Volunteers are needed this weekend for a clean-up project along the Missouri River’s banks in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area. Jeff Barrow, spokesman for the group Missouri River Relief, says there’s plenty of work to be done. “Trash comes in from upstream and collects in the woods and islands in the metro area,” Barrow says. “We’ll probably get ten tons of trash with the volunteers who turn out on Saturday.”

This is the fifth annual event to clean up the river and Barrow says volunteers are key in making it a success. “River Relief has the boats and equipment and tools to run the event but we need the volunteers to provide the muscle and the heart and soul,” he says. “That’s what gets the job done.

During last year’s event, volunteers hauled out 58 tires, three refrigerators, four T-Vs, 400 pounds of metal, 100 pounds of rebar, a 500-gallon metal diesel tank and a plastic pink flamingo. If you can offer a hand, Barrow says to dress accordingly. “They don’t call it the Big Muddy for nothing,” he says, “so wear good shoes that are strong and that you don’t mind getting dirty.”

The clean-up is from 9 to noon on Saturday, rain or shine. Registration will be at the Riverfront Marina at Lewis and Clark Landing in Omaha. Volunteers will be treated to a complimentary lunch. Details are available at “riverrelief.org“.

(Radio Iowa)

AMES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa State student is being treated for tuberculosis that was caught during screening required for incoming international students.  The university said in a website posting on Friday that the student lives on campus but will remain isolated until officials approve the individual’s return to classes.  The student’s name and other personal and school information are not being released.

People who have had close, prolonged contact with the student will be contacted by Homeward/Story County Public Health for screenings. Allan Lynch of the Iowa Department of Public Health says tuberculosis is not easily transmitted in schools or the workplace.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says tuberculosis usually affects the lungs but also can affect other parts of the body, including the brain or kidneys.

The public is invited to attend an open house this (Friday) evening for the Atlantic Middle School. The event will be held from 5-to 7-pm, prior to the start of the Atlantic football game. Parents and patrons of the district will have a chance to check out the recently completed renovations at the Middle School, which include a new science lab, new windows and refurbished classroom floors. You’ll also have a chance to discuss future Capital Improvement Projects planned for other district buildings, with Design Alliance Architect firm representative Jerry Purdy.

Among the projects planned are four new classrooms at Washington Elementary as well as a lunch room, and the moving of third grade students from Washington Elementary to Schuler Elementary, which requires the creation of 11 additional classrooms at Schuler. A commons/dining area is also planned for the Atlantic Middle School, the addition of seven classrooms and expanding the art room at the Atlantic High School, and the addition of an access road behind Washington, to help deal with traffic congestion on 14th Street in front of the school.

Other projects include the replacing of 18-year old heat pumps at the high school, new bleachers in the Atlantic Middle School gym, and seats in the auditorium. School officials have said increased enrollment and the need for addition space to house special classes, are the reasons they are considering the projects.

Police in Atlantic report the arrest on Thursday, of 25-year old Kayla Ashburn, of Atlantic. Ashburn was taken into custody on a Cass County warrant for Theft in the 5th degree. She was brought to the Cass County Jail and held pending an initial court appearance.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The City of Atlantic’s Planning and Zoning Commission will meet Tuesday evening at City Hall. One of the topics of discussion during the meeting that begins at 5:30-p.m., Tuesday under “New Business,” is the Poet, LLC ethanol rail site, located north of the Rock Island Depot on north Chestnut Street.

City Administrator Doug Harris told KJAN news earlier this week that City Zoning Administrator John Lund issued a “Stop Work” order, which required Poet to cease construction of an ethanol “transloading station in Atlantic, because it did so without the City’s permission.

An e-mail to Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees from Rail Portfolio Manager Christian McIlvain, said as many as eight railcars at any given time will be loaded at the transloading station, each of which will be equipped with track spill pans to serve as a spill containment. The company intends to transload fuel from tanker trucks coming to town from Coon Rapids, into as many as 25 railcars, weekly. Physical movement of the cars will be handled by crews with Iowa Interstate Railroad.

City officials and others met with representatives from Poet Thursday morning. City Attorney Dave Wiederstein has acknowledged federal law pertaining to rail operations prohibits the City from stopping the project, but they City does have a say when it comes to the project complying with electrical, plumbing and fire codes.

City officials are concerned about public safety and wear and tear on Commerce Street (the main access road to the transloading site), but officials with Poet have said they are willing to work with the City with regard to any damage and repair of the street. And, Atlantic Fire Chief McNees told KJAN News he’s satisfied the company will have the proper safety precautions in-place when the stations are built.

w/ Ric Hanson

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials have launched a communications tool that aims to inform residents about new and emerging drug concerns. The Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy says the service will provide updates via a monthly newsletter. Special alerts may be issued via social media and local news.

Policy Director Steve Lukan says it’s important for Iowa residents to get timely information about the growing number of new synthetic drugs and other modified substances of abuse. Residents can sign up for the monthly newsletter online.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa public health officials have received a $1.8 million federal grant to help ensure children and some adults get adequate dental care. The money from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be used to expand a school-based dental program called I-Smile Dental Home Initiative and to monitor and evaluate the state’s dental public health program.

I-Smile helps Iowa’s children connect with dentists who provide treatment and evaluation. Other health professionals including dental hygienists, physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, physician assistants, and dietitians are a part of a larger network providing oral screenings, education, guidance, and preventive services as needed. Since I-Smile began, 62 percent more low-income Iowa children have received dental services. Iowa is one of 18 states to receive CDC funding.

Funeral services will be held tomorrow (Saturday) in Harlan, for a five-year old Atlantic boy whose body was found August 31st in a ravine near Logan, in Harrison County. 17-year old Cody Metzker-Madsen has been charged with 1st degree murder in connection with the death of Dominic Lloyd Elkins. Metzker-Madsen is scheduled for his first court appearance on Monday.
Dominic’s mother, 24-year old Barbara Kunch, of Atlantic, told the Daily NonPareil that Dominic had behavior problems, but was getting better. Those problems eventually led to his placement in foster care and also a treatment program at Children’s Square U.S.A. in Council Bluffs. Staff at Children’s Square told Kunch that her son’s behavior was improving and that he reacted better to medications for his attention deficit disorder, oppositional defiant disorder and sleeping disorder.Dominic was placed in the Children’s Square treatment program in October 2012 and left in February of this year. He had lived with his foster parents near Logan for only three-weeks when the incident that led to his death occurred. Metzker-Madsen initially claimed he wasn’t responsible for the boy’s death, and that while he and Dominic were playing, the 5-year old hit both himself and Metzker-Madsen in the head with a brick before running off toward the ravine where his body was found face-down in a small stream. Authorities say the child had multiple injuries to his head and torso. An official autopsy result has not yet been released.
Funeral services for Dominic Elkins will be held on Saturday, September 7th at 1:00 pm in the Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan. Metzker-Madsen is being held in the Harrison County jail under a $500,000 bond, and will be tried as an adult. His preliminary hearing is scheduled 11 a.m. on Sept. 9 at the Harrison County courthouse.