The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Friday, approved the rezoning of a section of land on the Cass-Adair County line. Rich Hanson, assistant to Cass County Engineer Charles Marker, reported the Zoning Board met January 15th to consider the request from Alliant Energy to rezone a three-acre parcel in Grant Township, Section 13, just north of Whitepole Road, or G-30. Alliant wants to build a new electrical substation to replace three smaller area substations that are outdated. Construction won’t start on the project until 2017.

Landowners in the area have not objected to the plan, and the County Zoning Board approved the request before forwarding their recommendation to the Supervisors. In other business, the Board approved the hiring of Stacie Platt as a part-time administrative assistant to Cass County Attorney Dave Wiederstein, at a rate of $15/hour. Platt will likely work about 12-hours per week.

The Supervisors also approved the abatement of taxes for a property owned by the City of Anita, which had been declared a nuisance property. And they took under advisement a request for $7,500 funding from the Cass County Historical Museum.

Sheriff’s deputies in Cass County arrested an Atlantic man, Tuesday. 32-year old Zachary Alan Frank was taken into custody on a District Court warrant for Failure to Appear. Frank was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held until sentence is served.

A total of five Adair County residents were arrested Thursday evening on drug charges, following a traffic stop in Cass County. The Sheriff’s Department reports just before 7-p.m., a deputy with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on Hwy 92 and 620th Street. During the course of the stop, a Cass County K9 conducted a sniff of the vehicle and indicated to narcotic odor. A search of the vehicle was conducted by Cass County deputies and approximately ½ pound of methamphetamine (with a street value estimated at $20,000), ½ ounce of marijuana, baggies, scales, and paraphernalia were located. Deputies arrested four Bridgewater residents: 51-year old Henry Lewis Degraw; 32-year old Julie Ann Holmes; 33-year old Justin Paul Parker, and 46-year old Samantha A. Jones. All four subjects were arrested on charges of Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Deliver (B felony), Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver (D felony), two counts of Drug Tax Stamp violations (D felonies), and Prohibited Acts (aggravated misdemeanor). Additional charges are pending at this time.
As a result of the traffic stop, a Cass County deputy obtained search warrants for three residences in Bridgewater. The search warrants were executed simultaneously by the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Adair County Sheriff’s Office, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol, Atlantic Police Department and Greenfield Police Department. 63-year old Toni Lynn Reese, of Bridgewater, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia and taken to the Adair County jail. Additional charges are pending at this time.