The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department Board of Directors will hold their monthly meeting 5:15-p.m. Monday (March 18th) at City Hall. On their agenda is approval of the Park Director’s Job Description, and updates on: The Schildberg Development Project (including West Playground and Restroom, and Campground Bathhouse; East Ridge Park washout repair; Mollett Park Community Gardens; and the Sunnyside Ice Rink. They will also discuss a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nishna Valley YMCA, and a Special meeting for the Schldberg Shelter House on April 1st.

Interim Parks Director Bryant Rasmussen is expected to report also, that the Schildberg Campground area will open April 21st. He’ll also report on Summer Staffing and Program Planning, as well as a Schildberg flooding update.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office says the City of Thurman is asking residents to evacuate the area due to swiftly approaching flood waters from the west. If you live in the town of Thurman, it is recommended that you evacuate as soon as possible for your own safety.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports an investigation was conducted early this (Sunday) morning involving alcohol in the area of U Avenue and High Street, in Villisca. As a result, Deputies cited 22-year old Blake Michael Haidsiak-Riggle, of Villisca, for Open Container of Alcohol in a motor vehicle/passenger, and, 19-year old Trenton Maverick Drake, of Nodaway, for Possession of Alcohol Under Age. Both were later released from the scene.

Red Oak Police, Saturday afternoon, arrested 21-year old Carley Marie Jean Hunter, of Red Oak. She was taken into custody for Operating a Motor Vehicle without the owner’s consent, and Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree. Hunter was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 cash bond.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities were using boats and large vehicles on Saturday to rescue and evacuate residents in parts of the Midwest where a recent deluge of rainwater and snowmelt was sent pouring over frozen ground, overwhelming creeks and rivers, and killing at least one person. The scramble to move people out of harm’s way was expected to subside going into the new week, as rivers and creeks in flooded eastern Nebraska and western Iowa were expected to crest Saturday and Sunday. That left officials downstream looking to prepare for likely flooding.

A man rescued from his stalled and flooded vehicle in western Iowa, Saturday, was flown to a hospital in Omaha. According to reports, the man called for help shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday and told emergency dispatchers he was stranded in a truck that was taking on water in Pacific Junction. Officials say it was almost an hour before rescue crews could reach him. He was flown to the hospital around an hour later. His name and medical condition have not been released.

The National Weather Service said the Missouri River at St. Joseph reached nearly 26 feet on Saturday, about a foot below what’s considered major flooding at the northwest Missouri city. But it’s expected to crest Wednesday or Thursday at 29.3 feet — more than two feet above major flooding level.

Evacuation efforts in eastern Nebraska and some spots in western Iowa on Saturday were hampered by reports of levee breaches and washouts of bridges and roads. In Mills County, authorities ordered people in some rural areas to evacuate after the Missouri River overtopped levees. Officials in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska were urging people not to drive unless necessary.

The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office reports 37-year old Abraham Schweers, of Lenox, was arrested Saturday in the 100 block of North Main Street, in Lenox. He was charged with Disorderly Conduct after allegedly sitting in his vehicle and sounding his horn for an extended period of time in the 200 block of West Grove.

Schweers was being held at the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office on $300 bond

One-person died and two others were injured when the vehicle they were in drove around a road barrier and into flood waters, Friday night, in southwest Iowa. Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports Emergency personnel were called to the 3000 block of 250th street west of the town of Riverton, for two subjects who were trapped in the flood water hanging on to trees.

At approximately 9:50-p.m., the Fremont County Dispatch Center was called by a citizen that was checking the flood waters and could hear people yelling for help. The citizen called 911 and reported the information and emergency personnel were immediately dispatched to the scene. The responding units used a boat to get to the two subjects clinging to the trees and extracted them from the water.

55-year old Aleido Rojas Galan from Norfolk, NE was one of the subjects that were submerged in the water. Galan was flown by LifeFlight to a hospital in Lincoln, NE., where he died from injuries unknown. 50-year old Santiago Morosta also of Norfolk,NE., was able to pull himself out of the water and into a tree. He was being treated at a hospital in Omaha. A third man was located about one-half mile west of where Galan and Morosta were recovered. 52-year old Juan Luis Quennons of Norfolk,NE was located in a ditch near a residence trying to get warm. Quennons was picked up by a Deputy and then later transported by the Iowa State Patrol to Grape Community Hospital in Hamburg, to be treated for his injuries. He was later transferred a hospital in Omaha.

The investigation shows that the three males were traveling eastbound on 250th st and drove around a Road Closed barrier and continued until the hit the flood water, where at that time the current of the water swept the car away leaving the subjects no choice but to try and swim to safety. The three individuals were traveling from Norfolk to Florida to see family.

Fremont County Deputies were assisted by the following units: Iowa DNR, Sidney Fire and Rescue, Hamburg Fire and Rescue, Riverton Fire and Rescue, LifeNET, Iowa State Patrol, and Montgomery County EMA.

The Iowa Department of Transportation, Saturday night, said the I-29/U.S. 34/U.S. 275 interchange (exit 34) had closed in Mills County, due to a levee breach. Several flood closures remain in place for Interstates 29 and 680 as well as many surrounding roads and others throughout Iowa. Travel in Missouri and Nebraska is also being impacted by flooding, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Interstate closures include:

• I-680 in both directions between the Nebraska border and I-29 near Crescent (Mormon Bridge).
• The North portion of I-680 between I-80 and I-29 remains open for northbound traffic.
• I-29 in both directions between the I-680 interchange (near Loveland) and North 25th Street in Council Bluffs.
• Northbound I-29 between U.S. 136 in Missouri (near Rock Port, MO) and the Iowa 92 interchange (in Council Bluffs).
• The I-29/U.S. 34/ U.S. 275 interchange (exit 34 near Pacific Junction) has also been closed.
• Southbound I-29 between the I-80 interchange in Iowa (near Council Bluffs) and U.S. 136 in Missouri (near Rock Port, MO).

Local traffic is urged to check www.511ia.org for current flood-related closures and detour routes. Detour routes and closures are changing rapidly, as levees continue to breach south of the Council Bluffs area.

Interstate 29 travelers are being detoured using the following route:

• Northbound I-29 traffic is being detoured at I-35 in Kansas City, MO where travelers will continue north on I-35 into Iowa. From Des Moines, travelers will drive west on I-80 and continue onto I-680 to connect back with northbound I-29 in Iowa.
• Southbound I-29 traffic will be detoured at Loveland onto eastbound I-680 where travelers will continue on to eastbound I-80 to Des Moines. From Des Moines, travelers will head south on I-35 into Missouri where travelers can connect with I-29 in Kansas City, MO.

Travelers should be aware that westbound I-680 on the detour route in Iowa is reduced to one lane due to damage from previous flood waters. Visit www.511ia.org; call 511 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide); stay connected with 511 on Facebook or Twitter.

Elsewhere, Highway 59, one-mile south of Harlan, is reduced to one-lane because of flooding. Temporary traffic lights are in-place.