COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A new approach has flipped the conventional schoolwork structure in some Columbus Middle School classes.

Students watch lectures at home online and do their homework in class. The setup was started last school year by a teacher who used to teach sixth-grade math. This year Joni Ebel and fellow math instructor Shantelle Suiter are trying the concept.

Principal Amy Haynes says the flipped classroom model has been growing in use in districts around the nation. She says “it gets kids engaged.”

The teachers make videos of 10-15 minutes, explaining the latest lessons. Students download an app to watch the videos outside of classes and take notes and copy down problems that are explained to them. In class they do homework under the teacher’s supervision.

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — A 42-year-old northeast Nebraska man is suspected of trying to send drugs to a prisoner at a federal prison in Texas.

Miguel Monzon has been charged with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin.

In court records, a postal inspector says Monzon was seen on Sept. 26 at the Norfolk, Nebraska, post office mailing a parcel to the prison in Beaumont, Texas. Investigators say they found heroin and meth inside the package.

Monzon’s lawyer last week entered a plea of not guilty for him. Monzon already has spent 35 months in a federal prison on an earlier drug conviction.

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — A SWAT team has responded to a suburban Omaha suburb to handle what turned out to be a hoax about a shooting.

Sarpy County officers and Nebraska State Patrol troopers were sent to a house in a neighborhood just north of Wehrspann (WEER’-span) Lake around 1:15 a.m. Monday. They tried unsuccessfully to reach anyone inside, but crisis negotiators finally made contact. The residents had been asleep, and there had been no shooting. Officers left about 4:30 a.m.

Sarpy County deputies say the call was a case of “swatting” on the part of a hoaxer who intended to draw out a SWAT team on unsuspecting people.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A county workers union is suing Douglas County to block an outsourcing plan.

Douglas County has looked for ways to decrease the $12 million annual operating subsidy to Douglas County Health Center. County officials are following a consultant’s recommendation to lower costs, which include outsourcing certain tasks.

In September, the County Board awarded a company a $365,000 contract to handle the center’s laundry. The move eliminated seven union jobs.

Other union employees also face losing their jobs, including workers who answer county switchboard calls.

The Employees United Labor Association argues the outsourcing plan is more about undermining the union than saving money. The union wants an injunction and temporary restraining order to halt the layoffs.

Douglas County’s administrator and county board chairwoman declined to comment on active litigation.

MADISON, Neb. (AP) — A 44-year-old Norfolk man accused of using methamphetamine near his 4-year-old child has been given a year behind bars.

Troy Hoffie lived in the same residence as his child and used meth there. Deputy County attorney Matthew Kieran said in court on Friday that the child tested “17 times above the confirmation level necessary to test positive for methamphetamine.”

Online court records say Hoffie pleaded guilty to misdemeanor negligent child abuse after prosecutors lowered the charge from a felony.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The state will provide money for a Lincoln-based outpatient treatment program that provides treatment to some sex offenders who are trying to avoid reoffending.

The program is known as STOP. It offers a mix of therapy types to help offenders adapt after being in prison or in the state psychiatric hospital in Lincoln. Officials have said that without the program, some patients might have to return to the state hospital or prison because they had been ordered by a state mental health board to participate in the program.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports (http://bit.ly/1zzavyp ) that the temporary state funding totals $166,000 for 10 months and should last through June 30, the end of the fiscal year. Local leaders hope a permanent funding solution will be found by then.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — One day after an 18-year-old man was found dead in a vehicle Omaha police say they are investigating the case as a homicide.

Police said Sunday the death of Erik Valencia was classified as a homicide after an autopsy was completed.

Valencia’s body was found Saturday afternoon inside a vehicle that was parked behind apartments near 78th and Miami streets.

No arrests were reported Sunday.

In July, Valencia was present when 19-year-old Joey Merolla died during a game of Russian roulette. Prosecutors say Valencia took the gun used in the game and left the apartment.

Valencia later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of government operations. He was fined $500.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The next Omaha Science cafe will provide an overview on the deadly Ebola disease.

The dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health, Dr. Ali Khan, will be the speaker. His presentation is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 at the Slowdown, 729, N. 14th St.

Khan worked at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 23 years before retiring as the director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response.

Science Cafes are free educational events sponsored by UNMC and other groups to increase people’s science literacy. They are open to everyone 21 and older.

MILFORD, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska doctor has been elected president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Dr. Robert Wergin will be an advocate for family doctors and patients nationwide as he leads the trade group that represents nearly 116,000 doctors and medical students.

Wergin practices medicine in Milford, Nebraska, which is where he grew up. He also serves as medical director of Crest View Care Center, and he serves on the Milford Public Schools Foundation board.

Previously, Wergin was named the Nebraska Family Physician of the Year in 2002. He also received a state award for his work as a nursing home medical director in 2012.