The State Fire Marshal’s Office in Des Moines has rescinded a Burn Ban for Fremont County, at the request of Emergency Management Coordinator, Mike Crecelius. The ban, which had been in place since July 19th, officially ends at Noon today (Monday, Oct. 15th). Conditions in the County are no longer conducive to rapidly spreading fires, as had been the case during the extremely dry summer the area had experienced.

A ban on outdoor burning remains in effect until further notice, for: Cass, Audubon, Pottawattamie, Mills, Montgomery, Madison, Carroll, Crawford and Page Counties.

Officials in Fontanelle say a water main break this (Monday) morning has resulted in a Boil Order for citizens served by the City’s water supply. The Adair-Guthrie County Emergency Management Agency says the break has been repaired, the system has been flushed, and the main has been disinfected, but 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 such as bottled water be used.

Officials expect the results of tests for bacteria will be available within a few days. If the tests show there is no bacteria in the water supply system, the boil order will be rescinded. Meanwhile, officials advise residents 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 Susan Newton at 641-745-3961. 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.

The mother of one of the two 15-year-old girls missing from Shellsburg, in eastern Iowa, says she doesn’t believe she is a runaway. Dusty Hiepler-Floyd, Skie Floyd’s mom, said she thinks her daughter is “Probably scared right now.”

Skie Floyd

The Benton County Sheriff’s Department reports the two girls may be with 16-year-old Corey Sunderman and 13-year-old Austin Boggs — who’re both from the Atlantic area. All four could be traveling in a 1997 gold Jeep Grand Cherokee with no plates. Whatever the reason for the girls’ disappearance, Hiepler-Floyd said she wants them to return home.

“I just want them to know they’re not in trouble,” Hiepler-Floyd said. “I don’t care whatever the reason is they got into that car…neither one of them are in trouble. I just want them home.” Melinda Griffith, a friend of Hiepler-Floyd, said she doesn’t believe Skie is a runaway.  “She didn’t take her purse, she didn’t take her money, she didn’t take anything with her,” Griffith said. “If you’re running away from home, you take everything you got and you definitely take your purse.”

Both Floyd and Visek are sophomores at Vinton-Shellsburg High School. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Benton Sheriff’s Department at (319) 472-2337.

(Radio Iowa)

An Atlantic woman says her son and another local teen who ran away with two 15-year old girls from eastern Iowa, teens planned their escapade, based on a romantic notion. Crystal Sunderman, is the mother 16-year old Corey Sunderman.

Corey Sunderman (photo provided by his family)

She told KJAN News that her son, along with 13-year old Austin Boggs, went missing over the weekend, along with Skie (Sky) Floyd and Jazlyn Visek. Sunderman says Skie and Austin had been dating. She said the event had been “Set up for a while.” She says all four teens planned it, and that Jazlyn’s dad agreed that the girls had “Romanticized this and are going to hold out for all it’s worth,” thinking they are “cool.”

Sunderman says the teens may be on their way to Florida for a skateboarding event. She says Corey and Austin are “serious skateboarders,” and they’ve been bragging about going to a skateboarding park in Tampa or Miami. They mentioned there’s free room and board for skateboarders in that area. She says her son left home with about $400 in cash, but even if he runs out of money, he’ll find a way to get more, because “He’s very resourceful.”

Austin Boggs

Crystal Sunderman passed along a personal message to the teens. She said “This may seem exciting, but you really have no idea what you’re in for.” She says as much trouble the kids think they might be getting into, as their parents, they will try to “Protect them as much as possible,” and get them the help they need. She implored them to contact “Anybody, from any phone. You don’t have to tell us where you are if you don’t want to, just let us know you’re okay.”

Shelby County Emergency Management Director Bob Seivert says fire stations and other locations in the County may change their Fire Danger signs from “High,” to “Moderate.” Seivert says they expect the fire danger to be lower over the next couple of days, due to the recent rain. The “Moderate” rating will remain in-place until the next update, or Thursday, which ever comes first.

Seivert asks residents of Shelby County to continue to notify the Shelby County EMA/9-1-1 and your local fire chief, prior to igniting any burns. He also asks you to use common sense, and attend all open burning projects until they are fully extinguished.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports a south central Iowa man arrested last week in North Dakota on vehicular homicide and serious injury by vehicle charges out of Audubon County, is back in Iowa. 56-year-old Kendall Lee Ware, of Lineville, was extradited from authorities in Minot, ND., and is being held in the Audubon County Jail on $50,000 bond. His preliminary hearing is set to take place October 22nd.

The charges again Ware stem from an October 19th, 2011 accident that resulted in the death of 17-year-old Kristopher Crawley of Audubon, and serious injuries to 22-year-old Jason Robert Rattenborg, also of Audubon.  The accident occurred on Highway 71 just north of Brayton.  Ware fled the area following the incident.

A warrant was issued on June 29th, 2012, following an extensive investigation into the crash.  The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office requested and received assistance from the U.S. Marshalls Service in conducting the arrest. The Iowa State Patrol also assisted in the investigation of the accident.

The Atlantic Police Department reports one arrest and two accidents took place over the weekend. Officials say on Saturday, 45-year old Rex McDermott, of Atlantic, was arrested on Domestic Abuse/Serious Assault, and Willful Injury, charges. McDermott was booked in to the Cass County Jail.

That same day, Cheryl Lebeck, of Atlantic, was cited for Failure to Obey a Stop Sign, after vehicles driven by Lebeck and Robynn Davidson, of Midvale, UT, collided at the intersection of 7th and Linn Streets, at around 10:50-p.m.  Officials say Lebeck was traveling north on Linn Street and approaching 7th. After coming up to the corner, she proceeded to head north on Linn, and was struck by the Davidson vehicle. The total amount of damage was estimated at $11,000.No injuries were reported.

Friday morning, an accident in the Hy-Vee parking lot in Atlantic caused $1,500 damage, but there were no injuries, and no citations issued. The Atlantic P-D says a vehicle driven by Thomas Billheimer, of Casey, was traveling east in the parking lot and turning into a parking stall, when it struck the right rear of a legally parked vehicle registered to Patricia Briles, of Griswold.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Cass County Engineers Office reports that a bridge near the Cass County Landfill will be closed for repairs beginning today.  The bridge is located two miles east of highway 71 on the landfill road.  Local residents will be able to reach their homes but there will be no access to the landfill on that road.  The bridge repairs are expected to take two weeks.

A series of community meetings begin tonight (Monday) for Iowans to offer input on a proposal to reorganize statewide victim services. Janelle Melohn is the director of the Crime Victim Assistance Division within the Iowa Attorney General’s office. She says federal and state funding cuts since 2007 have forced eight programs in Iowa to close. That’s resulted in larger service areas in pockets of the state – with inequitable divisions of both programming and funding. “The map of how services look right now across the state…is not equal at all,” Melohn said. “So, we may have programs in western Iowa that serve up to eight counties while we have a program in eastern Iowa that serves two counties.”

According to Melohn, federal funding for Iowa’s crime victim assistance programs has declined by 18 percent (18%), or nearly $1.5 million, over the past three fiscal years. State appropriations have declined by seven percent (7%), or nearly $214,000, over the same time period. In addition to programs shutting down, other programs are eliminating core services. “It really isn’t acceptable,” Melohn said. “There are some things that we have to have all over the state. There has to be a crisis response to victims who are sitting in a law enforcement office or in a hospital after a crime has been perpetrated against them. There are certain things that have to be met and we have to make sure we are doing that equally for domestic violence and sexual assault victims.”

The reorganization plan would divide the state into six multi-county service areas with the state awarding funding on a competitive basis to programs in each region. Melohn suggests more dollars should be directed toward services that help victims, rather than shelters that aren’t being used. Use of shelters has declined, but those buildings require around-the-clock staffing and expensive upkeep. “Of all the victims that our programs served last year, only 11-percent of those were victims who sought shelter. Yet, we’re allocating almost 40-percent of our resources to shelter services,” Melohn said. “When you look at the huge discrepancy there, it really begs the question – are we using our money in the most efficient manner? I would say no.”

Some domestic violence programs in the state have moved to a “transitional model” by closing a 24/7 shelter and instead housing victims in hotels until more permanent housing options are found. There are 13 public meetings scheduled around the state to discuss the proposed changes.

Locally, meetings will be held Monday 10/22:

1:30 p.m. in Atlantic at Iowa Western Community College (Room 141)
6:00 p.m. in Creston at Southwestern Community College (Instructional Center, Room 180)

(Radio Iowa)