DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The electronic system used by lawyers, judges and clerks to file Iowa court records is temporarily out of service statewide. Court system spokesman Steve Davis said the Electronic Data Management System had spotty availability Monday and went down statewide all day Tuesday.

He says security patches that were installed Friday “caused or exacerbated system performance issues” and that hacking isn’t suspected. Amid the outage, Chief Justice Mark Cady signed an order Tuesday allowing clerks of court in Iowa’s 99 counties to accept paper filings until further notice.

Davis says the computer system is regularly backed up, and workers are using that information to restore the system to its condition prior to Friday. When the system returns, he says paper filings made in the meantime will have to be added.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa is on track to see a 10 percent decline of opioid sales for 2017 amid national concerns about the abuse of such prescriptions. The Des Moines Register reports that the executive director of the Iowa Board of Pharmacy, Andrew Funk, relayed the information on Monday to a legislative committee studying opioid abuse.  Funk says Iowa health care practitioners are trimming prescriptions of opioid painkillers and other addictive pills. He says the state is expected to reach about 270 million prescription pills sold for 2017, down from 301 million pills sold last year.

The totals are determined by Iowa’s Prescription Drug Monitoring system, which tracks pharmacies’ sales of addictive prescription medications. Committee members say the figures are a promising development amid a national epidemic of abuse of addictive narcotics.

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports three people were arrested last week on warrants. 49-year old Kevin Eugene Stark, of Adair, was arrested Oct. 12th at the Polk County Jail on an Adair County warrant for Possession of a Controlled Substance/ 3rd or subsequent offense, and on warrants for Driving While Barred (2 counts). Stark was being held without bond in the Adair County Jail.

29-year old Seth Robert Lee Baker, of Stuart, was arrested Oct. 12th, also at the Polk County Jail. Baker was wanted on an Adair County warrant for Assault Causing Bodily Injury or Mental Illness. He was released on Oct. 13th after posting a $1,000 bond or surety.

And, 25-year old Haley Nicole Hamler, of Knoxville, was arrested Oct. 13th in Marion County, on an Adair County warrant for Violation of Probation. Her bond was set at $5,000.

The Harlan Police Department reports the arrest on Oct. 14th, of 18-year old Juan Carlos Andrew Lara Juaraz, of Harlan. Juaraz was arrested following a traffics top and transported to the Shelby County Jail, where he was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was also charge with failure to hold a valid driver’s license.

Harlan Police also issued separate citations to three individuals. 20-year old Kelsie Michele Kleffman, of Harlan, was cited Oct. 10th, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and speeding. 23-year old Brandon Lee Anderson, of Harlan, was cited Oct. 16th for driving while suspended, and 26-year old Jessica Rae Borquez, of Harlan, was cited for driving while suspended, Oct. 9th.

Harlan Police report also, there were non-injury accidents that took place Oct. 11th, 12th, 13th and 16th.

The Griswold School Board, Monday, discussed their enrollment numbers. Superintendent Dave Henrichs said the certified numbers are down. The certified enrollment [resident students regardless of where they attend school] was 505.9, down 10.69 from a year ago. The BEDS enrollment students that are served everyday regardless of where they live] was 478.8, which was down 8.29. Those numbers were not unexpected, according to Henrichs. BEDS is the Basic Educational Data Survey. Henrichs said as they went through the bond referendum process, they told the public the numbers were expected to drop 15 students in each of the next three years, so they are ahead of what was projected.

The Board tabled action on Backpack restriction, opting instead to have further research conducted. The Griswold School Board also approved a request with regard to girls basketball practice procedures. The girls basketball coach asked if the 8^th grade girls could practice with other athletes, and it was approved, but left as an option and up to the discretion of Athletic Director Katie Elwood. It would not be mandatory.

Henrichs said a meeting will be held 2-p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 18^th) with regard to the facilities project and the budget. He said also no decisions will be made on the purchase of a replacement van or suburban for an older model that’s experiencing costly mechanical issues. The Board did approve the specs to be sent out to bid.

The Griswold Board he says, hired Haley Tryon as a 1:1 elementary level para-educator, Amy Hook was hired as assistant high school girls basketball coach, and they approved the resignation of Bob Amos as assistant high school wrestling coach, but he will remain as a volunteer. Henrichs also wanted to recognize Farm Credit Services of America. They donated $6,000 to the Griswold FFA for their Greenhouse Project. The greenhouse hoops are up. The next phase is to install the siding.