The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports two people were arrested following two separate fights Tuesday. Sheriff Lyle Palmer says 38-year old Joshua Watkins, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on a charge of Simple Assault, following an altercation in the 200 block of east Washington Street in Northboro, at around 4:30-p.m., Tuesday. Watkins was taken into custody following an incident which also involved Kenneth and Elizabeth Rainey. Watkins was brought to the Page County Jail, posted bond, and was released.

A little over two-hours later, Page County deputies arrested 55-year old Eric Knizley, of College Springs, following an altercation between Knizley and 51-year old David Stimson, in Shambaugh. The alleged assault was the result of an earlier incident. Knizley was charged with Serious Assault. He was brought to the Page County Jail and posted a $1,000 bond before being released.

Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Director Megan Roberts says the City’s “Young Professionals” group has seen a period of “extraordinary growth,” recently, with more than 25 people attending each event…up from just a handful at this same time last year. She told the Atlantic City Council Wednesday, that the growth demonstrates an increase in young families coming to Atlantic and becoming involved in the community. They include new teachers, accountants, retail managers, and specialists in other fields. Roberts said while the influx of new and younger residents is great to see, it also points out the dire need for affordable housing in the community.

Roberts said the Chamber has had “Lots of requests” for housing, and it’s one of the biggest struggles young people wanting to move into the community, have. She says the situation isn’t going to improve anytime soon, but there are groups such as the Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation (CADCO), who are working to tackle the problem. Roberts said she hopes the Council continues to support those efforts.

CADCO Housing Committee Chairman Pat McCurdy agreed with Roberts that there is a shortage of “All kinds of housing in this town.” He said there are two ways to improve the situation, one is by making the City more attractive so homes can sell. McCurdy commended the Council and City for approving and enforcing the “Minimum Maintenance Code,” which improves the value of a home and makes the City a more attractive place to live. Toward that end, McCurdy says local youth from eight different church groups are getting involved with CADCO to paint three houses this Saturday, owned by poor or eldery residents. All the materials and paint have been donated.

Another way the City can improve its housing situation, according to McCurdy, is to come up with a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Plan, that is applicable to new housing developments. He said local developer Don Sonntag and others want to build more homes, but “He needs some help,” in the form of a TIF. He said individuals have a hard time to build affordable housing and “Make it cash flow,” without some sort of help, because the rent in Atlantic is not high enough. He said without housing, the young professionals, some of whom work in other, nearby towns, and want to live in Atlantic, cannot afford to live here and raise their families.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, tabled action on a TIF plan, at the request of Councilman Shawn Shouse, head of a Committee tasked with creating a draft, fair plan for the Council to approve. Shouse requested the delay in discussion because he was made aware of information based on legislation passed earlier this Summer in Iowa, that will need to be incorporated into any policy the City develops. The Council will discuss further, but not take action on the matter, during their meeting on October 17th.

The U-S Department of Justice is sending Iowa a three-year 810-thousand dollar grant to help pay for mental health services in Iowa’s drug courts. Dale Woolery is the spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy. “Mental health services are a growing need. They are something that is not always provided,” Woolery says. “Especially in a lot of drug courts where you have offenders who may have a dual diagnosis where they need mental health services as well as drug treatment, they may not be getting the mental health piece of that right now. This grant will help provide those services in those drug courts.” The money will be spread across the state.

“Nine drug courts throughout the state of Iowa, which is most of them…will be benefiting from this grant. These are the drug courts because of that way that they are set up will be benefiting from these grants,” Woolery says. The courts are in Black Hawk, Dubuque, Pottawattamie, Linn, Johnson, Scott, Des Moines, and Wapello counties. The idea behind the courts is to treat the problem to help prevent more problems down the road. “Drug courts generally speaking in Iowa have been showed to be effective in reducing the rate of re-arrest, the rate of relapse, or people who go back to using drugs. And they have shown to be a less costly proposition compared to incarceration,” according to Woolery. “In in general, it looks to be a more efficient way, a more effective way to deal with a lot of drug-addicted offenders.”

Woolery says not everyone who goes to a drug court ends up on the straight an narrow. “But for a lot of drug offenders — especially those who may have a mental health illness as well — it may be a better alternative. We’re hoping that with this grant we’ll learn that if by adding mental health services to drug courts, if they can be an even better investment for Iowa taxpayers,” Woolery says. Iowa Corrections Department director, John Baldwin, estimates about 318 offenders with chemical dependency and mental illness will receive treatment services with the help of the grant.

(Radio Iowa)