ROCKWELL CITY, Iowa (AP) — A union representing correctional officers said Friday the discovery of hundreds of pills inside a prison was a “major security breach.” AFSCME Iowa Council 61 President Danny Homan called on the Iowa Department of Corrections to release more information about the breach, accusing administrators of keeping key details from the public. State officials announced Thursday that 300 to 400 capsules containing an unknown substance were discovered inside the North Central Correctional Facility in Rockwell City.

Homan said that cell phones and chargers were also discovered — a fact that department spokesman Fred Scaletta refused to confirm or deny. Homan said that phones were the “worst kind of contraband” because they allow inmates to communicate with people outside the prison.

Homan also asserted that several inmates there have tested positive for marijuana since the discovery, but that no marijuana had been found. Scaletta declined comment on that claim. Scaletta confirmed Friday that some testing has been done on the pills, but refused to say what it found. He said additional testing is being done by the Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and that more information would be released next week.

Homan said he believes one or more members of the public were able to smuggle in the contraband “because of the lack of staffing and appropriate staff training.” Scaletta said that prison officials “do the best they can with the resources they have” to manage the facility. He said that steps will be taken to prevent a similar breach from happening.

Sheriff’s officials in Cass County say deputies arrested a Griswold woman on drug charges this (Friday) morning. 19-year old Tara Lynn Waters, of Griswold, faces charges that include OWI 1st Offense, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Waters was taken to the Cass County Jail and later released.

On Thursday, Cass County deputies arrested 29-year old Amanda Fay Petrzilka, of Council Bluffs, on a charge of Driving While Revoked. Petrzilka was taken to the Cass County Jail where she was released the following day on her own recognizance.

And there were two arrests Wednesday in Cass County. 45-year old Carl Daniel Wiechmann, of Griswold, was arrested on a charge of Domestic Abuse 2nd Offense. Wiechmann was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on $2,000 bond. Also, 33-year old Jessica Ranell Jamison, of Winterset, was arrested Wednesday, on a district court warrant for Probation Violation. Jamison was taken to the Cass County Jail where she is being held on $25,000 bond.

(12-p.m. News)

CARF International announced Friday (Today), that CASS Incorporated has been accredited for a period of three years for its Community Employment, Employment Planning, Organizational Employment, Community Integration and Supported Living services. The latest accreditation is the tenth consecutive Three-Year Accreditation that the international accrediting body, CARF, has awarded to CASS Incorporated.

The accreditation decision represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF standards. An organization receiving a Three-Year Accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process. It has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit its commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality.

CASS Incorporated is a nonprofit organization with offices at 1406 SW 7th Street. It has been providing Community Supported services in the Cass County area since 1977. CARF is an independent, nonprofit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served. Founded in 1966 as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and now known as CARF International, the accrediting body establishes consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services.

For more information about the accreditation process, please visit the CARF website at www.carf.org.

A new study finds young people who don’t take driver’s education courses are more likely to be involved in collisions and they’re much more likely to get ticketed and be found guilty of traffic law violations. Gail Weinholzer, spokeswoman for Triple-A-Iowa, says vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for teenagers, both in Iowa and nationwide.  “Children under the age of 18 who do not participate in a driver’s education class are more likely, not only to be in crashes, but to receive convictions,” Weinholzer says. “We’ve got 30 states across the country that require driver’s education in some form and 20 states that do not.”

Iowa is among the states where driver’s ed is required. Some school districts in the state offer it as a regular course, while other districts require students to use a private, professional driver’s training company. “Obviously, we’re very pleased that Iowa has driver’s education and it’s required for all people under the age of 18,” Weinholzer says. “We certainly can always improve the system by enhancing the graduated driver’s license system, adding things like a parent education seminar, those sorts of things.”

The motor club’s report found students who took driver’s education courses saw a reduction in crashes by four-point-three percent and a drop in convictions by nearly 40-percent. It also found that teens who completed driver’s ed scored higher on the driving exam and demonstrated better knowledge over their peers who had no formal training.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – This time of the year is the peak season for two mosquito species most likely to carry the West Nile virus, which can cause high fevers and brain-swelling, an Iowa State University researcher said. Brendan Dunphy, an entomology researcher with the university, told The Des Moines Register that “we’re right in the thick of that time.”

Dunphy said the virus tends to be carried by the mosquito species, culex pipiens and culex tarsalis, and that late summer and early fall are the peak season for them. He said those species tolerate cool weather better than their cousins do. He said high numbers of mosquitoes buzzed into Iowa this summer, noting that in one week in July, special traps in Des Moines caught more mosquitoes than had been caught throughout the entire state in 2012. “The numbers were astronomical,” he said. “It was unbelievable.”

Overall, the bug numbers have fallen since July, but Dunphy said continued rainfall has helped the bugs continue to thrive in the state. “The bottom line is that water is the magic ingredient,” Dunphy said. Ann Garvey, deputy state epidemiologist, said that so far this year, the Iowa Department of Public Health has confirmed 11 illnesses and two suspected cases of the West Nile virus.

More than 40 Iowa residents were ill from the virus last year, which first appeared in the state in 2001. To avoid mosquito bites, Dunphy recommended repellents and emptying swimming pools and clogged rain gutters, where mosquitoes breed.

We’ve warned you several times in the past about an IRS scam, and now Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers is reiterating the warning. Brothers says he wants to ‘Alert the public that the [Clarinda] Police Department has received numerous calls this week from Clarinda residents [who are] reporting they [have been]contacted [over the phone by] someone purporting to be with the Internal Revenue Service and requesting personal information in order to deal with a tax problem.”

The Chief reminds you an such attempt is fraudulent, and if you receive a similar call, just hang up. NEVER provide any personal information regarding your social security numbers, bank account numbers, and so on.

The Internal Revenue Service does not communicate with taxpayers in this manner. The IRS sends individuals with tax concerns a letter in the mail.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has issued the 2013 Iowa Surveillance of Notifiable and Other Diseases Report. The annual report provides a yearly snapshot of what, how, and when events impact the public’s health. In 2013, more than 71,000 laboratory results of infectious diseases and conditions were submitted to IDPH disease surveillance programs.

In general, the number of reported cases of vaccine-preventable diseases decreased when compared to the previous three-year average (2010-2012); however, the number of reported Hepatitis A cases increased.

Diseases spread via insects continue to impact Iowans. In 2013, there was a notable number of these diseases reported to IDPH including Dengue fever, Lyme disease, malaria, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and West Nile virus. Of these diseases, Lyme disease and West Nile virus increased when compared to the previous three-year average. IDPH Medical Director, Dr. Patricia Quinlisk says “We expect to see an increase in imported insect-borne diseases in the future. Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne disease that has become common in the Caribbean and Iowans who vacation and are bit by an infected mosquito there can come home and become ill. If you’re traveling to areas outside the U.S., it’s important to know what diseases are circulating there and how to protect yourself against them.”

During the summer of 2013, 136 Iowans from 35 counties were diagnosed with Cyclosporiasis as part of a multi-state outbreak linked to consumption of a bagged salad mix. Cyclospora is a rare parasite that can cause prolonged, watery diarrhea, which, if left untreated, can last weeks to months. Only 10 cases of Cyclospora had been reported in Iowa prior to 2013. Cases increased by nearly 315 percent last year. In addition to the Cyclospora outbreak, 59 other outbreaks affecting more than 1,100 people were reported and investigated in 2013. The most common implicated pathogen was norovirus and outbreaks occurred most frequently in restaurants, long-term care/assisted living facilities, schools/child care facilities, and homes.

Other significant elements of the 2013 report include an increase in enteric or diarrheal diseases, which are typically associated with contaminated food or water. For instance, there were 342 cases of Shigellosis reported to IDPH last year, an increase of 518 percent from 2012, when 91 cases were reported.

For the complete IDPH 2013 Iowa Surveillance of Notifiable and Other Diseases Report, visit http://bit.ly/1uZMudv.