Le Mars Police Department Release Accident Reports
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Police Department has released information regarding four
separate auto accidents that were recently investigated. The first accident
happened on Friday, September 23rd at about 9:30 p.m. at the 900 block of 2nd
Street southeast when a vehicle driven by 25 year old Abshir Ibrahin of Le Mars
was traveling westbound on 2nd Street southeast and collided with two parked cars.
Ibrahin had lost control due to being impaired from alcohol, and rear-ended a
legallly parked car which then caused a chain reaction having the first parked
vehicle move forward and striking a second vehicle that was also legally parked.
He was cited for an OWI and failure to maintain control. There were no injuries,
but damage to the Ibrahin vehicle was estimated at approximately $8,000. The
parked cars sustained damage estimated at $8,500 and $1,500.
The second reported accident occurred on Saturday, September 24th at about 6:25
p.m. when 30 year old Philip Reeves of Le Mars was heading northbound from the
wash bay in his pick-up truck. Reeves was attempting to make a U-turn motion to
exit the business. Reeves says he glanced west and therefore was inattentive to
his surroundings. When turning, the right front bumper area struck a concrete
pillar for the business’s light pole. There were no injuries, but Reeves’s
vehicle sustained about $1,800 in damages.
The third accident report involved a semi-truck and trailer that was making a
left-hand turn at the McDonald’s parking lot when it struck a parked car. The
semi truck was driven by 60 year old Bradley Vanbinsbergen of Clarkfield,
Minnesota. The parked car is owned by Myron Sargisson of Hot Springs, South
Dakota. The semi trailer sustained approximately $500 in damages, and the car
sustained an estimated $3,000 in damages.
On Tuesday, October 4th at about 3:25 p.m. the Le Mars Police Department responded
to an accident that occurred at the intersection of Plymouth Street and Central
Avenue. 39 year old Jeremy Archer of Le Mars was heading eastbound on Plymouth
Street when 29 year Melissa Vandepol of Sioux City was following Archer. The
traffic light had turned green and Vandepol proceeded forward striking the rear of
Archer’s vehicle. Both vehicles were estimated to sustain $1,000 each in damages.
Vandepol was given a Failure to stop in a safe and sure distance citation.
Le Mars Community High School To Host “College Fair Night”
(Le Mars) — Le Mars Community High School will be hosting its annual “College
Fair Night” on Monday evening to be held at the Carey Gymnasium. Barry Borchers
serves as a guidance counselor for Le Mars Community, and helps coordinate the
college fair night. He says the event begins at 6:00 p.m. and it allows area
students and parents to visit with representatives from various colleges,
universities, and armed services.
Borchers says the College Fair Night offers students a great opportunity to get
information about the college of their choice.
The Le Mars Community guidance counselor says the event is open to all area
students, not just those from Le Mars Community.
Borchers invites and encourages parents to attend the “College Fair Night”, saying
financial aid and scholarship information will be available.
Borchers suggests for students interested in attending the “College Fair Night” to
go online and register, and then to print off the assigned bar code, which will
make it easier for the student and for the colleges.
Borchers suggests parents and students be prepared by having questions that they
can ask the college and university representatives. He says if a student is
unable to attend the college fair night due to participating in a school-related
activity, or because of work commitments, he suggests parents or some other
designated individual stop by to collect the information on behalf of the student.
Plymouth County 4-H Program Celebrates National 4-H Week
(Le Mars) — This week is National 4-H Week, and Ann Schoenrock is the co-
coordinator with the Plymouth County Extension and Outreach, and oversees the
activities associated with 4-H. Schoenrock says here at Plymouth County members
of the Plymouth County 4-H Youth Council have been spreading the word about the
benefits of the youth organization.
The Plymouth County Fair is when 4-H is most visible, but Schoenrock says,
although the fair is important, there is more to 4-H than just exhibiting at the
fair.
Schoenrock says Plymouth County is fortunate to have such an active 4-H
organization. She says Plymouth County 4-H ranks among the top five counties in
Iowa.
The 4-H official says across the state of Iowa, the ratio of students involved in
4-H is listed as one in every five students. Schoenrock says with the Clover Kids
program which number 160 members of youth between first and third grades, she
believes Plymouth County’s membership ratio is better than the state average.
Plymouth County Republicans Open County Headquarters
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Republicans are gearing up for the upcoming election
as the party officially opened its county headquarters during a ribbon-cutting
ceremony held Thursday evening. About 15 people had gathered at the previously
vacant store front located on Central Avenue to acknowledge the work of party
volunteers.
President Obama Commutes Sentences For Convicted Drug Users
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Four Iowa men and a woman from Nebraska will serve
shorter prison sentences after President Barack Obama granted them clemency.
Most of the 102 offenders in Thursday’s announcement committed drug crimes
considered nonviolent.
Michael Jay Bertram of Dumont, will serve 14 of 20 years and Nicholas Jolise
Deering, of Des Moines, will have served about eight of his 18 1/2-year sentence
when he’s released in 2018.
Rodger Lee Moran, of Des Moines, was serving life for selling
methamphetamine. His sentence was shortened to 20 years and Kenny Siepker of
Carroll had six years knocked off his 31 years.
Release for Maria Conchita Marino of West Point, Nebraska, is 2018 after
serving half of her 20 years.
Obama has commuted 774 inmate sentences, more than the previous 11 presidents
put together.
Sorority Secretary Sentenced To Prison For Theft
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The long-time secretary of a women’s sorority group that
focuses on personal integrity and service to others has been sentenced to more
than two years in prison for taking more than $1.6 million over 14 years from the
organization.
Andrea G. Baker of Elkhart was sentenced Thursday to 27 months in prison and
ordered to pay $1.66 million in restitution to the Ames chapter of the Chi Omega
Alumnae Association.
She asked for a sentence of home confinement instead of prison.
Baker, who is 50, entered a plea agreement in June in which she acknowledged
that between 2000 and 2014 she used per position as treasurer to pay personal
credit card expenses, deposit money into her own accounts and hide it by
falsifying the group’s financial records.
Pearl Harbor Navy Chaplain Remains Returned To Iowa
ST. LUCAS, Iowa (AP) – The remains of a Navy chaplain have been returned to his
hometown in Iowa nearly 75 years after he died during the surprise Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor. Chaplain Aloysius Schmitt was aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma
when the Dec. 7, 1941, attack happened. The Telegraph Herald reports Schmitt
helped other sailors escape the sinking ship before he died. The Navy announced in
September that Schmitt’s remains had been identified.
