United Group Insurance

Vietnam Vets encouraged to seek medical services related to Agent Orange

News

May 3rd, 2011 by Ric Hanson

Veterans of the Vietnam War who may be suffering from the effects of Agent Orange are being encouraged to sign-up for the “Agent Orange Registry,” at your local county veteran’s affairs office. Dan Gannon, with the Iowa Commission of Veteran’s Affairs says the registry enables you to receive a health check-up at no cost. Gannon says you’ll be checked for at least 18 different cancers and diseases.

Agent Orange was an herbicide and defoliant used in the jungles of Vietnam, to remove the dense plant growth and deprive enemy guerrillas of their cover. The chemicals were applied at 13 times as high as the legal USDA limit.

The mixture of 2-4-D and 2-4-5-T contained an extremely toxic Dioxin compound that was later proven to have caused birth defects in children and other maladies. Gannon says recent studies show Diabetes Type 2, Parkinson’s Disease, various types of soft cells cancers, respiratory diseases and other conditions that develop over time.

Gannon, who was a Marine platoon leader in Vietnam from 1969-1970, says he wasn’t diagnosed a form of cancer until 2003. The only reason he found out he had cancer, was because his employer required a physical exam.

He says Vietnam Vets don’t need to file a claim to have a thorough examination. He says the Agent Orange Registry exam can be requested, and performed at, any V-A Hospital.

Even if you have been denied a claim for treatment or examination based on your suspicion Agent Orange may have caused an illness, Gannon says you should sign-up for the Registry. He says you served your country, and the country owes its veterans a lot.

He adds that if you can prove you were in Vietnam “Boots on the ground,” you are entitled to compensation in the form of medical care. For more information, go to the U-S Department of Veteran’s Affairs Website at www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/registry.asp

Vietnam Vet’s Remembrance Ceremony this weekend

News

May 3rd, 2011 by Ric Hanson

A ceremony honoring veterans of the Vietnam War will be held 10-a.m. Saturday in Des Moines. The event takes place at the Vietnam Memorial on the south side of the State Capital. The keynote address will be given by Vietnam Veteran, and former Army Nurse, Mary Ellen White. Dan Gannon, a platoon leader who was with the Marine Corps in Vietnam from 1969-to 1970 and was wounded in combat, says women who served in Vietnam were not given the recognition they deserved until 1993, when a memorial was erected in their honor near the Memorial Wall in Washington, D-C.

Gannon who’s a member of the Iowa Commission on Veteran’s Affairs, says more than 256,000 women served in the Army, Navy, and Air Force during the war years. Among them, 11,000, mostly nurses and medical specialists, served in-country and in or near combat zones. Eight nurses were killed in action during the war.

The event being held Saturday is the third in Iowa since a resolution was passed by the legislature in 2008, marking May 7th as the official Iowa Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day. Gannon says it serves as a precursor to an even bigger event scheduled to take place in September.

The Dignity Memorial provider network created the replica in 1990. Its black, reflective surface is inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 servicemen and women who died or are missing in Vietnam. The Wall arrive at Prairie Meadows Race Track and Casino, and be escorted to the RestHaven Cemetery at 19th and Ashworth in Des Moines, where it will be open for public viewing, beginning September 16th.

The Patriot and American Legion riders will be a part of the escort. Gannon says over 10,000 people are expected to visit the wall. Paper and pencils will be provided so visitors can make rubbings of names etched on the wall. Additional information will be made available to visitors at Saturday’s ceremony in Des Moines. Limited parking is available near the memorial. Additional parking is available to the east of the memorial, and near the Lucas Building.

The Iowa Vietnam Veteran’s Wall contains the names of 853 Iowans who died during the war, include four from Cass County.

CCMH Emergency Dept. entrance to be relocated

News

May 3rd, 2011 by Ric Hanson

Officials with the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic said today (Tuesday), that the Emergency Department Entrance at CCMH will be relocated effective May 4th, at 7-am. All traffic – private vehicles and ambulances – taking patients to the Emergency Department will need to use the south entrance off 10th Street, which used to be marked as Ambulance Only. Signs will be posted to direct traffic to the new Emergency Department entrance.

The ED Entrance is moving to a temporary location on the south end of the building where it will remain for about 18 months until the hospital addition, which includes a new Emergency Department, is completed. There will be signs inside the building to direct patients from the new entrance to the ED Admissions area. The actual Emergency Department and Admissions have not moved, but patients will be approaching from a different direction than before. The current ED entrance on the east side of the building will be unavailable due to the construction of the addition.

There will be very limited parking at the temporary entrance, so only vehicles bringing a patient for emergency care will be able to park at this entrance. Other people coming to the ED, either to check on an emergency patient or register for same day surgery, should continue to drive around the north end of the building to the East Entrance.

05-03-2011 Backyard and Beyond

Podcasts

May 3rd, 2011 by admin

Lavon speaks with Jeff Ward, Executive Director for the Agricultural Development Authority, about the Iowa Agricultural Youth Institute: what it is and how to enroll.
Play

05-03-2011 Across Oceans

Podcasts

May 3rd, 2011 by admin

Weekly edition of Across Oceans Across Time from the Danish Immigrant Museum.

Play

Trojan/Trojann Relays Results

Sports

May 3rd, 2011 by Jim Field

Girls Team Scores:

  1. Harlan  180
  2. Atlantic  105
  3. Thomas Jefferson  68
  4. Glenwood  54
  5. Lewis Central  54
  6. Abraham Lincoln  42
  7. Creston  27
  8. Clarinda  26
  9. St. Albert  19
  10. Shenandoah  13

Atlantic Place Winners:

1st Place:

  • 200 — Melanie Nielsen  :26.99
  • 3000 — Ali Krogman  10:59.78
  • Sprint Medley — Taylor Young, Kari Sandage, Sam Peterson, Alex Hartwig  1:55.56

2nd Place:

  • 1500 — Ali Krogman  5:13.06
  • 4 x 100 — Melanie Nielsen, Kari Sandage, Mackenzie Holmes, Sam Peterson  :52.94
  • 4 x 200 — Melanie Nielsen, Mackenzie Holmes, Taylor Young, Sam Peterson  1:51.61
  • 4 x 800 — Sam Peterson, Shelby Worth, Liz Siggins, Jessica Arneson  10:33.46

3rd Place:

  • 400 — Alex Hartwig  1:02.08
  • 1500 — Christy Stevens  5:21.44
  • 4 x 400 — Melanie Nielsen, Taylor Young, Shelby Worth, Alex Hartwig  4:19.84

4th Place:

  • 800 — Jessica Arneson  2:33.52
  • 3000 — Christy Stevens  11:40.7
  • 400 Hurdles — Amanda Gude  1:13.16
  • Distance Medley — Kristin Johnk, Taylor Young, Shelby Worth, Jessica Arneson  4:41.21
  • Shuttle Hurdle — Mackenzie Holmes, Sam McConnell, Paige Kennon, Amanda Gude  1:12.96
  • Discus — Paige Kennon  111-08

6th Place:

  • Long Jump — Mackenzie Holmes  14-06

Boys Team Scores:

  1. Glenwood  160.5
  2. Abraham Lincoln  83
  3. St. Albert  66
  4. Atlantic  65
  5. Harlan  50
  6. Lewis Central  47
  7. Shenandoah  45
  8. Clarinda  18.5
  9. Red Oak  16
  10. Denison  7

Atlantic Place Winners:

1st Place:

  • Discus — Tyler Hovey  157-10

2nd Place:

  • 200 — Daniel Thomsen  :23.74
  • 800 — Luke Karamitros  2:05.26
  • 1600 — Luke Karamitros  4:39.11
  • 4 x 800 — Parker Hoye, Trevor Knuth, Luke Karamitros, Blake Esbeck  8:28.89
  • Distance Medley — Ryan McDermott, Tye Nielsen, Daniel Thomsen, Parker Hoye  3:49.91
  • Shot Put — Tyler Hovey  47-08

3rd Place:

  • 4 x 400 — Ethan Westering, Phillip Iekel, Blake Esbeck, Jake Auerbach  3:35.89

6th Place:

  • 100 — Ethan Westering  :12.08

Monday Local Sports

Sports

May 3rd, 2011 by Jim Field

Monday Girls Soccer
Kuemper 3, Atlantic 0

Monday Boys Golf
Lewis Central 181, Denison 184
Medalist:  Nathan Cook (Denison) 39
Runner Up:  Nick Wimmer (LC) 43

Treynor 179, Underwood 195
Medalist: Brad Bailey (Treynor)  38
Runner-Up: Cole Chapin (Treynor)  42

Monday Girls Golf
Clarinda 187, Glenwood 244
Medalist: Sarah Steinauer (Clarinda)  40
Runner-Up: Jennifer Geer (Clarinda)  41

Treynor 187, Underwood 233
Medalist: Taylor Hill (Treynor) 41
Runner-Up: Morgan Jacobsen (Treynor) 45

Monday Girls Tennis
Denison 7, Lewis Central 2

Shenandoah Tops AHS Boys, Girls Tennis

Sports

May 3rd, 2011 by Jim Field

Girls  — Shenandoah 6, Atlantic 3 at Shenandoah

Singles
#1 Liz Metheny (A) over  MacKenzie Johnson (S) 8-2
#2 Sarina Mohrhardt (S) over Shelby Svoboda (A) 8-1
#3 Kelli Kroepel (S) over Carli Thornton (A) 8-4
#4 Morgan Allen (A) over Rachel Johnson (S) 8-6
#5 Tarynne Kinghorn (S) over Sarah Schreiner (A) 8-6
#6 Ashton Matheny (S) over Tierney Kamies 8-5

Doubles
#1 M. Johnson/Morhardt (S) over Metheny/Allen (A) 8-1
#2 Kroepel/R. Johnson (S) over Svoboda/Thornton (A) 9-7
#3 Schreiner/Kamies (A) over Kinghorn/Matheny (S) 9-7

Boys — Shenandoah 5, Atlantic 4 at Atlantic

Singles
#1 Mitch Leiferman (A) over Jeff Armstrong (S) 10-4
#2 Derek Tjepkes (A) over Adam Stauffer (S) 10-5
#3 Jacob Holmes (S) over Brett Dennis (A) 10-3
#4 Adam Heslinga (S) over Tyler Fischer (A) 10-8
#5 Andrew Rolf (S) over Blake Meneely (A) 10-7
#6 Noah Welter (A) over Trent Turney (S) 10-5

Doubles
#1 Leiferman/Tjepkes (A) over Armstrong/Heslinga (S) 10-8
#2 Stauffer/Holmes (S) over Fischer/Rob Nichols (A) 10-1
#3 Holmes/Bradley Young (S) over Branden Ballinger/Austin Conrad (A) 10-7

Lane restrictions on I-29 near Pacific Junction begin May 9

News

May 3rd, 2011 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – May 2, 2011 – Road construction work will cause lane restrictions in both directions of Interstate 29 from one mile south of the junction with U.S. 34 near Pacific Junction to just north of the rest areas in Mills County beginning May 9, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Council Bluffs construction office.

Traffic in this work zone will be restricted to one lane in each direction. Also, a 16-foot width lane restriction will be in place.

The project is expected to be completed in early December.

(DOT Press Release)

CAM Interim School Board approves early start application

News

May 3rd, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The CAM Community School District has approved applying to the Iowa Department of Education for permission to begin the 2011-2012 school year on August 17th, 2011.  Approval of the application to the D-E is necessary if districts wish to begin classes prior to September 1st. 

The D-E’s policy says classroom days for students can begin no sooner than the week in which Sept. 1 falls.  If Sept. 1 falls on Sunday, then classes may begin during the previous week, but the Department of Education has authority to grant an earlier start to classes based on the completion of the request for early start as part of the spring Basic Educational Data Survey (BEDS). Regardless of when classes start, all students in Iowa must attend 180 days of classes, with the exception of Seniors, who are required to attend 175 days. 

In other business, the CAM Board approved a fire safety project which Superintendent Steve Pelzer says will cost a total of $30,000. Pelzer says the project will correct some deficiencies in the fire warning system at the high school, and make some needed improvements. The fire panel would be repaired, smoke detectors replaced and strobe units installed in the classrooms, among other things. 

The Board also approved an agreement with the Cass County Educational Opportunity Center for the 2011-2012 school year. In his report to the Board, High School Prinicipal Dominic Giegerich said there will be some changes to the curriculum for the coming school year, including those will create a required junior English course. He says it will teach the components of composition to all students. In the past, the required courses stopped after the sophomore year.

“Mr. G” as he’s known, says also the requirement for oral communications will be eliminated and folded into the English class, along with grammatical coursework and literature. 

Superintendent Steve Pelzer says the move would eliminate the need to share a teacher with another district, and will serve to increase the amount of reading and writing the students will be required to do.