The CAM School Board, Monday, voted to approve both the 2021-2022 Budget and 2021-2022 School Calendar. Their action followed two public hearings held just prior the regular meeting. According to CAM School District Superintendent Paul Croghan, the 2021-22 School Calendar is similar to the current calendar. With the first day of school on August 23rd (2021) and the last day of school May 25^th (2022). Still up in the air, is a decision on virtual snow days. That will be adjusted after the Iowa legislature makes a determination on that issue. Senate File 467 passed out the Senate on March 26th. It would’ve allowed schools to use five virtual snow days starting next school year. The bill, however, failed to make it out of the House. Once Governor Reynolds’ Proclamation ends, there will be no online learning.

The CAM Board of Education also approved the fiscal year 2021-2022 budget. Croghan says the tax rate is similar to last year, with the tax levy $10.5101 per $1,000 assessed valuation, compared to $10.50 currently.

The CAM School Board, Monday, also:

• Approved the Wood River Energy Natural gas program renewal for $26,655.00. The agreement prevents a spike increase such as what happened this past winter.
• They approved an AEA purchasing agreement for food service for FY 21/22, which not only saves the district money, it aids in the bidding process and procurement of risks.
• The CAM School Board approved a Master of Social Work (MSW) agreement between the district and Green Hills AEA for FY 21/22, for the use of a social worker for two days.
• They approved the list of graduating seniors for both the CAM High School and Connections Academy. The Academy will conduct a virtual graduation ceremony 11-a.m. May 15th, while the brick-and-mortar students’ ceremony will be held 3-p.m. May 16th.
• Also, the CAM School Board approved a bid from Deter Motor Company for two suburban’s and a Malibu at a combined costs of just over $101,000. And, finally, they approved an out-of-state after-prom event. Croghan says the junior class parents had requested the district bus students to the Urban Air Trampoline Adventure Park in Omaha. The bus leaves the High School on Saturday night at 11:30, and will return at 4:30 a.m. Sunday.

Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 7:35-p.m. Tuesday, of 23-year-old Page Pettis, of Red Oak. Pettis was taken into custody in the 1300 block of N. Broadway Street, for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense. He was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – Three legislators have given emotional speeches in honor of the Iowa State Patrolman who was shot to death Friday during an armed stand-off in Grundy Center. Senator Craig Johnson knew Sergeant Jim Smith personally. “The last time I spoke with Jim he was sitting down to give blood and was dressed as the trooper he was. I remember thinking at that moment: ‘What more is this guy willing to give?'” Johnson said, his voice cracking as he continued. “That is Jim Smith.” Johnson’s and Smith’s daughters played volleyball together in Independence and will graduate in a few weeks.

“Jim Smith will be remembered by me as a friend, loving husband and dad who just adored his children,” Johnson said. Johnson had to pause briefly to compose himself as he read aloud from the Facebook post he wrote this weekend after learning Smith had been shot to death. “I cannot guess what he’d like me to say,” Johnson said, “but I’ll do my best and tell you how much he loved his Savoir and family and how much he enjoyed the wonderful experience of serving Iowans as an Iowa State Trooper.” Johnson described Smith as a man with a good heart and a quick mind.

“My family is blessed to know Jim and his wife and children,” Johnson said. “His annual Christmas letters were exceptionally funny and brought their family outings and Jim’s humor front and center.” Representative Chad Ingels of Randalia represents Smith’s hometown of Independence. Ingels told his House colleagues he did not know Sergeant Smith, so he began by reading Senator Johnson’s Facebook post in tribute.

“Sergeant Smith sounds like friends and acquaintances that we all have who serve in our communities. We can never sufficiently express our gratitude to those men and women that volunteer every day to run toward bad situations while the rest of us run away. I cannot imagine the guts and faith it takes to leave your home, ready and willing to help and protect others at what could be the expense of your own health or life. I will always be humbled by them,” Ingels said, choking up as he finished his speech.

Senator Annette Sweeney of Alden also gave brief remarks, calling Sergeant Smith’s death a tragedy. Smith’s funeral is schedule for Friday in Independence.

(Radio Iowa) – A plan emerging from the Iowa House would provide 750-thousand dollars in grants to help small meat lockers with fewer than 50 employees expand. In addition to the money, a bill that’s passed the House would set up a task force to study creation of an artisanal butchery program at a community college or Iowa State University. Representative Phil Thompson of Jefferson says the pandemic highlighted the need for small-scale, local meat processing.

“Many of us remember walking into our grocery stores, only to find empty meat cases,” Thompson says. “…We saw outbreaks and closures of some of our larger meatpacking plants and a supply chain that struggled to keep up with demand.” The proposed state grants could be used to buy more space or equipment, like refrigerators and freezers, for meat lockers. The money is included in a separate bill for the Iowa Economic Development Authority — the state agency that would hand out the grants.

Representative Chris Hall of Sioux City says there’s a definite need, since many Iowa meat lockers aren’t taking orders until 2022 or 2023. “Past that, I think that it speaks to a greater interest in our state and many other places the where people are looking to find a connection to local agriculture,” Hall says, “and to know where their food comes from.” Representative Chad Ingels, a farmer from Randalia, is the bill’s sponsor.

“It came from a lot of discussions with farmers that wanted more opportunities to sell directly to consumers and consumers that wanted more opportunities to buy directly from farmers,” Ingels says. “These conversations were happening before 2020. Last year just kind of brought it all to a head.”

Nebraska’s legislature is considering a different route to expanding consumer access to local protein. Nebraska’s bill would let consumers buy shares in live animals, the livestock would be slaughtered and processed by a custom butcher and the meat would not be subject to federal inspection.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has unanimously voted to let adults who were adopted get a copy of their original birth certificate that likely shows the names of their biological parents. Representative Marti Anderson of Des Moines says under current state law, that requires a court order.  “Today, about half of all states allow adult adoptees some form of access to their original birth certificate,” she says, “without the complexity of going to court.” Anderson says.

Anderson was 19 when she gave up a child for adoption in 1970. Anderson was only able to connect with her daughter in 2018 because each took an Ancestry-dot-com D-N-A test. “This bill is about the rights of a person…to find out about their ethnicity, medical history, family information and culture,” Anderson says. An original birth certificate may be the only piece of paper showing the NAME a child was given at birth as well as the actual DATE they were born. Anderson says some adoptive parents choose to list the adoption date as their child’s birthday.

If the bill becomes law, biological parents would fill out a form to indicate whether they’d like to be contacted by the child they’re giving up for adoption or if they’d like their names redacted from the birth certificate. Representative Brian Lohse of Bondurant says biological parents would be given medical history forms than an adoptee could get when they become an adult.

“So that they know what’s lurking in their genes,” Lohse says. If the bill clears the Senate and is signed into law by the governor, state officials would launch a public relations campaign to reach parents who have already given up a child for adoption — so they can fill out those forms, if they wish.

(Des Moines, IA) After an announcement Tuesdays morning from the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) is recommending that all Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine administration in the state should halt until further guidance is issued. IDPH has communicated this guidance to local health officials and vaccine providers throughout the state.

The State is working with local public health and other vaccine providers to substitute Moderna and Pfizer vaccines where Johnson & Johnson has been allocated. IDPH was informed that the Johnson & Johnson allocation to the state will be suspended for the next two weeks. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine represents a relatively small percentage of the allocation Iowa has received to date, so at this time, the pause is not anticipated to dramatically slow the pace of vaccinations in the state.

If any Iowan has received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine within the last month and presents with any of the following symptoms, they should seek medical attention immediately either through their health care provider or urgent care/ER:

• Severe headache
• Leg pain
• Abdominal pain
• Shortness of breath

IDPH is not aware of any cases occurring among the Iowans who have received this vaccine.

The Red Oak Police Department reports no injuries resulted from a two-vehicle accident on Tuesday. Officers were called to the accident at the intersection of Joy Street and N 1st Street.

After investigation it was determined that a 2012 Chevy Impala, owned and operated by 88-year-old Joanne Vivian Wegler of Red Oak, was eastbound on Joy Street and failed to yield at the intersection with N 1st Street. The Impala struck a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am, owned and operated by 46-year-old Angela Sue Vanderhoof of Red Oak, broadside after being unable to brake in time. Wegler was cited for Failure to Yield and Vanderhoof was also cited for Failure to have Insurance.

Damage to the Pontiac was estimated at $4,500 and was considered a total loss. Damage to the Impala was estimated at $3,000.

Red Oak Police was assisted by Red Oak Rescue and Red Oak Fire at the scene.

(Radio Iowa) – A south-central Iowa man will serve 27 years in prison on child pornography charges. Forty-nine-year-old Ryan Ford of Centerville was sentenced in U-S District Court for production of child pornography and receipt of child pornography. Court information shows Ford secretly recorded minors in the shower in 2018 and distributed some of the images to others. In 2018 and 2019, investigators say he downloaded images of child porn.

Police used a search warrant and found 18-hundred images and 27 videos of child pornography on his cell phone.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports three arrests. On Tuesday (April 13), 48-year-old Yadira Valquier-Cruz, of Omaha, was arrested on I-29 at around 4-a.m., for OWI/1st offense. Bond was set at $1,000.

At around 2:15-a.m. on Monday, 31-year-old Melvin Stewart Alexander – who is Homeless- and 33-year-old Waymond Lee Foster, of Creston, were arrested at 195th Street at Highway 34 in Mills County, for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Alexander was additionally charged with being a Fugitive from Justice. He was being held without bond. Foster’s bond was set at $2,000.

Sheriff’s deputies in Page County, Monday, arrested 32-year-old Christopher Lee Gillette. He was taken into custody at the Pottawattamie County Jail on an active warrant for Failing to

Christopher Gillette

appear on a Theft in the 4th degree charge.