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8AM Newscast 06-19-2014

News, Podcasts

June 19th, 2014 by admin

w/ Ric Hanson

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More severe weather possible today

News, Weather

June 19th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Severe weather is possible across much of Iowa once again today. Already this morning, a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for parts of Carroll, Audubon, Guthrie and Greene Counties, with nickel-sized hail having been reported just east of Audubon at around 7:35-a.m.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK., has placed much of Iowa in a slight risk for severe storms. In addition to damaging winds and large hail, heavy rainfall is possible. An additional widespread 1″ to 1.5″ may fall over already rain-soaked locations… including those in the Flash Flood Watch.

Flash Flood Watch (green shaded counties- lower left image).

Flash Flood Watch (green shaded counties- lower left image).

The slight risk area may shift throughout the daytime, so please make sure you stay up to date with the latest weather forecast information…especially if you have travel and/or outdoor plans today!

Ohio man sentenced in death of a Bluffs man

News

June 19th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

An Ohio man convicted this past March in connection with a high speed crash that killed a Council Bluffs man in September, was sentenced Wednesday to a maximum of 10-years in prison for vehicular homicide. The Omaha World-Herald reports 30-year old Eric Shiplett, of Zanesville, OH.,  could be eligible for parole in as little as three-years.

Shiplett was driving a vehicle that left Interstate 480 in Omaha at a high rate of speed on Sept. 6th, 2013. The vehicle careened out of control near the 30th Street exit and rolled several times off to the side of the road. A passenger in the car, 19-year old Matthew Doty, of Council Bluffs, was ejected during the crash, and died at the scene.

Prosecutors said Shiplett’s blood-alcohol level was nearly three-times the legal limit of .08 (Point Oh-eight).

7AM Newscast 06-19-2014

News, Podcasts

June 19th, 2014 by admin

w/ Ric Hanson

Play

Atlantic Mayor and Councilman urges residents to be neighborly & work out problems

News

June 19th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones and Councilman Dana Halder are asking residents to try and resolve any differences they have in-person, when it comes to noise issues. Jones said the City received a letter from a resident who asked the Council to consider creating an ordinance that would address noise issues, especially with regard to lawn mowing and yard waste removal.

Jones said an unidentified female resident called him Saturday night and other members of the Council Sunday morning, to complain about a neighbor who was using a skid loader to remove tree and other yard debris Saturday evening. Halder said he received two calls from the complainant. One came just after 8:30-p.m. Saturday, the other at around 7:30-a.m. Sunday. Halder says he promptly investigated the situation and found no valid reason for the complaint. He said he arrived with 10 minutes of each call received, saw the person operating a skid loader in a valley, cleaning up some brush about 80-yards from the woman’s property line.

Halder said he spoke with another neighbor who said they didn’t have a problem with what was happening. Halder said also, that the man in question had apparently built a new house and was trying to clean-up the brush piles before wet and stormy weather arrived. He said the irony was, that as he was leaving, Halder had the windows down on his vehicle, and could hear the woman talking in her backyard…over the noise of the skid loader.

He said the man with the skid-loader confirmed the next morning that he was trying to get the land waste cleaned-up before the weather. When he arrived Sunday morning, the skid-loader, which he described as having a small motor, was on a trailer. Halder said he thinks the matter could have been handled better by the citizen. He said they need to “work a little harder to get along,” and understand people sometimes can’t mow and work outside when it’s convenient for their neighbors. He says talking with your neighbor when you have an issue, according to Halder, makes for a better level of understanding , and equates to “Honey going a lot farther than salt, I guess.”

He said none of the neighbors he spoke with had a problem with skid loader noise on the days and times in question. Atlantic does have noise ordinances that pertain to Amplified sound, barking dogs, disorderly conduct, engine brakes and identified “Quiet Zones,” but nothing specifically pertaining to the operating of equipment during certain hours.

Atlantic Mayor praises City and area residents for Honor Flight support

News

June 19th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones expressed his gratitude Wednesday evening for the outpouring of support the community and residents of Cass County showed during Monday evening’s Honor Flight motorcade from Atlantic to Des Moines. During the Atlantic City Council meeting, Jones also thanked the two Atlantic natives (Jeff Becker and Roger Underwood) who made the trip possible, and former Council member Steve Livengood, who was instrumental in organizing the local effort.

The veterans and their guardians boarded three buses in Atlantic as they prepared to visit the nation’s war memorials in Washington, D-C. Jones said they were ecstatic at how residents of the community and county showed their support. He said “They were hoopin’ and hollerin’” He said it was a great atmosphere, with the motorcycle escort to Des Moines, and seeing all people lining the streets of the communities the motorcade passed through, including Wiota, Anita, all the way to near Adair.

Jones said everything went pretty smoothly in D-C, although it was a bit on the hot side.

East Mills Elementary to close as part of a money saving effort

News

June 19th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The East Mills School Board has decided to close an elementary school in Malvern in a cost-saving measure. The Daily NonPareil reports the Board voted on the matter during a special meeting Tuesday. The  decision means students will not be attending Chantry Elementary School in Malvern next school year. The building will be shut-down as part of a strategy to address declining enrollment and financial troubles.

Superintendent Paul Croghan told the paper that the district plans to ask voters to approve an expanded physical plant and equipment levy in September as well as a school bond sometime next year. The board will confirm placing the levy request on the ballot at its July meeting. The state allows the district to ask voters for a levy of $1.34 per $1,000 of taxable valuation. Such a levy would bring in nearly $4 million for the district over 10 years, which could be used to repay a revenue bond.

Having students in one elementary building is projected to create savings by reducing staff positions, utility bills and transportation costs. An analysis by Iowa Schoolhouse Construction & Planning Services projected $80,000 in savings for the 2014-15 school year resulting from closing the school.

Chantry’s doors may reopen however, as the district moves toward creating an all-grades campus at the site of East Mills High School in Malvern. Croghan said that would require an $11.5 million school bond. The district’s overarching goal, he said, is to use its financial resources as efficiently as possible.

The East Mills Community School District was created in 2011 when the Malvern and Nishna Valley school districts reorganized. The original districts began whole-grade sharing in 2007, with high-schoolers in Malvern, middle-schoolers in Hastings and elementary students staying in their respective districts.

Underwood teacher pleads guilty to prohibited acts charge

News

June 19th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

An Underwood teacher has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of Prohibited Acts, in connection with the use of allegedly stolen prescription pads to obtain pain medication in Nebraska and Iowa. The Council Bluffs Daily NonPareil reports Samantha Telleen entered her plea to the reduced, Class-C felony charge Tuesday, in Pottawattamie County District Court. In exchange for the plea agreement, eight additional counts of Prohibited Acts were dismissed.

Telleen’s sentencing was deferred for two years. She was fined $1,000 and placed on probation. In Iowa, a Class C felony carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $1,000 fine, and she previously faced up to 90 years in prison. The woman faced nine counts of prohibited acts after charges against her husband, Heath, were dismissed in April. Telleen also was ordered to pay $480 in restitution to Jacqueline Sullivan-Ogg, who works at Underwood Family Practice, where Telleen allegedly stole the prescription pads.

Samantha Telleen works as a special education teacher at Underwood Middle School, while Heath Telleen teaches social studies at Underwood High School. The couple have been on paid administrative leave since mid-March.

 

Bluffs residents told to prepare for minor Mo. River flooding

News

June 19th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The Mayor of Council Bluffs is advising residents to prepare for minor flooding near the Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park. The Daily NonPareil, citing information from the National Weather Service, says   an increase in Missouri River water levels, caused by heavy rains near Sioux City and Sioux Falls, S.D., could raise the river to flood stage of 30 feet by this weekend or earlier.

During a meeting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wednesday afternoon, Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh said officials told him water levels will peak today (Thursday) and would recede starting Sunday. Walsh said it is unlikely the Missouri River will reach the same level as the Flood of 2011. However, that could change depending on additional precipitation that could fall throughout the week. The river is expected to rise to 32-feet, just 2 feet below flood stage.

Doug Reed, emergency management director for Pottawattamie County, said in a press release, that the river is expected to fall below flood stage by Tuesday morning. Earlier this week, the National Weather Service issued a river flood advisory for areas along the Missouri River. The potentially affected areas in Iowa include the cities Council Bluffs and Missouri Valley and elsewhere in Pottawattamie and Harrison counties. Affected Nebraska areas include Omaha and Douglas, Sarpy and Washington counties.

Jody Farhat, who oversees dam releases for the corps, said the flooding would be the second- or third-highest stages officials have seen from Sioux City to Omaha. Pott. County Emergency Management officials say City and county officials will inform residents in flood-prone areas near the river to closely monitor water levels and be keeping a close eye on roads that could be affected by high water.,

Officials say the Narrows Rivers Park will be closed to public access, beginning Friday morning. The Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge north of Council Bluffs closed Wednesday due to high water levels on the refuge’s auto tour road. The DeSoto and Boyer Chute national wildlife refuges are located north of Omaha on U.S. Highway 30 between Missouri Valley and U.S. Highway 75 near Fort Calhoun, Neb. DeSoto currently remains open.

A flood information hotline – (712) 242-1104 – will be available to Pottawattamie County residents Today (Thursday) and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

New senior inspector at Nebraska nuclear plant

News

June 19th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

BLAIR, Neb. (AP) – Federal regulators have appointed a new senior inspector at the Nebraska nuclear power plant that recently reopened after nearly three years offline. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday that Max Schneider will be the new senior resident inspector at Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant just across the Missouri River from Iowa.

Fort Calhoun resumed generating power in December after a prolonged outage to address regulators’ safety concerns and make sure flood damage was repaired. Fort Calhoun is owned by the Omaha Public Power District.

The NRC keeps at least two inspectors at every nuclear power plant. Schneider will join resident inspector Jacob Wingebach at Fort Calhoun.