(Atlantic, Iowa) – UPDATED: In a meeting that lasted just under an hour, Thursday, the Cass County Conference Board, made up of representatives from County Schools, Mayors and Supervisors, approved the appointment of an Assessor to fill a vacancy, and the restructuring of the Assessor’s Office. Board Chair Steve Baier said with regard to restructuring the Assessors Office, there are other services that are better suited to conducting field appraisals.

That includes Eagleview Pictometry, and a contract with Vanguard appraisals. The County has used Vanguard appraisals several times.

The Board voted in a majority, to restructure the Assessor’s Office, by releasing two Field Appraisers (Tom Williams and Rich Tupper), from their contract, and contract with the aforementioned Vanguard to perform those services. And, Baier said the Conference Board had two highly qualified candidates to chose from, with regard to the hiring of an Assessor.

The Board unanimously voted to appoint former Deputy Assessor Mary Anstey to fill the remainder of a six-year term created by the resignation of Brenda Nelson, last May.  Anstey, who works as a Deputy Auditor for the Cass County Auditor’s Office, had previously served as Deputy Assessor from Oct. 1999 to April 2013.

Conference Board Chair Steve Baier said Anstey has agreed to be paid – on a pro-rated basis for the 10 months remaining in the fiscal year – the salary of her predecessor. She will also help to train whomever takes over her position in the Auditor’s Office. And that she would volunteer to help the Auditor’s Office through the next election cycle. She takes over her new title/position on Sept. 1st.

Anstey was given the authority to hire a Deputy Assessor with the approval of the Conference Board.

A spokesman for the Kimballton Fire Department, Thursday evening, said the Power Outage issue in Kimballton has been resolved. The situation began Wednesday morning, leaving some areas of town in a “Brown Out.” According to Public Information Officer Vernon Schwarte, “With a ton of hard work and dedication, and countless hours from City of Kimballton staff, Fire Chief, volunteers, and too many to name, the power issue has been fixed.  In the process we had assistance from Audubon County Emergency Management, NIPCO, MRES, City of Atlantic Utilities, and many more.

“What the issue was in the end was a blown fuse in a transformer that could not be seen, found, and was very difficult to track down due to not acting like a normal fuse issue.” Schwarte said “Basically, pieces of the blown fuse fell into the lower parts of the cabinet and on normal visual and test means, could not be seen.  This  remedy in the end is considered awesome news for the City, as we were  fearing a main transformer issue that would have been weeks or months to get fully taken care of and back up and running.  The result, we are  good to go. ”

He added, “Thank you for your patience and understanding while the process of elimination was taking place.”

(Radio Iowa) – One of two inmates charged with killing two Anamosa prison employees in March has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. Thomas Woodard had pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of a prison guard and a nurse, along with kidnapping another prison employee and attempting to kill another inmate.

Sara McFarland, the wife of correctional officer Robert McFarland, was first to deliver a victim impact statement before the sentencing. “On March 23, you took my world, my heart from me…I miss him holding my hand so much,” she said. McFarland says her husband was able to call for help as he was being attacked and died a hero.

“‘The fact that you hit him with a hammer like you could have cared less about him makes me more angry than I have ever been in my life,” she said. “I have never hated anyone like I hate you and, to be quite honest, I hope you rot in hell for what you took from us all.” Cathie McFarland, the slain officer’s mother, says she’s going through the worst nightmare a parent can go through.

“When I wake up, the reality hits me,” she said. “…My baby boy is gone forever because you chose to take his life.” Stephanie Schulte, the mother of prison nurse Lorena Schulte, faced the judge as she read a statement rather than face the man who had killed her daughter. Gretchen Price, one of Schulte’s sister’s, says her baby boy was only 17 days old when Lorena was killed, but her three daughters often spent time with their aunt and every day Price wonders who in the family will be triggered by a memory.

“Weeks of crying on and off all day, nightmares, screaming in the night while they grieve her loss,” she said. “This is our current reality.” The prison employee who was held hostage during the break-out attempt submitted a written statement to the court. Woodard declined to make a statement before his sentencing. He’s scheduled for transfer to a Nebraska prison.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports 47-year-old Heath Allen McClarnon, of rural Clarinda, was arrested Thursday (8/26) in Clarinda, on a Page County Warrant for Theft 2nd Degree and Conspiracy to commit a non-forcible felony. Clarinda Police Department assisted in his arrest.

McClarnon was transported to the Page County Jail where he is being held on $5000 bond, pending further court proceedings. McClarnon’s charges stem from a complaint filed by United Electric Cooperative in regards to theft of services at McClarnon’s residence in rural Page County.

McClarnon

The investigation was conducted by the Page County Sheriff’s Office.

The Cass County Auditor’s Office reports three candidates filed their nomination papers for the Nov. 2nd Cumberland City Elections, Thursday. Incumbents Mike Hill and Darrin Hardisty, of Cumberland, are running for the City Council in Cumberland, where there are three seats on the ballot. And, Nancy Virginia Coughlin is running for re-election as Mayor, in Cumberland. She has served as Mayor since 2010.

As of Thursday, the following candidates have filed to run for other offices in Cass County:

Mayor of Atlantic:

Current Councilpersons Pat McCurdy, Grace Garrett and Kathy Somers.

Atlantic City Council, 5th Ward:

Dick Casady (Incumbent)

Mayor of Anita (to fill a vacancy):

John Knutson.

City of Atlantic Parks and Recreation Board:

Shirley Jensen.

Nomination papers may be filed with the Cass County Auditors Office until 5-p.m., Sept. 16th.

The Mayor of Audubon, Thursday, said a Water Emergency that was set to expire September 1st, has instead been extended until October 1st. At that time, the situation will be reevaluated.

The City reminds its citizens that these actions involving the use of water, are not allowed during the Water Emergency:

• Watering Yards. The sprinkling, watering or irrigating of shrubbery, trees, lawns, grass, ground cover, plants, vines, gardens, vegetables, flowers, or any other vegetation.
• Washing Mobile Equipment. The washing of automobiles, trucks, trailers, trailer-houses, railroad cars, or any other type of mobile equipment.
• Outdoor Cleaning Services. The washing of sidewalks, driveways, filling station aprons, porches, and other outdoor services.
• The Cleaning of Buildings. The washing of the outside of the dwellings; the washing of the inside and outside of office buildings.
• Cleaning Equipment and Machinery. The washing and cleaning of any business or industrial equipment and machinery.
• Ornamental Fountains. The operation of any ornamental fountain or other structure making a similar use of water.
• Swimming Pools. The filling of swimming and wading pools not employing a filter and recirculating system.
• Fire Hydrants. The use of water from fire hydrants for any purpose other than fire suppression or other public emergency.
• Escape through Defective Plumbing. The escape of water through defective plumbing, which shall mean the knowing permission for defective plumbing to remain out of repair.
• Restaurants. The serving of drinking water in restaurants, cafeterias, or other food establishments unless requested by the individual.

Penalties for violations will be $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second offense, and $300 for third and subsequent offenses.

The Iowa Department of Transportation has finalized its offers of funding for the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2022 City Bridge Program. For this funding cycle, funds were available to offer assistance to 32 bridges that had 19 or more priority points. The final rankings are shown on the City Bridge Candidate List.

Among the bridge projects the DOT that were offered funding in the FY22 City Bridge Program, are those in Villisca, Council Bluffs, Adel, and Red Oak. All but Adel declined the offer through Federal-aid swap. The Iowa DOT annually makes Federal-aid Swap and State funds available for the purposes of reducing the number of “Poor” bridges (formerly known as Structurally Deficient or Functionally Obsolete bridges) on the local roadway system. Bridges are ranked to receive funding based on a priority point system explained in Local Systems I.M. 1.100, Federal and State Bridge Programs.

The worksheet used to calculate the priority points is in Attachment A to I.M. 1.100. Priority points for each section of the worksheet were calculated using information from the bridge’s latest inspection approved in the Structure Inventory and Inspection Management System (SIIMS). Beginning in November, the Iowa DOT will make another round of offers for Federal-aid Swap and State funds to qualifying bridge projects, as detailed in I.M. 1.100. The number of offers will depend on the funds available.

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If a city wishes to place a bridge on the candidate list, the city should submit a request, on city letterhead, that includes the following:

• The Federal Structural Number (FHWA #)
  • Street name
  • Feature crossed
  • The most recent cost estimate available

The request needs to be signed by a city official (for example City Engineer, Public Works Director, City Clerk, Mayor, etc.) Requests for FFY 2023 are due by Friday October 1, 2021. The evaluations of the bridges will be based on the most recent bridge inspection approved in SIIMS by September 30, 2021. Please send requests to Sarah.Okerlund@IowaDOT.us.

If a city has previously placed a bridge on the candidate list that was not selected this year, it will remain on the list until the city is offered and accepts funding or the city requests that we remove a bridge from the candidate list. If a city has a bridge on the list and wants it removed for any reason, please contact me. Upon request of the city, any bridge removed from the list may be added back at any time, provided the bridge remains in “poor” condition.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department on Aging is celebrating centenarians who are 100 years old or older. These individuals have lived through life experiences that most of us have only read about in books or seen in movies; their strength, endurance and collective wisdom inspires us all and they deserve to be recognized in a safe way. In an effort to recognize Iowans who are celebrating 100 years or more of life, the Iowa Department on Aging and the state’s Area Agencies on Aging invite the public to help identity centenarians in our state.

To assist the State of Iowa in recognizing centenarians, a centenarian recognition form can be found at   https://appengine.egov.com/apps/ia/ida_centenarians.  Centenarians and their loved ones can fill out the form and the information collected will be maintained in a secure database.

For the purposes of this program, a centenarian is any older adult who will be 100 or older by Dec. 31, 2021, and whose primary residence is Iowa. Each centenarian will turning 100 years old in 2021 receive a certificate signed by Governor Reynolds that is suitable for framing. In addition, the Iowa Department on Aging will give all Iowans 100 and older the option to have a profile on their website that will consist of their first name, picture, and fun information that is shared via the form. The Department will also be hosting a virtual event in the late Fall/early Winter where all Iowans 100+ will be recognized and celebrated. More information will come as the time nears.

To ensure that you or your loved one can be recognized, fill out the form by August 30th, 2021. For questions contact Marissa Vance at marissa.patterson1@iowa.gov.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley does not have high hopes for the voting rights bill that passed the U-S House in a party-line vote on Tuesday. Democrats say the legislation, named for the late Georgia Representative John Lewis, is designed to safeguard voting rights, but Grassley, a Republican, disagrees. “It would be a roundabout way of forcing almost every election law change in the country to be subject to federal okay,” Grassley says, “and that would be a very bad thing to happen.”

Supporters say the measure would restore important elements of the Voting Rights Act that were thrown out by the U-S Supreme Court in 2013. Grassley says the Lewis bill would force state legislatures to get “pre-clearance” from the U-S Justice Department for almost any change in election laws. “This thing is usually sold on the proposition that any change in state law somehow does something about voter suppression,” Grassley says, “and most often voter suppression is saying that the states are attacking African American voting.”

Grassley makes a comparison to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1964, before which, only about six-percent of the blacks in Mississippi cast ballots. “In the last election in Mississippi, 73% of black voters voted and of the white voters, only 64% voted,” Grassley says, “so to sell this bill as a way to stop suppression of black voting is just intellectually dishonest.”

The Lewis bill passed the House on a close vote, 219 to 212, and it’s not expected to advance in the Senate.

A profane sign about the president has caused a stir in Albia, particularly for its location about a block from an elementary school. KCCI reports the sign, placed in front of a home on Main Street last week, uses the “F” word before referring to President Joe Biden. Community leaders and parents from Grant Elementary school voiced concerns that students returning to class would inevitably see the sign.

Albia Mayor Richard Clark says the community feels like it’s his responsibility order the sign to be removed, but he says after he consulted the city attorney, a former lieutenant governor and the Iowa League of Cities, each said it is out of his hands.  The Mayor said he was disgusted by the sign put up by Albia resident Tyson Hackett, in response to the events in Afghanistan and his view of Biden’s handling of the situation. Some in the community who support former President Donald Trump are still uncomfortable with the profanity near the school.

Clark said he tried personally to intervene, by speaking with Hackett and explaining to him that kids see the sign as they leave school. Hackett did make a concession this week by flipping around the sign so that it no longer faces the school. But he said doesn’t intend to take down the sign entirely.