An accident late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning south of Atlantic, resulted in minor injuries to a passenger in the vehicle. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office was notified late Thursday morning a 2011 Toyota driven by 30-year old Kevin Patrick Smith, of Atlantic, had left the road and ended-up in a ditch near 610th and Keystone. A passenger in the vehicle, Emily Rebarcak suffered minor injuries and was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital.

Upon further investigation, Smith was cited into court for OWI 2nd Offense, Carrying a Concealed Weapon, and Leaving the Scene of an Injury Accident. Damage to the vehicle is estimated to be $2,000.

Hazardous household chemicals can build up around the home and garage quickly, but they can’t be tossed with the regular garbage, so Iowans are being reminded to dispose of them properly. It’s estimated the average home has accumulated around 100 pounds of cleaning products, oils, paints, and lawn and weed chemicals. Trish Radke, program coordinator with Metro Waste Authority, says people need to realize that these are all considered hazardous waste and can’t be tossed in the garbage or poured down the drain.

“It’s any material that the label reads flammable, corrosive, explosive, toxic or even keep out of reach of children,” says Radke. “All of those products have hazardous material in them, so instead of putting them in your regular trash if you have used them up and need to get rid of them, then you need to look to a Regional Collection Center.”

In addition to the Regional Collection Centers, many communities across the state also offer drop-off events with details available by contacting your local landfill. Radke says the improper disposal of these items can have a negative impact on the environment, especially the water supply. There is also the direct threat to human health.

“They can also harm sanitation workers or even your family, if you were to dispose of them in the regular trash and they would leak out onto the street,” she says. “So because of the chemical make-up, they need to be disposed of in a different way than going to the landfill.” Radke also suggests to start the process of reducing household hazardous waste when shopping, by choosing those brands with natural ingredients or purchasing smaller containers to eliminate leftover, unused product.

(Iowa News Service)

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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A woman from Union County was arrested Thursday afternoon on a drug-related charge. Creston Police say 22-year old Brittony Lea Miller, of Creston, was arrested at around 4-p.m. on a Union County warrant for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense. Miller was later released on $1,000 bond.

The 7:06-a.m. report w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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Two people were injured and trapped in a vehicle that crashed early this (Friday) morning, in Fremont County. The Sheriff’s Office reports the driver of  a 2004 Dodge Dakota pickup, 34-year old Jamie Stockwell, of Riverton, was transported by Shenandoah Rescue to the Shenandoah Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. A passenger in the truck 63-year old Jimmie Hockett, of Shenandoah, suffered undisclosed injuries and was flown by helicopter to Nebraska Medicine.

The accident happened at around 2:50-a.m., between Essex and Shenandoah, near the intersection of 190th Street and Highway 59. Officials say the pickup was traveling west on 190th Street when it crossed the centerline of the road and entered the south ditch, where it entered a creek and hit a tree before coming to rest on its driver’s side.

Both occupants of the vehicle were trapped and extricated through mechanical means by personnel with the Shenandoah Fire Department.Alcohol and speed are believed to be factors in the crash. Charges are currently pending.

Assisting Fremont County Deputies at the scene were officers with the Shenandoah Police Department, deputies with the Page County Sheriff’s Office and crews from Shenandoah Fire and Rescue.

Iowa is part of a settlement with J.P. Morgan Chase Bank over its credit card collection practices. A spokesman for Iowa’s Attorney General, Geoff Greenwood, says the company agreed to settle after Iowa and 47 other states alleged their debt collection practices were illegal. “And then debt buying or debt selling. And that’s where a company or a bank — in this case J.P. Morgan Chase — pursues credit card debt and eventually sells it off to someone else, a debt buyer who pays pennies on the dollar and then goes after the consumer,” Greenwood says.

He says this led to a lot of problems for card holders. “What we were finding is that there were consumers who really didn’t owe debt and debt collectors were going after them, or the information was wrong, the amount was wrong. They got the wrong name, there were just a lot of errors and consumers were being pursued for debts that they didn’t owe,” Greenwood says. He says Iowa and other states came together after seeing the problem.

“It’s not acceptable, and this settlement we hope will take care of this problem in the future,” Greenwood says. The settlement for all the states is 136 million dollars. “What chase is doing in Iowa, it is ceasing its collection efforts against about 13-hundred different Iowa consumers,” Greenwood says. “It’s also providing about 43-thousand dollars in restitution to about 70 Iowa consumers.”

Iowa’s total settlement is 471-thousand dollars in a settlement payment and one million dollars for attorney fees. Greenwood says Iowa’s allocation will be used to enforce consumer fraud laws, including debt collection statutes.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A federal judge says two men may proceed with the lawsuit they filed after more than $100,000 was seized from them by two Iowa State troopers. The Des Moines Register reports that the judge rejected a dismissal motion by the troopers and Desert Snow, a company that trains officers on roadside searches. The judge said in his ruling Wednesday that the allegations are sufficient for a claim to move forward that the troopers and Desert Snow acted as part of a conspiracy to violate the rights of William Davis and John Newmerzhycky.

A trooper pulled over Davis and Newmerzhycky in April 2013 and accused them of not using a turn signal. The cash and a grinder with small pieces of marijuana were seized when their rental car was searched.

Authorities in Guthrie County reported Thursday, they are on the lookout in the Stuart, Dexter, Redfield, Greenfield and DeSoto areas for a man wanted on warrants for escape and a parole violation.

Joseph LeClair, Jr.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, 30-year old Joseph L. LeClair, Jr., was last seen on foot near the intersection of White Pole Road and Highway 25 in Guthrie County, Wednesday evening. He evaded a three-hour search by law enforcement by entering a corn field.

LeClair was serving time on a criminal mischief conviction when he escaped on May 18th. Leclair was also wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant issued in Guthrie County for Parole Violation, and a warrant out of Polk County for Escape from Fort Des Moines. The charges stem from a case involving a motorcycle stolen last year in Guthrie County.

Anyone with information on Leclair’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office at (641)747-2214. You can remain anonymous when you call.