Mission of Mercy Free Dental Clinic Continues On Saturday
(Sioux City) — An army of dentists and volunteers began providing free dental care to area patients at 6:30 Friday morning in Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center.
More than 530 patients had entered the clinic as of 2pm Friday to receive services including cleanings, extractions, fillings and more.
Joni Miller, an dental assistant instructor at Western Iowa Tech
Community College, brought many of her students with her to help in the effort:
It’s the 10th year Miller has taken part in the Mission of Mercy
effort that takes place in a different Iowa city each year.
This year’s location made it extra special for Miller:
Cori Van sickler drove from Ft. Dodge to join her daughter to help in the effort.
She helped out in the pharmacy with paperwork and guiding patients to where they needed to be.
Iowa Mission of Mercy is a free annual dental clinic that has seen
more almost 14,000 patients and provided more than $9 million in free dental care since 2008.
The clinic will begin seeing patients again Saturday morning at
6:30 a.m.
Absentee Ballots Available At Auditor’s Office On Monday
(Le Mars) — Absentee ballots for the November 6, 2018 General Election are available as of October 8th in the Auditor’s Office at the Plymouth County Courthouse during regular business hours of 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday to vote in person.
Absentee ballots may be cast in the Auditor’s office until Monday, November 5th until 5 pm.
Absentee ballots to be mailed to voters must be requested in writing. Forms are available at the Plymouth County Auditor’s Office or at www.co.plymouth.ia.us under Online Services and then County Forms. Absentee ballot request forms can be mailed to the Auditor’s office at 215 4th Ave. SE, Le Mars, IA 51031. Voter’s may contact the Auditor’s office and an absentee ballot request form can be mailed to a voter.
Voters requesting an absentee ballot to be mailed to them must have the request form to the Auditor’s office no later than 5 pm on Saturday, November 3rd, as that is the last day absentee ballots can be mailed out to voters. The Auditor’s office provides the postage for all absentee ballots returned by mail. Ballots must be postmarked prior to midnight, November 5, 2018 (the day prior to the election), or can be delivered to the Auditor’s
office before the polls close at 9:00 pm on November 6, 2018 (Election Day.)
If you wish to absentee vote in the Auditor’s office Monday, October 29th through Monday, November 5th and are not registered to vote already, you will be required to complete the EDR (Election Day Registration) process at the Auditor’s Office prior to casting your absentee ballot. The EDR voter
registration process requires a valid photo identification, and one
form of proof of Plymouth County residency. Examples of proof of residency can be a valid Iowa drivers license with your current Plymouth County address, a utility bill, cell phone bill, residential lease, bank statement, paycheck, government check, vehicle registration, or tax assessment.
Flags Ordered To Fly At Half Staff During Weekend
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s governor has ordered flags on state property flown at half-staff this weekend to honor a fallen World War II soldier and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
Gov. Kim Reynolds requests that all U.S. and state flags be lowered during daylight hours on Saturday to honor Army Pvt. Donald E. Brown, of Thompson, who killed in action on July 28, 1944, when his tank was destroyed by enemy fire in France.
The 24-year-old’s remains were buried at an American military cemetery in France as an unknown soldier. His remains were disinterred last year and identified through DNA testing. He will be buried with full military honors Saturday in Thompson.
On Sunday, flags will again be lowered in observance of the Fallen Firefighters Memorial service.
Senator Ernst Says New Farm Bill May Be Passed During Lame Duck Session
(Washington) — Republican Senator Joni Ernst says she’s still hopeful a group of negotiators can agree on a new Farm Bill, but she says that may not happen until after next month’s election. Ernst is the only Iowan on the congressional committee trying to come up with a compromise. The 2014 Farm Bill expired September 30th. Congress is supposed to revisit federal food
and ag policy issues every five years and vote to reauthorize the Farm Bill.
Voting to keep the the 2014 Farm Bill policies in place for another year is an option. Congress has used temporary extensions in the past when negotiations over a new Farm Bill have faltered.
A few federal programs have been impacted since the Farm Bill expired five days ago.
SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also referred to as food stamps. Having the so-called “lame duck” congress approve the next Farm Bill in November or December — after the election — is not unprecedented.
The 1970 and 1990 Farm Bills were passed in the weeks after the mid-term elections in those years. The 2014 Farm Bill was actually supposed to be passed in 2013, but it took congress 21 months to come up with a final deal that could pass both the House and Senate.
………………….
