VERSAILLES, Mo. (AP) — The family of an Iowa man who drowned to death while handcuffed is upset that the former Missouri state trooper was allowed to do community service by helping with a live theater production after being convicted in the case. Anthony Piercy pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor boat violation in the 2014 death of Brandon Ellingson, who fell into the Lake of the Ozarks while in Piercy’s custody. Piercy was sentenced in September to 50 hours of community service and 10 days in jail.

The judge didn’t specify where community service had to be completed, so Piercy was given credit for working a play at the Royal Theatre in Versailles, Missouri. He has worked in community theater before, the Kansas City Star reported. “I thought it was a joke,” said Craig Ellingson, the father of the 20-year-old who drowned. “He (Piercy) had been in plays before, that was his hobby. That would be like me working at my company for community service. .. Basically, it was a picnic for him.”

Piercy’s hours were signed off by Cindy Davenport, the executive director of the Royal Arts Council Inc. She said Piercy assisted with the production and performances of the play. Helping out with a community play isn’t what community service should look like, said William Camm Seay, the special prosecutor who initially charged Piercy in December 2015.

Piercy pulled over Brandon Ellingson of Clive, Iowa, on the water for suspicion of boating while intoxicated in May 2014. He was taking Ellingson for a breath test when the Arizona State University student fell into the water. Piercy had put the wrong style of life jacket on the handcuffed man, causing the safety device to come off when he went into the water. The trooper was fired after Ellingson’s death. A lawsuit filed by Piercy looking to get his job back is ongoing.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State University’s unconstitutional crackdown on a pro-marijuana student group’s T-shirts will cost state taxpayers nearly $1 million in damages and legal fees.

Court documents indicate a judge approved $598,208 in attorney fees and costs on Wednesday. That amount is in addition to payments the state agreed to in January to settle the case including $75,000 each to Paul Gerlich and Erin Furleigh, the students who filed the lawsuit in 2014 and $193,000 to their lawyers for federal court appeals.

The $940,000 total doesn’t include work by the Iowa Attorney General’s office, which represented ISU administrators. The costs stem from a politically-motivated attempt by university administrators in 2012 to block T-shirt designs that featured the ISU mascot and a marijuana leaf. Judges found ISU administrators violated the students’ free-speech rights.

Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon reports the City of Atlantic will begin weekly testing of outdoor warning sirens this Friday (March 23rd), at noon. Sirens serve to alert residents to take shelter indoors and seek more information. While the outdoor warning system can be an effective method of notifying those that are outdoors, to seek shelter indoors, it is only one part of a comprehensive emergency warning system.

To receive emergency information during severe weather or other hazardous event you should get a NOAA weather radio, sign up for local emergency notifications, and tune in to local media reports, from radio, television or social media.

Kennon says “We are going to discontinue an “all-clear” siren for Atlantic. So now, if you hear an outdoor siren, you will know that it is a warning. If a siren sounds multiple times, additional warnings have been issued or additional hazards have emerged.”

To report a faulty siren please call 254-1500 or email mkennon@casscoia.us. In your message please include location of the siren and a description of the issues you believe are occurring. A reminder also, next week (March 26-30) is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa. The Statewide Tornado Drill will be held 10-a.m. Wednesday, March 28th.

To register for the Cass County Emergency Notification System, go to links located on the Cass County homepage (http://www.casscountyiowa.us/) or the Cass County EMA Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/CassCoEMA). If you need assistance, please contact Mike Kennon, Cass County Emergency Management Agency Coordinator at 712-243-1500.

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce is warning businesses that there is a company posing as the Atlantic Area Chamber, calling area businesses asking if they need to update their Chamber information> The caller requests personal information of some form. Chamber officials say it is not the Atlantic Chamber making those calls. The calls are coming from 712-986-7018. If you receive a call from this number, ignore it and don’t give out any information.

KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) — A Keokuk man has pleaded guilty to killing his mother in the home they shared. The Hawk Eye reports that 24-year-old Devan Williams described at his hearing Tuesday in Fort Madison how he smothered his mother with a pillow in January last year. He told the judge he did so to keep 54-year-old Lori Williams from screaming at him as they argued.

He’d been scheduled to go on trial April 24. His sentencing for second-degree murder is scheduled for May 18.

Cass County Treasurer Tracey J. Marshall is reminding property owners in the County, that Second-half tax payments of real estate and mobile homes now due. You can go online to pay your taxes at www.iowatreasurers.org

Credit and Debit cards are accepted, with a convenience fee. Deadline for payments without penalty is Monday April 2, 2018. Payments with a postmark of April 2, 2018 will be accepted without penalty.

Sheriff’s officials in Potttawattamie County report 36-year old Zachary Thomas Watts, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Tuesday afternoon, following a disturbance at a residence in Council Bluffs that involved his girlfriend. Watts was taken into custody for Burglary in the 2nd Degree, Domestic Assault with Injury, and Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree. He’s accused of causing about $400 damage by kicking-in a locked door at a residence on Capella Lane.

19-year old Cameron Steven Wilson, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Tuesday afternoon after he turned himself-in to the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant for Violation of Probation. Wilson was booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail. That same afternoon, 35-year old Staci Lynn Ashley, of Council Bluffs, turned herself-in on a warrant for Violation of Probation. She was also turned over to Corrections staff. And, a traffic stop Tuesday evening, resulted in the arrest of 30-year old Giovanni Alsonso Saracay, of Council Bluffs. Saracay was arrested for driving while revoked, and on a warrant for the same offense.

A Nebraska woman was arrested late Tuesday night in Pottawattamie County, after a Deputy investigated an accident at 21310 Old Lincoln Highway, where the female driver of the vehicle allegedly assaulted a 49-year old female bystander, and 25-year old Pott. County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Hansen. Hansen suffered minor injuries during the incident. 33-year old Sheri L. Ramirez, of Bennington, NE., was arrested for OWI/2nd offense, Assault on a Peace Officer, Simple Assault, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Failure to Maintain Control. After she was transported to the Pott. County Jail, Ramirez was found to be in possession of a red bag containing a suspected one-half gram of cocaine.

(DES MOINES) – A new website launched this week encourages Iowa employers and job seekers to explore Registered Apprenticeship opportunities. Earnandlearniowa.gov focuses on helping employers understand how a Registered Apprenticeship Program works, the value it brings to their business and the resources available to help them set up a Registered Apprenticeship Program. Job seekers can learn why a Registered Apprenticeship leads to a successful career.

Gov. Kim Reynolds was appointed to President Trump’s Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion last fall. She says the Registered Apprenticeship model is a proven solution for recruiting, training and retaining world-class talent in Iowa. Growing Registered Apprenticeship opportunities will also help Iowa reach its Future Ready Iowa goal of 70 percent of the workforce having education or training beyond high school by 2025. Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend says Registered Apprenticeship Programs include jobs in energy, information technology, health care, financial services, transportation, advanced manufacturing, food and beverage preparation and the building trades.

On the website, job seekers can research occupations where Iowa currently offers Registered Apprenticeship Programs and find names and contact information for Registered Apprenticeship Sponsors who offer a program. Employers can learn about the process for setting up a Registered Apprenticeship Program and the state funding available to sponsors. Earnandlearniowa.gov is a collaboration between Iowa Workforce Development, the U.S. Department of Labor/Office of Apprenticeship in Iowa and Iowa Economic Development Authority.

Two burglaries in Montgomery County are under investigation. Sheriff’s officials report both burglaries, which are believed to be connected, took place Tuesday, sometime between the hours of 7-a.m. and 5:30-p.m. They occurred at 2226 US Highway 71 north of Villisca, and at 2123 Nature Avenue, northwest of Stanton. Among the items reported missing, was cash, jewelry, and firearms. Authorities suspect at least two people were involved in the crimes, with one of the suspects possibly being a female.

A vehicle thought to be used by the suspects was described as being a full-size maroon or similar color, SUV. It’s believed that the people involved have been in the Montgomery and Page County area for the last few days and may have come into contact with residents in the rural setting. Anyone having contact with persons that may have stopped at a rural residence asking for assistance or anyone seeing any unfamiliar vehicles, should contact Law Enforcement immediately. Southwest Iowa residents, especially rural residents, should make sure their doors, windows, outbuildings, and vehicles are kept locked.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Red Oak Police Department in the gathering of forensic evidence.

The new license plate design picked by voters at this year’s Iowa State Fair will start showing up in a handful of counties in the next few weeks. Iowa Department of Transportation spokesperson, Andrea Henry, says the new plates went into production this week and will go out to the counties which need a new supply. “We have an automatic inventory reordering system that tracks the number of plates each county treasurer has,” Henry says, “but we do have a list of eight counties who will be receiving them first. Those are: Crawford , Palo Alto, Carroll, Clinton, Emmet, Fayette, Hancock and Muscatine counties.”

The plates will feature the new design — which is a reboot of the old plates — and will be made of a new material. “We are actually using a new high-definition sheeting which is a new product that our vendor has out that provides better reflectivity for the plates themselves,” Henry says.  She says license plates are replaced for each vehicle very ten years. “So it depends on where you are at in that ten-year cycle. So, say if you just received a brand new plate last year — you will not receive another new plate for another nine years,” she says.

Henry says if you don’t want to wait a long time for the new design, you can get it for a small fee. “If anyone would like the new plate and are really anxious to do that, they can request that from the county treasurers and it just costs five dollars and they can get that new design and the brand new plate,” Henry says. The selection of the new plate design created some controversy in the state. The D-O-T created the design in house to save money and the three final designs were criticized as unimaginative, which prompted the D-O-T designer to speak up.

(Radio Iowa)