A Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy has claimed the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) Award for “Outstanding Performance as a Drug Recognition Expert” (DRE). A DRE has the training to help identify drivers impaired by drugs other than alcohol. Deputy Ben Bartholomew, a more than five-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, won the award for the second consecutive year in a row. “Bart,” as he’s known, received a certificate along with the recognition at an event held last Wednesday, in Altoona.

Bartholomew performed 27 evaluations last year on drivers suspected of being impaired. While he normally works at night, his fellow deputies and other law enforcement officers can call on his expertise anytime it is needed. He says he dealing with those who are drug impaired is not limited exclusively to the nighttime hours. Bartholomew says they deal with many people who abuse prescription drugs, and drug use has evolved from a party atmosphere to addicts who use them anytime of the day, and put the public at risk when they drive.

Bart says all of the DRE’s are well trained in multiple techniques to identify and test for impaired drivers. A couple of months ago, an ARIDE (Advanced Roadside Impairment Detection Enforcement) class was held in Atlantic, to help area law enforcement officers identify potentially impaired drivers, before they call a DRE. He says it’s his job to determine which drug is impairing the driver.

Bartholomew says there are no specific age groups or genders of people he typically identifies as driving while impaired by drugs. And, he says people need to understand DRE’s are not there to pick on impaired drivers. He says it’s a DRE’s responsibility to make sure an impaired driver doesn’t injure themselves or other drivers.

Police in Council Bluffs are looking for two men suspected in the attempted murder Sunday, of 36-year old Thomas M. Campbell, of Council Bluffs. Sgt. Dave Dawson, with the Council Bluffs Police Department, says Campbell was shot in an apartment at 817 2nd Avenue, at around 8:17-p.m., Sunday.The man suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest. He was transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where Campbell was reported to be in critical, but stable condition.

Dawson said an investigation into the shooting determined two black men in their 30’s arrived at Campbell’s apartment and attempted a home invasion. One of the suspects wore a ski mask, a light gray sweatshirt, jeans and black gloves. A more detailed description of the second suspect is not available.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867.

Iowans are being reminded of all the dangerous possibilities that come with spring, from flooding to tornadoes, as this is the first day of Severe Weather Awareness Week. Meteorologist Jeff Johnson, at the National Weather Service, says we should all brush up on safety procedures, though he notes, last year was relatively quiet. “Last year, of course, we had the drought, which was bad, but the other side of that coin, we had a very tranquil severe weather season with only 16 tornadoes in the state.” That was the lowest number of tornadoes in Iowa since 1963. Iowa averages 47 tornadoes per year. A record 120 tornadoes touched down in Iowa in 2004. During this Severe Weather Awareness Week, different themes will be covered each day.

“Flash flooding, the warning decisions, tornadoes on Wednesday, severe thunderstorms on Thursday and family preparedness on Friday,” Johnson says. “The week will be highlighted by the statewide tornado drill which will occur at 10 AM on Wednesday, the 27th.” That tornado drill should be taken seriously, giving everyone a chance to think of what they should do if it were the real thing and where they would take cover. The Tornado Watch will be issued at 10 o’clock on Wednesday.

“And then at about 10:15, we’ll issue a Tornado Warning for our area that will go over the Weather Radio System, through the Emergency Alert System and through the other systems,” he says. Learn more at: www.weather.gov/dmx

(Radio Iowa)

COUNTIES:SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-POLK-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD….

354 AM CDT MON MAR 25 2013

…SLICK ROADS POSSIBLE FOR THE MORNING COMMUTE…

LIGHT SNOW OVERNIGHT FELL ATOP PARTIALLY MELTED ROADWAYS AND HAD ACCUMULATED TO A FEW TENTHS OF AN INCH. ONCE THIS GETS DRIVEN UPON IT WILL LIKELY FORM A LAYER OF SLUSH OR ICE THAT WILL MAKE THE MORNING COMMUTE SLICK. ALLOW EXTRA DISTANCE BETWEEN VEHICLES THIS MORNING AS WELL AS EXTRA TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION. BY MID TO LATE MORNING EVEN UNTREATED ROADS WILL BEGIN TO MELT.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s travel site (www.511ia.org), indicates a majority of the roads and bridge in the KJAN listening area are covered with ice early this (Monday) morning. Be very cautious if you plan on traveling. Several accidents were reported to have occurred on Interstate 80 Sunday evening and night between Adair, Stuart and Dexter, as the temperatures began to drop and the roads became slick. I-29 north and near Council Bluffs, was reported to be wet, as of 3:50-a.m.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The town of Adair fired its police chief last fall because he lacked a valid firearms certificate and had been eavesdropping on the city clerk.  The Des Moines Register reports public records reveal why former Chief Robert Koeneman was fired last September.

Koeneman was denied unemployment benefits after city officials testified that he had let his certifications lapse. Plus, he directed the city’s part-time officer, Lt. Josephine Weston, to carry a cell phone into the clerk’s office and set it down so he could listen to what was said. Koeneman says he was treated unfairly. Weston was also fired after using the city bidding process to buy a police cruiser for her own use without paying sales tax.

The sheriff handled police calls in Adair until a full-time officer was hired in November.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says an investigation into an alleged domestic altercation in Red Oak, lead to the arrest Sunday afternoon of 30-year old Michelle Renee Shuffler, of Red Oak. Officials say they received a 9-1-1 call about the incident at a residence in the 1000 block of Miller Avenue, at around 1:40-p.m.

Schuffler was subsequently taken into custody on one count of Domestic Assault and one count of Simple Assault. She was being held in the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on $300 bond.

A house fire in Shenandoah Sunday morning claimed the lives of some family pets, but no one was injured. According to reports, firefighters responded to the home of William Hamilton at 1311 W. Lowell Street, just before 4-a.m., Sunday. Prior to their arrival, the flames consumed a bathroom and were spreading to a bedroom. Among the animals lost in the blaze were some birds and hamsters. A family cat was also missing.

Firefighters were on the scene for about 90-minutes. A dollar amount of the damage was not immediately available, and there was no word on the cause.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports one-person was injured during a single-vehicle accident Sunday morning on 183rd Street, near Corning. 22-year old Leah Marie Purcell, of Corning, was driving a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix eastbound on 183rd, when the car went out of control at and slid off the road, around 9-a.m.  Officials say the road was snow covered at the time of the accident. Purcell was transported by ambulance to the Corning hospital, for treatment of non-incapacitating injuries. Her vehicle sustained about $5,000 damage, and was declared a total loss.