Le Mars Little League Recovers After Floods Destroy Equipment
(Le Mars) — Last week’s flooding spilled over a dike and poured into the Le Mars Little League parks destroying all the equipment. Heath Husk serves as the president of the Le Mars Little League Association and explains what had happened.
Husk further explains the equipment that was lost due to the flooding.
The Little League baseball official says last week’s flooding was the first time since 1984 that water had breached the protective dike. Husk says several fund raising campaigns have now begun within the community to help the Le Mars Little League Association.
Husk says in addition to the mentioned entities and businesses that have donated to the program, Lambert’s Lumber has also contributed. Husk says officials are looking at if they can salvage any of the equipment, but he adds that Little League officials have been told it may be best to discard everything.
Husk believes the Little League season will begin and proceed as normal by next April.
People interested in donating money, or wanting to assist the Le Mars Little League with its recovery efforts should contact Heath Husk, or send the contribution to the Le Mars Little League, P.O. Box 1014, Le Mars.
flood photos contributed.
Good Samaritan Society Helps Local Seniors
(Le Mars) — Volunteers assisting with the Good Samaritan Society of Le Mars are today installing safety features in 50 different seniors homes around Le Mars in order to make their lives easier. The project is all part of “Founders Day” for the nursing care facility. Darci Athens serves as the
Resource Director with the Good Samaritan Society.
Athens says 18 people are assisting with the installation of the safety grab bars. She says the safety grab bars have suction cups to help attach to any flat surface, not having to drill holes in the senior’s home.
The Good Samaritan Society official say the main idea behind Founders Day is to get around the community and help seniors.
Sheila Anderson is a Le Mars senior citizen who had a safey grab bar installed in her bathroom.
Anderson says she has a special connection with the Good Samaritan Society ever since her late husband was a resident of the nursing care following his debilitating stroke.
Anderson says she is grateful for the Good Samaritan Society of Le Mars, and the many volunteers, for having the outreach program to assist seniors.
State Official Says She Kept Quiet About Sexual Harassment
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa official who failed to report sexual misconduct by her powerful boss says she stayed quiet because she feared retaliation and didn’t want to share her experience as one of his victims.
Tara Lawrence, director of the Iowa Title Guaranty program, said she suffered “very uncomfortable” harassment by Iowa Finance Authority Director Dave Jamison.
In an interview with The Associated Press, she said Jamison showed her photographs of nude women, commented on her body and quizzed her about her sexual experiences during meetings and work trips.
Lawrence criticized Gov. Kim Reynolds for commissioning a report that she says portrays her as an enabler of Jamison, one of the governor’s longtime friends and advisers, instead of a victim. She says her name has been “unfairly run through the mud.”
Finance Authority Fires Lobbyist Over Scandal
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Finance Authority has fired its lobbyist after an investigation alleged he failed to report sexual misconduct by its former director.
A lawyer representing Wes Peterson confirmed his client was
terminated Thursday. Peterson had served as the authority’s director of government relations since 2011.
Attorney Patrick White says Peterson has been treated unfairly “and it was wrong for him to be terminated.”
The move came one week after the release of an investigation into misconduct by former authority director Dave Jamison.
The report portrayed Peterson as a “sidekick” who often joined
Jamison at Des Moines bars. The report said Peterson witnessed Jamison grabbing a co-worker’s breasts at a bar in 2016 but didn’t report it. The report said Peterson yelled at the woman demanding to know whether she’d filed a complaint with Gov. Kim Reynolds after Jamison was fired in March.
White said that there were “inaccuracies” in the report, but
declined to elaborate.
Residents Wanting Roadside Zoo To Get Rid Of Animals
MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) – A group of Iowa residents wants a state court to force a roadside zoo to get rid of its animals.
The residents filed a lawsuit Thursday in Delaware County against Pam and Tom Sellner, who own Cricket Hollow Animal Park just west of Manchester. It alleges several cases of animal neglect, including keeping animals in cramped, unsanitary cases without access to water and failing to obtain veterinary care.
In 2016 a court ruled the zoo had violated the Endangered Species Act, and a federal appeals court upheld the ruling this past April.
Pam Sellner told the Telegraph Herald she couldn’t address the new allegations but said, “There’s no reason for any of it.”
—
Davenport Woman To Get Probation After Charge Of Child Endangerment
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – A Davenport woman who poured rubbing alcohol on her 2-year-old disabled child has been given a year of probation.
The Quad-City Times reports that 29-year-old Darshanda McNeal was sentenced earlier this month to 240 days in jail, but 210 days were suspended. She’d pleaded guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment.
Davenport police were sent to McNeal’s home Aug. 9 for a report of a person abusing and threatening to kill the child. Police say she was live streaming the incident on Facebook using her cellphone. Officers were able to intervene, and the child was taken to a local hospital as precaution.
Police say the child did not suffer any physical injuries.
—
Trial Delayed For Man Accused Of Slaying Bondsman
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A trial in the slaying of an Iowa City bail bondsman has been delayed.
The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that prosecutors had asked a
judge for the delay, saying they needed time to receive a DNA analysis that could affect the case of Curtis Jones. He’s pleaded not guilty to murder in the April 2017 slaying of 34-year-old Jonathan Wieseler during a robbery.
The trial was to begin Monday. No new starting date has been set.
Jones also has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in the June
2017 slaying of cab driver Ricky Lillie.
The Iowa Board of Parole released Jones from prison years early in November 2016 in an armed robbery case.
