Union Pacific Train Derails At Alton
(Alton) — An Union Pacific train has derailed near Alton. The incident happened at around 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning. According to officials, a bridge had collapsed causing the rail cars to plunge into the Floyd River.
This marks the second train to derail in northwest Iowa in recent months, following flooding conditions. In June, near Doon, Iowa, a Burlington-Northern Sante Fe Train had more than 30 tanker cars that had derailed, spilling several hundred thousand gallons of crude oil into the Rock River. Alton Fire Chief Quintin Van Es says approximately 30 rail cars had derailed and fell into the Floyd River as a result of the rail bridge collapsing.
Although it will take a few weeks to clean up the derailed cars, Van Es says there were no injuries, and he says this derailment is not considered to be a danger to the general public, or to the environment, as was the case with the derailment in June.
Union Pacific officials are arriving at the scene to pull the rail cars out of the Floyd River. Van Es says it is unknown how long it will take to clean up the derailed train as Union Pacific officials assess the damage and track infrastructure.
Officials are uncertain as to how long it will take to re-build the bridge.
School Board To Elect New Officers
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education will convene this evening and on their agenda will be the election of officers for upcoming year. The school board will select its president, vice president, as well as appoint its secretary and treasurer. The school board will also appoint its legal counsel. The school board will also decide on the local community
banks to accept depositories. Rob Bixenmann is scheduled to appear before the school board to present a dividend check from EMC Insurance to the school district.
Plymouth County Secondary Roads To Close County Road C-66
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Secondary Roads Department has announced they will close county road C-66 beginning today and continuing through November 30th. The road is being closed for the approach grading of a bridge replacement project.
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Of Plymouth County Celebrated 100 Years Of Existence
(Le Mars) — Iowa State University Extension and Outreach celebrated 100 years of service for Plymouth County during a ceremonial program held Sunday at the Plymouth County Historical Museum. Vice President of Extension and
Outreach John Lawrence was on hand and informed the gathering how the extension services got started in Iowa and the connection with Iowa State University. Lawrence talked about the history of extension services. He then presented a plaque to the Plymouth County Extension Council commemorating the 100th anniversary. The Plymouth County Extension staff
presented a slide show that illustrated the history of Plymouth County Extension, as well as the many programs initiated by Plymouth County Extension. Lawrence says extension services have expanded, but generally it still focuses on its base programs.
Lawrence says one way that the Iowa State University Extension Services has expanded is by offering resources and research through the internet.
The Iowa State University Vice President of Extension and Outreach says Extension will focus on the needs of a community and offer services that best meet the needs of a community. He says many people only think of agriculture, home economics, and 4-H when thinking about Extension.
However, he says extension services and programs are equally important to the urban metro areas.
The exhibit featuring Plymouth County’s Extension Services will be on display for the next few weeks at the Plymouth County Historical Museum.
Chamber of Commerce Honors Boss of the Quarter and Employees of the Month
(Le Mars) — On Friday at noon and Sunday afternoon, the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce awarded its “Boss of the Quarter” and the Employees of the Month. The “Boss of the Quarter” was awarded to a Le Mars Area Dialysis
Services employee, and was nominated by the staff. Reba Arens has been responsible for improving the rating of the local dialysis center from having a one-star rated clinic to now being a four-star rated clinic, and she is continually striving to reach the next level and highest level of a five-star rating. Reba is very kind, not only to her employees, but to the patients as well. Even in the most stressful times, she has a smile on her face, and always trying to make the best out of any situation. Reba Arens
constantly portrays her ability to teach and celebrate victories with both employees and patients on a daily basis.
As for the Employee of the Month honors, the Chamber of Commerce honored two staff employees of the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach of Plymouth County. They included Jodi Fisher and Jill Leners. The award was presented to the two Extension employees during a program held Sunday. Jodi Fisher has been employed with ISU Extension and Outreach Plymouth County for five years. She first started as a clover kid helper in Remsen. In 2013, after starting at a part time office assistant, she became the Clover Kids Coordinator, organizing the program in every school in Plymouth County. Now the program has grown to over 200 clover kid members. Along with the clover kids program, she leads youth sessions focusing on Science, Engineering and Technology (STEM) at many of the libraries in Plymouth County and the LeMars YMCA. Jodi has now moved to a full-time employee adding part-time office
assistant duties to her weekly tasks. Jodi also has a great attitude, loves working with youth and always there to give a helping hand. She often says “I can’t believe I get paid to do what I do.” The entire staff at the office are thrilled that she is a part of our team.
Jill Leners joined ISU Extension and Outreach Plymouth County in the fall of 2013. Jill is the Program/Office Assistant at the office and often the first person you will see with a friendly face ready to help customers. She is a very dedicated and organized employee that helps to keep everyone in the office ready for the next event. Jill has taken over the 4-H Awards Program and the pesticide program both private and commercial. Her ongoing
leadership and attention to detail in these and many more programs help to give ISU Extension and Outreach Plymouth County that polished look. Jill has helped to market our office and all of our programs through the county extension and outreach website and also created our social media pages that
keeping getting more likes every day! Jill is a great asset to the office and always willing to help on anything no matter what we are all working on.
We feel honored to have her as part of our team here in Plymouth County.
Congratulations to both Jodi and Jill for the September 2018 LeMars Area Chamber of Commerce Employees of the Month.
