Two men face drug charges following their arrests over the weekend in Mills County. Sheriff’s officials say 22-year-old James Dean Wilson, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Saturday evening, and, 22-year-old Eric Christopher Beal, of Omaha, was arrested early Sunday morning.  Both men were charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Beal was being held in the Mills County Jail on $1,300 bond, while Wilson’s bond was set at $2,300.

Sheriff’s officials in Mills County say a Malvern man was arrested Monday on numerous sexual abuse charges. The Mills County Attorney’s Office filed the charges, which include 3 counts of 2nd-degree sexual abuse and 3-counts of 3rd-degree sexual abuse, against 34-year old Robert Gerald Hoose, of Malvern. Hoose was transported to the Mills County Jail and held on $150,000 bond.

Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman said Tuesday, that the first day to file nomination papers for “Nominated By Petition” candidates seeking election to County and Township offices in the November General Election, is Monday, August 6th. The last day to file papers in the office of the Cass County Auditor, is Wednesday, August 29th.

Nomination papers may be circulated prior to the first date for filing, as well as during the filing period. Nominating papers are available at the office of the County Auditor and from the Iowa Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.iowa.gov A candidate’s guide is also available on that website.

The non-partisan  Township positions to appear on the Cass County ballot for the 2012 General Election are: Benton and Edna Townships, which each have – 1 trustee position, one vacancy term through 2014 trustee position, and, one vacancy term through 2014 Clerk position; and, the Union and Victoria Townships – which each have one trustee position available.

Non-Partisan Offices to appear on the General Election ballot in Cass County include: Ag Extension (4-year term); Soil and Water Conservation (4-year term);and,  Hospital Trustee (6-year term). For additional information, contact Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman, at 243-4570, or by e-mail at auditor@casscoia.us.

The Iowa Transportation Commission today (Tuesday) approved $5.6 million for the fiscal year 2013 State Aviation Program, which includes $30,600 for the Atlantic Municipal Airport, to replace a manually sliding hangar door with a hydraulically operated door.  The total cost of the project is $36,600. The City of Atlantic will have to pay the remaining costs.

Other Airport Development Projects slated to receive funding in western Iowa through the DOT’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP) include: the Arthur N. Neu Municipal Airport in Carroll will receive $14,000 toward the $20,000 cost to upgrade the fuel system; The Creston Municipal Airport will receive $25,500 toward the $30,000 cost of improving fence access control; The Guthrie County Regional Airport is receiving $19,500 toward the estimated $39,000 cost of installing precision approach path indicator lights on a runway; The Harlan Municipal Airport will receive $25,500 for the $30,000 hangar renovation project; and, the Shenandoah Municipal Airport will receive $19,040 for the installation of partitions in the existing four-unit T-hangar. The project will cost $23,800 in total.

Altogether, the AIP will provide more than $3.2 million for aviation safety, planning and development. AIP programs are funded with revenue from aircraft registration fees and aviation fuel taxes.

And, the DOT’s Aviation vertical infrastructure programs will provide nearly $2.4 million for projects at all eight commercial service airports and seven general aviation airports throughout Iowa. Among them: The Red Oak Municipal Airport, which is receiving $150,000 to construct a six-unit T-hangar. The project is expected to cost $210,000 altogether. Vertical infrastructure programs are funded through the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund.

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest of 49-year-old Jesse Toombs of Atlantic on a Cass County Warrant for Failure to Appear for Child Support Contempt Hearing.  He was transported to Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

Four Guthrie County residents have been appointed to the Extension Council Nominating Committee. The committee is charged with nominating candidates for the five vacancies on the council before August 6, 2012.

Committee members selected to nominate extension council candidates for the 2012 election are Mike Carey of Panora; Mike Christensen of Stuart; Carolyn Schwartz of Bayard; and Cindy Steensen of Guthrie Center.

By law the nominating committee must include two women and two men, and cannot include any current member of the council. The committee is required to take county geography into consideration when nominating candidates.

Candidates nominated by the committee must submit petitions containing the names of 25 qualified voters to the county election commissioner by 5 p.m. on Aug. 29. Additionally, individuals may petition to have their names placed on the ballot through a self-nominating process by submitting petitions with 25 names to the election commissioner. Petition forms are available from the election commissioner and at the county extension office.

Voters will cast ballots for the nominees in the Nov. 6 general election. Successful candidates will serve four-year terms beginning in January 2013.

–Information from press release by Guthrie County Extension and Outreach