Officials with the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency are requesting participating businesses and fire departments in the County, to place their local “Fire Danger” indicator signs in the EXTREME category, now through Thursday.

The western half of Iowa is under a Red Flag Warning this afternoon, and officials say they expect the same dangerous conditions to be present for the next days. High wind and low humidity will cause any fires that start to quickly grow out of control.

Extreme conditions mean, absolutely no outdoor burning. Permits need to be completed and signed by a Fire Chief before any controlled burns are executed during extreme conditions. There is a chance of rain Wednesday afternoon, and a better chance Wednesday night, but until rain puts a dent in the dangerous conditions, outdoor burning is prohibited. 

By Haley Carlson
Atlantic FFA Reporter

With 165 names, the Atlantic FFA Wall of Fame is not complete, but officially up to date. The Wall of Fame is located in the Atlantic High School Ag Room, on the north wall. It has every Atlantic FFA member that has received an Iowa Degree or an American Degree. Iowa Degree blocks are painted blue with the member’s name and the year they received their degree. America Degree blocks are painted yellow, with the member’s name and two years: the Iowa Degree year and American Degree year. This year the Atlantic FFA has two seniors, Adam Freund and Savannah Sorenson, receiving their Iowa Degree in April. Also the four 2014 graduates, Kristin Johnk, Chancey Richards, Wyatt Saeugling, and Tucker Sager, received Iowa Degree and are now working to receive their American Degrees in November.

The project began in early 2014 with Advisor, Eric Miller and senior officers, Kristin Johnk, Wyatt Saeugling, and Tucker Sager beginning the wall project. They started by finding the records all of the degree recipients. The north wall of the ag room was painted completely blue and names and years were attached to each brick. Those who had earned an American Degree had their brick repainted yellow. Saeugling and Sager then took a pencil to create a straight line reference for each name. Johnk along with current members, Haley Carlson, Emily McDermott, Marshal McDermott, Garrett Schwanke, Tyler Petty and non-member Erin Olsen continued the project by stenciling in names during their free time. Over the summer members continued by filling in the stenciling with paint; blue bricks had yellow lettering and yellow bricks had blue lettering. Members, Haley Carlson, Emily McDermott, Aubrey Schwarte, Gabby Jordahl, and Mariah Cook all have been working hard on the wall in the 2014-15 school year. Over spring break, Haley Carlson along with her sister, Hannah, and sophomore Gabby Jordahl completed the painting and removal of pencil lines from the wall. The Atlantic FFA Wall of Fame looks fantastic and the chapter is very thankful to all of those who have dedicated their volunteer time to this project. This wall will continue and impact the lives of Atlantic FFA members for years to come.

Freshman, Blake Pelzer gave his thoughts about being on the wall of fame, “I do want to have my name on the wall because having that is a big accomplishment. I think it (the wall) is good because it makes you feel noticed.”

Emily McDermott said, “The project was fun and it took a lot of time, but the wall is finally complete and it looks great!”

Junior, Erin Olsen is not a current FFA member but a part of Mr. Miller’s home room class. Olsen said, “I just did it cause I wanted to help out and it was something that looked fun to do in my free time.”

Kristin Johnk commented, “It took a lot of patience to work on it but in the end, it is a great way to honor those who have put hard work and dedication into their SAEs in order to get these degrees as well as those who still support this great organization (FFA). It is a great feeling to have my name among those who have achieved their Iowa Degree and hopefully be one of the elite members of the chapter to get my American Degree as well!”

Dale Myers is the very first name on the wall of fame. He received his Iowa Degree in 1952. Dale commented that while in FFA they were not as involved as the chapters are now a days. He worked with cattle and hogs while he was in FFA. Dale had four years of vocational ag instruction with two different advisors during his time in the FFA organization.

To earn a spot on the Wall of Fame you must first earn the Iowa FFA Degree.

Iowa Degree requirements include: received the Chapter FFA Degree, been an active FFA member for at least two years, have completed at least two years of Agriculture Education classes of above the ninth grade level, which includes a supervised agricultural experience program, earned and productively invested at least $1,000, or worked at least 300 hours in excess of scheduled class time, or a combination, in a supervised agricultural experience program, participated in at least 25 hours of community service activities in two different community service activities, performed ten procedures of parliamentary law, given a six-minute speech on a topic relating to agriculture or the FFA, served as an officer, committee chairperson, or a participating member of a chapter committee, have a satisfactory scholastic record, participated in the planning and completion of chapter Program of Activities, and participated in at least five approved FFA activities above the chapter level.

American Degree requirements are: to earn at least $10,000 and invested $7,500 or have earned and invested at least $2,000 and have worked 2,250 unpaid hours outside of the classroom, have outstanding leadership skills, have completed at the minimum, 50 community service hours in three different service activities, and maintained a “C” average grade or better in school. Atlantic FFA Advisor Eric Miller commented, “The Wall of Fame is a unique way to recognize the hard work of past FFA members. It is also a motivation for our current members. They see friends and family on the wall and want to achieve this honor.”

The Atlantic FFA will hold their annual banquet on Tuesday, March 24, at the Atlantic High School. The banquet will include a meal along with a review of all activities during the year, awards and degrees, and the installation of the new officer team.

In a final note this will be my last article serving as the 2014-15 Atlantic FFA Reporter. It has been a lot of fun writing about our chapter and seeing the involvement grow. I have loved hearing the community respond to my articles and I can’t wait to see what the new reporter does for our chapter. -Haley Carlson, Atlantic FFA Reporter.

w/ Host Bob Bebensee and Brian Smith, Conservation Officer for Cass and Adair Counties.

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Spring is the time to plan and plant your gardens. With that in mind, the Cass County Master Gardeners group reminds you that they are again offering grant money to be used in the 2015 growing season, to encourage gardening to grow food and/or beautify local communities. The deadline to apply for the funds is next Monday, March 30th.

The grant monies may be used for gardening education purposes in addition to growing food and beautification purposes. The David Williams Master Gardener Grants are offered to honor the many years of service Master Gardener David Williams provided as a long-time volunteer, with the Master Gardener program and other community organizations, including a term as Cass County Master Gardener president in 2012.

Any Cass County not-for-profit group or individual may apply. Schools, churches, libraries, 4-H clubs, Scouts, and individuals working to improving their communities can use the money to begin or improve gardens or landscaping, or to provide education for their members or the public. To ensure the money is helping a wide variety of community organizations, groups who were funded by 2014 grants will not be eligible to apply in 2015. Each grant has a maximum value of $300. The application must also include plans for teamwork and sustainability. Consideration for the environment is also an important selection factor.

Once again, applications must be received by Monday, March 30th for consideration. They may be submitted by mail or email. Grant recipients will be informed of their selection by the end of April. For more information, or with questions, call the Cass County Extension office at 712-243-1132, email keolson@iastate.edu, or stop by the Extension Office at 805 W. 10th St in Atlantic. You may also contact committee members Judy Kennedy, Marla Anstey or Linda Edelman. Application forms can be picked up at the Extension Office, or printed from the Cass County Extension website www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency says the Fire Danger Index will remain in the “Moderate” category, through next Monday. Officials say if you have a large burn, please notify your Fire Chief, prior to ignition. If you call the Emergency Mgmt. Agency at 712-755-2124 for assistance, if needed.

The EMA says you should “Always have a plan, Never leave a burning pile unattended , be aware of the direction and speed of the wind, and avoid smoking out neighbors or those who may have respiratory problems.”

Emergency Manager Bob Seivert says they expect the fire danger conditions to worsen next week.

w/ Denny Heflin

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State officials are keeping an eye out for signs of a bird flu that has recently been discovered in other states. State Veterinarian David Schmitt says the influenza is highly pathogenic, or has a high death rate, particularly in turkeys and chickens. “It first appeared in the northwest part of the United States in the Pacific Flyway in some commercial and backyard poultry that were affected. It’s now show up in the Mississippi Flyway here in the central states region — first in Minnesota and then a couple of turkey farms in Missouri, one in Arkansas, and then a backyard group of birds in Kansas,” Schmitt explains.

Schmitt says waterfowl carry different types of influenza across the country. “This one here happens to be an H-5-N-2, it’s highly pathogenic, and birds in this flyway as in other flyways, they commingle in the northern countries and they can bring it back. And when they’re coming through they stop, and they can be shedding it in their feces,” Schmitt says. There have been some samples taken of snowgeese in Iowa and so far the disease has not show up in the state.

“That’s pretty exciting, because it means that hopefully everybody is doing their due diligence as far as in protecting their birds,” Schmitt says. It’s an important issue to Iowa as the state is a leader in egg laying and a leader also in turkey production. Schmitt says he’s confident those industries are taking the proper steps to keep the disease away. “In the state of Iowa, our commercial operations are very well in tune in as far as biosecurity operations,” according to Schmitt. “Certainly a lot of those have seen what’s going on and have even intensified and reviewed those biosecurity to make sure that it is not introduced into their populations of birds.”

He says the operations have had such biosecurity measures in place long before this outbreak in other states. He says the operations don’t allow visitors and those who come in cannot have any contact with birds in the last three days, and he says those who work in the facilities are not allow to own their own private birds. Schmitt says anyone who keeps chickens or other birds privately should take precautions.

“If you are walking through areas where wild waterfowl have been and you have a backyard population — its extremely important to change your shoes, make sure things are clean before you walk in with any poultry,” Schmitt says. Schmitt says the influenza cannot be transferred to humans and is not a health concern in that regard.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources say the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) is searching for the top 100 family fishing and boating spots across the nation, and several Iowa state parks are among those being considered. Iowans participating in the vote can ensure their favorite places to boat and fish are recognized nationally.

Iowa locations include Lake Macbride (Solon), Lake Pahoja (west of Larchwood),
Little River Watershed Lake (west of Leon) and Green Valley Lake (northwest of
Creston). Entrants can vote daily until April 12, 2015 for the three parks they
feel offer the best experience based on family amenities, location and the
likeliness to catch a fish or enjoy a day on the water. The parks with the most
votes will be placed on 2015 America’s Top 100 Family Fishing and Boating Spots
list.

To learn more about the sweepstakes and to vote for your favorite parks, got to
www.takemefishing.org and click on the link to America’s Top Family Fishing and Boating Spots Sweepstakes. Visit the Iowa DNR web site at www.iowadnr.gov for more information about each Iowa location including amenities, popular fish species and fish stocking information.

w/ ISU Extension Program Coordinator Kate Olson

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