Downtown Businesses Celebrate “Crazy Days”
(Le Mars) — Downtown Le Mars is busy with activities as the businesses celebrate “Crazy Days.” More than 50 vendors are participating with this year’s “Crazy Days.” Jill Mescher is owner of the Sugar ‘N Spice children’s clothing store. She also serves as one of the coordinators for the event.
Mescher talks about some of the vendors participating in this year’s “Crazy Days.”
Mescher says many of the downtown businesses wanted to revive the past tradition, and that is how it got started.
Central Avenue north is closed to traffic today to accommodate the Crazy Days businesses and vendors. Mescher says although Central Avenue is closed for today, it will re-open on Thursday, but Crazy Days will continue.
Le Mars Police Department Receives Fireworks Complaints
(Le Mars) — The independence day holiday is now over, as is also the legal dates for discharging fireworks. Le Mars Police report having received 34 complaints this year during the time it was legal to discharge fireworks.
Chief Kevin Vande Vegte says at least half of those complaints were registered between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Vande Vegte says he doesn’t have the number of fireworks complaints from last year when the Iowa legislature first allowed the discharge of fireworks. However, he believes “there may have been an uptick of complaints” this year.
Vande Vegte says once police officers spoke to the people discharging the fireworks, then they would cease the act of shooting off fireworks, He says many of the people that filed a complaints about fireworks were heard saying “It sounded like a
war zone.” Vande Vegte says the police department did have more dogs that were reported missing, or were lost dogs, and found by the police officers as a result of the fireworks. The Le Mars Police Chief says the loud sounds of fireworks also produce negative feelings for veterans. He recalls a Viet Nam Vet spoke to him saying the past 30 days was especially difficult, as the
Viet Nam Veteran suffers from post tramatic stress disorder. Vande Vegte says now that the time window for discharging fireworks has passed, anyone caught discharging fireworks will be given a citation.
Plains Area Mental Health and Life Skills Open “The Meeting Place”
(Le Mars) — A joint venture between Plains Area Mental Health and Life Skills Training Center officially opened today with the ribbon-cutting ceremony acknowledging “The Meeting Place.” The renovated facility was the former “Family Pharmacy” located next to the Fareway grocery store. Shelly Thomson with Life Skills says the downtown building will serve as the adult
care center for mentally challenged individuals. She says Life Skills is leasing a portion of the facility from Plains Area Mental Health.
Thompson says it was a federal government directive to have the adult care center separated from the work training facility.
Thompson says the Life Skills clients at “The Meeting Place” are ready to perform community service tasks.
Plains Area Mental Health owns the building and Kim Keleher the CEO for Plains Area Mental Health says the facility will serve as a “comfort zone” for the clients.
The Plains Area Mental Health official says the Weidler building located at the former Westmar College campus will continue to serve as the headquarters and mental health clinic.
