Le Mars Police And Fire Departments Issue 4th Quarter Reports
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Police Department and the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department have recently released their quarterly reports. During the time frame between September 9th through December 16th, the police department had
a slight decrease in calls for service, from 3,295 calls a year ago, to 2,996 calls for service this year. The number of complaints investigated also saw a decrease from 292 to 230. Parking tickets nearly doubled with 153 tickets issued during the fourth quarter of 2018, and this year there were 299 parking tickets. There were fewer parking citations this year with 177 compared to last year’s number of 190. Traffic warnings were holding
nearly steady, with 593 this year compared with the 602 from last year. Le Mars had fewer traffic accidents compared to last year. During the fourth quarter of 2018, there were 63, and this year the city had 45 accidents during the same time frame. Arrests were higher in 2019 as opposed to 2018.
Police officers made 133 arrests a year ago, and this year the number had increased to 179. The community police contacts was higher this year at 496. A year ago, the police department had 431 community contacts. Officer Jaycee Vander Berg graduated from the police academy in November and
according to Chief Kevin Vande Vegte, the student resource officer assignment with the area schools is working well.
(Le Mars) — As for the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department, during the fourth quarter they responded to 36 fire calls, 27 rescue calls, 40 investigations and/or accident clean-ups, and had four mutual aid calls, three times with Merrill and once with Orange City. According to the quarterly report, the fire and rescue department had 51 requests for services. The total number of calls for September, October and November was
at 158.
Sioux Center Woman Arrested For Child Endangerment
(Sioux Center) — Sioux Center police have arrested a 31-year old woman on Wednesday on a charge of child endangerment with bodily injury. The incident goes back to October 7th when Natalie Van Roekel according to the police report, allegedly got into an argument with her stepdaughter that turned physical, with the stepdaughter ending up on the ground on her back
and Van Roekel on top of her. The stepdaughter received minor injuries as a result of the incident.
Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office To Participate In “STEP” Holiday Program
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office to participate in the “STEP” program. The holiday season is known for celebrations and traditions, but it is also known for being the deadliest season when it comes to drunk and drug-impaired driving. Iowa Law Enforcement across the state will partner with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this holiday season to remove impaired drivers from the roads and help save lives. From December 13, 2019 to January 1, 2020, motorists will see an increased presence of law enforcement.
As we prepare for festivities with family and friends, the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau wants to remind all drivers of the dangers of driving impaired. You have to choose your role before the celebration begins. Will you drink, use drugs or will you drive? Remember, even if you have a little bit to drink, you could still be over the legal limit. Whether the drug is legally prescribed or illegal, driving while drug-impaired poses a threat to the driver, vehicle passengers, and other road users. Remember….if you feel different, you drive different!
Sobering Statistics:
◦In 2017, 45% of the drivers killed in fatal crashes who were tested for drugs, tested positive.
◦According to NHTSA, 885 people lost their lives in traffic crashes involving a drunk driver during the month of December, 2017.
◦Despite the fact it’s illegal to drive when impaired by alcohol, in 2017, one person was killed every 48 minutes by a drunk driver on our nation’s roads.
◦On average, an OWI could set you back $10,000 in attorney’s fees, fines, court costs, lost time at work, higher insurance rates, car towing and more.
◦The financial impact from impaired-driving crashes is devastating. Based on 2010 numbers (the most recent year for which cost data is available), impaired-driving crashes cost the United States $44 billion annually.
◦From December 13, 2018 to January 1, 2019, Iowa law enforcement officers arrested 506 impaired drivers. Also during this time frame in Iowa, there were 17 fatal crashes killing 18 people. Four of these seventeen fatal crashes involved an impaired driver.
The Browns Hold Ribbon-cutting Ceremony To Open Gift Gallery
(Le Mars) — What started as a broken elevator with repairs estimated at over $90,000 was the reason The Browns decided to move their gift gallery from the basement of their Century Theater next door to the former Sunshine Natural Foods store, and having Sunshine Natural Foods moving around the corner to a larger facility. Shelly Brown announced to the gathering during the Chamber coffee, the renovations to the gift gallery store now features restrooms that are handicapped accessible.The Browns Musical Family hosted a Chamber of Commerce coffee Thursday morning, and officially opened their gift gallery with a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Isebrand Honored As School District’s “Employee Of The Month”
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community School District awarded its “Employee of the Month this (Thursday) afternoon. The High School media instructor, Nancy Isebrand was nominated by High School Principal, Dr. Mark Iverson. In the nomination, Iverson says he wanted to nominate Nancy Isebrand because she
serves as co-advisor to the student council, and has taken on the role of prom sponsor, and now teaches the class that makes the graphics and videos for the new scoreboard at the stadium. As co-student council advisor she assists the student council in getting the school ready for homecoming. She is the one that makes sure the gym is decorated, the parade is set up, and
the gym is ready for the dance. Her leadership in this role has greatly impacted our students and the success of our homecoming. The biggest reason for the nomination and recognition, writes Iverson, has to do with our video media class. Mrs. Isebrand was learning the material as she was trying to
teach it. We did not have a lot of software ready until the scoreboard was installed and fired up. This made it so she had to teach the class and create many of the graphics herself, so we were ready for the first game. She has taken on this task and often times has had to figure it out on her own. She has shown great initiative and has been around to showcase the
scoreboard when various groups have visited the stadium. If you were able to attend the homecoming game, you saw the great graphics and sound clips that Mrs. Isebrand and her class put together. Mrs. Isebrand has also done a great job in the library. She has transformed our library to meet the needs of our students. One example is the Maker Space area she created in
the old computer lab. Besides being our media expert, I know I can count on her to assist in any way possible. Our congratulations go to Nancy Isebrand for being honored as the Le Mars Community School District’s “Employee of the Month.”
Sioux Gateway Airport Fined By The F-A-A
(Sioux City) — The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a 145- thousand-452 dollar ($145,452) civil penalty against the Sioux Gateway Airport for numerous alleged safety violations at the Iowa airfield. The F-A-A inspected Sioux Gateway Airport in May 2018, June 2019 and September 2019 and says there were violations each time, including failure to maintain surfaces, runway and taxiway markings, and visual wind direction indicators.
City Manager Bob Padmore says the city is disappointed with the report andthat reconstruction of the runways has been underway for several months.
The F-A-A report states that in 2018 and June 2019, inspectors found the airport did not properly grade the Safety Areas for both runways to eliminate hazardous ruts, depressions or other surface variations. The report also alleges the runway and taxiway markings were not properly maintained and that wind indicators were faded, making them difficult to see. Padmore assures air passengers using Sioux Gateway that the airport
will be safe.
The FAA says two taxiways were not properly marked in the September 2019 construction inspection, and one not properly maintained, creating potentially hazardous debris.
Padmore again says safety of passengers and planes is the top priority.
Airport Director Mike Collett says his staff is working to correct the deficiencies and develop a corrective action plan to eliminate those issues for the future.
