The Clarinda Police Department reports two Griswold residents were arrested this (Tuesday) morning. 34-year old Phillip William Church was arrested for OWI/2nd offense, an aggravated misdemeanor, and for providing false information to a police officer. 35-year old Kendra Gail Cruz was arrested for Interference with official acts.

The Clarinda P-D reports also, 33-year old Bryan Scott Casey, of Clarinda, was arrested Monday for public intoxication. And on Sunday, 29-year old Joshua Daniel MacVenn, of Clarinda, was arrested on a Page County warrant for failure to pay child support, and driving while license revoked for an OWI conviction.

In other news, Police Chief Keith Brothers say a Clarinda resident reported on Saturday, the theft of a Chevrolet pickup truck and an estimated $1,000 worth of personal property from the vehicle. The incident occurred in the 100 block of west Washington Street. On Sunday, a Clarinda woman reported an incident of arson and destruction of her property in the 900 block of east State Street. The damage was estimated at $100.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is requesting public input on the proposed bridge replacement on Iowa 92 over Little Silver Creek, three-tenths of a mile west of the west junction of Iowa 92 and Pottawattamie County Road L-55.

The proposed project provides for replacing the existing bridge with a pre-stressed, pre-tensioned concrete beam bridge that is 193 feet by 44 feet. New bridge approaches would be constructed, existing guardrail would be replaced, and the shoulders would be paved 20 feet beyond the end of the guardrail. The new bridge would be constructed using the accelerated bridge construction process that involves building the bridge components off-site. Using this process would require the roadway to be closed for 21 days to remove and replace the existing bridge.

Through traffic on Iowa 92 would be detoured during the bridge removal and replacement process using Pottawattamie County Road L-55, U.S. 6, interstates 80 and 29.

For general information or to make a comment regarding the proposed bridge replacement, contact Don Stevens, assistant district engineer, Iowa DOT District 4 Office in Atlantic,  at 712-243-3355 or 800-289-4368. Or, email donald.stevens@dot.iowa.gov. Comments must be received by Oct. 29, 2013, to be considered.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say at least two people have been shot and a man has barricaded himself inside a Council Bluffs home.  Pottawattamie County dispatcher Scott Vandervort  says a negotiator and a SWAT unit were sent to the house around 8:15 Tuesday morning.  Vandervort says the two people were taken to area hospitals. He says he doesn’t have any information on them other than they are not police officers.

He didn’t have more information about what is happening at the house, which sits on the west side of town. He says police representatives can’t respond to questions because they are busy at the scene.

A pre-trial conference for a former Harlan teacher accused of sexual exploitation that was supposed to have been held Monday (Oct. 14^th) in Shelby County District Court, will instead be held next Monday (Oct. 21^st). Judge James Richardson granted a continuance in the case of Lee Nelson, who was to have appeared in court on charges of Sexual Exploitation by a School Employee and Assault with Intent to Commit Sexual Abuse. The 72-year-old Nelson had earlier pled not guilty to the charges.  His trial is set to begin Oct. 29th.

A 17-year-old female claiming to be a victim and her parents contacted police on May 30, 2013, and reported that Nelson had allegedly been saying rude and inappropriate things to the female, as well as touching her inappropriately.

The incidents allegedly occurred at school, on band trips and at his residence.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Atlantic Board of Education heard a presentation Monday night from High School Ag Instructor and Atlantic FFA Advisor, Eric Miller. Miller spoke with regard to the district’s proposed CASE curriculum. CASE stands for Curriculum for Agriculture, Science and Education.Miller says the concept is for science- or inquiry-based learning. More specifically, it focuses on math and science, and how those areas relate to agriculture.

Atlantic H.S. Ag Instructor Eric Miller.

He says the curriculum allows a student to see the benefits of math and how it pertains to their agricultural experience. Miller says students sometimes don’t realize how important math is for their careers, whether it’s in agriculture, other industries and trades. He says the program involves student-led agriculture, also. Miller says students have to learn how a process works and find the answer to a question that they develop on their own, through the scientific process.

The program is offered in a year-long course, which Atlantic has not had in quite a while. Miller said it’s a nod back to “The old style of teaching agriculture.” One of the topics is AFNR (Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources), an entry level course. Later offerings may include animal and plant sciences. Miller says the curriculum goes along with the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) courses many schools are teaching, and is aligned with national Ag standards as well as the Iowa Core curriculum.

The big issue he says is the cost. In order for Miller to attend the 10-day certification course, 8-hours per day, is $2,500 plus $10,000 for books and materials. He says some of the equipment can be borrowed from the Science Department at the high school, to save cost, but some will need to be purchased throughout the year. Miller says he has also applied for a $5,000 grant from Pioneer. The CASE curriculum is currently being offered in the Audubon and Griswold School Districts, but is not yet offered in Atlantic.

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The Atlantic School Board, Monday, tabled a last minute addition to their agenda, with regard to the purchase of security cameras for the Middle School. Middle School Principal Josh Rasmussen said recent incidents where he spent a good deal of time investigating what occurred, could have been more easily resolved with the addition of three security cameras.

The Board received two bids for security cameras and related equipment, but the question of how to pay for them dogged the school board. Business Manager Mary Beth Fast said they could add them to the physical plant and equipment levy project list (PPEL), because it’s a safety issue, but that might mean shifting other projects out.

Board President Kristy Pellett said the cameras would be more equipment that would eventually need to be replaced, and something they need to plan for. Board member Phil Hascall agreed. He said he understands it’s a matter of safety, but there needs to be better planning, additional discussion, and how other PPEL projects might be affected. Pellett said there’s already a lot of projects on the list they’ve been putting off, that are equally important.

Pellett said keeping up with technology is important, but she said “Somewhere, we’ve got to set some priorities.” Superintendent Mike Amstein said the matter would be placed before the Board during their meeting next month, once more information has been gathered. 

A teenager accused of killing his 5-year old foster brother in rural Harrison County as the two played near a ravine last August, will remain in jail, and not be transferred to a juvenile detention center in Council Bluffs. The Omaha World-Herald reports  the ruling was issued by a judge Monday, at the Harrison County Courthouse.

17-year old Cody Metzker-Madsen is in solitary confinement at the jail, because minors are separated from other inmates. Another motion to determine whether Metzker-Madsen’s first-degree murder charge would be moved to juvenile court, will be decided on Dec. 6th.

Metzker-Madsen is accused in the death of an Atlantic boy, 5-year old Dominic Elkins, who, according to court documents, had multiple injuries to his head and torso. Metzker-Madsen is being held in the Harrison County Jail on $500,000 bail.

Both were foster children in the care of Don and Julie Coolman, who reside near Logan. Metzker-Madsen had lived in the Coolman home for about three years, while Dominic had been there a few weeks.

The Atlantic High School Forensics Department announced Monday (Oct. 15th), the dates for the fall play. “Nevermind How It Happened, How Did It End?” will be performed at the Atlantic High School Auditorium on October 31, November 1st and 2nd, at 7:30 p.m.

Director, Matthew Smith says he is very excited about this year’s theatrical offering, stating, “We have some very committed actors in this production–and that will be evident in their acting! I have been surprised at our younger cast members, as well. We have a lot of talent coming up.”

The play is a generational romantic comedy written by David Rogers. The story revolves around mothers and daughters, fathers and daughters and how each generation’s choices echo from the past. The plot  illuminate’s the family’s love stories, their struggles with teenagers and parents, their conflicts between choosing careers and raising children to make choices that are founded in their parents’ wisdom. There are many flashback scenes that weave in and out of the present.

“This is a true ensemble production with nearly 40 cast members,” said Smith. “There are two or three people playing the same character but at different stages in life. The audience will be quite familiar with the many of the locations as the play is set is small-town Iowa.”

With Atlantic’s city-wide trick-or-treating ending at 7:00 p.m.on October 31, the public will have plenty of time to make the 7:30 curtain time. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. for all productions and admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students. Activity passes will be honored at the door.

(Press Release)