ISU Extension and Outreach Montgomery County and the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital are partnering to host a Babysitter Workshop on June 1^st from 9 AM to 3 PM at the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital.

Youth attending the workshop will engage in hands-on activities and learn about what it takes to be a responsible, caring, trustworthy, competent and safe babysitter. Participants will be trained in child development, safety and first aid, food and nutrition, functional play and teaching toys. Training will also include the business of babysitting and help teens develop the confidence needed to handle situations that can occur while caring for children.

Participants will receive a babysitting manual prepared by 4-H and Army Child and Youth Services. The Babysitter Workshop gives youth researched-based information presented by qualified professionals in the area of child development, safety and health care. Presenters representing Iowa State University Extension and Montgomery County Memorial Hospital share their knowledge through presentations, hands-on activities and role-plays.

The workshop is open to all youth who have completed 5^th grade and above. Pre-registration is required. The class is limited to 30 participants. Registration fee is $10 and includes lunch and supplies. Register forms are available online at www.extension.iastate.edu/montgomery or at the Extension office. Deadline to register is Friday, May 27^th.  Financial assistance is available upon request. Please contact the Extension office to obtain an application. Returned checks will be charged $20 plus banking fees, in addition to the amount of the check.

For more information, contact Chelsea Cousins, County Youth Coordinator, at 712-623-2592 or ccousins@iastate.edu.

ISU Extension and Outreach Montgomery County will be hosting three different day camps available to youth in Montgomery County this summer. Registration fee is $20 per camp. The fees for service will be used to offset direct expenses and to support the 4-H Youth Development County Extension Program. Registration includes snacks, supplies and insurance. Youth are responsible for bringing a lunch.

Details about each camp are as follows:

Digging Up Dinosaurs will be held on June 15th from 9 AM to 3 PM at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. This camp is open to all youth who have completed Kindergarten through 3rd grade. Explore the mighty dinosaurs traveling back millions of years ago to the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Discover how dinosaurs lived and how big they were. Enjoy dinosaur crafts and become a paleontologist as you discover fossils.

Planet Energy will be held on June 22nd from 9 AM to 3 PM at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. This camp is open to all youth who have completed 4th through 6th grade. Youth will work with members of a team to design, create, build, and test wind-powered devices. Youth will visit a local farm to explore wind as a potential energy source in their community and how wind turbines power a farming operation.

Farm Adventures will be held on June 29th from 9 AM to 3 PM. Youth will meet at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. This camp is open to all youth who have completed 3rd through 6th grade. Slip on your boots and join us for a fun, educational and hands-on day camp at the VanMeter Farm. Learn about farm safety, livestock and crop production right here in Montgomery County. Youth will explore a local farm operation and discover a variety of interesting facts about cattle, corn, soybeans and farm equipment.

Registration forms are available online at www.extension.iastate.edu/montgomery or at the Extension office. Registration is due by June 3rd to Montgomery County ISU Extension and Outreach, 400 Bridge Street, Suite 2, Red Oak, IA 51566. Upon registration, a completed health form is required for all non 4-H participants. Financial assistance is available.

For more information, contact Chelsea Cousins, County Youth Coordinator at Montgomery County ISU Extension and Outreach, at 712-623-2592 or ccousins@iastate.edu.

What makes a reptile, a reptile? What lives in our lakes? How old is the earth? What is going on in outerspace? Cass County youth will get to answer these and many more questions, when they attend several daycamp experiences this summer. The camps are being sponsored by the Cass County Conservation Board and Cass County Extension.

The Rockin’ Reptiles camp will be held for youth completing kindergarten through 2nd grade. Youth have the opportunity to attend camp at three different locations on different days:
May 31 & June 1 — 9 AM-12 PM @ Lake Anita (Shelter #5), Anita – Registration Deadline May 20
June 6 & 7 — 9 AM-12 PM or 1 PM-4 PM @ Sunnyside Park (Camblin Shelter), Atlantic- Registration Deadline May 31
June 15 & 16 — 9 AM-12 PM @ Cold Springs Park, Lewis – Registration Deadline June 6

At the Rockin Reptiles camp, youth will learn and play as we explore reptiles. Make crafts, friends and play games! To Earth & Beyond, 3rd – 5th grade youth can explore many things outerspace, planets and especially our earth. Explore the solar system through crafts, games and fun! Please bring a sack lunch. This camp will be held at three different locations on three different days,
June 2 — 9 AM-4 PM @ Lake Anita (Shelter #5), Anita – Registration Deadline May 20
June 3 — 9 AM-4 PM @ Cold Springs Park, Lewis – Registration Deadline May 20
June 9 — 9 AM-4 PM @ Sunnyside Park (Camblin Shelter), Atlantic – Registration Deadline June 1

Adventure Camp is open to youth completing grades 6th-8th grade. Youth will learn outdoor skills related to fishing, hiking and Dutch Oven cooking (lunch) over a campfire! This camp is offered Thursday, June 23 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM at
Cold Springs Park, Lewis. Registration Deadline June 17. Busing is available from Cass Co. Community Center. The bus will depart at 8 AM, and return by 5 PM.

Registration forms are available at the Cass County Extension Office or online at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass. There is a $10 registration fee for all camps which includes all camp supplies, and a snack. A medical information form will be
required for all youth. If you have any questions, contact Beth Irlbeck, Cass County Extension, at 243-1132, or Lora Canning, Cass County Naturalist, at 712-769-
2372 with questions, or visit the Cass County Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

A relatively rare disease that only afflicts about 250 Iowans was the subject of an extremely popular global fundraising phenomenon in 2014 called the Ice Bucket Challenge. John Nuss, executive director of the Iowa chapter of the A-L-S Association, says the campaign raised awareness and it raised millions of much-needed dollars for research, which is still underway.

Nuss says, “It’s going to take years and years to find a cure for ALS but right now, we want to look at a treatment and how can we make this a manageable disease so that folks are living longer while we’re able to find that cure so that we’re eventually rid of this disease.” As part of the 2014 challenge, thousands of Iowans dumped buckets of ice water on their heads while challenging others to do the same thing in addition to making a donation.

Videos of the acts went viral and even Governor Branstad got drenched while making a pledge. Thanks to social media, the challenge raised $350,000 in Iowa that year and more than $115 million globally. While last year’s totals fell off, Nuss says the Ice Bucket Challenge will be renewed this August and every August until there’s a cure.

“We know it’s not going to be what it was in 2014 but we know we need to try,” Nuss says. “ALS is a very lonely disease so if for one month we can see folks dumping water on their heads for a good cause, it really does mean a lot to the people we serve, just to hear the conversation about ALS going on.”

Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, A-L-S stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It’s a motor neuron disease which usually attacks both upper and lower motor neurons and causes degeneration throughout the brain and spinal cord. Once diagnosed, life expectancy is usually only two-to-five years. Learn more at www.alsaiowa.org.

(Radio Iowa)

The Griswold School Board, Wednesday evening, unanimously voted to enter into a Superintendent Sharing Agreement with the Lenox Community School District, contingent upon both districts agreeing on the terms and conditions. The next step is for the Lenox School District to hold a similar meeting. That will take place 6-p.m. Monday at the Lenox Junior-Senior High School gymnasium. The purpose is to update the patrons and allow them to ask question before the Board takes a vote.

Lenox Superintendent David Henrichs told KJAN News prior to his meeting with the public Wednesday, he spent the day talking to the Griswold teaching staff. He says he shared personal and professional information about himself, and answered their questions. Henrichs asked the teachers if they had to decide today on whether or not they were in favor of sharing a Superintendent, 95-percent raised their hands in approval. The other 5-percent didn’t raise their hands for any of the options. Overall, he says it was a “very positive” meet-and-greet.

He also spent time with the district’s Principals, the Business Manager and Superintendent’s Secretary, to learn about the Operational aspects of the school. Lenox is about an hour’s drive from Griswold. During the Community meeting later in the evening, Henrichs said patrons were understandably concerned about how splitting his time between the two districts would affect his health and well-being.

He said they worried about him being “burned-out,” by taking on the huge responsibility, and that he would still be able to spend time with his family. Henrichs has three daughters, two of whom are still in school. He said he greatly appreciated the communities’ concerns. Henrichs said some of the specific questions asked by those attending the meeting, are difficult to answer right now, because the details have yet to be worked out between the two school boards.

For example, who make decisions on snow days, if he’s not there. Henrichs said while those details need to be worked out, the “Foundation is there for a good working relationship.” He says overall, he’s excited about the opportunity, if it does come to fruition. He acknowledged there are always challenges, and “bumps in the road,” when it comes to change and transition, but both Boards will do the best they can to head those off early, and he’s confident the staff in both districts will be able to overcome those challenges and make it work very well.”

Officials with the Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund, Wednesday night, presented two $750 scholarships to graduating Atlantic High School Seniors.  Clayton Saeugling and Emily McDermott were the recipients chosen by the scholarship committee.

Pictured: Tyler Drvol (committee member), Emily McDermott (recipient), Josh Fellows (committee member) , Clayton Saeugling (recipient), Steven Petersen (committee member)

The scholarship committee said they had some quality applications this year and were finally able to narrow it down to Saeugling and McDermott.  Asked on the scholarship application if you could choose one charity to donate to who would it be, Emily stated UNICEF and Clayton stated Wounded Warriors in Action.  Each of those charities will receive $200 from the Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund in their name.  The Foundation says it hopes that by continuing this extra giving, they can instill the importance of giving back in these young adults.

This is the 7th year for the annual scholarships to be handed out.  Applicants are asked to fill out a short narrative, supply their college acceptance letter, supply two letters of reference, have a 2.5gpa or better and supply an official 7 semester transcript.  The Foundation’s goal is to have the scholarships will be available for years to come.  Officials say with the continued support of the T-Fred annual golf outing,  that goal is becoming a true reality.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (7.3MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the child endangerment convictions of a northern Iowa woman, but sent the case back to district court for re-sentencing after determining the district judge abused his discretion by imposing certain conditions as part of her probation.

Stephanie Fatland, of Rockford (IA) was arrested in 2014 and charged with three Class C felony counts of child endangerment resulting in serious injury after allegedly admitting to shaking a baby on three separate occasions. As part of a plea agreement, Fatland pleaded guilty to two counts of child endangerment causing bodily injury, with the third charge being dropped.

District Judge James Drew sentenced Fatland to two five-year prison terms, both suspended, and sentenced her to five years probation on each charge. Fatland later filed a motion to reconsider a condition of probation, stating Drew had improperly infringed upon her fundamental right to bear children by the condition on her probation prohibiting her from becoming pregnant. Drew denied that motion, but the Iowa Court of Appeals in its ruling issued Wednesday, says Drew abused his discretion by imposing conditions prohibiting Fatland from becoming pregnant and from having unsupervised contact with children under the age of five.

The Court of Appeals vacated the sentences and remanded the case back to district court for resentencing.

(Radio Iowa)

An official with the architectural firm FRK, in West Des Moines, and an Engineer from Snyder and Associates, in Atlantic, presented a final report Wednesday to the Atlantic School Board, on an Athletics Facility Assessment Study that began late last year with a steering committee being established. Afterward, engineers with Snyder and Associates in Des Moines and Atlantic toured the facilities to gain a design professional perspective on how the facilities can be improved, repaired, and on what needed to be done to make them ADA compliant.

A survey was then sent out to the community, with 25 having been returned. FRK’s Tom Wollan said round table and stakeholders sessions took place as well, with representatives of the community and others, to discuss issues related to the athletic facilities. Wollan pointed out there were several issues at the outdoor facilities that needed to be dealt with at some point in time.

Snyder & Assoc. Landscape Architect Tim West shows some options for ACSD athletic facilities.

Safety was a concern, especially at the baseball/softball complex. Wollan says they also looked at the “Spectator experience,” including how people gain access to the facilities, how they get into the stands, how the concessions and ticket booths are used, etc. He said as far as the indoor Athletic facilities are concerned, they are well maintained, but some areas could use fresh paint, a few repairs and updates. Wollan said overall, the Community Needs Survey showed the respondents thought the condition of the facilities was 20-percent Good, 52-percent Fair, and 28-percent Poor. And, the majority of those surveyed thought the Trojan Bowl should stay where it is, and not be relocated.

Snyder and Associates’ Landscape Architect Tim West, displayed several options for the school board to consider when it comes to improving the Trojan Bowl, including adding a new bleacher system with more home team and spectator seats, a new scoreboard, a visitor ticket booth and putting in a parking area along Olive Street. West said there aren’t as many improvements necessary to the High School Stadium, but they did look at upgrading the bleacher areas and adding seats.

Wollan also proposed a new “competition gymnasium” be added to the high school, with additional locker rooms and 500 seat capacity bleachers. The gymnasium would be added onto the current gym and multipurpose wrestling room. West said there’s no price tag yet for the proposed improvements, because the facilities’ committee is still trying to crunch the numbers. The improvements would likely be made over a period of years.

Creston Police arrested a man Wednesday night, following a traffic stop at the intersection of Adams and Jarvis Streets. 41-year old Dennis Smith, of Creston, was taken into custody at around 9-p.m., and charged with OWI/2nd offense, and Operating a Vehicle While Revoked. He was later released from the Union County Jail.