Officials with the Shelby County Conservation Board say weather permitting, the public will be invited to a prairie burn next week. The event takes place at dusk on Thursday,April 4^th, at Dinesen Prairie (4 miles NE of Harlan).  The controlled burn will be conducted by the Kirkman and Harlan Fire Departments. Controlled burns help to stimulate native grasses and wildflowers while suppressing brome and other invasive plants.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports enforcement actions have been taken against two entities in Harrison and Pottawattamie Counties. Administrative orders call for Kenneth Kline, of Missouri Valley, to install facility improvements and abide by other restrictions on facility operations, in addition to paying a $10,000 fine. The order contends that Kline, who owns and operates a cattle open feedlot, violated standards concerning solid manure runoff into an unnamed Euclid Creek tributary, and failed to comply with the discharge and reporting requirements set forth in his NPDES permit.

And, Anderson Excavating Company, Inc., of Pottawattamie County, has been ordered to resolve compliance issues at the company’s construction and demolition landfill. They were also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.The order was with regard to a leachate lagoon and related treatment measures, along with failing to hold financial surety bond.

Both companies have 30 days to appeal the orders, and both have indicated they will file an appeal.

(Details on the incidents and enforcement actions taken by the DNR can be found at www.iowadnr.gov/InsideDNR/AboutDNR/EnforcementActions.aspx. )

Two Audubon County men were sentenced Monday in U-S District Court to five-years in prison on drug-related charges. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa said today (Friday) 44-year old Paul Joseph Irlmeier, and 63-year old Randy Frank Irlmeier, both from rural Audubon County, were sentenced to 60 months imprisonment for conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. In addition, the Court ordered Randy Frank Irlmeier to forfeit $400,000 and Paul Joseph Irlmeier to forfeit $104,503 for their roles in the conspiracy.

As part of their guilty pleas, the Irlmeiers admitted to conspiring to grow, harvest and distribute marijuana at their respective rural Audubon County residences between approximately 2005 and October 27, 2010. On October 27, 2010, law enforcement located evidence of a sizable marijuana growing operation, including a large quantity of mature marijuana plants at Randy Irlmeier’s residence. Both defendants admitted responsibility for at least 100 marijuana plants during the conspiracy.

The investigation was conducted by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the
Audubon County Sheriff’s Office, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City high school band director has been charged with theft involving more than $50,000 in musical instruments and other equipment apparently stolen from the school district.  The Sioux City Journal reports police charged 39-year-old North High teacher Kevin Massey with first-degree theft on Wednesday. His bail was set at $10,000, and he was later released from the Woodbury County jail.

North High school resources officer Rick Kinnaman says officials became aware of the matter after another teacher who was shopping for musical instruments online noticed items that looked familiar.  Kinnaman says more than 60 items have been stolen dating back to 2004. They typically were traded in at pawn shops.

Massey, of Sergeant Bluff, is on leave from his job.

April has been designated as Child Abuse Prevention Month. Cass County Mental Health/General Relief Coordinator Teresa Kanning says as part of the awareness campaign, the Cass County Child Abuse Prevention Council will hold community “Lunch and Learn” sessions from Noon until 1-p.m., on April 11^th and 25^th, at the Atlantic Public Library.

The April 11^th program is facilitated by Sarah Herzberg, with Southwest Iowa Mental Health. It’s entitled “Raising children in a violent world.” It includes a free reading program, for children ages three and older. The April 25^th program “Children learn what they live,” will be presented by Billie Jo Clausen, from the Green Hills Area Education Agency.

For more information, go to www.pcaiowa.org., or look for the Cass County Child Abuse Prevention Council’s page on Facebook.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors is looking for an interested individual to fill a single vacancy on the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The vacancy was created by the sudden resignation of long-time BOA member Forrest Teig, of Atlantic. Auditor Dale Sunderman says he became aware of the resignation when he received a letter dated March 12^th, from Teig, forwarded to him from Zoning Commissioner Rich Hansen.

Since Teig is from Atlantic, the Board hopes to fill his position with someone from the center or eastern part of the community, but anyone in Cass County who has an interest in serving, is asked to contact a member of the Board of Supervisors, or the Cass County Auditor for an application. The person appointed to the position will fill the remainder of Teig’s term on the Board of Adjustment.

In other business, General Relief/Mental Health Coordinator Teresa Kanning said limited seats are still available for persons interested in attending a “Mental Health First Aid” program at Iowa Western Community College (IWCC) in Atlantic. The program offers certification to persons needing the knowledge, if they attend both days. It will be held Monday and Tuesday, April 8^th and 9^th, from 9-a.m. to 4:30-p.m. There is no charge to attend, and you must provide your own lunch.

The 12-hour course is designed to give members of the public key skills to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or is experiencing a mental health crisis. It will cover knowledge of potential risk factors and warning signs for a range of mental health problems, a 5-step action plan to assess the situation…select and implement appropriate interventions…and help the individual connect with the appropriate professional care, among other purposes. To register, call Cass County Community Services at 712-243-4424.

Kanning says there is also a program on Society Security Benefits Training. It will be held May 14^th, also at IWCC. There are 35 seats available, but the 1^st 10 persons to sign-up will not have to pay a fee. If you are interested in that program, please call CCCS at 243-4424.

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest Thursday, of 26-year old Tony Mack. The Atlantic man was taken into custody on a warrant for 5th Degree Theft. 32-year old Jennifer Malone, of Atlantic, was arrested Thursday, on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Driving While Barred. Both individuals were booked into the Cass County Jail and held pending a court appearance.

w/ Ric Hanson

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