Emergency Management officials in Mills County say a 30-foot levee breach has been reported. The section gave way Tuesday afternoon due to saturation from ongoing flooding and recent heavy rains. Authorities said today (Wednesday), that 182nd Street and Gaston Avenue in northwest Mills County have been closed due to fast moving water over the roads.

Residents in the area have been contacted and told to make preparations to evacuate. Larry Hurst, emergency coordinator for the county, said that the breach is not a part of the main Missouri River levee system. Hurst said levee district workers and the National Guard continue to patrol the main levee to assure its integrity and there are no active repair projects under way at this time.

The breach was in the south berm of Saint Mary’s Drainage District, which is south of Allis Road and west of 182nd Street.

OMAHA, Neb. – Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the VA wants to Welcome Home you home, buy you dinner and offer an evening of fun! The Department of Veterans Affairs is hosting the 2011 Welcome Home Celebration for Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families Aug. 26 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Amazing Pizza Machine, 13955 ‘S Plaza, Omaha.

The event provides an opportunity for the VA and the community to thank Veterans for serving in Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and New Dawn. The VA will provide the complimentary dinner and game cards for the Veterans, spouses and their children.
Veterans who served in one of the campaigns listed above, or spouses of a currently serving Iraq or Afghanistan service member are encouraged to attend. Any additional guests beyond the veteran’s spouse or children will be charged $12 per person. It also serves as a one-stop event for the veterans and their families to learn about the VA benefits that they are eligible for.

Representatives will be available with informational tables from the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, Veterans Benefit Administration’s Regional Office in Lincoln, Neb., Vet Centers, and other community resources.

For information about VA programs and services for returning veterans in Nebraska and western Iowa, visit www.nebraska.va.gov. The VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System proudly serves more than 167,660 veterans in Nebraska, western Iowa and portions of Kansas and Missouri. Omaha’s medical center is an inpatient facility and also a large outpatient clinic for primary and specialty care. The Community Living Center is in Grand Island.

There are community-based outpatient clinics in Lincoln, Grand Island, North Platte, Holdrege, Norfolk, Bellevue and Shenandoah, Iowa; and an outreach clinic in O’Neill, Neb. For more information, visit http://www.nebraska.va.gov.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Council Bluffs has hired an engineering consulting firm to help assess damage from a summer of flooding along the Missouri River and recommend repairs. The City Council hired the company on Monday. The cost will depend on the amount of damage discovered, but the city won’t spend more than $500,000 unless the council agrees to go higher.

The city will provide an inventory of storm and sanitary sewers, streets and roads and zoning maps.

Public Works Director Greg Reeder says information developed by the company firm will be sent to the U.S. Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in hopes of obtaining their assistance. Reeder says the corps is interested in the assessment of the city’s levees, while FEMA is interested in everything else.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A company spokesman is blaming Missouri River flooding for a pipeline break that happened earlier this month between Onawa, Iowa, and Decatur,  Nebraska. The break happened Aug. 13 and caused an unknown amount of natural gasoline to pour into the river. Natural gasoline is an unrefined, clear liquid that gets blended with refined gasoline. The underground pipe is operated by Houston-based Enterprise Products, which initially wasn’t sure what caused the break.

Company spokesman Rick Rainey said Wednesday it’s clear that flooding caused erosion, leading to the break. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the break  didn’t cause environmental problems because the fuel was dispersed in the enormous water flow. It’s not clear how much fuel spilled, but the broken section of pipe can hold up to 140,000 gallons.