Neola artist Russell Christensen works on a clay Eagle sculpture

Supporters of the Eagle of Honor project in Council Bluffs say a groundbreaking ceremony will take place this weekend for the Council Bluffs Eagle of Honor project titled “Freedom with Honor.”  The public is invited to the Saturday, November 5, 2011, at 12:30 p.m. at the RailsWest museum lawn at 16^th and Main St.  The Veterans Day parade begins at 11 a.m. in downtown Council Bluffs and the groundbreaking will follow the parade. Refreshments will be served. 

The Eagle of Honor project is a county-wide project to honor all Veterans of the Armed forces of the United States.  The Veterans memorial is designed to pay homage to the valor and bravery of Veterans and their families, who have served, are serving and will serve in the future.  

The eagle is a bronze American Eagle statue, 42 inches high, designed by artist Russell Christensen of Neola.  Every city within Pottawattamie County will have a different Eagle monument surrounded by a unique plaza or welcoming area. Council Bluffs is one of the last cities in the county to have an Eagle memorial built.  

For more information on the Eagle of Honor project, log onto www.eaglesofhonorproject.com

Graphic of gunshot detection system from shotspotter.com

Omaha-Council Bluffs is the first community in the region to begin installing a new type of technology that will pinpoint where gunshots ring out in the metro area. Omaha Police Officer Jacob Bettin says the gunfire detection system uses sensors that are being placed all over town in undisclosed locations. “The system identifies the fact that shots have been fired and then notifies law enforcement and informs them of where to go,” Bettin says. 

It can apparently differentiate between gunshots and other loud noises — from fireworks to engine backfires. Much like satellites in the GPS system triangulate a location, this system will use the same technique to let police know the exact location of gunshots. He says, “That allows us to get to the area more efficiently than waiting for the public and allows us to know with greater detail where that incident is occurring and how to safely respond.” 

Bettin says the technology is called the Shot Spotter and it’s being installed following the awarding of a 900-thousand dollar grant from the U-S Department of Justice. “Now, we’re going to have the ability to get there sooner and potentially be able to make an arrest,” he says, “regardless of if it’s a simple shots fired or destruction of property or even a homicide.”

Bettin believes they can make more arrests and help reduce gun crime by using this technology. The system, once operational, will detect where a shot is fired more quickly and accurately than someone who calls 9-1-1. The system should go online later this month. 

(Radio Iowa)

Judi Nelson (center), Registered Nurse at Cass County Memorial Hospital (CCMH), was honored as a Hospital Hero at the Iowa Hospital Association’s (IHA) annual meeting this fall. Presenting the award to Judi are Gary Riedmann, IHA Board Chair, and Pat Markham, CCMH Administrator.

A Registered Nurse at the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic, was recently honored by the Iowa Hospital Association as one of 10 Hospital Heroes from across the state of Iowa.  Judi Nelson was selected for her efforts in organizing the Every 15 Minutes program for students at Atlantic High School last spring. Every 15 Minutes is a two-day unique educational experience designed to teach students the dangers and consequences of driving while drinking or distracted. 

Nelson organized over 100 volunteers to provide this life-saving educational program, including CCMH staff, community and business volunteers.  After a successful first year, she’s now working to provide the program for Griswold High School in the spring of 2012, and hopes to bring it to CAM High School and back to Atlantic in the future.

Judi was nominated by her co-workers, with letters of support from Atlantic High School Principal Heather McKay and Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green.  The Hospital Heroes were recognized at a special presentation program during the IHA’s annual meeting in Des Moines.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Department reports one person was arrested Tuesday on drug charges. 33-year old Nicholas Zacariah Coulter, of Ft. Dodge, was taken into custody at around 9-p.m. Tuesday following a traffic stop on Highway 71, near Hamlin. Officials say Coulter faces charges that include Possession of Methamphetamine/3^rd offense, Possession of Marijuana/3^rd offense, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Driving While Barred. He was being held in the Audubon County Jail, on $5,000 bond.

w/ Ric Hanson

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A collision with a deer resulted in a small in-car fire Monday morning in Potttawattamie County, but no one was injured. The Iowa State Patrol says 33-year old Andrea Root, of Persia, was traveling west on Interstate 80 south of Neola, when a deer ran out of a ditch. After the 1996 Buick Park Avenue Root was driving hit the animal, the woman pulled onto the shoulder of the road. While her car was stopped, a small fire developed in the steering column, but was quickly extinguished before it could spread to the rest of the interior.

The accident happened at around 6:45-a.m., Monday.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Funeral services will be held today (Wednesday) at 10:30-a.m.,  in the East Sac County High School in Lake View, for a Southwestern Community College student who was killed over the weekend in a northern Missouri crash, just two-miles south of the Iowa border. 18-year old Chrystal Olerich was a freshman volleyball player at Southwestern Community College, in Creston. Olerich, of Lake View, 22-year old 2009 SWCC grad Joshua Bix, of Hopkins, and one other person died Saturday, when the pickup truck they were passengers in rolled over. All seven people in the pickup, including the driver, were ejected from the vehicle, as it rolled. None were wearing their seat belts. 

Sheriff’s officials say the group had recently left a Halloween party. Alcohol was found at the scene. The driver, 22-year old Scott Woods, of Hopkins, MO., has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and three counts of 2^nd-degree assault.

An SUV, street lamp and heavy piece of equipment were damaged during an accident Monday afternoon, in Atlantic. According to Atlantic Police, a heavy piece of machinery belonging to Western Engineering stalled while traveling uphill on 10^th Street, near the Cass County Community Center. 

When the machine began to roll backwards, traveling west on 10^th, the unidentified operator bailed out, fearing for his safety. The machine continued rolling down hill, while Western Engineering employees rushed to get people and vehicles out of the way. The machine rolled past the Whetstone car wash, struck a parked SUV and a light pole, and finally came to rest in a ditch at the intersection of Highway 6 and 10^th Street. 

No injuries were reported. Officials said the SUV and light pole sustained  a combined $7,000 damage, while damage to the piece of heavy equipment was estimated at $5,000.

Officials with the U-S Army Corps of Engineers say repairs on one of the main levees breached by Missouri River floodwaters this year can begin — as soon as the money is allocated. Corps spokeswoman Monique Farmer says all the preliminary work has been completed to rebuild the levee in the far southwestern Iowa town of Hamburg.  “The Corps of Engineers has pulled funds from other projects to go ahead and jumpstart construction efforts to begin the repair process,” Farmer says. “We are still waiting to find out how much money Congress is going to allocate so that we can continue that repair process.” Many have criticized the Corps for not taking action sooner to prevent the monumental flooding that lasted all summer. Farmer says she’s heard the Corps being blasted for months on the issue.

“There was nothing in our weather forecast that would have given us the indication back in the January-February timeframe or even the March-April timeframe that would have given us that red flag to say that we should increase releases,” she says. When the levee broke this summer, floodwaters rolled over and covered thousands of acres of farmland and destroyed many miles of key roadways, including sections of Interstates 29 and 680. Repairs to just three miles of I-680 are estimated at 19-million dollars.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)