(Joel McCall-KNOD) The Harlan Community School District has been recognized as one of the top schools in the country by the United States Department of Education. The district, along with 285 others, has been named the 2013 cohort of National Blue Ribbon Schools in the United States. The United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, announced the schools earlier this week in a press release. The award is based on the districts overall academic excellence or their progress in improving student academic achievement. The Harlan Community School District was one of 5 schools, and the only high school, from the state of Iowa named a Blue Ribbon School. Harlan Community Superintendent Justin Wagner told KNOD news the award is quite the honor,

Wagner1: “Exciting, great honor for the staff, you know those are the folks in the trenches making the difference. I am really happy for them. From my seat, it really reflects what I know what happens everyday so it is always good to see the honor that reflects the work being put in.”

He says the process for being a blue ribbon school is complicated,

Wagner2: “You have the Federal and State Government involved. Each state is allowed to nominate a certain amount of schools. They have a rigorous process that they have to go through; they call indicators of excellence in school districts before you get nominated.”

A lot of the process deals with your academic achievement in regards to the Iowa assessment scores,

Wagner3: “You have to be in the upper echelon. In Iowa, you have to be in the top 15 percent. We know Iowa is amongst the best states in test scores so we know we are in an elite group. And then there are other indicators that they talk about that make up the nomination.”

A few members of the staff will be going to the ceremony including a high school teacher, high school principal, a board member and the superintendent. Wagner said this is a proud moment for the district,

Wagner4: “It truly is an elite award. Again, we are just extremely excited and proud of the high school staff and principal. But I will tell you this is a reflection of kids and staff as a whole.”

All the National Blue Ribbon Schools will be honored at a recognition ceremony on November 18^th and 19^th in Washington D.C.

Arrests:

09-22-2013    43-year-old Iva Mae Ransom of Red Oak was arrested at 10:45pm for Driving Under Suspension.  The arrest occurred on Highway 34 near 315th Street and Ransom was held on $300 bond. During the same stop 21-year-old Austin Charles Harmon of Red Oak was arrested for Public Intoxication at 10:46pm.  He was held on $300 bond.

09-23-2013    40-year-old Glenn William Seeley of Pacific Junction was arrested for Eluding, Reckless Driving and Driving Under Suspension on 2nd Avenue in Mills County.  He was taken into custody at 4:35pm and held on $2,600 bond.

09-24-2013    23-year-old Dnae Christine McConahay of Thurman was arrested on a warrant for Failure To Appear regarding a Public Intoxication charge.  McConahay was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Jail at 2:00pm.

09-25-2013    52-year-old Julie Ann Vore of Council Bluffs was arrested on a warrant for Failure To Appear regarding a Driving while Barred charge.  Vore was arrested at 2:32am at the E-Stop near Emerson and was held on $5,000 bond.

Incidents:

09-23-2013    Richard Rupe of Pacific Junction, IA reported a Burglary and Theft on Cary Avenue at 2:30pm.

09-20-2013    James Schnoor of Silver City, IA reported a Theft 5^th and Criminal Mischief on Main St. at 6:56pm.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two recent accidents.

The first accident occurred on Friday, Sept. 19th at 12:39pm 4 miles southwest of Pacific Junction on Highway 34 at 180th Street. A 2004 STG Truck driven by Jess Dillingham of Lincoln, NE was traveling eastbound on Highway 34 and was slowing to make a left hand turn on to 180th Street when a 1999 Freight semi-trailer driven by Tom Steinbach of Villisca struck the trailer being pulled by Dillingham.  Steinbach’s vehicle then struck a bridge and guardrail.  Steinbach’s trailer was loaded to 50,000 lbs at the time of the accident.  No injuries were reported.

The second accident occurred on Wednesday, Sept. 25th at 9:29pm at the intersection of Highway 34 and 315th Street.  Matthew Leet of Silver City was driving his 1999 Ford north on 315th Street and stopped at the Highway 34 intersection.  Leet’s vehicle was then struck from behind as Bret Katelman of Omaha failed to stop his 2012 Nissan.  Katelman told officers he was attempting to answer a call on his bluetooth at the time of the accident.  No injuries were reported.

AMES, Iowa – Sept. 26, 2013 – The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting Tuesday, Oct. 8, to discuss the proposed bridge replacement on Iowa 183 over Soldier River 0.9 mile north of Pisgah in Harrison County.

All interested persons are invited to attend this meeting anytime between 5 and 7 p.m. at the Loess Hills State Forest Building, 206 Polk St., in Pisgah. The meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. Iowa DOT staff will be present to informally discuss the proposed improvements. No formal presentation will be made.

Traffic would be detoured during construction using Iowa 127, U.S. 30 and Iowa 37.

The meeting space is accessible for persons with disabilities. However, if you require special accommodations at the meeting, please notify the Iowa DOT contact listed below by Oct. 1.

For general information regarding the proposed improvements or public meeting, contact Shane Tymkowicz, P.E., assistant district engineer, Iowa DOT District 3 Office, 2800 Gordon Drive, Sioux City, Iowa 51102, telephone 712-276-1451 or 800-284-4368, email shane.tymkowicz@dot.iowa.gov.

Visit the Iowa DOT’s project-related public involvement event website at http://www.iowadot.gov/pim for information about scheduled public meetings and hearings, and opportunities to offer input to the Iowa DOT during the development of certain projects.