The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports one-person was arrested Tuesday evening after he tried to flag down traffic as he walked along County road J-20, about 7-miles northwest of Clarinda. A deputy noticed 31-year old Jonathan Lynn Gray, of Shenandoah was walking on the traveled portion of the road at around 8:30-p.m.  While questioning Gray, the deputy suspected the man was intoxicated. Testing resulted in Gray being taken into custody on a charge of Public Intoxication.

Gray was brought to the Page County Jail and was unable to post a $300 bond. On Wednesday, he pled guilty to the charge and was sentenced by the magistrate to two days in jail.

Sheriff’s Officials in Mills County say a Glenwood woman was arrested Wednesday on a warrant for Violation of a Protection Order and harassment charges. 21-year old Mackenzie Mae Steinman was taken into custody at a location on Sharp Street in Glenwood at around 10:45-p.m. Her bond was set at $500.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, rejected an offer from a local couple to purchase an abandoned house at 203 Locust Street. The City had earlier been awarded title to the property, and was prepared to sell it to Rob and Marlo Stamp, until some last minute offers were received. A public hearing was held, during which City Attorney Dave Wiederstein said he had received word another party was interested in the property. That being the case, the Council decided to request sealed bids for the property, but no deadline was set for the receipt of bids. A condition of the bids is that the prospective buyer must agree to demolish the current structure in a timely manner.

In other business, the Council received a report from Snyder and Associates Engineer Dave Sturm, with regard to the Street Maintenance Study. The Study, which was commissioned in 2010, indicated street repairs are the highest priority of the community’s citizens. Sturm said there are just under 50-miles of streets in Atlantic, of which 12.5-miles are comprised of concrete, 26.5 are asphalt, seven are seal coated and 2.5-miles are gravel. Sturm went on to describe the types of problems each road-style can expect to have over the course of its lifespan.

The streets are rated on a score from zero to 100, with 100 being the score needed for an entirely new street. The options given for any given condition include reconstruction, rehabilitation, deferred action, preventative maintenance and routine maintenance. Sturm said the study shows the City has made substantial progress over the past eight-years, having completed the repair or replacement of half of its streets.

He said it should continue with efforts to catch-up with backlogged projects….but it won’t come cheap. He says the City needs to spend anywhere from 750-thousand to One-million dollars per year in order to continue playing catch-up to get to the rest of the streets.

Sturm said once the City is caught-up on its street projects, it could expect to spend 400-to 500-thousand dollars per year just to maintain a high level of service on them. A copy of the report is available for viewing in the City Clerk’s office.

Americans will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John Kennedy tomorrow (Friday). An Iowa reporter from Adair County who became know for his coverage of the presidency was in Dallas, Texas on that fateful day. Hugh Sidey was Time Magazine’s White House correspondent for nearly 50 years and was on the press bus when the fatal shots were fired.“I remember lounging in the bus, watching Kennedy’s car go around the curb up ahead, ”Sidey said. Reporter Lee Kline interviewed Sidey at the family’s newspaper office in Greenfield shortly after the assassination. He talked about his feelings.

“Actually there’s almost a physical reaction, your stomach or something tightens up,” Sidey said. He described the area where the shooting took place as a “strange tableau.” “Women were lying down on the ground and men had their arm around their families. I remember one man sitting on the curb pounding the ground just out of frustration. Obviously something was wrong and we immediately then began to sense that perhaps he’d been shot,” according to Sidey.

Hugh Sidey later became personal friends with Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He died on this date ( November 21) eight years ago, one day before the anniversary of his biggest story.

(Radio Iowa)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have taken a man into custody on suspicion of starting a house fire in Council Bluffs.  A woman was inside the house when the fire started around 1:15 a.m. Thursday. Authorities say the woman and the man were outside the house when firefighters arrived. After questioning the man, officers him away.

Police haven’t released the names of the man and woman or any other details about the fire.  No injuries have been reported.