Members of the Atlantic Parks and Recreation  Department’s Board of Directors met Monday evening at Cedar Park, and heard from a Boy Scout who made the Bandshell at Sunnyside Park, the subject of his efforts to earn his Eagle Scout badge. Talon Gaines said he and others first raked away all the old mulch and threw it away. Next up was edging around the area to prepare it for new mulch. New holes were dug for the planting of flowers that will bloom every year. New dirt was also added. He’s been making sure the new plants are watered on a consistent basis. The bandshell has been used by nearly a dozen organizations so far this year, for their various special events.

In other business, Parks and Rec Director Bryant Rasmussen said the waterless restroom at the Schildberg Recreation Area has been vandalized by fireworks, ripping things up and the smearing of feces. As a way to try and find who the culprits are and deter others from thinking they can get away with vandalism, the Parks Dept., Bryant said, is working with Nishna Net to get a camera surveillance system set up. There will be three different cameras monitoring the parking lot, shelter and waterless restroom. AMU, he said, has sunk a pole to mount the cameras, and Berg Electric was working on the electric hookups, Monday. The final step is to have Nishna Net sync the cameras in with their program. Rasmussen said there are other cameras already in place to cover separate areas of the park, including the campground and trail.

With regard to Sunnyside Pool, Rasmussen said ACCO came out and determined the leakage the pool was experiencing that caused a delay in its opening, was not a structural problem. It was a problem with the caulk drying out, apparently from lack of use last year, due to COVID. The pool has been open since last Thursday, and seeing good attendance numbers.  Bryant said the Parks & Rec Department has two programs underway this summer: Tennis and Swimming.

Art in the Park takes place every Wednesday from 9-until 10-a.m. About 25 kids show up for the experience each. The next program is this Wed.,  June 23rd, at Cedar Park. This week, they’re building rockets out of 2-liter bottles that they will shoot off next week. Jazzercise at Sunnyside Park  takes place Saturday’s at 8:30-a.m. in Sunnyside Park. The program has some good attendance numbers, but there’s still room for many more people.

Rasmussen said also, they will soon have three kayaks available for use, courtesy a donation from Elkhart Plastics. They will be available as soon as legal waivers are finalized. The user would have to supply their paddle and life jacket. There are approximately 33 other items for you to use, including bicycles, most free of charge. Simply contact the Atlantic Parks and Rec Dept. to make your reservation.  And, the Walkability Maps are almost finished for publication. They will be available at the park kiosks and the Atlantic Chamber, to name a few of the locations.

Unfortunately, Bryant said there wasn’t enough interest to generate co-ed softball games, but there are some other plans in the works to make the activity available through the Parks Dept.  And, the Parks Board extended its gratitude to the Royal Neighbors, Atlantic Rising and Trees Forever, for their efforts to beautify the parks through gardening, and the planting of trees.

(Radio Iowa) – A 17-year-old Des Moines girl has been accusing of driving the get-away vehicle from a murder that happened a year and a half ago. According to police, two groups got into a fight at a downtown Des Moines hotel in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, 2020, but then left the area. Investigators say the 17-year-old girl then drove herself and four friends to confront the opposing group and, shortly before 4 a.m., the girl’s friends got out of the car, walked to a house and one of them fired several gunshots, killing a 14-year-old boy.

Police say the 17-year-old girl then drove the group away from the scene. She’s been charged with first degree murder. Des Moines Police say more arrests are expected.

Court documents show a man who was formerly of Atlantic and was charged with Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree, has entered a guilty plea in association with an incident that took place Oct. 3, 2019, in Story County.  20-year-old Chase Gerald Mullinex plead guilty last week, to a charge of Assault with Intent to Commit Sexual Abuse (an Aggravated Misdemeanor), in the incident involving a female, in Story County.

Mullinex – who was a student at Iowa State University at the time of the offense – will serve an indeterminate term of two years of prison – entirely suspended; Pay a fine of $855, with a 15% surcharge, $90 sexual abuse surcharge, plus court costs. He is also required to complete a psychosexual evaluation and mental health evaluation, as well as follow through with any recommended treatment.

Chase Mullinex will be subject to the sex offender registry requirements as set forth in the Iowa Code, and is subject to a Class D Felony, special sentence, as set forth in the Iowa Code, for a term of ten years. During the special sentence, Mullinex will be subject to the rules and supervision of the Department of Correctional Services as if on parole, and could be incarcerated for a violation of DCS rules.

The Adair County Sheriff’s Department reports three people were arrested on Burglary charges over the past week. Just before 1-a.m. Saturday, 31-year-old Nicole Lynn Bell, and 34-year-old Charles William Walker, both from Council Bluffs, were arrested at an apartment in Adair that was being remodeled, and supposed to be empty & unoccupied.The door had been forced open.

Police in Adair entered the apartment and found Bell and Walker. They also found a baggie of what appeared to be meth, on the floor. As Bell was looking through her purse for identification, Police noticed several pipes used for smoking meth had fallen out of her purse. Walker said the apartment was his mothers, and she gave them permission to be there, but the contractor doing the remodeling said the woman had been evicted over two months ago.

Bell was arrested for Burglary in the 3rd Degree and Possession of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine -3rd or subsequent offense. Walker had been arrested at around 8:54-p.m. Friday, for Burglary in the 3rd Degree. He also had a warrant out of Cass County, for Theft in the 5th- & Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree. Both were being held in the Adair County Jail, with bond for Walker set at $5,000. Bell’s bond was set at $6,000.

Thursday, at around 12:22-a.m., Stuart Police arrested 24-year-old Jesse Andrew Queener, of Stuart, for Violation of a No Contact Order, Possession of Paraphernalia, and Burglary in the 2nd Degree. The latter charge was associated with an incident at a residence in the 600 block of SW 4th Street, in Stuart. His bond was set at $10,000. On June 13th, at around 8:30-p.m., 38-year-old Christopher Anthony Ford, of Greenfield, was arrested by Greenfield Police, for Failure to Appear on a charge of Harassment in the 3rd Degree, and Public Intoxication. The Harassment charge stems from an incident whereby Ford allegedly made sexual comments to three minor-age girls, at the Greenfield City Park. His bond was set  at $300.

On June 16th, 37-year-old Christopher Lee Ballentine, of Des Moines, was arrested in Adair County, for Failure to Appear on a Violation of Probation charge. His bond was set at $2,000. And, 45-year-old Angela Jo Holtry, of Lorimor, was arrested June 19th in Adair County, for OWI/2nd offense.  A breath sample registered .118%, which is over the legal limit for intoxication. Holtry was later released on a citation.

(Radio Iowa) – Five adults and two juveniles have been charged with a burglary that happened on the evening of June 8th at the former Clay Central-Everly school. The Clay County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests this week. Three 19-year-olds from Spencer have been arrested and face burglary, theft and criminal mischief charges. A 20-year-old and a 21-year-old from Sioux City have been charged with trespassing.

Investigators say a 16-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy from Spencer were also involved and they face burglary, theft and criminal mischief charges.

(Radio Iowa) – Authorities have arrested a suspect in a shooting at a Linn County convenience store late Sunday. A Linn County deputy responded to an alarm at the Casey’s on Highway 13 in Coggin at about 10:15 Sunday night and was shot several times. He was flown to the University of Iowa Hospitals for treatment. According to a news release from the Linn County Sheriff’s office, the suspect fled in a van, another deputy followed the van, the van crashed on the north edge of Coggin and the suspect started running.

Thirty-six-year-old Stanley Donahue of Chicago was arrested late this (Monday) morning. The deputy who was shot is now in stable condition.

ANITA—Early Sunday morning the city of Atlantic helped Anita Municipal Utilities jet out a plugged wastewater pipe, and notified DNR of a wastewater discharge into a nearby creek. Wastewater backed up into a golf course’s maintenance building and overflowed from a manhole into Turkey Creek, located northwest of the golf course south of White Pole Road. The city of Atlantic removed the plug, stopping the discharge and the sewer backup into the building.

The amount of the discharge is unknown, but early estimates indicate a limited amount of wastewater reached the creek as the manhole was still intact. DNR is monitoring the situation and seeking more information about the extent of the discharge. The DNR will consider appropriate enforcement action.

Wastewater discharges due to mechanical problems must be reported to DNR within 24 hours. They can be reported by calling the 24-hour environmental hotline at 515-725-8694 or the local DNR field office during normal office hours.

CLIVE, Iowa — An Atlantic man said he delivered a late-night wakeup call to his parents as soon as he discovered he’d won a $10,000 lottery prize. “I went and pounded the front door of my mom and dad’s house to tell them the good news,” Chancey Elliott said with a laugh on Friday as he claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Clive.

Elliott, 25, won the big prize in the Iowa Lottery’s “Jewel Game Book” scratch game. He decided to buy a ticket in the game during a nighttime stop for something to drink at Casey’s, 911 SW Seventh St. in Atlantic. When he scratched the ticket at home, he thought he’d won $75. But when he scanned it with his Iowa Lottery mobile app, he realized the prize was much larger. It didn’t sink in until he returned to the store and an employee verified his win on the store’s lottery terminal.

Chancey Elliott

“It hit me after the guy was like, ‘No, you seriously won $10,000,'” Elliott recalled. “I ran out of the store really quickly and I’m like, ‘I have to go to my mom and dad’s house now. I don’t care what time of night it is. I’m going now!'” He said his parents were just as surprised and excited as he was. And after a fitful night of sleep, Elliott said he was just happy to wake up and realize his big win wasn’t a dream.

“Like I said, I’m a small-time guy and I work for everything I have,” he said. “You hear stories about people winning this kind of money, but I never thought it would be me.” Elliott, a plumber and father of three, said he planned to use his winnings to pay off debt and care for his children.

The Jewel Game Book a $20 scratch game. It features six pages of games, 10 top prizes of $100,000 and overall odds of 1 in 2.52. For more information about this game, and the number of prizes still available, visit ialottery.com.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision today (Monday) on the pay-for-play lawsuit against the N-C-A-A. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that found the federal antitrust law prevents the N-C-A-A from restricting payment to athletes for such things as internships. The N-C-A-A argued that the amateur status of athletes would be impossible to maintain if they could receive payment, even for education-related expenses.

Iowa lawmakers have introduced bills that would allow college athletes to profit from the use of their name, image, and likeness. The bill introduced this year failed to advance out of the legislative session.

In an update to our previous reports, the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Monday, said that at around 12:01-a.m. Sunday, the Mills County Communications Center received a 9-1-1 call about an active stabbing that took place at 8 Garfield Lane, in Glenwood. Mills County Deputies and Glenwood Police responded and found Joseph Moreno exiting a residence, bleeding heavily from his arm. Moreno identified his alleged assailant as David Duncan.

Law enforcement secured the scene and administered first aid to Moreno. After clearing the residence and checking with witnesses, it was determined Duncan was no longer there. While Glenwood Rescue came to the entrance of the trailer court to provide additional medical aid to Moreno, law enforcement established a perimeter. A K9 unit from the Council Bluffs Police Department and a drone from the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, along with Omaha Police Helicopter ABLE 1 responded to the scene. Once the K9 was in-place, a track of the suspect Duncan got underway. He was located shortly thereafter.

Authorities say after Duncan refused numerous orders from law enforcement, a Taser was deployed. Duncan was then taken into custody but continued to actively resist arrest. He was cleared by Glenwood Resuce and the transported to the Mills County Jail.  Duncan was charged with Willful Injury causing serious bodily injury.