An Ohio man convicted this past March in connection with a high speed crash that killed a Council Bluffs man in September, was sentenced Wednesday to a maximum of 10-years in prison for vehicular homicide. The Omaha World-Herald reports 30-year old Eric Shiplett, of Zanesville, OH.,  could be eligible for parole in as little as three-years.

Shiplett was driving a vehicle that left Interstate 480 in Omaha at a high rate of speed on Sept. 6th, 2013. The vehicle careened out of control near the 30th Street exit and rolled several times off to the side of the road. A passenger in the car, 19-year old Matthew Doty, of Council Bluffs, was ejected during the crash, and died at the scene.

Prosecutors said Shiplett’s blood-alcohol level was nearly three-times the legal limit of .08 (Point Oh-eight).

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones and Councilman Dana Halder are asking residents to try and resolve any differences they have in-person, when it comes to noise issues. Jones said the City received a letter from a resident who asked the Council to consider creating an ordinance that would address noise issues, especially with regard to lawn mowing and yard waste removal.

Jones said an unidentified female resident called him Saturday night and other members of the Council Sunday morning, to complain about a neighbor who was using a skid loader to remove tree and other yard debris Saturday evening. Halder said he received two calls from the complainant. One came just after 8:30-p.m. Saturday, the other at around 7:30-a.m. Sunday. Halder says he promptly investigated the situation and found no valid reason for the complaint. He said he arrived with 10 minutes of each call received, saw the person operating a skid loader in a valley, cleaning up some brush about 80-yards from the woman’s property line.

Halder said he spoke with another neighbor who said they didn’t have a problem with what was happening. Halder said also, that the man in question had apparently built a new house and was trying to clean-up the brush piles before wet and stormy weather arrived. He said the irony was, that as he was leaving, Halder had the windows down on his vehicle, and could hear the woman talking in her backyard…over the noise of the skid loader.

He said the man with the skid-loader confirmed the next morning that he was trying to get the land waste cleaned-up before the weather. When he arrived Sunday morning, the skid-loader, which he described as having a small motor, was on a trailer. Halder said he thinks the matter could have been handled better by the citizen. He said they need to “work a little harder to get along,” and understand people sometimes can’t mow and work outside when it’s convenient for their neighbors. He says talking with your neighbor when you have an issue, according to Halder, makes for a better level of understanding , and equates to “Honey going a lot farther than salt, I guess.”

He said none of the neighbors he spoke with had a problem with skid loader noise on the days and times in question. Atlantic does have noise ordinances that pertain to Amplified sound, barking dogs, disorderly conduct, engine brakes and identified “Quiet Zones,” but nothing specifically pertaining to the operating of equipment during certain hours.

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones expressed his gratitude Wednesday evening for the outpouring of support the community and residents of Cass County showed during Monday evening’s Honor Flight motorcade from Atlantic to Des Moines. During the Atlantic City Council meeting, Jones also thanked the two Atlantic natives (Jeff Becker and Roger Underwood) who made the trip possible, and former Council member Steve Livengood, who was instrumental in organizing the local effort.

The veterans and their guardians boarded three buses in Atlantic as they prepared to visit the nation’s war memorials in Washington, D-C. Jones said they were ecstatic at how residents of the community and county showed their support. He said “They were hoopin’ and hollerin’” He said it was a great atmosphere, with the motorcycle escort to Des Moines, and seeing all people lining the streets of the communities the motorcade passed through, including Wiota, Anita, all the way to near Adair.

Jones said everything went pretty smoothly in D-C, although it was a bit on the hot side.

The East Mills School Board has decided to close an elementary school in Malvern in a cost-saving measure. The Daily NonPareil reports the Board voted on the matter during a special meeting Tuesday. The  decision means students will not be attending Chantry Elementary School in Malvern next school year. The building will be shut-down as part of a strategy to address declining enrollment and financial troubles.

An Underwood teacher has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of Prohibited Acts, in connection with the use of allegedly stolen prescription pads to obtain pain medication in Nebraska and Iowa. The Council Bluffs Daily NonPareil reports Samantha Telleen entered her plea to the reduced, Class-C felony charge Tuesday, in Pottawattamie County District Court. In exchange for the plea agreement, eight additional counts of Prohibited Acts were dismissed.

The Mayor of Council Bluffs is advising residents to prepare for minor flooding near the Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park. The Daily NonPareil, citing information from the National Weather Service, says   an increase in Missouri River water levels, caused by heavy rains near Sioux City and Sioux Falls, S.D., could raise the river to flood stage of 30 feet by this weekend or earlier.