Atlantic, IA —On Monday, December 21, Cass County Public Health received 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine. This vaccine will be used in accordance with Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) guidance to begin vaccinating phase 1A healthcare personnel. Cass County Public Health Director Beth Olsen says “While we were not expecting our shipment until a little later in this week, we were very happy to have the vaccine in our hands yesterday. Thanks to great partnerships and planning, I’m also pleased to announce that we were able to start vaccinating frontline healthcare workers today.”

The 500 doses that are now in Cass County are specifically for healthcare personnel. These parameters are set by the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), and includes the following workers:

• Healthcare personnel (HCP) with direct or indirect patient contact.
• Health care personnel are defined as paid and unpaid persons serving in health care settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials.

Dr. Angela Weppler receives her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (photo submitted)

According to Olsen, “The largest healthcare provider in the county is Cass County Health System, and many of the doses are allocated for their staff members. However, we know that there are still healthcare workers in the county who are eligible to receive the vaccine at this time. We need those community members to take a brief survey so that we can schedule their vaccination through Cass County Public Health.”

Examples of jobs that would qualify for vaccination at this time include, but are not limited to:

• Critical care
• Emergency Department
• Infectious Disease
• Hospitalists
• Primary Care
• Anesthesia
• Respiratory Therapy
• Emergency Medical Services
• Phlebotomy
• Pharmacy
• Radiology
• Federally Qualified Health Center
• COVID-19 Vaccinators of Essential Populations
• COVID-19 Specimen collectors
• Staff/physicians of urgent care centers
• Acute care clinic
• Clinical laboratory
• Hospice
• Home health
• Physical Therapy
• Rehabilitation

Olsen says “If there are Cass County residents who work in these areas, and they want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, they should take the survey on casshealth.org/covid-19 as soon as possible so that we can administer their first dose within 30 days.”.

No Public Vaccine Yet: It may be several weeks or months before the vaccine is readily available for the public. There is currently no waiting list or sign-up for the public. According to Olsen  “Just today [Tuesday] Governor Reynolds introduced the next phases of vaccination, which may include groups like law enforcement, teachers, and elderly adults. As we receive more direction from IDPH, and as we find out more about our future shipments of vaccine, we will continue to communicate with Cass County residents about vaccine availability.”

(Radio Iowa) – State health officials say COVID-19 vaccinations will start Monday (Dec 28th) for residents and staff of Iowa’s long-term care facilities, while several thousand Iowa health care workers have already gotten the first round of shots. Kelly Garcia, director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, says the -next- phase of vaccinations will target Iowans 75 and older and front-line essential workers, including first responders, teachers and workers in food and ag-related manufacturing. Garcia says they’re laying out a third phase of recipients as well.

(As said: Adults 65-74 and individuals 16-64 with high risk conditions)

The first shipments of the Moderna vaccine began arriving in Iowa yesterday (Monday) and Governor Kim Reynolds says they’re being distributed in all 99 counties. Already, more than 84-hundred health care workers have been inoculated against COVID-19 with the first vaccine round from Pfizer.

(HAYWARD, Calif., A-P) California authorities say they have charged a convicted killer with the 1988 kidnapping and slaying of a 9-year-old girl, whose mother now lives in southwest Iowa. Michaela Joy Garecht disappeared from a market in the San Francisco Bay Area after riding her scooter there with a friend. Her body has never been found. Police say they only recently were able to match a partial palm print at the scene to David Misch, who’s in prison for killing a woman. Misch was charged Monday with murder and kidnapping. He’s scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.

Michaela Garecht, 9, went missing from outside a Hayward shop in 1988.

Michaela’s mother, who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, issued a statement to the media in California, Monday. It reads:

“Over the years, I often wondered whether I really wanted to know the truth of what happened to Michaela,” she wrote. “I wondered if I would be able to take it. When I received news of the kidnapper having been identified, I asked the hard questions of Detective Purnell, of what method this man used to kill his victims, and received answers, and they were not easy.

“When I had doubted whether I would want to know, it always came back to, if Michaela could experience it, I could hear it. Because it’s not about me. It’s never been about me, about my feelings. It is and always has been about Michaela. What I have been through is nothing. What I feel is not important. It is only about Michaela.”

(Radio Iowa) – Davenport police are investigating a fatal crash involving a bicycle. Police say a motorized bicycle was headed the wrong way on a one-way street in a residential neighborhood just north of Davenport’s downtown after 10 o’clock on Monday night. Investigators say the cyclist, a 46-year-old man, hit an oncoming car head-on.

He was taken to Genesis East Medical Center where he died of his injuries. Police say the victim was from Davenport but haven’t released his name.

(Radio Iowa) – As you look for some last-minute gifts for Christmas, the Iowa Lottery is running its annual “appropriate gifting” campaign. Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer, explains: “That campaign is just our gentle reminder to folks that we have always considered lottery tickets for the adult marketplace or the grownups on your list,” Neubauer says. Someone who is under 21 can’t purchase a lottery ticket and they can’t cash it in if they win. “So we just encourage people if they are giving lottery tickets as gifts to reserve those for folks who are 21 and older,” she says.

Neubauer says there a lot of gifts that have restrictions on them and their goal is to give a simple reminder to everyone that lottery tickets fall into that category.”Because this is not the year that we need to be coming out with a really harsh message for folks. I think we’ve all had more than enough things to worry about this year, and we wanted to be really gentle in our approach this time — but still get that message across,” Neubauer says.

Neubauer says the appropriate gifting campaign goes along with their message of playing responsibly and not overextending yourself when buying Iowa Lottery tickets.

Plans by the Audubon School Board to award bids for the Building Project were “Shot down,” according to Superintendent Eric Trager, by significantly higher than anticipated quotes. Bid day for the renovation project was last Friday (Dec. 18^th). Trager said they’re trying to figure out now, how to get the project back to what they originally estimated it to be.

Trager said the bid market right now is all over the board. The reasons vary, he says, but there’s no doubt the year of COVID has something to do with it.

He said they’re trying to work with the low bidders to figure out where they can maintain efficiency without compromising quality. Work on the restroom asbestos abatement project was postponed until they Board knows where they stand on the other projects. Bids for the project came in last Wednesday.

In other business, the Audubon School Board approved two new hires. Brittany Williams was hired as Junior High Girls Basketball Coach, and an Associate. In addition to the long discussion with regard to bids, the Board talked about their Return To Learn Plan for the Second Semester.

WEST BRANCH, Iowa (AP) — An investigation continues into a wrong-way accident that killed three people on an Iowa interstate highway. The Des Moines Register reports that the accident happened about 4:30 a.m. Monday on Interstate 80 near the town of West Branch in Cedar County. The Iowa State Patrol says 20-year-old Eric Nunez of Plano, Illinois, was driving a 2015 Nissan Altima eastbound in the westbound lanes when the car struck a Dodge Grand Caravan driven by 70-year-old Robert Larson of West Liberty.

Nunez, Robert Larson and Teresa Larson, 68, also of West Liberty, all died in the crash.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Democrat Rita Hart is asking the U.S. House to investigate and overturn the race that Iowa says she lost by six votes, arguing that 22 ballots were wrongly excluded and others weren’t examined during the recount. The campaign provided the notice of contest to The Associated Press and announced its filing Tuesday morning. In the document, Hart argues that she would have netted 15 votes and defeated Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks had the 22 ballots been counted in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District.

Hart is asking the Democratic-led House to count those votes and conduct a uniform recount throughout the district’s 24 counties. She says she is confident she will be ahead after that process and declared the winner.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa. (AP) — A jury trial is scheduled for February for a man accused of killing his step-sister in Iowa nearly 22 years ago. The Council Bluffs Nonpareil reports that an attorney for Matt W. Kennedy entered a not guilty plea on his behalf on Friday. Court records show the trial will begin Feb. 2. Kennedy remains jailed on $1 million bond. Kimberly Ratliff’s body was found inside her car on Jan. 12, 1999, in Council Bluffs. Police say Ratliff’s throat had been slashed.

Kennedy, who is now 52, was arrested in October. An arrest affidavit says advancements in DNA technology enabled police to link him to the killing.

The Griswold School Board met Monday evening. Superintendent Dave Henrichs said the Board accepted the resignation of Chase Wallace as Middle School Boys Track Coach, and approved the hiring of Matt Spunaugle to fill the position. The Board also received an update on the status of COVID-19 in the District. Henrichs said they discussed the current positivity rate in Cass County, which, as of Monday was 14.9%.

Henrichs said the Board over the past few months been discussing having their remote learners return to school, unless they have a medical exemption.

In other business, Business Manager Dan Rold presented information with regard to the closing of the FY 2020 Financial Books. The report showed the District’s Spending Authority increased from $1.1-million to $1.4-million, and the Solvency Ratio went from 12.48% to 20.87%. Henrichs said for schools their size, the range should be between 15 and 20-percent, so they feel good about that. They also had what Henrichs described as an “Outstanding” Audit Report.

The Griswold School Board approved the District’s Developed Special Education Plan. Henrichs said also, there will be Special Joint Board meeting with Lenox on January 6^th, to look at continuing the shared Superintendent’s position. And a Work Session will be held 4:30-p.m. January 6^th, for the purpose of a facilities assessment.