(LE MARS)–Activity for property sales, passports and marriages in Plymouth County is one of the reports for the Plymouth County Board of Supervisors meeting today. The meeting agenda includes a quarterly report from County Recorder Jolynn Goodchild and a Recorder’s office vital statistics deputy appointment.
County Engineer Tom Rohe is slated to provide a construction project update. The Powder Players Snowmobile Club’s request to use recreational vehicles in rural areas will be considered during Rohe’s time with the board which begins at 10:15 this morning.
Agenda
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
9:30 AMDon Kass – Plymouth County Board Vice Chairman
1.Call meeting to order
2.Approve this agenda (Action)
3.Approval of prior Board meeting minutes (Action)
4.Approval of claims and payroll (Signatures)
5. Committee Reports (Discussion)
6. Old Business
A. Suspension of second ½ FY 10-11 taxes for Ken Lubben (Action)
7. New Business
A. Open and review mail/correspondence (Discussion)
B. Open public forum (Informational)
10:00 AMJolynn Goodchild, Recorder
1.Present quarterly Recorder’s report for approval (Action)
2.Vitals Deputy Approval (Action)
10:15 AMTom Rohe, Plymouth County Engineer
1.Permit – Southern Sioux Rural Water Sec 35/36 Washington Twp on Kestrel Ave
2.Permit – Road Crossing For Culvert Pipe(12″x40′) Sec 22/23 Stanton Twp
3.Permit – Frontier Communications Sec 10/11 Washington Twp
4.Resolution – Powder Players Snowmobile Club
(Discussion Items)
(Informational Items)
Update on construction projects
.(LE MARS)–A Highway Three intersection in Le Mars will close for road work beginning tomorrow (Wednesday).
According to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s written information, milling and surface work at the intersection of Highway 3 and Business Highway 75 will close Highway Three.
Traffic on Highway Three will be detoured around the construction zone using Sixth Avenue Southwest, First Street Southwest and Fourth Avenue Southwest, all in Le Mars. Business Highway 75 traffic will not be detoured.
The work is to be completed by October 22nd, weather permitting.
Enrollment decrease is less than projected at Le Mars Community
(LE MARS)–Enrollment at Le Mars Community School this fall decreased less than projected.
Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt says student numbers as of October first totalled 2,125.92. The change from enrollment one year ago is 46 fewer students.
Wendt describes that as a little bit of good news because the decrease was less than the 60-63 students projected a few weeks ago.
School officials have said a factor in the enrollment change is a smaller kindergarten class compared to the larger number of students in the graduating class last May.
He reports Elementary and Middle School enrollment each showed increases of about six students.
Enrollment is 887 students at the elementary level; 471 at the Middle School; and 635 at the High School for a total of 2,076. The actual number is adjusted to include factors such as open enrollment, shared time with Gehlen Catholic, home schooling and concurrent enrollment with Western Iowa Tech Community College.
The largest class this fall is in eighth grade with 176 students.
Enrollment will be certified to the Iowa Department of Public Education on October 15th. Final numbers won’t be known until the state agency’s staff cross-references numbers.
Satellite absentee voting in Remsen, Hinton offered Wednesday
(LE MARS)–Plymouth County’s auditor and the election staff will offer voting before the November 2nd Election tomorrow (Wednesday).
Auditor and Election Commissioner Stacey Feldman says Satellite Absentee Voting is planned at two locations–the Hinton Community Center and Remsen Public Library. Hours on Wednesday are from 4-8 p-m.
According to Feldman, all Plymouth County precinct ballots will be available at both the Hinton and Remsen locations; all registered voters will be able to vote at either location.
Voter registration forms will be available for new registrations or for current registered voters who need to make registration changes.
Absentee balloting and voter registration is also available weekdays at the Plymouth County Courthouse from 8 a-m to 5 p.m.
Pastor urges vote against three justices
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) A pastor in Sioux City says he will urge his congregation to vote against retaining three Iowa Supreme Court justices who joined last year’s unanimous decision that legalized gay marriage in the state.
The Rev. Cary Gordon of Cornerstone World Outreach says he hopes the Internal Revenue Service looks into his church so he “can take them all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.” The Des Moines Register reports Monday that Gordon has invited more than 100 church leaders to speak against the justices on three Sundays before the Nov. 2 general election.
Churches are banned from advocating for or against specific candidates. However they can lobby for or against measures and talk about political issues. The justices have said they won’t launch a counter-campaign.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Suspects in armed robbery arrested by Sioux City Police
(SIOUX CITY)–Two men are charged with the robbery of a Sioux City business, the Full Throttle Saloon, on Thursday.
According to Sioux City Police Lt. Mark Kirkpatrick, one suspect was located during a traffic stop and the other at a local motel.
Based on information developed by detectives investigating the case, the two are each charged with the felony of robbery in the first degree.
Those arrested are 24-year-old Timothy Kavanagh of Sioux City and 33-year-old Phillip Bockholt of Hinton.
Spirit Lake man dies in prison
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Prison officials say a Spirit Lake man who stabbed his mother committed suicide at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison.
Department of Corrections spokesman Fred Scaletta says Monday that 23-year-old Jeffrey Wittler was found dead in his cell.
Scaletta says prison staff checked of Wittler after he didn’t respond to a prison count at 6 a.m. Saturday.
Scaletta says an autopsy determined Wittler died of asphyxia due to suffocation, and his death will be classified as a suicide.
Wittler was charged in 2009 with attempted-murder and other felony charges. He was convicted of willful injury and going armed with intent and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Culver directs Iowa prison construction to begin
FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) Gov. Chet Culver says he has made orders for construction to begin on a new Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison.
Culver said Monday he has directed the Department of Administrative Services to sign a contract to start construction. Culver says it is important to keep the project on schedule. He says he told the department to “please proceed as promptly as responsible to execute this contract.”
The governor’s office says the lowest responsible bidder was the Walsh Group of Illinois. Culver says he’s also asked for a labor hall to be opened near the site so Iowans can quickly apply for construction jobs. Authorities say two appeals are pending against the project but neither petitioned for a stay pending review. The contract would be terminated if an appeal is successful.
Charges filed in campaign contribution case
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A special prosecutor has filed charges against four people and two gambling entities after an investigation into campaign contributions made to Gov. Chet Culver by gaming interests in Webster County.
Special Counsel Lawrence F. Scalise says he filed the charges Monday in Polk County District Court.
Martin Brent Stevens, Jonathan Swain, Steve Daniel and Curtis Beason, as well Peninsula Gaming Partners LLC and Webster County Entertainment were charged with violating campaign disclosure laws. Beason faces an additional count of obstruction.
Attorney General Tom Miller appointed Scalise in July after questions were raised about campaign contributions from a group seeking a state license to operate a casino in Fort Dodge.
Scalise says there is no evidence of wrongdoing by anyone other than those named, apparently clearing Culver of any involvement.
Telephone messages left for Stevens, Swain and Beason were not immediately returned. A listing for Daniel couldn’t be immediately located.
Iowa Supreme Court won’t review murder conviction
NEW HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) The Iowa Supreme Court won’t review the case of a Nashua man sentenced to life in prison for the beating death of his 12-day-old daughter.
The high court said Monday that it denied an application for further review from Randy Blanchard. The Globe Gazette newspaper in Mason City reports Blanchard also filed an appeal with the Iowa Court of Appeals that was denied in May.
Blanchard was sentenced to life in prison in May 2009. He was found guilty of first-degree murder after a bench trial in April 2009. Blanchard was accused of shaking his daughter, Aliya, and slamming her on a table while feeding her in February 2008. She was taken to the hospital, and died several days later.
Blanchard waived his right to a jury trial.
Judge separates murder trials of Iowa mother, son
MARENGO, Iowa (AP) An Iowa judge has agreed to separate the trials of a mother and son facing murder charges in the beating death of a Marengo man.
The judge on Monday granted the request from defendants 19-year-old Jacob Hilgendorf of Belle Plaine and 44-year-old Denise Frei of Marengo in Iowa County. The Gazette in Cedar Rapids reports the judge also agreed to change the venue of the son’s trial to Scott County. The son’s trial will begin Jan. 11.
Frei’s trial is to begin in early February and also may be moved to Scott County. She and her son are accused of killing 33-year-old Curtis Bailey with a landscaping rock. Frei is Bailey’s former girlfriend.
Twenty-year-old Jessica Dayton of Belle Plaine was sentenced to life in prison in June for her role in Bailey’s death. Dayton worked at the Belle Plaine cafe that Bailey owned.
Panel increases state tax collection estimate
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A panel of state budget experts has increased projected tax collections in Iowa by nearly $300 million.
Democrats say Monday’s projections by the Revenue Estimating Conference are a sign that the economy is on the mend, but they acknowledge problems such as unemployment persist. Republicans dismissed the numbers saying real economic recovery will be seen when more unemployed Iowans find jobs.
The panel projected the state will collect about $5.75 billion during the current budget year, up about 2.2 percent from last year. In March, the group estimated the state would collect about $5.45 billion this year.
While Gov. Chet Culver says the numbers show his efforts are paying off, Republicans say nobody should get too excited about the report until more unemployed Iowans get jobs.
Czech Village historic nomination forwarded
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) A state committee has approved forwarding a nomination of the Czech Village neighborhood in Cedar Rapids to be named to the National Register of Historic Places to the National Park Service.
The Gazette newspaper in Cedar Rapids reports that the unanimous approval from the State Nominations Review Committee came Friday. A listing would mean building owners in the flood-damaged area can qualify for historic tax credits and other financial incentives.
The nomination goes forward for Czech Village, but not the residential neighborhood next to the business strip. Several historic preservation groups had written letters supporting the inclusion of the homes in the listing.
The newspaper reports about 60 of the 150 Czech Village homes are set to be demolished.
Bedbug reports up in Linn County
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Bedbug reports are on the rise in Linn County.
The Linn County Public Health Department says it’s receiving more calls about bedbugs from pest control companies, hotels, property owners and the public. The Gazette in Cedar Rapids reports Monday that county public health experts say bedbugs are prevalent in the community and residents should take precautions to protect themselves.
The department says Iowans should never bring bed frames, mattresses or upholstered furniture into their homes that they’ve found on the street or in trash bins. Public health experts also recommend checking beds and furniture while traveling.
Bedbug bites can cause small itchy welts or red marks.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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