Five persons interested in becoming members of the Atlantic School District’s Board of Education appeared during a forum Monday night in the Atlantic Middle School Auditorium. Three seats are up for election on November 5th. One of the candidates was an incumbent, Jenny Williams, who has served for the past four-years. The others included: Mark C. Foegen, a combat Veteran of the U-S Marine Corps and owner of the Fireside Lounge; Nicholas Hunt, a businessman and farmer who has served on several committees; Laura McLean, who has kids in the district and has a Masters Degree in Non-Profit Administration, and Benjamin Winford, who has lived in the area for five-year after moving with his family from Denver, CO., and has worked for the District under Russell Peck.

Atlantic School Board candidates (Left to right): Mark C. Foegen; Nicholas Hunt; Laura McLean; Jenny Williams, and Benjamin Winford.

Questions the candidates were asked included their opinions on the Direction the District is Heading, how do we stem the loss of teachers, and what do they see as the main problem with communications from the administration on down? With regard to the Direction the District is taking, Nick Hunt said the “School culture needs to be improved” by setting the tone at the top, by building trust. Benjamin Winford said he too is concerned about at times, a lack of communication from the top down, and more questions need to be asked on issues, rather than having them being “rubber stamped.”

Incumbent Jenny Williams mentioned some successes, including a pilot program that started five-years at Washington Elementary that has caught the eye of the Dept. of Education in Washington, D-C., because of its success. Williams said a negative, is the “disconnect” on the Board, with people not willing to talk to the Board because they don’t think the Board will listen. She suggested having the Board meetings be videotaped so the public can see what’s going on.

Mark Foegen said there “Is a lack of communication” between the teachers and administration. He said we need to pay more attention to the teachers, and suggested their be liaisons advocating for Junior and Senior students and teachers from each school. Laura McLean said the District has many positive things going for it, like the Aviation Program and other new initiatives. She said teacher turnover, along with attracting and retaining teachers is a problem, but addressing communication and the compensation  structure will foster a better culture within the district.

All but one of the candidates had children or grandchildren in the district, and all but one owns property in the district. Each of the candidates favored regular pay increases for teachers, based on the Cost of Living (COLA), but within the District’ Budget, as it relates to enrollment numbers and other factors, such as early retirement savings, etc.  And as far as what they would favor seeing off-limits if it should come to budget cuts, said STEM courses (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), should not be touched, while Winford would also prefer not to have the arts and music programs left alone, if possible.

The forum was sponsored by a local media outlet.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Charges have been reduced to a simple misdemeanor for two cybersecurity workers who were arrested after breaking into an Iowa courthouse last month as part of a security test conducted by state court administrators. Court records show County Attorney Charles Sinnard asked a district court judge Friday to reduce the charge from felony burglary to a trespass charge.

Officials say 29-year-old Justin Wynn, of Naples, Florida, and 43-year old Gary Demercurio, of Seattle, work for Westminster, Colorado-based cybersecurity company Coalfire. The company contracted with judiciary officials to conduct security tests at Iowa courthouses and the state court building.

State court officials admitted they made mistakes and apologized. Wynn and Demercurio were caught inside the Dallas County Courthouse in Adel after midnight Sept. 11 and arrested.

Sinnard’s motion says he’s reducing the charges based on newly discovered evidence. He said Monday in an email that the charge better fits the facts of this case. Judge Terry Rickers approved the change Friday and set a Nov. 6 hearing for both men.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa educator who spent years in prison in a sex abuse case that was later dismissed will have to wait to seek damages in a lawsuit against the public defender who allegedly botched his representation. A three-justice panel of the Iowa Supreme Court has taken the rare step of granting the state’s pre-trial appeal in a lawsuit filed by Donald Clark.

The move cancelled a legal malpractice trial set to begin Tuesday in Johnson County in which Clark was seeking millions in damages from the state. A single justice had earlier denied the state’s appeal. Clark’s lawyer says the unintended impact is cruel to his client, delaying an outcome by years.

Clark, a former counselor at Lemme Elementary in Iowa City, was convicted in 2010 of abusing a student during the 2003 school year. Clark was freed in 2016 after a judge ruled that his now-deceased public defender provided ineffective assistance. The alleged victim admitted to some false testimony and the county prosecutor’s office dropped the case. Clark maintains his innocence.

The high court will now consider when defense lawyers can be sued for malpractice.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Police have charged a Louisiana man with murder in the death of a man whose body was found in an eastern Iowa home. Burlington police say officers on Monday charged 19-year-old Moshun Dee Reed, of Shreveport, with first-degree murder in the death of 36-year-old Tito Randall Kingsby, of Burlington.

Police found Kingsby’s body after being called to a Burlington home Sunday afternoon. An autopsy of Kingsby’s body is planned Wednesday. The Hawk Eye newspaper reports police initially arrested Reed on an outstanding Louisiana warrant Sunday night and arrested him on the murder charge Monday.

Reed is being held in the Des Moines County jail.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowans who overshare on social media might embarrass themselves, but they could also lose control of their personal information or become a target for burglars. Consumer protection advocate Lara Sutherlin says Iowans should limit their posts to just the people they trust, like restricting Facebook messages to “friends only” and not to the entire world.

Sutherlin says, “We encourage people to disable their geotagging, which allows anybody to see where you are –and where you aren’t — at any given time.” By showing online you just checked in at a favorite restaurant, that’s also telling everyone you’re likely gone from your house for an hour or so, which could make you a target for a break-in. Posting while on vacation could be exponentially worse. Sutherlin says a few recent high-profile cases have demonstrated how trying to make a joke on social media could end up getting you fired.

“Even if you delete a post or a picture from your profile seconds after posting it, chances are someone saw it and it’s out there in the ether and you can’t get it back,” she says. “So really be thoughtful about what you put out there and whether it needs to be out there.” In one case earlier this month, a Waterloo teacher lost his job after making a threatening comment about climate change activist Greta Thunberg. While social media is a great way to connect with friends and family, Sutherlin says it’s also a good place for crooks to try and find victims to scam. She says it’s important to stay vigilant and to resist the urge to click links or give information online.

“You name it, there’s a number of ways in which scammers online try to elicit information from you through building trust.” Too much shared information could give criminals a way to figure out your routine and the best ways to steal from you.

(Radio Iowa) — A 35-year-old Sioux City woman has been sentenced to nearly seven years in federal prison for doing drug deals within a thousand feet of a city park. Winona Freemont entered a guilty plea this summer, admitting she was part of a group that distributed meth out of a house near a popular city park in Sioux City. Prosecutors say Freemont and others went to Omaha to get the meth, then distributed it to others once they got back to Sioux City. After her 90-month prison sentence, Freemont will be on probation for six years.

In March of 2018, U.S. Marshals listed Freemont as one of Siouxland’s most wanted fugitives, noting in a news release that she could be recognized from the tattoos of the Sergeant Floyd Monument and other Sioux City landmarks on her right forearm. She turned herself in to authorities in April of last year.

(Radio Iowa) — A former postal worker in Pocahontas has admitted to stealing mail. Thirty-year-old Cassandra Rheuport of Rolfe, pleaded guilty to theft of mail by a postal employee and admitted that from about February 2018 through July 28, 2018, she opened mail or stole mail.

Rheuport stole at least 395 dollars along with narcotic medications prescribed for others when she worked as a city carrier in Pocahontas. She’ll be sentenced at a later date where she faces a maximum of five years in prison and a maximum fine of 250-thousand dollars.