SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Corrections Department says an inmate who’d been listed as escaped from a work release facility is back in custody. Department spokesman Fred Scaletta said Thursday that Jacob Petty was caught by Sioux City police and is being held in Woodbury County Jail. The department listed Petty as escaped when he didn’t return Jan. 26 from an outpatient treatment program.

In October 2008 Petty began serving a 10-year sentence for robbery in Woodbury County. He was transferred to work release on Oct. 8 last year.

Does your mom or dad take care of a loved one (perhaps one cares for the other)? Do you know what your parents are going through? Your parent is in a new role of caregiver when helping a spouse with things he/she cannot do because of a medical condition’s disabling effects. How do you better support your parent during this time?

Caregiving Relationships: Conversations on Aging is a program for adult children supporting their aging caregiver parents. The session is scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, 2016, 6:30 – 8:45 pm at the Montgomery County Extension office, 400 Bridge Street, Suite 2, in Red Oak.

Research shows that spousal caregivers are more likely to provide care with help from adult children than to accept help from community supports or nonfamily members. Kim Brantner, Human Science Specialist in Family Life, says “The program helps adult children learn to recognize how caregiving affects relationships. It helps them discover their role in making decisions about their parents’ later life.” It also helps adult children build talking and listening skills and gain ideas on how to start difficult conversations.

A local coalition is working to bring resources to the county to address family caregiving issues. The next learning opportunities include The Finances of Caregiving, a series of five 2 hour classes beginning in April; and the Powerful Tools for Caregivers program, a series of six 2-1/2 hour classes designed especially for family caregivers. The series will start in May in Villisca.

For more information, contact Stephanie Langner, Montgomery County Extension, 712-623-2592.

The Shelby County Emergency Services Association, which is comprised of all Fire, Ambulance, Emergency Management and Law Enforcement services in Shelby County, is reminding land owners and managers about the upcoming Spring Field Fire Season. Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert says Shelby County sees an increase in fire activity every year in the spring and fall when residents start igniting burn piles, or prescribed fires on CRP land to meet land management objectives.

Often times he says, fires are ignited on days when weather conditions are less than favorable. When those burns are started they can cause escape fires which put lives, environment, and property in danger. Seivert says the Shelby County Emergency Services Association, in coordination with local Fire Chiefs are asking you to call the Shelby County Emergency Management Office at 712-755-2124 to report your controlled burning projects.

When you call in you will simply be asked the size of your project, a number you can be reached at, start and stop times of the planned burn. The Shelby County Emergency Management Office will also ask that you provide the local fire chief with notification.  A burn plan can be used to assess the safety of all burns. The EMA office, can assist in completing these, and will have the form posted on their web site. wwwshelbycountyema.com

Fire Danger Rating Boards located in all communities will be updated twice a week. Most of them are located at your community fire station. If you are unsure where the Fire Danger Rating sign is located, contact one of the members of your local fire department, they will be happy to let you know where it is.

An electronic copy of the Fire Danger Rating Board will be available at www.shelbycountyema.com. The purpose of the system is to visually let the public know when the conditions are safest to carry out your burning projects. The system is not a permitting process or authorization to burn it just lets you know if conditions are favorable.

Shelby County’s cooperative system will allow the authorities to dispatch Emergency Resources immediately on report of smoke when the fire danger is determined to be HIGH or EXTREME. On HIGH days fire resources will be dispatched and make a decision on whether it is safe to continue the burning. If the Fire Chief or his designee think conditions are not safe they may extinguish the fire.

On EXTREME days all fires will be extinguished unless a permit or waiver has been signed by the Chief of the local fire department.

Motorists in Iowa would be required to change lanes on highways when passing a bicycle under a bill approved in the Iowa Senate. The measure was approved Wednesday on a vote of 38 to 12. It would require a vehicle passing a bike to get completely over in the adjoining lane, instead of just giving the cyclist a few feet.

Senator Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, talked about a frightening experience while riding a bicycle in rural Butler County. “Where semis, for some reason, wouldn’t get over a foot. Several times, I was blown off the road because the vehicle came so close that I could have reached out and slapped the vehicle going by me at 65 to 70 miles an hour,” Dotzler said.

Iowa City Democrat and avid cyclist Joe Bolkcom says it’s hard to understand the danger until you’ve experienced it on two wheels. “I would guess that more than half the Senate has never been on a bike on a county road, going 10 or 15 miles an hour and being passed by a car or six or eight cars in a row going 55 or 60 miles an hour,” Bolkcom said.

Supporters say the measure would reduce the number of fatal car versus bicycle crashes. Opponents question the safety of cars lining up behind a slow-moving bicycle until it’s clear enough to pass. Backers say Iowa is one of only a few states without a law on passing bicycles.

(Radio Iowa)

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Students at the Atlantic Senior High School have a chance to participate in a graduation incentive program to promote volunteerism in the Atlantic Area. Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ouida Hargens and Programs Director Cate Christensen spoke about the Silver Cord Program during a meeting Wednesday night, of the Atlantic School Board.

Hargens said Atlantic High School Seniors who volunteer a minimum of 200 hours throughout their high school career, will graduate with a Silver Cord, and be eligible for a $500 scholarship provided by the Chamber. Christensen said they’re excited to bring the Silver Cord Program to Atlantic because it’s important to students, the college they choose to attend, and their future as adults.

She said colleges are looking at the program as well, and, if kids are involved in volunteerism now and learn how it can build a community and grow the population, when they finish college they will want to grow their roots here and expand, making the community bigger and better. Christensen said students are eligible to earn volunteer hours during the summer of their freshman year. Students must have a total of 200 hours of volunteering by May 1st of their senior year, in order to qualify (a minimum of 50-hours per year).

The hours will be pro-rated for this, the first year of the program, and for new students. Students can sign-up for the program by picking up a packet – which includes a parent consent form – at the Chamber office, the High School Guidance Counselor’s office, or on-line.  The student will then receive a Silver Cord badge, and be able to volunteer with any local organization listed at www.AtlanticIowa.com, and/or www.volunteerspot.com.

Volunteerspot.com is being used as part of the SilverCord program to provide a list of current and past organizations seeking volunteer help. Members of the community can also go to www.volunteerspot.com., to learn where they can lend a hand. Christensen says students earn credits every time they volunteer, because the organization they are helping must fill out a verification form.

Students can also volunteer for individuals needing help, such as an elderly person needing someone to clean-up their yard, but the project needs to be pre-approved. Ouida Hargens said students and teachers were presented with the program last fall, and their focus now is to remind students about it, and recruit them as volunteers.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Boys Club of Sioux City will begin accepting girls as members after nearly 50 years of having after-school programs and other activities for boys. Sioux City Journal reports that the local chapter’s board of directors approved the change earlier this month. Girls will be able to join with the start of the summer program June 6.

The local agency will be called the Boys and Girls Clubs of Siouxland to reflect its expanded mission. Local officials say the change more closely aligns the agency with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, its national organization. Staff member Eldon Benson says that out of the more than 4,000 Boys and Girls Clubs across the nation, the Sioux City chapter was one of four that only accepted boys.

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A Council Bluffs man was sentenced Wednesday to as much as 10-years in prison under a plea bargain, for selling bath salts, a felony offense. According to the Daily NonPareil, as part of the agreement, 47-year old Mark Fredrickson will be charged with possession of less than five grams of a controlled substance, MDPV bath salts, as lesser felony offense. Frederickson must serve a minimum of three years on the sentence, which will begin at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville.

He waived his right to a jury trial and had requested a bench trial. Fredericksen accepted the plea deal from Assistant Pottawattamie County Attorney Shelly Sudmann, before he appeared in front of the judge to receive his sentence. He was originally charged with possession of more than five grams of a controlled substance, MDPV bath salts, a Class B felony as well as carrying weapons, an aggravated misdemeanor. If Fredrickson had been found guilty at trial, he could have been sentenced to up to 25 years in prison. Also, as part of the plea deal, the carrying weapons charge was dropped.

The charges stemmed from an arrest on Nov. 25th, 2015 on the 3500 block of West Broadway. According to court documents, Council Bluffs police officers found Fredrickson sleeping in his Mazda pick-up. After waking up Fredrickson, police found a homemade bong and a baton Taser. He was arrested on charges of possession of weapons and drug paraphernalia. As officers continued to search the truck, court documents indicated, they found a pellet gun, and 17.8 grams of MDPV bath salts.

A woman from Shenandoah woman has been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for selling meth. The Daily NonPareil reports 29-year old Katherine Elizabeth Lynn was sentenced earlier this week in Fremont County District Court, for the distribution of methamphetamine. Lynn pleaded guilty to a Fremont County felony charge and a Page County felony charge, both involving the distribution of methamphetamine in Shenandoah. She will not be eligible for parole until she has served at least one-third of her sentence under Iowa’s mandatory minimum sentencing law.

According to court records, on Aug. 18th, 2015, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit, with the assistance of the Shenandoah Police Department, conducted a narcotics investigation where Lynn exchanged methamphetamine for prescription drugs in Shenandoah. Lynn was subsequently arrested in Page County in connection with the investigation and found to be in possession of methamphetamine.

On Nov. 26th, 2015, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit conducted another narcotics investigation where Lynn conspired to exchange methamphetamine for cash. Lynn was arrested in early January 2016 on a Fremont County arrest warrant and has remained in custody at the Fremont County Law Enforcement Center. Lynn will begin her sentence at the Iowa Correctional Facility for Women in Mitchellville.