ONAWA, Iowa (AP) – A former fourth-grade teacher in western Iowa has been given a year of probation for drug possession.  The Sioux City Journal reports that 44-year-old Karen Bartelson, of Blencoe, had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge. Court records say police found methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia in her purse on July 21st.

District Judge Jeffrey Poulson deferred judgment on the charge. That means the charge will be removed from Bartelson’s record if she were to successfully complete probation.  Bartelson was a fourth-grade teacher at Central Elementary School in Onawa when she was arrested. She resigned before the school year started in August.