(Anita, Iowa) – Members of the CAM School Board met during a work session Monday evening, in Anita. No action was taken, but the Board did discuss matters pertaining to enrollment and the possible consolidation of grades. Shared CAM/Nodaway Valley School District Superintendent Paul Croghan explained the Board talked about General Fund expenditure savings.

Croghan says they knew after the enrollment count on October that they would be down 27 students, so they began to look at class sizes, including Kindergarten.

The Board talked about other scenarios and things they could do and the process in steps and reductions to align the budget with student enrollment.

Croghan said “We have three buildings and when you have 15 students, that’s [grade consolidation discussions] are all part of the process.”

(Harlan, Iowa) -Officials with the Harlan Police Department report the arrest on March 3rd, of 19-year-old Keagan Shawn Bates, from Harlan. Bates was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Domestic Abuse Assault.

(Creston, Iowa) –  A distracted driver ended-up in an accident Tuesday morning, in Union County. The Sheriff’s Department reports a 2004 Chevy Impala driven 18-year-old Caleb Matthew Pearson, of Corning, and a 2015 Ford F-350 pickup pulling a trailer, were both traveling east on Highway 34 at around 8:25-a.m. The pickup was driven by 48-year-old Grant Lee Plowman, of Creston.

When the pickup/trailer signaled to turn and stopped for oncoming traffic, the trailer was struck from behind by the Chevy. Neither driver was injured. Damages amounted to $10,500. Pearson told deputies he was on his cell phone and had it sitting on his lap. When he looked down at the phone, and then looked up, he suddenly noticed the stopped pickup and trailer in front of him, but it was too late to avoid the collision.

The airbags on the Impala deployed during the impact. Authorities cited Pearson for Failure to Stop in an assured clear distance, and use of electronic communication device.

(Radio Iowa) – A new poll finds Iowa’s “Bottle Bill” remains popular with 84 percent of those surveyed. Sixty-one percent said they want more cans and bottles added to the nickle deposit list and more places to return empties. Cleaner Iowa, a non-profit that supports the Bottle Bill, financed the survey. R.G. Schwarm is the group’s executive director. “It reinforces what we believed what consumers and Iowans want,” he says, “and that’s convenience redemption.”

The poll was conducted by Selzer and Company, the firm that does The Des Moines Register Iowa Poll. Ann Selzer says after respondents heard a list of arguments for and against the law, the number who supported expanding it grew to 70 percent. “There aren’t that many issues that get that kind of support,” Selzer said, “so I think this really tells the story right there.”

Mick Barry, president of MidAmerica Recycling in Des Moines, is a member of the national recycling coalition board of directors. “Iowans are ready to see the system updated to help increase the convenience and to cover additional one-time-use containers,” he says.

A five-cent deposit is charged on bottles and cans of beer, carbonated beverages, wine and liquor. The poll found a narrow majority would support raising the deposit fee to 10 cents. A solid majority said retailers that sell beverages should take the empties and pay back deposits. State legislators are considering making changes to the Bottle Bill.

AMES, Iowa – March 9, 2022 – The Iowa Transportation Commission will hold a public input meeting in Council Bluffs at the Mid-America Center, One Arena Way, on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, to hear about transportation matters from representatives of local government, interest groups, and individuals. Items that may be discussed at the meeting include the Iowa Transportation Improvement Program; transportation policies; and highway, aviation, rail, river, bicycle, pedestrian, and public transit issues.

A brief business meeting will begin at 8 a.m. immediately followed by the public input meeting. A detailed agenda will be posted on https://www.news.iowadot.gov/ prior to the meeting.

For more information concerning the meeting or to obtain a scheduled time on the agenda, contact the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Program Management Bureau, 800 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa 50010, telephone 515-239-1288 or email shawn.majors@iowadot.us. Please include the general topic you wish to discuss. The statements, presentations, or suggestions should be 10 minutes or less.

On Monday, April 11, the commissioners will meet informally and tour transportation projects in southwest Iowa. No action will be taken on transportation-related matters during the tour.

The Creston Police Department reports 54-year-old James Leroy Jones, of Creston, was arrested at around 9:15-p.m. Tuesday, at his home. Jones faces charges of Domestic Abuse Assault and Violation of a No Contact Order. He was transported to the Union Co Jail and held without bond, until seen by the Magistrate.