The Iowa State Patrol reports a woman died this (Friday) morning during a collision in Page County. 31-year old Cassie Ray Williams, of Stanton, who was wearing a seat belt, died at the scene of the accident at 1907 Redwood Avenue.

Officials say the crash happened as a 2008 Ford Taurus driven by Williams was southbound on Redwood Avenue at around 8:33-a.m. The car rear-ended a 2018 International 7400 truck, which was backing into the residence at 1907 Redwood. The driver of the truck, 37-year old Jeffrey Charles Blain Ryan, of Villisca, was not injured.

(Radio Iowa) — Law Enforcement Appreciation Day is next week and seven Iowa offices of LifeServe Blood Center will be taking blood donations from supporters of the men and women in blue. Shay Willis, spokeswoman for LifeServe, says the Blue Blood Drive is Wednesday and it’ll feature some great swag and appropriate after-donation treats.

“We have a super-cool t-shirt that all of our donors will receive,” Willis says, “and we will be giving away donuts in our canteen as part of our refreshments that day, thanks to some generous donors.” The event is being co-sponsored by Iowa COPS, Concerns of Police Survivors, which assists surviving families and affected co-workers of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Donors with all blood types are welcome as blood demands change from day to day.

“If you go to LifeServeBloodCenter.org, we update that every single day and we tell visitors how many days worth of a blood supply we have,” Willis says. “We also tell visitors to that website what types of blood we need.” LifeServe facilities taking part in the special event are located in: Ames, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, Mason City, Sioux City and Urbandale. Donating one pint of blood may help to save as many as three lives. Willis says it usually takes about 45 minutes to an hour to give blood.

“If you’ve never donated blood, the actual donation process should take just a few minutes,” Willis says. “What some people don’t always understand is that you have to answer some questions. We have to make sure it’s safe for you to give but that it’s also for us to make sure what you give is safe to provide to a patient in need.” LifeServe is the sole provider of blood to more than 120 hospitals in Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska. To schedule an appointment, call 800-287-4903 or visit www.lifeservebloodcenter.org

AUBURN, Neb. (AP) — A southeast Nebraska man is accused of stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of brass from his employer and selling it, including to a recycler in Pottawattamie County. Nemaha County, NE., court records say 26-year-old Justin Heard is charged with 11 counts of burglary and three of theft. Heard’s next court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. A court document says surveillance shows Heard loading brass into a vehicle at Magnolia Metal in rural Auburn. Investigators say he sold the brass for nearly $14,000 to a recycler in Council Bluffs. The records say the crimes began occurring in August.

ATLANTIC – Several scholarships are available to area students through Cass County Health System and its affiliate organizations. Cass County Health System offers a $1,000 scholarship to southwest Iowa students pursuing a four-year degree in a health-related career. Deadline is April 1, 2019.  Cass County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary provides grant-in-aid scholarships for students pursuing a health-related career. Deadline is April 1, 2019.

Cass County Health System Foundation is offering $10,000 in scholarships to students who are enrolled and have been accepted into a nursing or medical doctor educational program. The scholarships were established by a bequest from Louie and Elsie Hansen. Deadline is April 1, 2019. Applications are available on the Cass County Health System website, www.casshealth.org, and can be turned in to the Human Resources Office or the guidance office at any Cass County high school by the respective deadlines listed above.

For more information, contact Ann McCurdy, Public Relations Coordinator, 712-243-7405.

From The Iowa State Patrol’s District 21 – Headquarters:  There were a total of 319 fatalities on Iowa roadways in 2018. Slow down, put the phone down, and buckle up!!!

Click on the map to enlarge

The Page County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa State Patrol are investigating a fatal accident that took place at around 8:30- this (Friday) morning, north of Clarinda. According to reports, the accident happened on County Road J-20 (or, Redwood Avenue), about one and a half miles north of Clarinda. Additional information is currently not available. Check back for updates.

(Radio Iowa) — The Jasper County Board of Supervisors have approved a new on-site video visitation system for the county jail that would charge visitors and will eventually generate revenue for the county. Sheriff John Halferty got unanimous approval for installation of the new system this week that he says would replace the old outdated system used now. He says the current system is a video monitor with a phone that families can schedule and come in and use a monitor and a phone handset to talk to inmates.  Halferty says it has become hard to maintain and fix the old system, and it does not generate any revenue for the county. A Delaware company called HomeWAV will provide the new system. “They will install approximately 12-thousand dollars worth of equipment at no cost to us initially. They would just take the revenue from the new system that the inmates are using and pay off that 12-thousand dollars,” Halferty explains.

Sheriff Halferty says four-thousand dollars for the installation of cabling is the only start-up cost, and that will come out of his budget. The county will get paid once the revenue from the service pays off the cost of the rest of the new equipment. “They estimate at the current use it would take about three-and-a-half years,” Halferty says, “so we would not see any revenue for three-and-a-half years, but after three-and-a-half years we would then see revenue on this new system that we previously never got revenue on.”

HomeWAV will maintain and service it. Those using the system to visit with inmates will be charged 25-cents fore each minute. Once the cost of the equipment installation has been paid for, the county will get 20-percent of the revenue generated by the system and HomeWAV will get the other 80 percent. The supervisors approved a five-year contract for the new system.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) today (Friday) announced the first flu-related death of the 2018-2019 influenza season, a middle-aged (41-60 years of age) Eastern Iowa man, who had underlying conditions or contributing factors. IDPH Medical Director, Dr. Caitlin Pedati, says this death is an indication that flu can be a serious illness. “This death is an unfortunate reminder the flu virus does have the potential to cause severe illness and death, especially in the very young, very old, or those who have underlying health conditions.”

After 10 weeks of low influenza activity in Iowa, flu activity has increased over the last three weeks and influenza has been reported in every region of the state. The CDC recommends that essentially everyone over 6 months of age should receive the flu vaccine. It takes up to two weeks after vaccination for the body to achieve full benefit against the flu virus.

The flu is a respiratory illness caused by viruses. The flu comes on suddenly and symptoms may include fever, headache, tiredness, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and body aches. Illness typically lasts two to seven days, and often puts healthy people in bed for days. The “stomach bug” which causes diarrhea and vomiting is not caused by the influenza virus, but usually by norovirus; thus, the flu vaccine will not protect you against this illness.

To learn more about influenza in Iowa, visit http://idph.iowa.gov/influenza. Contact your health care provider or local health department to find out where the vaccine is available in your community or use the Flu Vaccine Finder at https://vaccinefinder.org.

(Radio Iowa) — There’s still no sign of an eastern Iowa man who’s now been missing for three weeks.  Thirty-one-year-old Chris Bagley was last seen in the Cedar Rapids-area on December 14, after leaving his home in Walker the previous day without his wallet. His wife said Bagley left with a person she didn’t know. Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner says it’s being investigated as a missing person’s case. Bagley has made no calls to his family, which has offered a $25,000 reward for his safe return.

Chris Bagley

The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office reports 38-year old Robert Girard, of Lenox, was arrested this (Friday) morning, in the 1000 block of Tennessee Avenue, in Taylor County. Girard was taken into custody on active Union and Adams County warrants for failure to appear on previous charges. He was transported to Adams County where he was being held, pending an appearance before a magistrate.