Members of the Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education will meet in a regular session 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, in the High School Media Center. Among the items on their agenda is the election of a Board President and Vice President for the 2018-19 School Year, along with the appointment of Board Treasurer and Secretary, and other administrative matters.

The School Board will also hear a Special Presentation with regard to Girls Softball, and discuss a computer lab purchase for the Middle School Math Program. Last year, District Technology Director Roger Warne presented a plan for the MS to purchase Chromebooks as the District continues to look at integrating technology into instruction. Middle School Math Teacher Chelsey Lee would like to use an online resources for math, and with the request feels it’s a good way to pilot the Chromebooks. School officials say purchasing to fully equip a classroom with a set of 25 Chromebooks and related peripherals, would cost a little over $10,000.

The Board will also receive a facility planning update, and act on the first reading of revised, new and deleted Board Policies. The new policies include one that clarifies language related to the use of service animals, assistance animals, therapy animals and emotional support animals on District Property, by students, staff and community members. That includes service dogs and even miniature horses, so long as the animals are house broken, current on their vaccinations, and under control at all times. It also means those animals will not be allowed if they are deemed to pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others, if they are uncontrollable, and not house broken.

A revised rule on public participation in Board meetings, if approved, would require those wishing to comment to notify the Board Secretary prior to the meeting. It would also give the Board discretion on how much time to set aside for public participation, which is typically limited to three-minutes per person. The Board will not discuss or take action on any matter during a public comment period. Disruptive individuals may be asked to leave, and defamatory comments may be subject to legal action.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board is expected to act on approving an Athletic Training Services Agreement, with the Cass County Memorial Hospital providing an Athletic Trainer. The cost to the District would be $5,000 for the 2018-19 School Year. And, they’re expected to act on approving the Oct. 2018 FFA Leadership Conference in Indianapolis, IN., as well as a Summer 2020 Costa Rica Trip for certain Spanish students to enrich their learning opportunities.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of two individuals in connection to the distribution of methamphetamine to a minor in Sidney, Iowa. Deputies with the Fremont County K9 Unit, determined 28-year old Gabrielle Suppes,  of Dodson, Montana (and formally of Otoe, NE), and 44-year old Robert Powell, of Nebraska City, NE, distributed a substance containing methamphetamine to 16-year-old juvenile in the spring of 2018 at a residence in Sidney.

Powell

Suppes

Suppes was arrested by Minnesota authorities on a warrant out of Fremont County.  Powell was arrested by Nebraska authorities on a Fremont County warrant. Both are being charged with delivery of Amphetamine to Minor, a Class B Felony.  Powell is also charged with Child Endangerment, and Promoting a Drug Gathering, both Class D Felonies.

Suppes is being held at the Fremont County Jail on $25,000 cash bond.  Powell is being held without bond pending further court proceedings.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a woman died after one of two shootings in Waterloo. Police say the woman was struck inside a house around 9:45 p.m. Monday when someone outside began shooting into the home. She was pronounced dead later at Allen Hospital. Her name hasn’t been released. Residents about three blocks away also reported hearing gunshots. Police found two vehicles struck by bullets in the area. It’s unclear whether the shootings are related. No arrests have been reported.

SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a man was hospitalized after an explosion rocked a plant in northwest Iowa, setting off a fire. Firetrucks were dispatched to the Polaris Industries plant in Spirit Lake around 9:30 p.m. Monday. Officials say the employees had been evacuated by the time firefighters arrived. The man taken to a hospital hasn’t been identified.

Spirit Lake Fire Chief Pat Daly says a blast in the plant’s paint room caused the fire. The damage was contained there. It’s unclear what caused the explosion. Polaris employs about 500 people at the plant, producing motorcycles under the Indian Motorcycles brand.

No injuries were reported following a single-vehicle accident Sunday morning, in Page County. The Page County Sheriff’s Office says 56-year old Roger Lee McQueen, of Shenandoah, was traveling east on Highway 2 near I Avenue at around 8-a.m., when the front end of his 2003 Chevy van began to shake. McQueen started to pull the vehicle to the shoulder, when the steering wheel locked. McQueen applied the brakes but the vehicle continued into the south ditch, where it became mired in the mud and the embankment. The van sustained about $3,500 damage. No citations were issued.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office today (Tuesday) issued a report on an accident that took place a little before at around 12-a.m Sunday, on the east side of Clarinda. The accident wasn’t discovered until hours later. The single-vehicle accident happened near the intersection of Highways 2 and 71, when a 2018 Ford Escape driven by 29-year old Paige Jamie Ruthe Stewart, of New Market, turned south from Highway 2 just east of the intersection into a field drive, and continued south through the standing corn field for unknown reasons. Stewart did not stop in the cornfield, but instead continued south through the cornfield. The vehicle went into a deep ditch and struck a tree. Air bags deployed and Stewart suffered minor injuries. According to Stewart, she spent the night in the vehicle and walked back to the road where she made contact with someone who found her and then called for assistance at around 8-a.m., Sunday. Stewart was taken to the Clarinda Regional Hospital for treatment of unknown injuries.

Her SUV sustained an estimated $31,000 damage, and was considered a total loss. Damage to the Cornfield was estimated at $5,000. No charges have been filed at this time.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State auditors say a man employed full time by an eastern Iowa city and a nearby water and sanitary district likely didn’t put in his 40 hours at both jobs and spent hundreds of working hours at casinos. An audit report issued Tuesday cited more than $290,000 in unsupported or improper spending by the city of Long Grove and nearly $287,000 in unsupported or improper spending by the Park View Water and Sanitary District. The two had asked for the special audit, concerned about the financial activities of Joel McCubbin. Long Grove hired him in 1987 and the district made him its full-time operations manager in 1994.

The auditors estimated the district overpaid McCubbin thousands of dollars because he probably only worked 24 a week. The auditors also said a comparison of city time sheets against McCubbin’s players club cards showed he was at casinos during his reported work hours on nearly 220 days. Scott County court records don’t show that he’s been charged with any crime.

(Radio Iowa) — Administrators of an eastern Iowa school district are considering new safety measures after a recent shooting attempt. Police say a 12-year-old student at North Scott Junior High in Eldridge pulled a gun on a teacher and tried to fire but the safety was on, disabling the gun. Superintendent Joe Stutting says he’s rethinking the district’s safety policies since the incident August 31st. “And at the same time, you don’t want to make those kind of decisions in the emotions of a situation,” Stutting says. “You want to take the time to research it out, whether that’s changing a policy or adding personnel or what it might be. We’ll analyze that out and everything’s on the table.”

Community members have suggested installing metal detectors or hiring more security guards, but Stutting says resources are limited. “Iowa doesn’t fund education to support hiring security guards, whether they’re SRO officers connected to a police force or a private one,” he says. “There’s no ongoing source for that and I think that’s something our legislators will look at when we get into the next session, I’m sure.”

Stutting says declining enrollment in the district is also limiting resources. The student, whose name wasn’t released, is charged with attempted murder.

(with Thanks to Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)