes pulls directly from steps listed in a June 29 incident report detailing how the May 10 riot unfolded. The steps include an analysis of prison staff, additional staff training and drills, reviewing responses to prison disturbances and even buying “new weapon resistant mops and brooms.”

The plan also calls for recommendations on how to hand out over-the-counter medication to prisoners.

Officials have said the rampage by several hundred inmates started when too many prisoners were allowed to leave their cells at once to get medication.

LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — A 14-year-old runaway from a juvenile shelter has been returned there after stealing a beer truck in Grand Island and almost hitting another vehicle in Lexington.

Lexington police stopped the truck around 11:40 p.m. Tuesday. Some people had reported that the truck had almost hit their vehicle as the boy tried to stop at a convenience store.

Lexington Police Chief Tracy Wolf says the boy had run away from the Grand Island shelter and found the truck nearby, with the keys in it.

Mid-Plains Community College has become the first community college in the state to offer an Associate of Fine Arts degree.

The college received a letter Tuesday announcing approval by the Higher Learning Commission, the final step in the process.

Prior to that, the degree had to be approved by Nebraska’s Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education, which it was in June, following a recommendation by the MPCC Board of Governors in April.

Plans are to implement the degree this fall. Students will be able to select an emphasis in art, theater or music.

“This is a major highlight for the college,” said Jody Tomanek, area vice-president of academic affairs and North Platte Community College. “To be the first community college in the state to offer the AFA is groundbreaking – students will attend MPCC solely for this degree. By offering it, we are not only reaching out to students who are interested in majoring in the fine arts, but also this program makes us unique to students across the state and region.”

Tomanek has been dedicated to implementing an AFA degree since she was hired five years ago. However, conversations about the offering actually began in 2005 after they were initiated by Rick Johnson, art instructor at McCook Community College.

“I proposed it so we could have a specialty degree for fine arts students,” said Johnson. “When I got my doctorate, I saw students entering the university better prepared and with more skill sets because of the individualized attention they had received through an AFA program. I thought it would be good for our students to have that mindset.”

Part of the reason he thought the degree would be a success at MPCC is because of the culture of the towns in and around the college’s 18-county service area.

“McCook and North Platte, especially, are huge backers of the arts,” said Johnson. “From the Fox Theatre and Wrightstone Gallery in McCook to the Neville Center and now the new Prairie Arts Center in North Platte, this area is really becoming a hub for the fine arts. Not to mention, we have the Museum of Nebraska Art just down the road at Kearney to use as a teaching tool.”

He found the administrative support he needed for the project in Tomanek.

“I wanted to provide the degree for a couple of reasons – first and foremost, for our students,” Tomanek said. “Being able to offer this type of degree shows the college’s commitment to the fine arts. Students in art, music and theater need time to hone their craft just like auto technicians, contractors and electricians.”

She said the project really hit its stride about two years ago.

“That’s when we formed a committee of faculty to research what the curriculum would entail,” said Tomanek. “For 18 months, the faculty has worked to perfect curriculum, conduct research, consult four-year universities and obtain letters of support from our local communities.”

She believes the AFA is a win-win for everybody. It will allow the college to create smoother transfer agreements in the fine arts to four-year universities, and students who opt to start their fine arts careers at MPCC will save money by doing so.

Tomanek said she’s extremely grateful to the Board of Governors, Coordinating Commission and Higher Learning Commission for their support, and faculty at MPCC echoed her sentiments.

“This is such a unique opportunity for students,” said Johnson. “All of the instructors teaching this program are experts in their particular fields. The degree offers a chance for fine arts students to be well-rounded and go on to next level refined and polished.”

He’s also convinced the AFA will be a tremendous recruiting tool.

“I know the students will come,” said Johnson. “We’re looking for students to represent MPCC in the higher education field. That’s the type of thing we can search out with this degree. We can go outside the realm and try to get students undecided about where to go. Now that this is all happening, it’s really cool.”

Elizabeth Peters, music instructor at NPCC, is just as excited for her department.

“I am absolutely ecstatic,” said Peters. “It was a lot of work, but so worth it for our students. We have such an awesome team of fine arts faculty, and this couldn’t have happened without all of us working together. This is such a big thing for our school, and we couldn’t be more proud.”

More information about the Associate of Fine Arts program is available by calling(800) 658-4348, or visiting www.mpcc.edu.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The average value of Nebraska farmland declined 2 percent to $5,070 per acre over the past year.

The decline reflects generally weaker crop prices in recent years as the surge in farmland values finally cools off.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday that the average value of farm real estate in Nebraska — a measurement of the value of all land and buildings on farms — also decreased 2 percent to $3,050 per acre.

The annual report is based on producer surveys completed in the first two weeks of June

The USDA says irrigated cropland values lost $230 per acre to $6,870 on average. Dry cropland was valued at an average of $3,970 per acre, which was down $30. Pastureland values declined $30 per acre to $870