RURAL HINTON FATALITY
A rural Hinton man was fatally injured Monday in a lawn mower rollover accident. The Plymouth County Sheriffs Office says Steven Saulsbury, 60, was operating his mower along the driveway of his property, when the mower apparently went off the edge of the driveway and rolled down an embankment. The mower came to rest on top of the operator, causing fatal injury. Deputies and Hinton Fire and Rescue responded to a call at the residence on 320th Street west of Hinton. The accident occurred around 12-30 p.m. The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Plymouth County Conservation, Hinton Fire and Rescue and the Plymouth County Medical Examiner’s Office.
POLICY ON PARENT INVOLVEMENT WITH TITLE ONE STUDENTS
The Le Mars Community School Board gave second reading and adopted a new state-mandated policy which outlines parent and family engagement with students involved in the Title 1 program. This is Superintendent Dr. Steven Webner.
Dr. Webner says the policy requires more parental involvement with their Title I students.
Dr. Webner discovered the district already follows these new rules.
Dr. Webner says much the same is true of the new guidelines for Chronic Absenteeism and Truancy.
DISASTER RECOVERY CENTERS TO CLOSE
The Federal Emergency Management Agency says their Disaster Recovery Centers in Cherokee, Sheldon, and Estherville will close permanently next week. The FEMA center in Cherokee and Estherville will close Wednesday, August 28, at 6 p.m. The center at Sheldon will close on Friday, August 30 at 6 p.m. Help is still available by calling the FEMA helpline at 800-621-FEMA.
Disaster Recovery Centers remain open in Rock Valley, Rock Rapids, Sioux Rapids, Spencer, Spirit Lake, and Emmetsburg.
ONE IN 10 IOWANS HAS UNCLAIMED MONEY IN STATE TREASURER’S OFFICE
State Treasurer Roby Smith says it’s not just individuals who may find money in the “Great Iowa Treasure Hunt” managed by his office. By law, unclaimed assets in Iowa — like bank accounts and life insurance policies — are to be turned over to the State Treasurer’s office. The treasurer’s office has almost half a BILLION dollars in unclaimed assets right now and Smith estimates one in 10 Iowans could find unclaimed property listed on the “Great Iowa Treasure Hunt” website.
BOND REFERENDUM TO REPLACE IOWA’S SECOND OLDEST JAIL
Sac County’s Jail in Sac City has been in operation for over 80 years and the county’s voters will decide in November whether a new jail should be built. The Sac County Board of Supervisors is proposing that a new county jail be built across the street from the current one, then the old one would be used by the county sheriff’s office. The supervisors have voted to put a nearly 11 million dollar bond referendum on the General Election ballot to finance the two-phase project. According to the state jail inspector, Sac County has the second oldest jail in Iowa and it does not meet current safety standards. This puts staff, inmates and the public at risk. Iowa’s oldest county jail is in Pocahontas. Last November, Pocahontas County voters overwhelmingly approved eight-and-a-half million dollars in bonding for a new 18-bed jail.
