Two new members of the Shelby County Board of Supervisors were sworn into office this (Wednesday) morning. Prior to the start of the Boards’ regular meeting, Charlie Parkhurst and Steve Kenkel, along with Auditor Marsha Carter and Shelby County Sheriff Mark Hervey, were officially sworn-in. Parkhurst and Kenkel were elected to the Board last November. They replace Supervisors James Burmeister and Delbert Hull.

In other business, the Shelby County Supervisors re-elected Roger Schmitz as the Board Chair, while Kenkel was nominated as vice-chair. Auditor Marsha Carter informed the board that she, along with Schmitz, recently attended the Ordinance Committee meeting to discuss the Hotel/Motel Tax. Carter said during that meeting, she volunteered to become the fiscal agent for the tax money. However, the Supervisors did not make an actual motion regarding the Hotel/Motel Tax Ordinance. They are likely to bring that to their next meeting next Tuesday.

Shelby County Treasurer Carolyn Blum was in attendance at the Supervisors meeting to give an update on their recent audit from Gronewold and Associates. Blum said following Gronewold’s audit, there were a few discrepancies and she wanted to clarify a few things. Blum said the errors stemmed from advance taxes not being subtracted from the audit.

She said after presenting all the reports, the Gronewold associate was satisfied that they were in balance. Since the audit, Gronewold and Associates sent an e-mail to County officials saying it was their error, and that the Shelby County Treasurer’s Office records were correct.

The Shelby County Supervisors meeting finished with a report from Shelby County Engineer Dan Ahart.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

The Harlan Police Department reports five people were arrested over the course of the past week or so. On Sunday, 17-year old Jenna McDaniel and 21-year old Michael Tremayne, both of Harlan, were charged with Domestic Abuse Assault. The pair were arrested after officers investigated a reported altercation. Tremayne was brought to the Shelby County Jail, while McDaniel was transported to the Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs. That same day, 18-year old Cassidy Coenen, of Harlan, was arrested on a weapons charge, after she was found to be in possession of a switchblade knife, following a traffic stop.

On Saturday, officers with the Harlan P-D arrested 29-year old Gabriel Brown, of Harlan, for allegedly violating a No Contact Order. The order was issued after Brown was arrested last Friday, following an altercation between himself and his wife. Police had responded to the 800 block of Market Street after receiving a report of a man threatening suicide. During their investigation, Brown’s wife told police about the domestic incident. Brown was later taken into custody on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault.

And, 29-year old Bret VanPatten, of Harlan, was arrested Friday following a reported disturbance at the Westside Bar, in Harlan. VanPatten was charged with Public Intoxication.

Just two days into the New Year, and already two arrests have been reported in Audubon County. On Wednesday (today), 47-year old Lori Jean Handlos, of Carroll, turned herself-in to the Sheriff’s Department. Handlos was wanted on a warrant charging her with Revocation of her Probation. She is being held in the Audubon County Jail, and is scheduled to appear before the magistrate Thursday, Jan. 3rd.

And, at around 2:30-a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 1st, 21-year old Jacob Lawrence Best, of Audubon, was arrested in connection with an incident which allegedly occurred at 120th and Goldfinch Avenue. Best was taken into custody on OWI/1st Offense and Failure to Maintain Control, charges. He later posted a cash bond and was released, with orders to appear before the magistrate on Thursday.

No injuries were reported following a single-vehicle accident early Tuesday morning, in Lewis. According to the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, the collision happened at around 12:30-a.m., at the intersection of 1^st and Minnesota Streets in Lewis. Officials say a 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix owned and driven by 51-year old Lisa Swanson, of Marne, was northbound on First Street when Swanson lost control of the car, which then hit a parked 1995 Chevy 1500 pickup owned by Mary Mayo of Lewis. Damage from the mishap amounted to $4,000. Swanson was cited for Failure to Maintain Control.

And, Sunday afternoon, December 30th, deputies in Cass County responded to a report of a one-vehicle accident on Oxford Road, about one-quarter of a mile east of 660^th Street. Authorities say a 2002 Chevy Silverado owned and driven by 60-year old Galen Dean Becker, of Cumberland, was westbound on Oxford Road when the pickup entered a slushy stretch of roadway at around 2-p.m.. The road conditions caused the trailer the truck was pulling to jackknife. No injuries were reported. Damage occurred to Becker’s pickup, a power pole, fence and posts. The loss was estimated at $11,300 altogether.

A Griswold man was arrested Tuesday on an OWI charge. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports 47-year old Drue William Kirchhoff was taken into custody on a charge of OWI/1st Offense. He was released later than same day, on his own recognizance.

Last Thursday (Dec. 27th), deputies in Cass County arrested 33-year old Ryan Vincent Lee Richards, of Atlantic, on a District Court warrant for Failure to Appear, and an Atlantic Police Department warrant for Ongoing Criminal Conduct, Theft 2^nd Degree, and Possession of a Controlled Substance. Richards was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was being held on $31,750 bond.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A 30-year-old Nebraska man has been sentenced for selling crack cocaine and marijuana in northwest Iowa.  Federal prosecutors say Jason Martinez had pleaded guilty in June to distributing crack and marijuana and to illegally possessing a gun. Martinez was sentenced last week to 130 months in prison and must serve 10 years of supervised release when he leaves custody.

Prosecutors say Martinez has previous convictions in 2008 and 2002 for selling drugs in Douglas County, Neb., and also in 2002 for selling drugs in New York.  During his plea hearing at a U.S. District Court in Sioux City, Iowa, Martinez admitted obtaining crack in Omaha, Neb., that he would sell in Sioux City. His drug operation ran from 2010 through June 2011.

Officials with ISU Extension and Outreach say Confinement site manure applicators should plan to attend a two-hour workshop offered by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, in order to maintain or renew your confinement site manure applicator certification. The Shelby County workshop will be offered on January 29th, 2013 at 1:30 pm in Harlan at 906 Sixth Street.

Angela Rieck-Hinz, ISU Extension and Outreach program specialist and coordinator of the manure applicator certification program, says “Iowa law requires confinement site manure applicators to attend two hours of continuing education each year of their three-year certification period, or take and pass the exam once every three years. “If applicators fail to get the two hours of continuing education each year, they will be required to pass a written exam to be eligible to recertify.”

The workshop serves as initial certification for those applicators that are not currently certified, recertification for those renewing licenses and as continuing education for those applicators in their second or third year of their license. Operators must be certified to handle, transport and apply manure if the confinement livestock operation has more than a 500 animal unit capacity, unless the manure is applied by a commercial manure applicator. The certification fee is $100 for a three-year certificate. The fee is paid when applicators initially get certified and then every three years when they re-certify to apply manure.

Confinement site applicators are also required to pay an annual education fee of $25. All fees and application forms must be sent to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to complete certification requirements. ISU Extension and Outreach will charge a $10 fee to applicators choosing to view the certification materials on a non-scheduled reshow day at the county office. For this reason all applicators are encouraged to attend the workshops or to plan to view training materials on the scheduled reshow date at their local county extension office. This fee will not apply to workshops or scheduled reshow dates. Contact the county extension office to determine which days are scheduled for the manure applicator certification programs.

Applicators are encouraged to complete certification requirements prior to March 1st to meet certification deadlines and avoid being assessed a $12.50 late fee for re-certification.

For more information about meeting dates and locations, or to schedule an appointment to attend training, contact the ISU Extension – Shelby County office at 712-755-3104 or visit http://www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/certification/confdates.html to see the 2013 workshop schedule.

Members of Iowa’s congressional delegation split on party lines in last night’s (Tuesday) vote to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff of tax hikes and budget cuts. All three Iowa House Democrats voted for the measure while both Republicans opposed it. Earlier in the day, Iowa’s two U-S senators voted against the legislation. Democrat Tom Harkin and Republican Chuck Grassley said “no” to the measure. Senator Grassley says President Obama has made his position obvious. “Already in addition to what was passed yesterday, the president has made it clear he wants to raise taxes even more,” Grassley says. “You can’t raise taxes high enough to satisfy the appetite of Washington to spend money.”

Strong presidential leadership is what the nation needs, Grassley says, to bring about what he calls fiscal restraint. “Everybody knows the problem is spending,” Grassley says. “Because, raise all the taxes the president wants and it only takes care of about 10% of our annual deficit of over a trillion dollars. We’ve got a spending problem, not a taxing problem.” It’s a “fiscal farce,” according to Grassley, to raise taxes and hurt economic growth only to fuel more government spending with record deficits and debt. The New Hartford native says President Obama focused on raising taxes and failed to put Washington on a new path toward “fiscal discipline.” Grassley says, “If he wants to make history and have a legacy, then it would be nice to have presidential leadership in helping us solve this spending problem, the deficit problem and in particular, with the 44% of the spending that is Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, bring that to the table.”

In a statement, Senator Harkin said he is –quote — “All for compromise, but a compromise that sets a new tax threshold for the wealthiest Americans while neglecting the very backbone of our country – the middle class – is a compromise I simply cannot support. This is the wrong direction for Iowa and our country, and at a time when our fragile economy cannot sustain further damage.”

In the House, Democrats Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack and Leonard Boswell all voted “yes” on the measure, while Republicans Tom Latham and Steve King voted “no.” Democrat Braley, in a news release, said: “The legislation would cut taxes for over 99 percent of Iowans, help keep food and milk prices low by renewing the Farm Bill for nine months, encourage Iowa investment by extending the wind energy production tax credit, help more children find loving homes by permanently extending the adoption tax credit, keep doctors practicing in Iowa by preventing a cut in Medicare reimbursements, and reduce the cost of college tuition for Iowa families. For the first time in 20 years, Congress will have acted on a bipartisan basis for significant new revenue, resulting in the most progressive tax code in decades.”

In his statement, Republican Latham said: “The White House-Senate compromise contains some good provisions I agree with, such as preventing massive tax hikes on most families and finally making the cuts permanent, extending the farm bill, and maintaining the wind energy tax credit. However, it lacks a critical component: necessary spending cuts to address our exploding debt. Our $3.5 trillion budget is and will continue to be our primary fiscal obstacle.”

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa College Student Aid Commission (Iowa College Aid) has announced the release of the 2013-2014 Iowa Financial Aid Application.  The application, which can be accessed through the state-designated career information system, www.IHaveAPlanIowa.gov, allows students to apply for five state-administered financial aid programs through one application process.  Collectively, the programs provided almost $8 million in funding for students during the 2011-12 academic year.

The Iowa Financial Aid Application serves as the application for the following programs:

• All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship
• All Iowa Opportunity Foster Care Grant
• Terry E. Branstad Iowa State Fair Scholarship
• Education and Training Voucher Program, and, the Iowa National Guard Education Assistance Program (NGEAP)

The Iowa Financial Aid Application does not replace the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  The FAFSA can be completed online at www.fafsa.gov.  Students who complete their FAFSAs online will have the opportunity to link directly from their FAFSA confirmation page to the Iowa Financial Aid Application

Deadlines play a critical role and often determine the amount of financial assistance available to help students pay for college.  Students are encouraged to apply early to meet the priority deadlines associated with different programs.  The Iowa Financial Aid Application indicates the priority application deadlines for each of the five programs included in the application.  More information about financial aid and products and services that help Iowa families plan, prepare and pay for college is also available on Iowa College Aid’s website at www.IowaCollegeAid.gov.

w/ Ric Hanson

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