The Atlantic School Board, at Wednesday’s meeting, will, as planned, re-examine district guidelines for the use of Face Masks/shields.Their meeting begins at 6-p.m. in the High School Media Center, and will be recorded for public viewing once the meeting concludes.

As we have mentioned previously, the School board on October 23rd approved the current policy requiring a face cover in those circumstance when it is impossible to social distance. During their meeting late last month, the board decided to extend the deadline until this Thursday, December 10th. According to Wednesday’s agenda, Superintendent Steve Barber will recommend continuing the mask mandate in locations where a positive case can quarantine many students and staff.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board will act on: Fall 2021 Extracurricular Contracts (See the list of coaches recommended, below); A Technology Purchase of a three-year license for the District’s Sonicwall (Firewall), in the amount of $14,984; They’ll also act on approving a high school parking lot engineering contract with Snyder and Associates Engineers, $89,750 (total project cost estimated at $800,000-$850,000).   Consent Agenda items include approving contract recommendations for Matt Smith, Interim Head Boys Soccer Coach, and Mark Vavricek, Substitute Special Education Car Driver.

Following regular business, the Board will enter into a closed session for the Superintendent’s Annual Evaluation.

********

Here are Atlantic Activities Director Andy Mitchell’s recommendation for the fall of 2021 extra-curricular coaching contracts:

• Head Varsity Football: Mike McDermott; Assistant Football Coach Lee Saathoff.
• Junior Varsity Football Coach: Joe Brummer; Assistant Junior Varsity Football Coach Oran Perkins
• Freshman Football Coach: Matt Mullenix
• Middle School Football Coaches: Conner Larsen, Tim Duff, Bryce Casey, and Chase Roller.
• Head Cross Country Coach; Dan Vargason;, Assistant Cross Country Coach Derek Hal.
• Middle School Cross Country Coach: Taylor Williams.
• Head Volleyball Coach: Michelle Blake
• Junior Varsity VB Coach: Alyssa Dovenspike
• Freshman VB Coach: Jeremy Blake
• Middle School VB Coaches: Faith McCunn, Amber Moore, and Jessica Larsen.
• Head Girls Swimming Coach: Dean Junker
• Football Cheerleading Coach: Michella Bartholomew.

A change to how the state of Iowa reports coronavirus-related deaths increased Iowa’s COVID-19 death toll to 2,898, today (Tuesday). Until Monday, the Iowa Department of Public Health only reported COVID-19 deaths if the person who died had a positive PCR test result. That method left out deaths in which a person had tested positive using an antigen test and cases in which COVID-19 was listed as the cause of death on a death record without a positive test result. The Iowa Department of Public Health said the federal system for cause-of-death did not include COVID-19 as a cause of death when the pandemic first began. Moving forward, the state of Iowa will report all COVID-19 deaths in which a health care provider reports the cause of death or underlying cause of death as coronavirus.

With that information, here is the latest data from the State: Deaths (as mentioned) total 2,898, an increase of 181 from Monday; 2,650 deaths are from underlying causes; 248 are contributing factor deaths.  Positive cases increased 1,393, to 246,237. Long-Term Care facility outbreaks have increased from 137 Monday to 141 today. LTC deaths amount to 1,127.

Hospitalizations stand at 900, with 191 COVID patients in an ICU, 111 admitted since 10-a.m. Monday, and 111 patients are on a ventilator. Hospitals in western/southwest Iowa report 57 COVID patients, 20 of whom are in an ICU, eight were recently admitted, and 10 are on a ventilator. Hospitalization analysis shows 645 patients were hospitalized with a primary COVID-19 diagnosis, while 255 were hospitalized for another reason but tested positive for the virus. State data shows 63% of those hospitalized are 60 or older, with 34% of the total hospitalized over the age of 79.

State data shows 1,255,014 Iowans have been tested for coronavirus. Iowa reports a 14-day positivity rate of 16% and a 7-day rate of 12.1%. Iowa reports 67 of the state’s 99 counties have a 14-day positivity rate at 15% or greater. That’s down from 74 the previous day. There are 18 counties with a rate at 20% or higher, down from 25 a day earlier. There are no longer any counties with a rate greater than 30%. Cass County’s positivity rate has fallen to 13.9%.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases; and the total number of deaths in each county (Configured by the new reporting formula):

• Cass, 876 cases; 34 deaths
• Adair, 485; 15
• Adams, 196; 2
• Audubon, 315; 6
• Guthrie, 811; 22
• Harrison County, 1,171; 46
• Madison County, 779; 6
• Mills County, 1,134; 7
• Montgomery, 556; 12
• Pottawattamie County, 7,059; 69
• Shelby County, 826; 16
• Union County,  899; 9

A collision Monday night in northwest Iowa between a van and a semi, has claimed one life and resulted in injuries to another person. The Iowa State Patrol says the crash in Cherokee County happened at around 8:42-p.m. on Highway 59. A 2006 Dodge Caravan driven by 50-year old Bradley Donald Herwig, of Cherokee, was traveling south on Highway 59 while a 2009 Kenworth tractor-trailer driven by 28-year old Oscar De Los Reyes Barrera, of Palmdale, CA, was traveling north.

The van and the semi collided head-on on the northbound lane, resulting in fatal injuries to Herwig, who was not wearing a seat belt. Barerra was injured and transported by Cherokee Ambulance to the local hospital. The accident remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – State officials have changed the method for publicly reporting the number of Covid-related deaths in Iowa, using the same system as the National Center for Health Statistics. The change initially added at least 177 deaths to the state count overnight. Iowa Department of Human Services director Kelly Garcia says the state is now using a special code number on death certificates indicating Covid was the underlying cause or a contributing factor to the death of an Iowan. “It is a more fulsome picture of exactly what happened surrounding that death,” she said, “rather than a case investigation which has bits and pieces and is accurate, to the best of our knowledge, but this is really relying on the full medical record.”

Until yesterday (Monday), state officials not only required Covid to be cited on a death certificate, but required proof the person had tested positive for the virus using a test that detects the genetic material of Covid. Garcia says there are new types of tests available now, plus the state relies on the judgment of doctors in reporting all other causes of death — using the coding system that now includes a code NUMBER for Covid. “This information will be helpful for national comparison and I believe it will also be helpful when we compare causes of death over the course of the entire 2020 calendar year…In years to come — one year out, five years out, 10 years out — this change will allow us to see an apples to apples comparison,” Garcia said.

She added, “…Nothing is changing around the way a clinician would do their work, rather we are changing the way we record that information at the state level.” The state website tracking coronavirus data will be updated every morning with an updated count on Covid-related deaths, according to Garcia. “This is a change that Iowans can rely on,” Garcia says. “Academics, those who do research in other capacities, from other states, at a national level can also rely on it and that is incredibly important.”

Also last (Monday) night, the Iowa Department of Human Services announced the Covid-related death of a resident at one of the six facilities the agency oversees. A department spokesman said the location or day of the death will not be released to protect the identity of the client who died.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office and the Tabor Police Department are seeking information concerning a burglary that occurred at the Glenwood State Bank, located in Tabor, the evening of Sunday, Dec. 6th and early morning hours of Monday, Dec. 7th.

Authorities say a man entered the bank lobby at approximately 8:47 PM and then left the area. Two men returned at approximately 12:30 AM and removed the ATM from the lobby. The white males were said to be wearing camouflage jackets.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office at 712-374-2424.