(LE MARS)–A program to help Le Mars households safely dispose of prescription drugs doesn’t have an end date.
Police chief Stuart Dekkenga says the opportunity to bring unused prescription drugs to the police department to be destroyed will be ongoing.
The Le Mars D.A.R.E. program and Le Mars Police sponsor “Project Safe Meds.” The collection effort began this month.
Le Mars Police D.A.R.E. officer Jay King said there has been an increase in the number of young people abusing prescription drugs they get from friends and family.
The goal of the Le Mars effort is to protect young people and properly dispose of prescription drugs to protect the environment.
Dekkenga says there has been a huge variety in the medication that’s been brought in for “Project Safe Meds.” Much of the medication being turned in involves pain relievers.
Any medication brought to the police department should be in the original container or package. There is no charge for the service police are offering.
(LE MARS)–Le Mars Community School District residents who want to improve their technology skills fill Adult Education classes.
The Le Mars Community School District and Western Iowa Tech Community College partner on the Adult Education program coordinated by Lorene Rexwinkel who is a Le Mars Community teacher.
Rexwinkel told the Board of Education this week the enrollment was down slightly this school year with 213 students compared to 268 a year ago. Rexwinkel says senior citizens who took classes with tuition paid by the school district totalled 75 students- up 25.
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Rexwinkel reported popular classes in adult education were wine selection with 50 students, exercise classes with 30 students and eight computer classes with 56 students. Cooking classes had 35 students.
Rexwinkel said the Rosetta Stone program is available by contacting Western Iowa Tech. The Rosetta Stone program uses technology to teach English using sound and sight instruction.
(MARCUS)–The founder of a display of flags in Marcus will be honored on Memorial Day.
Retired Brigadier General John “Jack” Nicholson, a Struble native, will deliver an address highlighting a Marcus Memorial Day program.
The observance Monday afternoon at two at the Marcus Community Center will pay tribute to Korean war veteran Leonard “Smokey” Schnoes.
Schnoes, who died in 1995, started the display of veterans’ burial flags at the Marcus cemetery in 1975. The display has grown to nearly 200 flags which will be flown this Memorial Day.
A flag flown over the nation’s capital will be presented to Schnoes’ family by a representative of Congressman Steve King, Wayne Brincks.
The program will conclude with Echo Taps by Buglers Across America buglers Gerald Pallesen and June Pallesen.
(LE MARS)–Friday is the deadline for flags to be provided to Wasmer Post 241 of the American Legion in Le Mars for dedication during the “Avenue of Flags” on Memorial Day.
More than 11-hundred flags honoring the dedication of veterans who have died will be placed on the Courthouse lawn and nearby grassy areas by the Legion Post and volunteers.
Legion members ask for patriotic volunteers to help place the bases and half-staffs Saturday starting at 8 a-m. Volunteers are asked to bring a large screwdriver or a metal detector to find the flag bases.
On Memorial Day, volunteers may help Legion members place the flags starting at 6 a-m. Flags are retired at 4 p-m on Memorial Day.
The Memorial Day program in Le Mars is at 10 a.m. at the Courthouse.
(CUSHING)–A Sioux City woman was airlifted to a Sioux City hospital Monday afternoon following a four-vehicle accident in Ida County on Highway 20.
The Iowa State Patrol reports the accident happened in a road construction zone.
According to the Patrol, a semi driven by 55-year-old Jerry Tjeerdsma of Springfield, South Dakota failed to stop. The semi collided with the rear of a car which set off a chain reaction-type accident.
The driver of the car, 29-year-old Kerry Salmi of Sioux City, had to be extricated and was flown to Mercy Medical Center by Mercy Air Care for non-incapacitating injuries. Her passenger, Naveah Salmi, an infant, had possible injuries.
The driver of another car, 77-year-old Beverley Blide of Norfolk was taken to Mercy Medical Center by Correctionville Ambulance to be treated for non-incapacitating injuries as was her passenger, 83-year-old William Blide.
The driver of a fourth vehicle, a pickup truck, 30-year-old Jaime Castaneda of Sioux City was not injured.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) A reward is being offered in the case of a cat with a 3-inch nail driven into its head.
The female calico named “Grace” was found last week in Sioux City and had surgery to remove the nail.
The Humane Society of the United States, the Siouxland Humane Society and a local individual are offering a combined reward of up to $3,500.
Officials believe the nail was driven into the cat’s head with a nail gun.
Animal Control director Cindy Rarrat says Grace is improving. She’s eating, walking and playing with toys.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
ELK POINT, S.D. (AP) A Sioux City man convicted of raping a woman at a mutual friend’s 21st birthday party near Sioux City has been sentenced to serve 14 years in prison.
Thirty-eight-year-old Christopher Jones was convicted of two charges of third-degree rape in late March. Union County State’s Attorney Jerry Miller says the Sioux City man was sentenced this week to 15 years in prison, with eight years suspended on each of the convictions, with the two sentences to be served consecutively.
Miller says Jones raped a 23-year-old woman twice on Oct. 19, 2008, at a Dakota Dunes residence. The woman told authorities she was drunk and passed out, but twice awoke to find Jones assaulting her.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
SIOUX CITY—OVER 30-MILLION AMERICANS ARE PLANNING TO TRAVEL AWAY FROM HOME THIS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND.
TRIPLE-A FIELD MANAGER MARY NOVOTNE SAYS 32.1-MILLION WILL VACATION THIS WEEKEND, WHICH IS UP 5.4-PERCENT FROM LAST YEAR.
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NOVOTNE SAYS GAS PRICES ARE UP 16-CENTS A GALLON COMPARED TO A YEAR AGO, AVERAGING 2.53 IN SIOUX CITY.
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SHE EXPECTS GAS PRICES TO DROP A BIT AFTER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND.
NOVOTNE SAYS THE INCREASE IN TRAVEL IS DUE TO THE RECOVERING ECONOMY.
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SHE ENCOURAGES MOTORISTS TO BUCKLE UP AND HAVE A DESIGNATED DRIVER. (News report by Josie Cooper of KSCJ/Powell Broadcasting, Sioux City)
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich plans stops around Iowa, raising money for local Republicans and fueling speculation about whether he intends to seek his party’s presidential nomination.
Gingrich has events planned Wednesday in Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Des Moines. He’ll speak at several events and headline a big fundraising dinner.
While his visit will help local Republicans raise money and generate interest in the party, stops in Iowa by nationally known figures such as Gingrich also raise speculation about whether they intend to run for president. As the state that leads the presidential nominating process, most people thinking of running for the White House find reasons to visit Iowa and lay the groundwork for campaigns by raising money for local politicians.
BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) Burlington police have identified a woman who died after she was hit by a pickup truck while crossing a street last week.
Police said Tuesday that relatives identified the woman as 51-year-old Margo Maloney, of Burlington. She was struck around 10 p.m on Friday. Maloney was not carrying any identification. She died at a Burlington hospital.
The driver told police he was turning onto the street and didn’t see Maloney.
The accident remains under investigation.
OGDEN, Iowa (AP) Authorities say one man is dead after a 5-hour standoff that ended in gunfire in Boone County.
Sheriff Ronald Fehr (fair) says officers were called to a home in Ogden around 9 p.m. Tuesday on a harassment call. When they arrived, a man armed with a gun came to the door.
Fehr says authorities tried to negotiate with the man, but he didn’t respond.
Fehr says about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, authorities fired a concussion grenade inside the house, and deputies went inside.
Fehr says when deputies went to the second floor, they were shot at, and deputies returned fire, hitting the man.
The man, who was not identified, died at the scene.
The sheriff’s office said Wednesday morning that no additional information had been released.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) University of Iowa officials say a failure of spliced electrical cables below a street on campus caused utility hole covers to blow out of the ground and several buildings to lose power.
Facilities engineer Rick Hellwig says the 13,800-volt cables failed Tuesday afternoon, causing a power outage on the east side of campus. Power was rerouted and restored about 30 minutes later. Two people were trapped in an elevator in a chemistry building until the power was back on.
There was a fire in a utility tunnel, and firefighters used carbon dioxide to put it out.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) The National Wrestling Hall of Fame is planning to buy the Dan Gable Wrestling Museum and keep it in downtown Waterloo.
Gable museum director Kyle Klingmann says the merging of the two halls is crucial to the long-term viability of the Gable museum.
Klingmann says the acquisition of the Gable museum by the Oklahoma-based national hall will give the Waterloo facility more clout and prominence.
The Gable museum was moved from Newton to Waterloo in January 2007. It was damaged by flooding in 2008 and didn’t reopen until January 2009.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine has named Des Moines among its top 10 cities, saying there’s more to it than agriculture.
The magazine, which focused on “out-of-the-box thinking,” lists Des Moines as number seven.
In its July edition, Kiplinger says a likely worker shortage sparked by retiring baby boomers has “lit a fire” under city leaders. It says the city is working to bring back young workers, attracting global talent by developing its downtown and promoting jobs in the industries that are flourishing biotechnology, insurance, finance and publishing.
Austin, Texas, tops the list, followed by Seattle; Washington, D.C.; Boulder, Colo., and Salt Lake City.
Rochester, Minn., is sixth; then Des Moines; Burlington, Vt.; West Hartford, Conn.; and Topeka, Kan.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Submit your news release, confidential news tip or news idea by email klemnews@lemarscomm.net, by calling 712.546.4121 or 712.546.9672 fax.
