Now is the time to plan and plant for future gardens. The Cass County Master Gardeners group is offering a total of $1500 in grant money to be used in the 2014 growing season, to encourage gardening to grow food and/or beautify local communities. The money may also be used for gardening education purposes. The David Williams Master Gardener Grants are offered to honor the many years of service Master Gardener David Williams provided as a long-time volunteer, with the Master Gardener program and other community organizations, including a term as Cass County Master Gardener president in 2012.

Any Cass County not-for-profit group or individual may apply. Schools, churches, libraries, 4-H clubs, Scouts, and individuals working to improving their communities can use the money to begin or improve gardens or landscaping, or to provide education for their members or the public. To ensure the money is helping a wide variety of community organizations, groups who were funded by 2012 and 2013 grants will not be eligible to apply in 2014. Each grant has a maximum value of $300. The application must also include plans for teamwork and sustainability. Consideration for the environment is also an important selection factor.

Applications must be received by Thursday, April 10th for consideration. They may be submitted by mail or email. Grant recipients will be informed of their selection by the end of April. More information, and a grant application, is available on the Cass County Extension website, www.extension.iastate.edu/cass or by calling the Cass County Extension office at 712-243-1132, emailing keolson@iastate.edu, or stopping by the Extension Office at 805 W. 10th St in Atlantic. You may also contact committee members Judy Kennedy, LaVon Eblen, Connie Jones or Carolyn Hartmann for more information.

The Master Gardener program trains volunteers to develop their knowledge and skills in horticulture. These volunteers then give back to their communities through gardening service and education. The program is available in all 50 states and Canada through land grant university Extension programs such as Iowa State University. Education courses are available throughout Iowa on a regular basis. Contact Cass County Extension Program Coordinator Kate Olson, at 712-243-1132 or keolson@iastate.edu for more information.

Sheriff’s officials in Cass County say one person was injured during one of two separate accidents Sunday morning. The first happened just before 5-a.m. on White Pole Road, in Wiota. Authorities say a 2005 Jaguar owned and driven by 19-year old Bryson Thomas West, of Atlantic, was eastbound on White Pole Road when the car hit a large snow drift in the road and went out of control before running through a fence. West was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital by Medivac ambulance. Damage to the vehicle is estimated at $3,500, while damage to the fence was estimated at $500.

The second accident happened at 7:50 a.m. on 710th Street. Officials say a 2004 Ford F150 pickup owned and driven by 22-year old Joshua Brian Behnken, of Massena, was southbound on 710th Street when the driver lost control. The vehicle rolled once into the east ditch and landed on its wheels. No injuries were reported. Damage to the vehicle is estimated at $7,000. Behnken was cited for Failure to Maintain Control.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports two people were arrested Sunday on Theft and other charges, following a traffic stop on a vehicle reported stolen out of Pottawattamie County. 43-year old Joseph K. Pardew, of Omaha, was charged with Theft in the 2nd Degree, and 31-year old Benjamin Lee Foote, of Crescent, was charged with Theft in the 2nd Degree, Driving While Barred, and Driving Under Suspension. Both men were taken to the Cass County Jail, where Pardew was being held on $5000 bond, and Foote’s was  held on $7000 bond.

The Sheriff’s Office reports also the arrest last Thursday, of 37-year old Aimee Jo Nicholson, of Des Moines. Nicholson was taken into custody on a District Court warrant for Ongoing Criminal Conduct. She was brought to the Cass County Jail, and subsequently transported to Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Oakdale.

And on Saturday, deputies in Cass County arrested 23-year old Sinead Lea Edwards, of Oakland, on a charge of OWI 1st Offense. Edwards was taken to the Cass County Jail where she was released later that day on her own recognizance.

Atlantic resident Jess Ehrman, today (Monday) announced she’s running for Cass County Recorder.  Ehrman currently serves as the Guidance Secretary for the Atlantic High School. She is also serving her third year as secretary for Atlantic Junior Sports Association and is also on the Atlantic Booster Club Board.

Jess Ehrman

In announcing her candidacy, Ehrman said “The reason I have decided to run for office is because I enjoy working with the public and I know with my experience and my educational background, I am very capable of this position of Cass County Recorder.”

Ehrman grew up in the Anita area where she graduated from CAM High School. She attended AIB College of Business where she received an Associate’s degree in Accounting and Financial Services and currently is working for a double major in Accounting and Business Administration which will be completed at the end of June. Ehrman has 10 years of accounting and bookkeeping experience. She lives in Atlantic with her three sons, Chase, Steele and Garrett.

The Cass County Recorders position became open when current Recorder Joyce Jensen announced in December, her plans to retired at the end of her term in office.

The Boyer Valley School Board of Educators have voted to hire a new Superintendent/Secondary Principal. In a press release today (Monday), the board says it hired Douglas Gee from the Adel-Desot0-Minburn (ADM) School District on Friday, after an interview process. Currently, Superintendent Thomas Vint was shared between the Boyer Valley School District and Woodbine School District. Vint submitted his retirement, and secondary Principal of Boyer Valley Chad Straight has accepted a position to Belle Plaine, IA.

The Boyer Valley School District hired former Harlan Community Superintendent Bob Broomfield to conduct the hiring process. Broomfield filtered through over twenty applicants for the position. Several community and Boyer Valley Staff members were selected as a committee team to help during the interview process with the final three applicants.

Board President Kenneth “Bud” Dunham said in the press release, “We are confident in our decision to hire Mr. Gee. He will bring enthusiasm and fresh ideas to Boyer Valley, taking education to the next level.” Mrs. Linda McQueen, a teacher at Boyer Valley served on the committee team and said, “Mr. Gee was extremely energetic and passionate toward education during his interview.” Douglas Gee is currently the Assistant Principal and Activities Director at ADM. Mr. Gee will start at the Boyer Valley School District on July 1st, 2014.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

New Century Art Guild, Inc. (NCAG) today (Monday), announced that they have awarded their 2014 Veteran Artist Grant to Mario Lopez from Bandera, Texas. The grant includes a four day visit to the Midwest. On Saturday, March 22nd NCAG will host an art exhibition of Mario’s work and “Meet the Artist” dinner reception at their gallery in Kimballton. Lopez will share his inspirational journey as a soldier, family-man, minister and artist.  In a press release, Lopez said he is a wounded warrior but let doesn’t let his injuries define him. He said he likes that he can help people by “Showing them that even though life throws obstacles our way, there is no reason to give up because life is always worth living.”

One of Lopez’ works of art. (from his website)

U.S. Army Sgt. Mario Lopez served in Iraq in 2006-7 and Afghanistan in 2008. In August of 2008, Mario was severely injured while on duty with a combat engineering unit in Afghanistan. As part of a routine convoy, Lopez was strapped into his MRAP Vehicle on his way to his next mission when a 300-pound roadside bomb exploded, creating a blast that sent the MRAP’s door hurtling into him and pinning him inside the burning vehicle. As a result of the blast, he sustained burns on more than 40 percent of his body and lost his right arm, right ear, right eye and most of the fingers on his left hand.

The New Century Art Guild is a non-profit arts organization co-founded by veterans and artists. Its mission is to promote the career development of emerging and established artists, especially those of military veterans that seek new careers in the creative arts. For more information on Lopez, go to www.paintingsbymariolopez.com.

Mario said, “While recovering in 2011, I picked up a paint brush with my remaining left fingers and began to experiment! Initially I was painting just for myself, but friends and family started to inquire about my art. Before I knew it, I was getting attention and requests from people I had never even met!”

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest of a local man Saturday. 38-year old Mario Diaz Meras, of Atlantic, was taken into custody on a charge of Public Intoxication. Diaz-Meras was booked into the Cass County Jail and held, pending an appearance in front of the magistrate.

And, no injuries were reported following an accident Sunday morning, in Atlantic. Officials say a vehicle driven by Alec Guttenfelder, of Atlantic, was traveling west on 7th Street at around 10-a.m., and had stopped at the red light with Hospital Drive. A vehicle driven by Carol Nelson, of Atlantic, was traveling west and failed to stop at the light, striking the Guttenfelder vehicle on the rear bumper. The damage amounted to $4,000. Nelson was cited for Failure to Maintain Control/Reduce Speed.

Republican Congressman Steve King says the federal government should not have a minimum wage law.  “The federal government should have never been involved in setting wages. That’s not their business,” King says. “The wage agreement, the employment agreement, is a contract between an employer and an employee and they should be able to reach any kind of agreement they choose to.”

Congress established a 25-cents-an-hour national minimum wage in 1938. Democrats in D.C., including President Obama and Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, argue congress should vote now to raise the minimum wage to 10-10 ($10.10) an hour by the middle of 2016. “If there are to be minimum wages set, they should be set by the states,” King says. “The states know better. The states know whether it’s good or bad.”

Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia now have minimum wage rates that are above the national rate of seven-25 ($7.25) an hour. King points to a recent Congressional Budget Office report which concluded raising the national minimum wage to 10-10 ($10.10) could mean there’ll be half a million fewer jobs in the U.S.  “We need more people working, not less, and that’s what brings us out of this economic situation that we are in,” King says.

On Wednesday President Obama will be in New England to have a public event with four governors who support raising the minimum wage to 10-dollars-and-10-cents ($10.10) in their states. Earlier this year President Obama issued an executive order which calls for the higher, $10.10 minimum wage to be paid to government contract workers. King says Obama is violating the constitution, as that’s a decision for congress to make, not the president. Jim Mowrer, King’s likely Democratic challenger in November, says that shows King “does not understand the struggles thousands of Iowa families are going through to make ends meet” because they’re working full time and earning the minimum wage, and living below the poverty line.

(Radio Iowa)

A trip to Ukraine and Russia this spring by 21 Iowa State University students and staff has been cancelled due to the growing tension between the two countries. Jody Cornell, the Study Abroad Coordinator with the ISU College of Agriculture Science, says the decision follows the “travel warning” recently issued by the U.S. State Department.  “Iowa State University does not send any students where there is a travel warning issued by the U.S. Department of State,” Cornell says. The students and staff had planned to visit both countries in May to learn about their swine industries. Cornell has spent a lot of time in Ukraine. He first went there in 1994 as part of an ISU study abroad program. Cornell’s most recent trip to Ukraine was last fall.

“I was just visiting there in September. I have really good friends over there, including a godson,” Cornell said. “In September, I never would have guessed that anything like this would be happening.” Weeks of violent protests, led to the removal of Ukraine’s president last week. Now, Russian troops are holding border posts in Crimea, a strategic Ukrainian peninsula. Cornell is hopeful a peaceful settlement can be reached.  “I’m very supportive of Ukraine sovereignty, just like President Obama. The rest of the world needs to understand and respect the sovereignty of Ukraine,” Cornell said. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will be in Ukraine Tuesday.

(Radio Iowa)

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of a Glenwood man Saturday afternoon on a drug charge. 22-year old Kristopher James Koon was arrested in Glenwood on a Possession of Drug Paraphernalia charge. Koon was being held over the weekend in the Mills County Jail on $300 bond.