The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission approved the settlement last week with Jansen village board members Kevin and Diana Belding.

State officials say Kevin Belding steered payments totaling $20,750 in village money to a company he owned, K&B Construction. Officials say the payments were made before the village board formally approved them, and Kevin Belding didn’t properly disclose his interest in the contract for street work.

Officials say his wife and fellow board member Diana Belding didn’t properly disclose her interest when she voted to approve the contract.

The allegations against Diana Belding were dismissed in the settlement.

Jurors on Monday found 39-year-old Scotty Payne not guilty of second-degree assault and use of a weapon in the June 5, 2017, death of 29-year-old Zachary Bearheels. Jurors deliberated about seven hours after a two-week trial.

Payne was among officers called to an Omaha convenience store that Bearheels had refused to leave. Bearheels had been wandering Omaha streets after being kicked off a bus headed to Oklahoma.

Payne shocked Bearheels 12 times and could be heard on cruiser camera video asking if he wanted another shock.

An autopsy determined Bearheels didn’t die directly from the shocks but from excited delirium.

Police say none of the vehicles stopped.

Branker was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Police had not announced any arrests by midday Saturday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man has pleaded guilty to charges in the May hit-and-run crash that left a 2-year-old boy dead.

25-year-old Davionne Collier pleaded guilty Friday to leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death and misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide. Collier faces up to five years in prison when he’s sentenced Feb. 13.

Police say Collier was driving a sport utility vehicle that collided with a car on May 28, fatally injuring 2-year-old Devon Morris and seriously injuring another child and three other people. Police say Collier and a passenger in his SUV walked away from the crash scene.

Elkhorn Public Schools quickly reversed Manchester Elementary principal Jennifer Sinclair’s ban on imagery including Santa, Christmas trees and even candy canes after Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit that promotes and defends what it believes are evangelical Christian values, accused the district of being hostile to Christians.

Sinclair apologized to parents in a letter Wednesday, but was put on administrative leave Thursday for violating district policy that expressly allows Christmas trees, Santa and other secular, seasonal symbols to be displayed as teaching aids. The school district declined to answer questions about when or whether Sinclair would return to her post.

The issue arose when Sinclair, in her first year as principal at the school on Omaha’s western edge, sent a memo to school staff last week that included lists of acceptable and unacceptable holiday practices in the classroom. Besides Santa and Christmas images, Christmas carols and ornaments were banned, and candy canes were off limits because the principal claimed in a memo that, “Historically, the shape is a ‘J’ for Jesus.”

Some Christian groups have made claims of candy canes having a religious Christian origin, but such claims are widely dismissed.

A list of acceptable images and practices included snowflakes, snowmen, sledding, hot chocolate, penguins, polar bears and yetis.

The memo asked all staff to heed the policy to “avoid the discomfort of me directly questioning something you’ve copied, posted and had your kids do.” The intent, the memo said, was to create an inclusive environment for students of varied religious beliefs.

It is signed, “The (Unintentional) Grinch who stole Christmas (from Manchester).”

The memo upset some staff and parents, who forwarded it to Liberty Counsel, a Florida-based legal aid group that represents evangelical Christians. The group has gained a reputation for opposing gay rights and challenging state laws, such as bans to so-called conversion therapy aimed at turning gay minors straight. It also represented a former Kentucky county clerk briefly jailed for refusing a court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the Liberty Counsel as an anti-gay hate group for spreading false information, such as connecting homosexuality to higher rates of promiscuity and incest despite scientific evidence to the contrary.

On Nov. 30, Liberty Counsel sent a letter to the district, its board and Sinclair demanding a reversal of the ban on Christmas symbols.

“If they hadn’t responded by close of business Monday, we were going to file a federal lawsuit,” said Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “In our 30 years in existence, this memo is the most egregious we’ve ever seen, just given its length and scope.”

Sinclair could not be reached Friday for comment.

No other schools within the district were affected.

Lincoln Fire & Rescue identified the man Thursday as 84-year-old Jerry Snyder.

Firefighters dispatched to the home a little after 11 p.m. Wednesday reported seeing flames and smoke as they arrived.

Lincoln Fire & Rescue spokeswoman Nancy Crist says the fire cause is being investigated.

Firefighters also reported that two dogs were rescued from the home and that two other dogs died inside.