The Atlantic Board of Education will meet the new Atlantic Middle School Principal tonight, during a scheduled work session at the high school. Cameron Smith was hired by the board April 12^th. Smith comes to Atlantic from the Garner-Hayfield School District, where he served as the K-through 8^th Grade Principal and Athletic Director.

Cam will succeed AMS Principal Todd Roecker, who had earlier announced he would be retiring from the district at the end of this month (June).

In other business, the Atlantic School Board will move into a closed session for an annual evaluation of the Superintendent. Their work session begins at 7:30-p.m. in the Atlantic High School Media Center.

Officials with the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce say Chamber members will be visited this week by members of the Chamber’s staff and board of directors, to encourage members to “Get the Scoop” about the Chamber at a new program called 12@12.

Megan Roberts, Membership and Special Projects Coordinator for the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, says they invite all members of the Atlantic Chamber to come to the office at the historic Rock Island Depot, have a free lunch, and talk with Chamber staffers about what the Chamber does for its members, and what they’re working on.

The 12@12 sessions include a free lunch to 12 members at 12 noon, and multiple dates and times will be offered during the late summer and early fall. Several early morning breakfast options will be given to members as well.

The 12@12 lunches also provide time for the Chamber staff to listen to their members. Roberts says — quote — “We want to hear what their challenges are and what they need from us. We can prepare educational sessions, do research, and help our members find solutions, but often the first challenge we face is just finding the time to communicate with each other, and that’s what 12@12 is about.”

Local businesses will be given an invitation to sign up for the sessions along with an ice cream scoop, a small gift of appreciation from the organization. The staff and board members will start delivering scoops today and continue over the next two days.

Police in Atlantic said Monday two area residents were arrested Saturday on separate charges. Officials say 19-year old Devin Gardner, of Exira, was taken into custody for Driving While Suspended. And, 34-year old Frank Dambra, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving While Revoked, along with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Both men were booked into the Cass County Jail.

BLAIR, Neb. (AP) – The utilities that run Nebraska’s two nuclear power plants are trying to knock down persistent rumors about safety as Missouri River floodwaters approach. Federal regulators and the media have toured Fort Calhoun and Cooper nuclear plants this week. Omaha Public Power District CEO Gary Gates says there’s no chance of a disaster like the one in Japan after an earthquake and tsunami struck.

The key difference is the river flooding has progressed slowly, giving utilities plenty of preparation time. Fort Calhoun has at least nine backup power sources in place, including six different power lines and two diesel generators.

Cooper also has two main lines of outside power, at least three generators on site and a battery system that can power the plant in an emergency.

The Iowa Association of Realtors reports that home sales increased just over 14-percent in May and the average sale price for homes was up six-point-four-percent. Association president, Kurt Schade  of Des Moines, says it’s good to see the numbers go up. He says all real estate is local, but they see some positive trends across the state in sales prices and the number of sales. The association reported 28-hundred- 73 homes sold in May compared to 25-hundred-19 in April. The average sale price of homes was 141-thousand-942 in May, compared to 133-thousand-418 in April. Schade says sales generally start moving up this time of year.

He says they had good weather in May and the pool of buyers was up as people like to move once school is out. Schade says the upward trend could continue if the market conditions don’t change. Schade says if there is not any other action by the federal government that prevents people from getting loans, they believe buyers are looking to buy homes at prices comparable to the early 2000’s with low interest rates. Schade says the state has been lucky to avoid the major ups and downs that have plagued other states.

He says Iowa is a conservative state and that has shown in the housing market with no “significant appreciation” and also haven’t seen the devaluation that other states have seen recently. Twenty-three of Iowa’s 44 local boards reported increases in average sale price, while nine boards had increases in the number of sales from May 2010. Nineteen boards showed a decrease in the average number of days on the market.

(Dar Danielson/Radio Iowa)