With State law having changed with regard to funding for the Mental Health and Disabilities Services in Iowa, Counties are forming Regions to respond to the changes. The Southwest Region includes nine counties (Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page, Pottawatttamie and Shelby). Local advisory and Community input meetings have been scheduled to take place across the Southwest Region. The first was held Tuesday, in Shenandoah. Cass County Mental Health/General Relief Coordinator Teresa Kanning said the next meeting will be held in Pottawattamie County. She says the meeting takes place Dec. 19^th at the Oakland Community Center (614 Dr. Van Zee Road), in Oakland.

The meeting begins at 3-pm and runs until 5-p.m. In the event of a snowstorm, it will be held January 7^th at the same location. The public is invited to attend the session to provide input into the current mental health service system, including what you feel works and doesn’t work. It’s also designed to: develop ideas for future service needs, including Crisis Response in rural areas; Build relationships and interest in participating in Local Advisory Councils, and to provide an overview of the developing region’s progress, administrative structure, future board and advisory structure, and current service systems.

Anyone who is a consumer of mental health services, family members of those using mental health and disability services, community mental health/developmentally disabled service providers and those interested in being a part of forming the Southwest Iowa MH/DS Region, is urged to attend. The meeting is being facilitated by Beth Morrissette, Executive Director of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Network.

If you miss the Dec. 19^th meeting in Oakland, there will be a final session in Harrison County, January 21^st,  at the Dunlap City Hall.

Officials with Iowa Western Community College in Atlantic report that with the help of local donors, a new piece of technology has been purchased for the Design Technology Program, with the goal of understanding how objects can be taken from the physical world, translated into a virtual image, and then reproduced (using a 3-D printer) back into the physical world. The piece of equipment, made by FARO Industries, is commonly referred to as the FARO Arm and Laser Scanner.

FARO arm & laser scanner (Picture from FARO.com)

By using a highly tuned laser scanner, thousands of points per second are reflected off of the surface of an object. The result is a collage of hundreds of thousands of points, (referred to as a “point cloud”), which is reminiscent of a 3-D game of connect-the-dots. The point cloud is then uploaded to specialized software that connects all the points to create solid surfaces. At this point, the object can be manipulated and altered to fit the needs of the Design Technology students. Once the virtual image is verified, the students can then hit the “Print” button and the design will spring to life, creating a copy of the object that was just scanned.

This technology now gives students the opportunity to recreate objects that may be too complex to measure with traditional hand tools. With the FARO Laser Scanner, students can now capture all of the free-flowing, aerodynamic curves. The tandem function of Design Technology’s 3-D printer and the Faro Laser Scanner gives Design Tech students a unique experience during their education. In addition, it creates a broad skill set that will earn them the opportunity to be employed in a wide variety of positions across a full spectrum of industries.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Director of Plant Operations at the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic was recently recognized recently as a “Hospital Hero,” by the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA).  Roger Sandhorst was one of just ten hospital employees selected from the 174,000 hospital workers across the state to receive this honor at the 2013 Iowa Hospital Association’s Annual Meeting.  IHA has been recognizing Hospital Heroes for seven years.  Sandhorst is only the second facilities manager to earn this distinction.

Roger Sandhorst (center) was presented with his Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) Hospital Hero award by Scott Curtis, IHA Board Chairman, and Pat Markham, CEO of Cass County Memorial Hospital, at this fall’s IHA Annual Meeting in Des Moines.

He was nominated as a Hospital Hero by the Cass County Memorial Hospital Administrative Team.  CCMH CEO Pat Markham said “Roger’s dedication to our staff, patients and community is unfailing, and we are thrilled he received this well-deserved recognition.” Markham added that while Sandhorst does not provide direct patient care, “His commitment to service and excellence directly impacts the ability of [our] direct care workers to provide outstanding care to [our] patients.”

The IHA program for the awards ceremony contained the following summary of Roger’s nomination as a Hospital Hero: “Heroes come in many shapes, sizes and colors. Some even wear capes!  Many though, are much less visible, preferring to fly under the radar.  Roger Sandhorst is one of those quiet heroes.  Never one to attract attention, to put things off, to give up, or even go on vacation, Roger is too busy taking care of everyone else to put himself first.

“In a hospital full of professional caregivers, the Director of Plant Operations may seem an unlikely recipient of the Hospital Hero Award.  He may not have a medical or nursing degree, or even touch patients, but he spends all of his routine 10 – 12 hour days caring for others in his own way.  Of course, he is always ready to go in an emergency.  Snowstorms, power outages, broken pipes – Roger is leading his crew to save the day quickly, quietly and professionally.  But what really makes Roger stand out is what he does every day, when it isn’t an emergency.  How he oversees the routine care of a 45 year old building, where visitors routinely comment “It can’t be that old!”  How he ensures that routine requests are handled almost as quickly as emergencies.  How he sets the standard of professionalism to the highest degree.

“During his 27 years as Supervisor and Director of the Plant Operations Department, Roger has led Cass County Memorial Hospital through two major addition and renovation projects.  His expertise has been key to the successful completion of these projects, bringing state-of-the-art medical facilities to the people of southwest Iowa.   He makes it possible for the medical personnel to do their jobs just that much better, contributing to the life-saving care they give every day.

“Roger’s dedication to Cass County Memorial Hospital has been unwavering.  In 27 years, his vacation days could probably be counted on your toes and fingers.  Hours of the day mean nothing to Roger when it comes to taking care of the people and facilities that make up CCMH.  Whatever it takes, whenever it happens, Roger is there.  He has earned the respect and gratitude of all who have had the privilege to experience his quiet care and compassion.  Roger Sandhorst truly is a Hospital Hero.”

The head of the Iowa Department of Public Safety plans to replace retiring state troopers, but the budget outline Public Safety Commissioner Larry Noble has drafted does not call for expanding the ranks of the Iowa State Highway Patrol. The union for state troopers argues about 100 more officers should be hired to adequately patrol the state’s highways and respond to emergencies at all hours of the day and night.

Noble acknowledges some troopers may have to travel greater distances or work more overtime. “I think that we will sustain coverage,” Noble says. “…We are going to provide services to the citizens of Iowa.” Noble expects 19 troopers to retire within the 18 months — and he says it takes a year to 18 months to train a replacement. “We’re going to have an academy this summer so that way we can prepare for that,” Noble says.  As of today, there are 348 state troopers on the payroll.

“We do more than just write tickets,” Noble says. “We go beyond the stop and we work in criminal interdiction, such as drugs (and) human trafficking. We’ve had instances of that where people are taken against their will.” Noble says. The patrol is now a “stable” organization, according to Noble, a former state trooper who says deep budget cuts in the past have been gradually restored.

Noble presented a budget outline for his entire agency to Governor Branstad on Tuesday afternoon. He proposes NO increase, but the same level of spending as the current year.

(Radio Iowa)

Sheriff’s officials in Adams County report the arrest Tuesday night, of Tommy Watters, from Corning. Watters was taken into custody at around 8-p.m. after his vehicle was stopped on Corning Carl Road for having a headlight out. During an investigation, deputies learned Watters had a suspended license. He was taken into custody for Driving Under Suspension and brought to the Adams County Jail, where Watters was released later on $566 bond.

Police in Red Oak arrested a local woman Tuesday night on a valid Montgomery County warrant for Contempt of Court. 40-year old Tiffany Lea Palmer, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 9:45-p.m. in the 1800 block of Highway 48. She was brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held without bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A popular deer donation program is starting up again in Iowa. The state Department of Natural Resources says the program, Help Us Stop Hunger, involves hunters bringing in a whole deer that will be processed into packages of ground meat. The Food Bank of Iowa coordinates the distribution of the meat to local food pantries.

Jim Coffey, who coordinates the program, says hunters simultaneously reduce the deer herd and provide needed protein to the food bank. Iowa hunters have donated more than 56,000 deer to the program since it began. More than 5,200 deer were donated last year, resulting in 800,000 meals.