The Abbey Forced To Shut Down By February
(Le Mars) — A long-time nursing care facility in Le Mars has been instructed to close its doors and shut down by February 1st. The Abbey, has operated for 45 years. The reason for the closing is because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is terminating its contract with the Abbey, because of a
“history of serious quality issues”. Officials with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, say it is the first time a nursing care facility has been forced to close since 2009. The CMS, the federal agency that runs Medicare and Medicaid, says since March of 2014, has denied payments to the Abbey on six
different occasions. The Abbey houses 23 residents. The Special Focus Facility was created as a special program to stimulate improvements in the quality of care. The Abbey had been on the Special Focus Facility list for 29 months. Dawn Fisk is a Division Administrator with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. She says records indicate, The Abbey has been on the
C-M-S Special Facility list for some time.
Fisk says The Abbey failed to make the necessary improvements, and that is the reason it is losing its medicare and medicaid programs.
Fisk wouldn’t comment on the specific violations cited by the Abbey, only to say the violations are listed on the agency’s website. Many people may wonder what will happened to those residents currently living at The Abbey?
Fisk says the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals will oversee and supervise the activity at the Abbey until such time all of the residents will be moved and relocated.
The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals official says there will be additional inspections made for the next month.
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website, The Abbey rated “much below average” on health inspections and had been fined at least 10 times for substandard care.
Christmas Night Strong Winds Responsible For Semi Overturned
(Le Mars) — Those strong winds on Christmas night were responsible for having a semi-truck and livestock trailer overturn on a rural Plymouth County road. The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an accident that happened at about 9:55 p.m. Sunday evening. The accident occurred on county road C-60 near Jade Avenue, east of Hinton. The semi truck and livestock trailer were owned by Kounkel Trucking of Merrill, and was being driven by Loy Smout of Daytona Beach, Florida. Due to the severe winds, the livestock trailer lost contact with the
roadway, causing the semi truck and trailer to flip and overturn on its side blocking traffic. The truck and trailer were valued at $120,000. There were no injuries with the accident.
Two People Arrested On Drug Related Charges
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office has released information relating to a search warrant and arrest from November 30th. The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at 10621 county road L-14 near Remsen. 33 year old Laura VanderWaal, and 22 year old Stacy Carr, were found to
be in possession of methamphetamine, marijuana, prescription drugs, and drug paraphernalia. VanderWaal was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance methamphetamine with the intent to deliver (Class B
felony), possession of prescription drugs (serious misdemeanor), possession of marijuana 3rd offense (Class C felony), and possession of drug paraphernalia (simple misdemeanor). Carr was arrested and charged with possession of prescription drugs, and possession of drug paraphernalia. VanderWaal’s bond was
set at $25,000. Carr’s bond was set at $1,000.
Artists Invited To Tulip Festival
(Orange City) — Regional artists are invited to apply to exhibit and sell their work at ArtBurst 2017, a juried fine art fair scheduled for Saturday, May 20, in Orange City, Iowa. Free to the public and open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
ArtBurst is part of the Orange City Tulip Festival, a celebration of the community’s Dutch heritage that attracts thousands of people each year.
Up to 40 artists will be chosen for ArtBurst and eligible for one of two $300 awards presented for Best of Show in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional art. Applications will be accepted from anyone who produces original fine art;
all art must be designed and created by the accepted artist. The application deadline is Feb. 1.
Prayer Found Among Rubble Of Loras College Building That Burned
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) – Maintenance workers cleaning up a Loras College building that was devastated by a fire have found a box filled with religious items, including a prayer asking St. Agatha to specifically protect the building from burning.
The north building of the Visitation Complex caught fire in March after being struck by lightning. No one was injured in the massive blaze, but the more than 125-year-old building was deemed a total loss and is slated for demolition.
Loras maintenance workers recently retrieved the cross that long adorned the complex. In it, they found a small copper box filled with religious statuettes, prayer cards, medallions, a rosary and the prayer to St. Agatha.
Michael Gibson, archivist at the Center for Dubuque History at Loras, says the prayer was “prophetic.”
Police Officer Sprayed With Pepper Spray During Traffic Stop
URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) – Authorities are trying to find a man suspected of involvement in a traffic accident who pepper-sprayed an Urbandale officer who stopped him.
The Urbandale Police Department said in a news release that the accident was reported about 5:10 a.m. Thursday. The department says the officer spotted a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle reportedly involved, so the
officer pulled it over.
The department says that after the officer started talking to the driver, the man sprayed the officer and fled the scene.
Man Dies From Weight Lifting Accident
ANKENY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a 22-year-old man has died after a barbell slipped from his grasp and crushed him at a gym in Ankeny.
The accident occurred Monday morning at Elite Edge Transformation Center. A spokesman for the center, Mark Yontz, said Thursday that Kyle Thomson was lifting 315 pounds on a bench press when the barbell slipped. Yontz says there
were spotters watching Thomson on the bench.
Ankeny Fire Chief James Clack says the barbell fell on Thomson’s neck. Clack says a fire ambulance took Thomson to a Des Moines hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Iowa State University spokeswoman Annette Hacker says Thomson was a student there and lived in Pleasant Hill.
South Sioux City Residents Still Away From Homes Due To Sewage Gases
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) – South Sioux City is planning to reroute more industrial sewage away from a neighborhood that has been afflicted with sewer gas for the past three months.
The city will begin a $60,000 project this week to keep waste from traveling east by adjusting two blocks of sewer line near the neighborhood.
The sewage will travel north, returning to the lines it flowed through before the city performed a multimillion-dollar project in August that rerouted the sewage to the east.
About 10 families in the five-block area are still staying in hotels after residents were driven from their homes in October due to potentially toxic hydrogen sulfide gas, which was originally tied to Big Ox Energy.
City officials say tests show hydrogen sulfide levels are back to normal, but that strong odors persist.
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