The National Weather Service-Des Moines has announced that hot and humid conditions will present safety hazards this week. Heat indices will likely be over 100 degrees over the next 7-14 days. Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon, says with excessive heat expected to persist, facilities in Cass County have opened their doors to people who need a break from the extreme heat. In Atlantic, the Nishna Valley YMCA at 1100 Maple Street is open from 4:30am to 8:30pm Monday thru Thursday and 4:30am to 6:30pm on Friday. Libraries throughout Cass County will also be available as cooling stations during their regular operating hours.

The NWS-DM recommends that you drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances.

Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1.

(Radio Iowa) – One of the stars of the original TV series “Star Trek” died over the weekend. Nichelle Nichols, who played Lieutenant Uhura on the Starship Enterprise, was 89. Radio Iowa interviewed Nichols during her last stop in Iowa in 2018 and she reflected on a long, prosperous life which she said has been one bold adventure after another. Nichols is considered by many as not just an iconic actress, but as a heroine in the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Nichols planned to leave the show after the first season, but had a chance meeting with a fan, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, who convinced her to stay on, saying she was an incredible role model in the multiracial cast. Nichols, who was black, and white actor William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, shared what’s celebrated as the first interracial kiss on American television in 1968.

Nichelle Nichols -Image from the NASA Facebook page

In later years, Nichols helped NASA recruit women and minorities to join the astronaut corps. She’s credited with bringing aboard Sally Ride, who became the first American woman in space, as well as Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space. Nichols said her first love was musical theater and she toured the country in the 1990s singing in a one-woman tribute to female jazz and blues singers.

Interviewed at the Wizard World Comic Con in Des Moines in June of 2018, Nichols said she was energized to see so many fans lining up to see her, to get an autograph or a selfie with her, even more than 50 years after Star Trek debuted. It’s an incredibly loyal fan base, “just wonderful,” she said.

The original TV show continues to spawn spin-offs and movies, but also lives on in reruns and is still finding new, adoring viewers. In the autograph line that day was a young girl of around eight, clad in boots and a red skirt with a triangular gold emblem on the black lapel, a miniature version of the uniform Nichols wore as Uhura more than five decades ago.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports numerous arrests took place over the past week:

On July 26th, 38-year-old Kimberly Ileen Bloom, of Corning, was arrested at the Dollar General Store in Adair, following an incident whereby she allegedly tried to steal a little more than $846 in food. Following an investigation, and during her subsequent arrest, Bloom allegedly resisted arrest by pulling away and kicking the arresting officer. She was taken into custody for Interference with Official Acts; Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana-2nd offense; Theft in the 3rd Degree, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. She was later released on a $3,000 bond.

On July 27th, 41-year-old Raymond Scott Davis, of Creston, was arrested following a traffic stop on I-80 in Adair County. Davis was taken into custody on a warrant for Failure to Appear. He was initially held without bond, but then the charge was dismissed at his initial appearance, and he was released the same day.

On July 28th, 24-year-old Darnell De Marcus Martin, of Ft. Dodge, was arrested by Police in Adair, for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana- 2nd offense, and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. Martin was released the following day, on a $1,000 bond. Also arrested on the 28th, was 51-year-old John LeRoy Pace, Jr., of Creston. He was taken into custody on a warrant for Failure to Appear on charges that include two counts of Driving While Barred; Poss. of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana-1st offense;and Eluding. His bond was set at $4,000.

On July 29th, 42-year-old Justin Alan Robertson, of Greenfield, was arrested on a warrant for FTA on a Poss. of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana-2nd offense charge. He was later released on a $1,000 bond. On Saturday (July 30), 36-year-old Tad Robert Haskins, of Atlantic, was arrested by Adair Police on Interstate 80. He was charged with OWI/1st offense and later released on a $1,000 cash or surety bond. A Creston man was arrested that same day, in Greenfield, for OWI/1st offense. 21-year-old Joe Thomas Jackson was released with a citation.

(Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – A Pottawattamie County man who illegally sold thousands of doses of controlled substances and mis-branded prescription drugs was sentenced last week in eastern Iowa, to 15 months in federal prison, fined and ordered to forfeit over $500,000 in drug proceeds.

Officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa reports a judge handed-down the sentence against 57-year-old Jon Stidham, of McClelland, after Stidham plead guilty on January 5, 2022 to one count of conspiracy to deliver, distribute or dispense methyltestosterone, a Schedule III controlled substance, by means of the Internet without a valid prescription and without complying with federal and Iowa licensing requirements, and one count of conspiracy to introduce mis-branded drugs into interstate commerce with intent to defraud or mislead and to commit mail fraud.

In addition to his jail time, Stidham was fined $7,500 and was ordered to forfeit $527,510 worth of drug proceeds. He will also have to serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

In a plea agreement, Stidham admitted that he operated a business called Kennel Supply, LLC.  Kennel Supply provided a variety of items used for the operation of kennels and the care of farm animals at a brick-and-mortar location.  On the Internet, Kennel Supply sold controlled substances and non-controlled prescription drugs that require prescriptions to lawfully dispense to the ultimate user.

From 2015 through October 12, 2018, Stidham distributed and sold over 300,000 doses of methyltestosterone, a controlled substance, without valid prescriptions, profiting $324,303.  During that same time-period, Stidham illegally distributed over 50 types of misbranded prescription drugs without a valid prescription or authorization, and illegally profited $203,207.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Food & Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation, and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports one arrest late last week. Authorities say 45-year-ol Ross Messinger, of Glenwood, was arrested Friday for Driving While Barred. His bond was set at $2,000. And, officials with Bomgaars of Glenwood, reported to police last Friday, an incident of 2nd Degree Theft. No other details were released.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Board of Supervisors will hold their regular, weekly meeting Tuesday morning, beginning at 9-a.m. Their session takes place at the CJ Therkildsen Center (705 Victoria), in Harlan. The agenda is as follow:

1. Call to order
2. Conflict of Interest with the Agenda
3. Approval of Agenda-Action Item
4. Claims of July 28th, 2022 Action Item
5. Approve Minutes of July 19th Action Item
6. Secondary Roads Report – Resolution 2022-44 Participation in SS4A grant application–Action Item
7. Consideration to approve  Amendments to Utility permits for Kirkman RNG LLC; permits 2021-12-29-1 and 2021-12-29-2 Action Item
8. Consideration to approve  to accept Shelby County project:  FM-C083(80)—55-83; HMA Pavement Widening with HMA Resurfacing; on F-24 from Linden Road E 6.4 Miles to Timber Road, FM Extension of Main Avenue in Defiance, and Ann Street in Irwin; plans for letting Action Item
9. Consideration to approve  to accept Shelby County project:  FM-C083(85)—55-83; HMA Full Depth Patching; on M-16 from Shelby North to F-32; Plans for letting Action Item
10. Consideration of engagement letter- Ahlers Cooney/Tim Whipple- Action Item
11. Public Hearing Ordinance 2022-02
12. Consideration to cancel scheduled hearings for August 16th and August 23rd, 2023-Action Item
13. Consideration of ordinance 2022-02 Action Item
14. Public Hearing Ordinance 2022-03
15. Consideration Ordinance 2022-03 Action Item
16. Public Hearing Fiscal Year 2023 Budget amendment-Action Item
17. Consideration Fiscal Year 2023 Budget amendment Public Hearing Fiscal Year 2023 Budget amendment-Action Item
18. Supervisor Committee Reports Action Item
19. Todd Valline Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and Industry report to  Supervisors.

Adjourn

For questions, please call Shelby County Auditor/Commissioner of Elections, Mark Maxwell, at 712-755-3831, Option 6.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Classes in the Atlantic Community School District begin in about three weeks (August 23rd), and registration for students is now open. ACSD Communications Specialist Mallory Robinson reminds parents, that the Atlantic Community School District  will continue to utilize the “rollover” online registration process with JMC. All online payments and meal applications are made directly in JMC Parent Portal. If your student(s) attended ACSD last school year (2020-21) and were still in attendance on the last day of school, you need to follow the steps below to verify registration information and pay student fees. Student fees need to be paid by Friday, October 14, 2022.

-Log in to JMC Parent Portal

-Click on Register for 2022-2023 and Start/Continue the Registration process

-View Lunch Account & Make a Payment if needed

-View Tuition/Fees & Make a Payment if needed

-View Downloadable Links such as Athletic Physical Forms, District Calendar, and School Supply Lists

-Complete JMC Online Free/Reduced Form if applicable

–Transportation Request Form (Rural Only)

For more detailed instructions for the registration process, please click here.

To view these registration details on the District’s website, please click here:

Robinson says “Students who are new to the school district and are planning to enroll for the 2022-23 school year will need to contact each student’s school office to make an appointment to begin the enrollment process. If you don’t have access to the internet/online, please feel free to stop at your child’s school. The office will be more than happy to assist you in any way.”

If you have any questions regarding school registration or the payment of school fees, please contact the age appropriate school for your student(s), at the numbers below.

Washington Elementary School (Pre-K – 3rd grade):  Phone: 712-243-5234; Stacey Hornung, Principal; Hours: 7:30 am – 3:30  pm.

Schuler Elementary School (Grades 4-5): Phone: 712-243-1370; James Northwick, Principal; Hours: 7:30 am – 3:30 pm.

Atlantic Middle School (Grades 6-8): Phone: 712-243-1330; Scott Aden, Principal; Hours: 7:30 am – 3:30 pm.

Atlantic High School (Grades 9-12): Phone: 712-243-5358; Heather McKay, Principal; Andrew Mitchell, Asst Principal/Activities Director; Hours: 7:30 am – 3:30  pm

Transportation (All Grades): Phone: 712-243-3374; Mark Weis, Supervisor

Food Service (All Grades); Phone: 712-243-5369; Natalie Ritter, Supervisor; Hours: 7:30 am- 3:30 pm.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Engineer and Secondary Roads Department reports Brown Avenue, between 250th St. & 260th St. in Adair County, will be closed to replace the existing bridge with a box culvert. The project is expected to take 3-to 4-weeks. A detour is in effect (shown in the map below – click to enlarge).

(Radio Iowa) – A published report now says the suspected gunman in the murders of a Cedar Falls couple and their six-year-old daughter last month used a so-called ghost gun. The Des Moines Register quotes the parents of the 23-year-old from Nebraska as saying he ordered the parts for the untraceable weapon online and built it himself at home. The Register says the parents wrote in a letter to the paper that their son wanted the gun as protection for his family from a rising threat of violent crime.

Investigators say he used the gun to kill Tyler and Sarah Schmidt and their girl, Lula, in their tent at Maquoketa Caves State Park, and later turned the gun on himself. No motive is known and there’s no known link between the alleged gunman and the Schmidts. Their nine-year-old boy, Arlo, survived the shootings.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports the arrest Friday night, of 18-year-old Jamieson Reed, from Creston. Reed was taken into custody at the Creston Fareway Store, for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense. Reed was later released from the Union County Jail, on a $1,000 bond.

Saturday morning, Officers with the Creston P-D arrested 38-year-old Amanda Jones, of Creston, on charges that include Driving While Suspended, and Eluding. Jones was transported to the Adams County Jail, and later released on a $2,300 bond.

And, Sunday afternoon, 18-year-old Hunter Tullis, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Suspended, as well as Failure to File SR-22 Insurance. He was transported to the Union County Jail.