The three thousand Iowa National Guard soldiers who recently returned from active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan aren’t facing a daily life-or-death mission any more– but many are facing the tough task of trying to find work as civilians when jobs are not plentiful. Becky Coady works with the Department of Defense agency know as the “Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.” She says finding a job was an issue for many soldiers before they left for active duty.”There were a significant number 730 of them stated that they were not employed prior to going on the deployment due to the recession,” Coady says.

One Iowa guard member — 22-year-old Joe Carr of Pleasant Hill — said he had only a temporary job when he was called up. “And that was pretty much all I could get, and I had that until I deployed,” Carr said. Temporary positions aren’t covered under the federal law protecting soldiers’ jobs while they are on active duty, so the army private is looking for work. He repaired drone aircraft in Iraq. He says he got back to Iowa on July 15th and says he has not had very much luck in finding a job. “At first I was trying not to be picky, but I feel my skills earn me a little bit, not a minimum wage job,” Carr says, “But its really hard in this economy to find anything.”

Sergeant Clay Chickering deployed with a Denison Iowa Guard unit, and was in the same boat. “I knew before I went on the deployment that when I came back I was going to be unemployed,” Chikering says. His manufacturing job got moved out of state while he was overseas. In Iraq he ran raids on houses suspected of harboring the Taliban. That kind of background makes some civilian jobs less appealing. “I don’t want to be sitting behind a desk doing a telemarketing job,” Chickering says, “It is kind of nerve-racking knowing that there’s a lot of people that are looking for work. Now that I’m off active duty I’m going to go ahead and file for unemployment.”

Iowa Workforce Development is trying to help the soldiers by taking its job search program directly to armories around the state.

(Radio Iowa)

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrests of two people Thursday on unrelated charges.

At about 11:45 AM Thursday, the sheriff’s office arrested 20-year-old Yvonna Inlay of Sioux City for possession of drug paraphernalia following a traffic stop on highway 34 near Stanton. Inlay was cited and released.

At about 1:00 PM Thursday, the sheriff’s office arrested 26-year-old Aaron Lucas Allen of Red Oak for breach of peace following an incident in the 300 block of Hilltop in Stanton. Allen was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and being held on $300 bond.

With less than 24-hours before the deadline to file nomination papers for the Cass County District 2 seat on the Board of Supervisors, a total of five people have taken steps to have their names placed on the ballot for the November 8th Special Election. Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman said as of 5-p.m. Thursday,those nominated by petition include: Donald W. Lappe, Pat McCurdy, Jeff J. Richter, and Kathy Somers, all of Atlantic.

Each of those individuals, along with Gaylord Schelling, of Atlantic, who was nominated by Republican convention, will be on the ballot in November. Nomination papers to fill the seat on the Board of Supervisors, which was left vacant by the death of Chuck Kinen, must be filed by no later than 5-p.m. Friday, September 23rd.

Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds has announced that she will hold four town hall meetings in Western Iowa on Monday, September 26th,  and Wednesday, September 28th. The events, which are open to the public, will be held in Jefferson, Guthrie Center, Winterset, and Atlantic.

On September 26th, Reynolds will be: in Jefferson, 11:30-a.m., at the Greene County Community Center; in Guthrie Center at 1:30-p.m., in the Public Hearing Room at the Guthrie County Courthouse;  and, the  Lt. Governor along with Iowa Congressman Tom Lathamm will hold a town hall meeting in Madison County, beginning at 3-p.m., in the Winterset High School Auditorium.

On Wednesday, Reynolds will hold a Cass County town hall meeting beginning at 1-p.m., at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce.
For more information please visit www.ltgovernor.iowa.gov.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad has ordered flags flown at half-staff Friday to honor a volunteer firefighter and state trooper who died in separate accidents this week.

Firefighter Michael Collins of Shelby was struck by a vehicle and killed while directing traffic Sunday around a car accident on Interstate 80 in western Iowa. Trooper Mark Toney was killed when his patrol vehicle crashed while on patrol near Indianola on Tuesday. Collins’ funeral is scheduled for Friday. Toney’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday. Flags flown at all state buildings and facilities across the state will be flown at half-staff from Friday until Monday. Individuals, businesses, schools, cities and counties are encouraged to also lower their flags to half-staff during that time.

An eight-person jury in Atlantic deliberated for less than two-hours Wednesday afternoon before finding an Adair man to be a sexually violent predator. According to Cass County District Court documents, 52-year old David Charles Whetstone was remitted to the custody of the Director of the Department of Human Services, where he will be controlled, receive care and treatment for “His mental abnormality” until he is deemed safe for placement in a transitional release program, or discharged. The court made it clear his was a civil, and NOT a criminal, commitment.

Whetstone was immediately sent to the DHS Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders on the campus of the Cherokee Mental Health Institute, in Cherokee, where in addition to treatment, he will receive an annual medical examination of his mental state of being. The judge also said Whetstone must register as a sex offender before he is released from confinement, and submit a sample of his DNA to be kept on file. The sentence is subject to appeal.

In May 2008, Whetstone was found guilty of Assault with the Intent to Commit Sexual Abuse, an aggravated serious misdemeanor offense. The incident which led to his arrest and conviction occurred on April 4th, 2008. He was sentenced in August of that year to a two-year prison term. Prior to his release from prison and parole, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office filed a petition to have Whetstone committed, as an “extremely dangerous sexually violent predator.”

A little more than two-years earlier, Whetstone pled guilty to a charge of Disorderly Conduct, and was ordered to pay a $100 fine, following an incident which occurred between Whetstone and Greenfield Republican Representative Clel Baudler. Baulder told KJAN News in February 2006, that Whetstone had been harassing him for nearly a year, and had made veiled threats against his life.