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.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former Lincoln youth baseball coach convicted of sexually assaulting two boys has been sentenced to prison.

34-year-old Jeff Hawks was sentenced Tuesday to nine to 10 years in prison.

In February a jury found Hawks guilty of two counts of third-degree sexual assault of a child.

The boys, now age 13 and 16, told jurors that Hawks touched them inappropriately while they were alone with him. One instance allegedly happened during a private training session and the other happened while Hawks and one of the boys were wrestling.

Both boys said they were 12 when they were molested.

Hawks has denied touching either boy intentionally. Defense attorney Bob Creager says Hawks will likely appeal.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — A former Dodge County assessor has been convicted of stealing from the county.

Online court records say Dodge County Judge Ken Vampola found Brittny King guilty of two misdemeanor theft counts and dismissed two misdemeanor counts of unauthorized use of a financial transaction device. Vampola had presided over a nonjury trial Feb. 18. He issued his verdict Friday.

Sentencing for the 26-year-old King is set for May 10.

Court records say King used a county-issued credit card on two occasions to buy fuel for her personal vehicle.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An effort to rename Millard Public Schools’ winter break to “Christmas break” has failed.

School board member Paul Meyer proposed renaming the break before the board adopted the 2017 to 2018 school calendar at a meeting Monday. His effort garnered sympathy, but no support.

Meyer was concerned that the calendar didn’t place enough significance on the religious holiday.

Board President Mike Kennedy said he appreciated Meyer’s position, but said he didn’t believe the administration made an intentional effort to remove Christmas from the calendar.

None of the board members present — Kennedy, Mike Pate and Pat Ricketts — seconded Meyer’s motion. The board then adopted the calendar on a 3-1 vote without specifying a name for the break. Meyer was the dissenting vote.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say an officer was cut during a fight that broke out over a towed vehicle.

Police said in a news release Monday evening that the owner of a vehicle that was being towed left his southeast Omaha home and confronted the officer, who called for backup.

Police say the man began fighting when the officers arrived and tried to arrest him. Officers say the man took out a knife and cut one of them. A stun gun was used to gain control of the man so he could be arrested. Court records don’t yet show that he’s been charged.

The officer was treated for a non-life-threatening wound.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha woman who is accused of selling worthless airline vouchers has pleaded not guilty to 25 federal charges.

Thirty-year-old Patricia Urbanovsky pleaded not guilty Monday in an Omaha federal court. She was indicted in February on nine counts of money laundering and 16 counts of wire fraud.

Her next court appearance is scheduled for June 15.

Urbanovsky is the owner of Creative Creations in Omaha. Authorities say she ran a scheme through her business to sell discounted airline travel vouchers, which turned out to be worthless. Authorities say the company purchased the vouchers for airline flights at a reduced rate and resold them to the public. But hundreds of customers discovered their vouchers wouldn’t be honored because the company had overbooked flights.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Iowa man who was previously sentenced to life in prison for a murder committed in Nebraska when he was teenager has been resentenced.

Douglas County District Judge Mark Ashford on Monday sentenced 53-year-old Kelvin Anderson, of Waterloo, Iowa, to 82 to 100 years in prison for the 1977 killing of Robert McGinnis.

Anderson will be eligible for parole in three years.

Anderson, who was 15 at the time, shot and killed McGinnis during a robbery in Omaha.

The new sentence was prompted by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says judges must have the ability to sentence juveniles to something other than an automatic life term.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a driver has died after ramming a car into a tree in a western Omaha yard.

Firefighters and officers were dispatched after the accident was reported around 1:40 Monday morning. Police say the car had been recklessly driven through the neighborhood, striking several mailboxes and a parked pickup before it ran through the yard and struck the tree.

Police say the driver was pronounced at the scene. Police identified him as 31-year-old Blake Ridenour, of Omaha.