The Cass County Board of Supervisors are expected to act Wednesday on the Appointment of a full-time Mental Health/General Assistance Director. Deb Schuler has filled the position in the interim, following the termination of employment in February, of former long-time MH/DD/GA Director Teresa Kanning.

The Board will also act on: The appointment of an additional member to the Cass County Food Policy Council; An amended appropriation for the Medical Examiner’s Department, and on authorizing Board Chair Frank Waters to sign a Planning Grant Agreement with the Iowa Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, for a Multi-jurisdictional  Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) Update

The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) is funded by FEMA to provide grants to State and local governments to implement long-term mitigation measures after a major disaster declaration. The purpose of the program is to reduce loss of life and property resulting from natural disasters and to enable mitigation measures to be implemented during the recovery from a disaster. Cass County’s current plan
continues through mid-2015. Cass County’s application is for 2015 through 2020. The grant request is was for $53,000 ($39,750 Federal match; $5,300 State match; and $7,950 County {in-kind} match).

In other business, the Supervisors will review the bids and possibly award a contract for, a concrete box culvert project. The meeting begins at 8:30-a.m. in the Supervisor’s Board Room at the Cass County Courthouse.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports four arrests over the past week. On Monday, 40-year old Heath Kaleb Vanegas, of Glenwood, was arrested on Highway 275 for OWI/2nd offense. His bond was set at $2,000. Last Saturday, 37-year old Sadie Jeanine Renander, of Omaha, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, and, 35-year old Dayton Ernest Tuper II, of Malvern, was arrested in Malvern, for Disorderly Conduct. Tuper’s bond was set at $300, while bond for Renander amounted to $1,000.

And, on Friday, 47-year old Heather Leigh McCord-Bennett, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Mills County warrant for Failure to Appear in court. Her bond was set at $300.

Mills County Sheriff’s Deputies also investigated two, non-injury accidents, one of which occurred late Monday night on Highway 34, the other happened late Friday morning on 284th Street.

A joint meeting of the CAM and Nodaway Valley Community School Districts was held Monday evening at the Nodaway Valley Middle School, in Fontanelle. The meeting was designed to gauge the thoughts of both school boards and gather input, with regard to the possibility of the two districts sharing a superintendent.

CAM Superintendent Steve Pelzer told KJAN News that the boards discussed moving forward, that’s about as far as it got. He says there were no decisions made, it was merely conversation. Pelzer said both boards will likely discuss the matter separately during their respective meetings next month and made a decision on whether to proceed.

Pelzer was not ready to reveal whether there was any sort of consensus following Monday night’s meeting, on if the two districts are on the same page and want to continue moving forward. He said he doesn’t want to speak for either board as to how they feel about laying the groundwork for a possible future sharing option.

Pelzer did acknowledged that discussions have ceased with the Coon Rapids-Bayard School Board over a proposed sharing agreement, and he said there are currently no other districts courting CAM over the possibility of sharing, other than Nodaway Valley.

Districts typically explore a Superintendent sharing agreement with a neighboring school district because of the financial incentives offered by the State of Iowa. The Iowa Legislature passed operational sharing incentives equaling eight students for each district that is sharing a superintendent. The districts would be eligible for the incentive for five years. That amounts to about $50,000 per year.