Police in Council Bluffs said Wednesday evening that an 11-year old boy drowned in about 4-feet of water at Lake Manawa State Park Wednesday afternoon. Isaiah Griffin, of Omaha, had been attending an Open Door Mission-Lydia Bible Camp and was playing football in a designated swimming area at the lake, when he disappeared. Officials said a lifeguard was on-duty when the incident occurred at around 2:30-p.m..

Witnesses told authorities a camp counselor found Griffin in shallow water. The boy was pulled from the lake and efforts to revive him through CPR were begun immediately. Griffin was pronounced dead at a local hospital. An autopsy was planned for Friday.

Isaiah Griffin was a fifth grade student at Liberty Elementary School in Omaha, who lived at the Open Door Mission-Lydia House with his mother. Officials say she didn’t attend the shelter-sponsored field trip to the lake. The Council Bluffs Police Department is investigating the incident, but they say it appears to be an accident. Late Wednesday evening Open Door Mission President Candace Gregory released a statement saying, “The Open Door Mission is saddened by the tragic event today of the loss of Isaiah Griffin. There are grief counselors and pastoral staff on Campus ministering to those that are hurting. Please keep the Open Door Mission and the Griffin family in your prayers.”

In a separate incident in northwestern Iowa, a 6-year-old boy was critically injured in an apparent accident Wednesday afternoon at the Spencer Family Aquatic Center. The Spencer Daily Reporter said on its website the boy was flown to a South Dakota hospital, but a report on his condition was not available.

Atlantic City Councilperson Kathy Somers issued a warning to residents of the City who are or will be, demolishing buildings. Somers said during a meeting of the Atlantic City Council, that such debris must be taken to the Cass County Landfill. According to Somers, the debris “Cannot go to some ‘secret place’ somewhere outside of the City. She said also, if the DNR ever finds a dumping ground for building materials, either on the surface or buried, the person responsible will be forced to remove that material – buried or not – and haul it to the Landfill.

Somers said the City should remind residents that it’s in their “best interests to follow the law.” She says those persons who don’t follow the law, will “Probably regret it,” because of the hefty fines which can result from such acts. Councilman Shaun Shouse said that also applies to farmers who offer to take debris from residents in the City and dispose of it on their land. Shouse says the farm rules allow only structures demolished on a farmers property to be demolished or buried on those farms, not structures from other locations.

On a related note, as we mentioned last week, the Cass County Board of Supervisors, have set June 13th and 20th as the dates for public hearings, on the 1st and 2nd readings of a proposed Illegal Dumping Ordinance for the unincorporated areas of the County. The ordinance, if adopted after the second reading, calls for a $100 fine on the 1st offense if the items illegally dumped weighed less than 10-pounds, or up to 15-cubic feet in volume, and up to $250 for the second and subsequent offenses. The fines increase from $250 to $500 respectively, for trash that exceeds 10-pounds, or 15-cubic feet in volume.

The reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of “graffiti vandals” in Atlantic has increased to $1,000. At Wednesday night’s City Council meeting, Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones had announced a $500 reward was being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the “graffiti vandals,” who have spray painted numerous buildings in the downtown area. This (Thursday) morning, Melanie Petty, with the Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund, announced the Foundation will donate an additional $250 to the reward fund. And, Mayor Dave Jones said an anonymous donor has contributed an additional $250, bringing the total reward to $1,000.

On the wall of a building across from City Hall

The original source of funds for the reward was put forth by Jones, along with Councilpersons Halder and Livengood, because they want the crime spree brought to an end. The scribbling spray paint sometimes spells out the word “Hobo,“ which Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green said may or may not be a gang-related slang term.He said regardless, the cost to clean-up the damage is mounting as the acts continue. Green said citizens are frustrated, and some members of the Council is frustrated enough to put forth the reward money to try and curtail the incidents of vandalism.

Green said the lettering or symbols do not appear to have a nationally known gang affiliation, and he doesn’t want to speculate on whether teenagers or adults are committing the crime.

high up on a wall east of Poplar, between 4th and 5th Streets

He says he won’t speculate because it could very well be a “disgruntled adult,” or “A 10-year old kid who has a little too much freedom.” The culprits have been brazen in where they put down their mark. In some cases, it’s been near the tops of buildings, which means they likely used a fire escape to reach their target.

He says his officers have been “on the heels” of the criminals a number of times, often times finding the graffiti “while the paint is still running,” so they are literally seconds away from being caught, but they just managed to beat the clock and evade capture. Chief Green says some of the acts take place at night, but they’re not sure if that’s the only time the incidents occur.

Behind 2 fenced in air conditioning units in an alley between 4th & 5th Streets

He says if you notice anything suspicious, such as a person hanging around by a building and looking over their shoulder, call the police department or the Comm. Center, because “It can take that person less than 10-seconds to commit the crime, and that’s what makes it so difficult to catch.”