The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will meet in a Special Session 5:15-p.m. today, at the High School Media Center. On their agenda, is approval of a Girls Swimming contract with the Harlan Community School District. According to school officials, a former Atlantic swimmer currently with the HSD, wants to swim competitively this year, and making it available to her requires that the two school districts have a sharing agreement, which has already been approved by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. Currently, Atlantic shares Girls’ Swimming with Audubon and Clarinda.

In other business, the Board will act on Open Enrollment Applications, and contract recommendations for:

• Natalie Ritter – Interim Food Service Director
• Melanie McDermott – Schuler Elem. Head Cook
• and Ann Hinton – School Bus Driver.

(Radio Iowa) — School districts across the state are having trouble finding enough teachers to fill their positions — especially in certain subject areas such as physics. Iowa Department of Education teacher preparation consultant, Tom Bice, says smaller districts have a harder time finding teachers. He says pay could be one issue. “Not surprisingly, some of the larger places like Ankeny, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Ames, places like that generally pay more for beginning teachers. But there are some rural areas that will pay relatively high,” Bice says.

The state has a minimum starting teacher salary of 33-thousand-500 dollars. The latest figures Bice has are one year old, but they show most schools are paying more to get new teachers. “There were still 14 districts that were paying 33-500. Most of them pay something about that. The highest one — most beginning teachers can make around 50-thousand dollars — so there is a huge discrepancy there in salary,” Bice says. He says another factor in districts finding teachers is the low unemployment rate in the state. Bice says teachers may be recruited away to other jobs. “When they come out of there with that degree it is a very, very good degree to use in a lot of work in other than just teaching,” according to Bice. “And so if somebody comes out of college and can make 30-500 teaching, and can make 50 (thousand) doing something else — they have to be really, really dedicated to do that teaching.”

He has worked in teacher preparation and seen prospective teachers lured away because of the skills they bring in a tight job market. “You’re learning how to think on your feet, you’re learning how to manage difficulties, you’re learning how to think quickly and to reason…and to work with people. It makes you very marketable,” Bice explains.  A change in state law took collective bargaining out of the equation for teacher salaries. Bice says there’s not enough information yet to determine if that has changed things compared to the way teacher salaries used to work. “The school has a set budget and before collective bargaining went away, basically the district and the union would negotiate a salary structure,” Bice says. “So if you had X number of years of experience and X number of credit hours, then you got paid X. And that was all negotiated ahead of time.”

He says there could be a benefit to some teachers in shortage areas who want to leverage more money. “You may be able to bargain yourself. If you are a physics teacher and you’re getting looked at by four different schools — you might have some leeway in trying to get some more salary. It depends on what type of school structure that school has,” Bice says. He says most schools still use some sort of pay structure, even without collective bargaining. Bice says the salaries paid by the districts are based on that structure.

Officials with the City of Elk Horn said Monday, that a Drinking Water Advisory is currently in effect. The Elk Horn Water Supply is recommending to boil the water before using for drinking or to use an alternative source. Officials say the Elk Horn Water Supply had a problem in the water plant and the system lost pressure on Monday, August 20th, 2018. Due to the potential for bacterial contamination, it is being recommended that the water be boiled before using for drinking or cooking or that an alternative source be used.

IT IS RECOMMENDED NOT TO DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water. The water may be used for bathing and other similar purposes.

For more information, please contact the City of Elk Horn at 712-250-1273 or 712-249-6025. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1(800) 426-4791.

When water service is restored, there may be air in your water piping and the water may be discolored. It is recommended to run the first water from a faucet that does not have an aerator screen, such as a bathtub or hose bib. Open the faucet slowly to allow the air to escape. Once the water is flowing, allow the faucet to run until it is clear. The water may be cloudy at first due to air in the water or particles that dislodged as the pipes filled with water. This should clear fairly quickly. If water is cloudy throughout the house and it does not clear after allowing the water to run for several minutes, contact the person listed above.

The system has been repaired, repressurized, and bacteria samples will be collected. This advisory is a precaution until bacterial sample results are available. You will be notified when the results are available and the advisory is lifted. The system is working with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to resolve the situation.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report two arrests took place, Monday. At around 8:30-p.m., 28-year old Mildred Helenora Douglas, of Red Oak, was arrested on a valid Red Oak Police Dept. warrant for Domestic Violence/1st offense. She was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 cash bond. And, at around 5:40-p.m., Deputies arrested 38-year old Christopher Mickel Mattingly, of Red Oak, for Violation of a Protective Order. He was also being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 cash bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A Waterloo woman has been charged with murder in the house fire deaths of a mother and her son. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports police on Monday charged 41-year-old Denise Susanna O’Brien with two counts of first-degree murder. The charges stem from an April 22 house fire that killed Ashley Smith and her 9-year-old son, Jaykwon Sallis. Court records show a restraining order barred O’Brien from going to the house, where she was involved in a dispute with a resident.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Fair has set a record for attendance at the annual 11-day event in Des Moines. Fair officials say an estimated 1,130,260 people attended the fair that ended Sunday. That topped the previous record set in 2017 by 189 people. Attendance was a bit behind the 2017 mark but moved ahead thanks to pleasant weather over the weekend. The fair also set a record for Grandstand concert attendance, with the biggest draw being the 15,775 people who attend a Thomas Rhett concert on Aug. 15.

OSKALOOSA, Iowa (AP) — Racers and others have been answering the call from an 11-year-old Iowa boy who wants auto racing stickers to cover his casket after he dies from leukemia. Caleb Hammond’s uncle, Chris Playle, told The Des Moines Register that his family brought him home to Oskaloosa after determining that the painful hospital treatments he’d been undergoing weren’t working and other options offered little hope. He says the stickers pouring in from social media appeals have helped keep everyone’s spirits up.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Fair has set a record for attendance at the annual 11-day event in Des Moines. Fair officials say an estimated 1,130,260 people attended the fair that ended Sunday. That topped the previous record set in 2017 by 189 people.

Attendance was a bit behind the 2017 mark but moved ahead thanks to pleasant weather over the weekend. The fair also set a record for Grandstand concert attendance, with the biggest draw being the 15,775 people who attend a Thomas Rhett concert on Aug. 15.