The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U-S Justice Department reports Tyson Foods, Inc., has agreed to pay a $3.95-million civil penalty to settle alleged violations of Clean Air Act regulations covering the prevention of chemical accidents at its facilities in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. As part of a consent decree lodged today (Friday) in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, Mo., Tyson agreed to conduct pipe-testing and third-party audits of its ammonia refrigeration systems to improve compliance with the Clean Air Act’s Risk Management Program requirements at all 23 of the company’s facilities in the four Midwestern states.

Those facilities include Tyson operations located in Cherokee, Columbus Junction, Council Bluffs, Denison, Perry, Sioux City, Storm Lake and Waterloo in Iowa, and four facilities in Nebraska. Among them is the plant in Omaha.  The settlement stems from a series of eight separate incidents between 2006 and 2010 in which accidental releases of anhydrous ammonia at Tyson facilities resulted in property damage, multiple injuries, and one fatality.

In addition to the $3.95 million penalty, pipe-testing and third-party audits, Tyson will also spend at least $300,000 as part of a Supplemental Environmental Project that will purchase anhydrous ammonia related emergency response equipment for fire departments in eight environmental justice communities where the company’s operations are located. In Council Bluffs, that amounts to $78,990, and in Omaha,  $17,934. The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.

Through a series of inspections and information requests, EPA found multiple occasions of noncompliance with the Clean Air Act’s chemical accident prevention provisions at Tyson’s facilities. Dating back to October 2006, those violations included failures to follow the general industry standards to test or replace safety relief valves, improperly co-located gas-fired boilers and ammonia machinery, as well as failures to abide by the Clean Air Act’s Risk Management Program prevention and reporting requirements.

Tyson, headquartered in Springdale, Ark., is the world’s largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Friday) released information on two accidents which occurred last Sunday. At around 3:50-p.m.,  a two vehicle accident took place at the intersection of White Pole Road (Hwy 6) and Whitney Streets, in Atlantic. Authorities say a 2011 Buick Enclave driven by 38-year old Darin M. Brees, of Olathe, KS, was traveling eastbound on White Pole Road and attempting a left turn onto Whitney Street, when the vehicle hit a 2008 Toyota Prius owned and driven by 23-year old Michael Brian Brady, of Atlantic. The accident happened as Brady was entering the intersection. No injuries were reported and no citations were issued. Damage to both vehicles is estimated at $2500 each.

The second accident happened late Sunday night. Officials say the accident involving a 2004 Dodge Stratus took place at around 11:50-p.m.  The sheriff’s office says 22-year old Veronica Lynn Mardesen, of Griswold, was traveling south on 560^th Street when she lost control of the vehicle, which then entered the east ditch. No injuries were reported. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $3000. Mardesen was cited for Failure to Maintain Control.

The National Weather Service in Omaha, and Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency say the Fire Weather category will remain in the VERY HIGH category today (Friday). Windy and warm conditions are expected. Southerly surface winds may gust up to 25-35 mph at times this afternoon. Officials say if you do burn today, to watch the fire closely as it can spread very rapidly.

Montgomery County Emergency Manager Brian Hamman says all controlled burns in Montgomery County should be reported to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at 712-623-5107. Hamman says a burn ban is not expected at this time, but if dry conditions continue into the spring, another burn ban such as the one which last summer for 94 days, could be placed into effect.

w/ Ric Hanson

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An Atlantic man was arrested Thursday afternoon, on a theft charge. The Atlantic Police Department reports 24-year old Joseph Fredericksen was arrested for 5th degree theft in connection with an alleged incident at Wal-Mart. Fredericksen was booked into the Cass County Jail and held pending an appearance before the magistrate.

The Walnut City Council spent a good deal of time Thursday evening discussing ways to keep the community a viable tourist attraction, by means of the Streetscape Program. City Clerk Terry Abell, says the goal is to have an attractive downtown for visitors and residents alike. She says they’re talking about having the merchants get together with the City to determine what is best for the future of the downtown area, which she says “Is a positive thing.”

Terry says there a “Lots of ideas,” and that’s it will be something that’s “A work in progress for a while.” She says “Everybody wants to maintain the antique ambiance of the community, and not jeopardize the integrity of what they’ve worked so hard to accomplish. The goal of course, is to have “A nice looking downtown.” Walnut bills itself as “Iowa’s Antique City.”

In other business, the Walnut City Council approved the Fire Department’s recommendation to reappoint Justen Tooley as Fire Chief, for a third, consecutive two-year term. Following a public hearing, the Council also adopted a resolution approving a loan agreement and bond purchase for $1.06-million in General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2013, and authorized early redemption of outstanding bonds. Along with that, Terry Abell says they approved a motion to amend the Fiscal Year 2012-2013 budget by $217,000.

She says most of that had to do with the refunding of the State Revolving Fund – SRF – loan, that has to be paid-off, but was not in the original budget. She says they weren’t extending the budget in any specific area to compensate for the refunding of the loan.

w/ Chris Parks

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The annual report from the state Ombudsman shows the office received almost 45-hundred complaints in 2012, around the same amount as 2011. Ombudsman, Ruth Cooperider, found that just over three-thousand of the complaints fell under the jurisdiction of her office.
She says “Probably about a third of those would dealing with matters concerning the correctional system, whether it’s prisons or jails or community-based facilities. Because we do have jurisdiction to investigate complaints regarding those facilities, so we do get contacts from offenders or inmates.”

Second on the list for common complaints are human services concerns. “The wide range of issues dealing with child support, public assistance programs, Medicaid, just anything dealing with human services programs,” Cooperider says. Cooperider says complaints about local and county governments rounds out the top three when it comes to the type of complaints they receive. About half of the complaints don’t move ahead to be investigated. “It’s not necessarily that we don’t think they have merit, but under our statute we do have the ability to refer people maybe to an existing process,” Cooperider says. “For instance, if an inmate has a grieveable issue and they have not filed a grievance on that issue, we typically will refer them to that grievance process to try and seek a remedy there first. And if they are still not satisfied, they can come back to us.”

Cooperider says her annual report includes eight steps for people to resolve their own complaints before calling her office. She says that’s sometimes called “coaching” in the ombudsman community, where they give tips and information on where to go and how to present the issue. “And I think in some ways we are doing a services to them in how to negotiate government, not only on that issue, but in the future,” according to Cooperider.

You can see the Ombudsman’s 2012 Annual Report online at: www.legis.iowa.gov/Ombudsman. You can call the Ombudsman’s office with a compliant at:1-888-426-6283.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic says the facility’s west entrance and parking lot (along 10^th Street) will be closing Monday, April 8th, as demolition begins on the old patient wings.  Patients and visitors are asked to use the north atrium or east parking lots and entrances. CCMH CEO Pat Markham says “We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but it is important we take every precaution to keep our patients, visitors and staff safe during the demolition.” The area is expected to be closed for about four to six weeks.

(8-a.m. News)

Officials with Prudential Financial report a Red Oak eighth-grader will be recognized this (Friday) afternoon, as one of Iowa’s top two youth volunteers for 2013. Samantha Dilocker of Red Oak, Iowa, a student at the Red Oak Middle School, will be presented with an engraved silver medallion, as part of the “Prudential Spirit of Community Awards” program.

Samantha is being honored for initiating an annual auction of baked goods and crafts at her local Elks Lodge that has raised more than $14,000 over the past six years for a local food pantry, a scholarship fund, a community toy drive and a child with cancer.

As a State Honoree, Samantha also will receive $1,000 and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where she will join other State Honorees from across the country for several days of national recognition events. During the trip, 10 of the 102 State Honorees will be named America’s top youth volunteers for 2013.

She will receive her silver medallion during an awards presentation in the Red Oak Middle School’s 3^rd floor auditorium, beginning at around 2:55-p.m. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), represent the United States’ largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service.

Two State Honorees-one middle and one high school student-plus a select number of Distinguished Finalists from each state and the District of Columbia were selected based on criteria such as personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth. For more information on Samantha and her volunteering, click here: http://bit.ly/Xf5sRp