(Atlantic, Iowa) – When the Atlantic City Council met Wednesday evening (Aug. 17), they acted on passing the first reading of an amended ordinance, by means of adding a section regulating “Panhandling.” Councilman Pat McCurdy asked Police Chief Devin Hogue if the Ordinance (#1021) was really “necessary,” to which he replied,”yes,” because of the volume of Interstate traffic that tends to bring persons low on funds, to the City begging for money.

Councilman H. Lee Sisco recounted an incident of alleged aggressive panhandling that occurred a few days ago at around 7-a.m., in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

If, upon three readings the Ordinance is approved as written, panhandlers could be cited and fined $50. In other business, Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett reminded property owners of the need to control the weed population. The Mayor and others spent time last weekend removing or trimming weeds that were along the curbs of 7th Street.

The Mayor said property owners will be notified if their properties are not in compliance with the Code of Ordinances, with regard to weed/grass overgrowth along the curbs and properties.

On another note, the Mayor and Council were pleased by attendance last weekend, during AtlanticFest. Councilperson Elaine Otte said the were more than 200 vehicles registered for the car show. All those hungry people in the downtown area for AtlanticFest, kept the food truck vendors very busy.

Otte said one of the new food vendors say “they’ve never been as busy at another event,” as they were during AtlanticFest. Councilman Halder suggested making space for another food truck in the car show area, since most of the participants really don’t want to leave their vehicles while they get something to eat. Any such issues that cropped-up this year, will likely be resolved in-time for AtlanticFest 2023.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Mills County say no injuries were reported following a single-vehicle accident early this (Thursday) morning. Authorities say 18-year-old Jacob Hobbie, of Sidney, was driving a 2018 Dodge RAM pickup southbound on I-29 near mile marker 29, when the left rear tire blew out. The incident, which happened a little after 12-a.m., caused Hobbie to lose control of the vehicle. The pickup struck a guardrail on the east side of the road. A dollar amount of the damage is not available.

The Sheriff’s Office said also, A.M. Cohron & Son, Inc., reported an incident of Theft at around 6:50-a.m. today (Thursday). The theft took place in the area of Highway 34 and 295th Street, in Mills County. A description of the item(s) that were taken, and the dollar value, was not released.

(Audubon, Iowa) – The Audubon School Board held their regular monthly meeting Wednesday evening. Superintendent Eric Trager told the Board “It’s a busy week for us.”

Trager said during the meeting, the Audubon School Board approved a DMACC Student Teacher Observation Contract, Student Handbooks, a 28-E agreement with the North Central Consortium, Building Project change orders, and, a Mediation Settlement with the General Contractor for the Building Project.

The settlement was for part of the Delta (the difference between the original and final bid).

In the end, Eric Trager said, “We will finish the project on-time and on-budget.” He said there never was any explanation of why the contractor failed to perform as agreed to.

The bottom line is, there is zero financial impact to the District Patrons. Mr. Trager said, with regard to personnel, for all intents and purposes, they are fully-staffed for the upcoming school year.

(Creston, Iowa) – Two men were arrested on separate charges Wednesday night, in Creston. According to the Police Department, 35-year-old Brandon Whitfield, of Creston, was arrested at around 9:15-p.m. at his residence, on a Union County warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault. Whitfield was transported to the Union County Jail where he was waiting to be seen by Magistrate.

And, at around 10:15-p.m., Wednesday, 43-year-old Jason Ford, of Creston, was arrested at a Creston apartment complex, and charged with the Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Ford was cited at the scene and released on a summons to appear in court.