The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, will hold a closed session at the end of their regular session, to discuss a personnel matter. Once the Council resumes their open session, they’re expected to act on a motion to execute an Employment Agreement with regard to the filling of an upcoming Wastewater Treatment Plant Supervisor vacancy position. In April, City Administrator Doug Harris announced Mark Farrier, who was hired to run the new treatment plant in 2012, tendered his resignation, effective July 3^rd, 2014. Farrier, his wife and family are moving to Guatemala to become Missionaries.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, will hold the second reading of an ordinance regarding “Flood Plain Regulations.” The State has asked the City of adopt the technical changes in our to keep Atlantic’s regulations in conformance with FEMA requirements. The Council will also act on setting June 4th as the date for a public hearing on a proposed Airport Land Use and Height Overlay Zoning Ordinance, which the Airport Board is recommending for approval. The ordinance regulates the height of structures, objects and growth of natural vegetation, as well as land uses within the vicinity of the airport.

The Atlantic City Council is also expected to act on awarding a bid for the sale of property at 405 W. 4th Street, which the Council voted to dispose of during its last regular meeting. The City Council session gets underway at 5:30-p.m., Wednesday, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall.

It was an Extreme Makeover type experience as the Pre-kindergarten through 2nd graders at the Harlan Community School District along with parents, grandparents and administration unveiled an all new play house to the Primary Building. Mrs. Spangenberg’s 2nd grade class started the  project in November of collecting cans to help raise the funding needed for the new playhouse. With the help of Mr. Klaassen’s high school engineering class, every student designed a miniature playhouse to show
the designer’s what the kids wanted to see in the actual playhouse.

One of the 2nd graders, Teya Frolich said the class gave Leinen Construction some pointers on how the playhouse could be more efficient. The crew designed the playhouse with a skylight on the roof for the children. Mrs. Spangenberg said the class’s project tied into everything the students were learning in math and science. She says in addition to the cans, a bake sale was held. “We did a bake sale at Hy-Vee. Adam was great and allowed us, three moms, to do a bake sale on a Saturday morning. So some money came from that and some came from generous donations.”

One donation in particular was very heart warming. “We got a letter in the mail from Nan and it
was in honor of her husband. Her husband was known as the ‘Avoca Can Man.’ He would collect cans in Avoca, bring them to Harlan. He would cash them in, get the money and give it to youth organizations. And he passed away so that was in honor of him. That was really special and a
neat lesson for the kids to learn.”

Now that the project is over, the kids were asked how soon they would design a real house. They said it would be a “Couple of years.” The students were able to play in the playhouse at second recess this (Tuesday) afternoon.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

DEXTER, Iowa (AP) — A man who was helping to string a new power line near Dexter has died in a fall. KCCI-TV reports the man fell about 50 feet Tuesday morning while working as part of a crew a couple miles north of Dexter. The workers were hanging power lines on the west side of Dexfield Road when the fall occurred from a boom truck.

The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office says the man died from injuries he received in the fall. The man’s identity and other details weren’t available. Dexter is about 30 miles west of Des Moines.

The Cass and Adair County Boards of Supervisors will hold their regular, separate meetings Wednesday morning. In Atlantic, the Cass County Board will act on a suspension of taxes for a parcel of land in Section 28 owned by the City of Anita. Their meeting begins at 8:30-a.m.

In Greenfield, the Adair County Board will hold a Public Hearing on a Fiscal year 2014 Budget Amendment at 9:30-a.m., followed by approval of a Resolution amending the budget and an Appropriations Resolution.

At 9:45, the Adair Supervisors are scheduled to discuss and vote on a request by three Orient area farmers, all brothers in third generation business, to expand their hog operation. The Geidel brothers want to increase their hog confinement facilities from 2,500 head each, to 5,000 head each. The owners of a nearby, privately run tourist attraction, Hatfield Lakes, is protesting.

The Supervisors will discuss and act on a DNR Notice of Complaint; Master Matrix Scoring; A review of correspondence, and then make a recommendation to the DNR with regard to the request. The meeting at the Adair County Courthouse begins at 9-a.m.

Organizers of a fundraising event held last Friday in Exira was a big success. Several communities rallied together in support of an Exira area youth, Jon “Waffles” Herron. Jon is a junior in the Exira-EHK Community School district. Over the last two years, he’s experienced both his parents passing away and then to come home on prom night to find the home where he lives with his aunt burning down. The home was a complete loss.

front row: Kaele Lange, Kate McAlpin, Jon “Waffles” Herron, Jared Hansen, Jen Neville, Jessica Wood, Jake Paulsen
second row: Mitchell Pigeon, Rachel Walker, Nelson Zach, Harrison Olson, Cody Kommes
3rd row: Kennedy Madsen, Rachel Smith, Margo Christensen, Katie Kunik, John Schultes, Martin Olson

The communities put together a fundraiser for Jon and his aunt Kathy. The Exira Rec Center was packed. Organizers say there were waffle irons as far as the eyes could see. A free-will donation got those who attended the event waffles, sausage and all the fixings. There was also a bake sale that brought in additional funds. A forty-two inch flat screen TV was raffled off, and the winner of the television, Darrell Schroeter, donated it back to Waffles and Aunt Kathy.

Jon and Kathy would like to thank everyone who came out to support them. A thank you goes out to all of the area businesses, organization and people who donated time and money to make this all happen. The monetary donations along with the household and clothing donations have been so appreciated. They plan to stay in the area and hope to rebuild.

In all, the Waffles for Waffles fundraiser brought in over $9000. Any other donations can be made to the Exchange State Bank in Exira Iowa.

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation continue to investigate a double homicide that occurred in Carroll County on Sunday. Autopsies on both bodies were completed at the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny by Dr. Dennis Klein.

Karl Allen Devore

Tammie Lee Devore

Through the completed autopsies, both victims were positively identified as a mother and son, 48-year old Tammie Lee Devore, and 30-year old Karl Allen Devore, respectively. Both deaths are classified as homicides.

On Sunday, May 18, 2014, at approximately 9:50 P.M., the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call of an unconscious individual at 129 Carroll Street, Lot #5, in Glidden. Upon arrival and through further investigation, law enforcement officials discovered two deceased individuals at the residence, one adult male and one adult female.

Investigators believe this is an isolated incident and the public should not be concerned for their safety. Iowa DCI special agent Chad Fieldler, speaking at a press conference Tuesday at the Carroll County Courthouse, said no one has been arrested. He refused to discuss a possible motive in the case. Fieldler would not say how the two were murdered.

Back in 1991, Tammie Devore was living in an apartment in Council Bluffs that caught fire and killed her three other sons, a one-month-old, a 4-year-old, and a 2-year old. Investigators said one of the children was playing with a lighter that ignited a Christmas tree. Devore had a history of drug problems and run-ins with law enforcement. Carroll County Sheriff Doug Bass said Devore had dozens of cats in her mobile home and animal rescue workers occasionally visited the home and took some of the animals.

Investigators are asking for anyone with information regarding this double homicide to call the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office at (712) 792-4393.

The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will hold a Special Meeting Wednesday evening. At 5-p.m., the Board will hold a Public Hearing on the 2013-2014 Budget Amendment, during which district patrons may speak for or against the proposed amendment.

Once the public hearing is closed, the Board will vote on approving the Budget Amendment, New Hires, and Resignations. The meeting takes place in the Atlantic High School Media Center.

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation have scheduled a joint press conference from Noon today (Tuesday, May 20th), at the Carroll County Courthouse. The press conference is with regard to the double death investigation in Glidden.

No other details will be released until the press conference. KJAN will update the story  when information becomes available. The Department of Public Safety announced Monday that the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office received a call Sunday night about an unconscious person at a mobile home park in Glidden. Officers found the bodies of an adult man and woman.

Autopsies were scheduled for today at the Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny.

The Griswold School Board held a public hearing Monday evening with regard to the 2014-2015 School Calendar. Superintendent Dana Kunze said there were two proposed options from which the district could choose from. Kunze said a number of teachers were present at the meeting to outline “Calendar A,” which was voted down last month, and would have had school start Thursday, August 14th. The Alternate start date “Calendar B,” proposed starting school on Monday, August 18th.

When it came time for a decision, Calendar B failed in a 3-4 vote. Calendar A passed on a 4-3 vote. Kunze says most people were concerned with the district starting school earlier and earlier each year, and the teachers pointed out that is true this year, but will likely be different next year. He said school traditionally starts on a Thursday, but August starts on a Friday this year, so that pushes the start date back one-week to a Thursday. Kunze said also that Christmas is on a Thursday this year, and that messes with the Christmas break, as well. He said he expects to see the start date to fall back next year as the calendar adjusts.

Kunze says the fall sports seasons starts August 11th, so parents and kids both are looking forward to getting the school year underway. In other business, Superintendent Kunze said the district’s Boiler and Rest Room projects are coming along nicely. He says they expect to see those projects completed before the doors to the school opens in the fall.

And, the Griswold School Board, Monday, voted to increase the amount students and adults pay for their lunches. Lunch at the Elementary School will go up 8-cents this fall, High School students will pay 12-cents more per meal, while the adult lunch prices are increasing by a dime, to $3.30. Kunze said the prices have gone up just about every year, because the Feds want schools to play catch up to rates that are deemed more appropriate, but Kunze said the Feds are allowing districts to gradually “Step-up” their prices for school lunch menus, rather than taking one big bite at a time.

He says the Feds expect the districts to met the criteria for reimbursement on lunch prices, but until that happens, schools are “Held hostage” and their arms are twisted to make them comply. And, after much community input and discussion, the Griswold School District has changed its motto from a long mission statement, to “Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow.”