The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Board is slated to hold their regular monthly meeting Monday evening, in the Camblin Shelter at Sunnyside Park, instead of City Hall. During their 5:15-p.m. session, the Board will receive updates on the various Capital Improvement Projects, including those to: Sunnyside Park and its tennis courts, the Skate Park, and the Maintenance Building project; along with a Pellett Park playground equipment update.

The Board will also receive updates on the Schildberg Recreation Area, which will cover the Campground, Dog Park, Eagle Scout Bench Project, and Signage. In addition, they will discuss the need for Park Director Roger Herring to receive Pesticide Certification. In his report to the Board, Herring will review his meeting with the Schildberg Committee, report on a meeting with a Loss Control Specialist from the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool (ICAP), and give a tour of Sunnyside Park, along with a review of projects completed thus far, and those being considered.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

One person suffered minor injuries during a single-vehicle rollover accident Saturday afternoon, south of Atlantic. Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Rink told KJAN News 22-year old Andrew Jackson Rice, of Atlantic, refused medical treatment at the scene of the crash, which occurred at around 4:45-p.m. about two-miles south of Atlantic on 620th (Olive Street), or about one-half mile south of Keystone Road.

The car being hauled away on a flatbed wrecker/ (Ric Hanson-photo)

Rink said Rice was traveling north on 620th when the 1999 Pontiac he was driving went off on to the right shoulder. Rice over-corrected on the gravel, sending the vehicle across the road and into the west ditch, where it apparently rolled once, before coming to rest back on the road. Rink says Rice, who was wearing his seat belt, refused medical treatment at the scene. He was cited for Failure to Maintain Control. The car was totaled in the crash. Atlantic Fire and Rescue, Medivac Ambulance, Atlantic Police and the Cass County Sheriff’s Department assisted at the scene.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa public schools have a new database to report and track bullying incidents in detail as they happen throughout the year.  The Iowa Department of Education launched the database on Friday.  The state has relied on one annual set of reports, logged under four labels, each spring to track bullying in schools. That was prompted in 2007 by a state anti-bullying and anti-harassment law. The new database will have schools report bullying based on one or more of 17 student traits explicitly named in state law – including sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability or political belief.

Here are just some of the images from the Sat., Sept. 12 2012 “Fly Iowa – Heritage and Homecoming” airshow, in Atlantic, IA. (Photo’s by KJAN News Director Ric Hanson)…

More military vehicles on display at the airshow

The Iowa State Patrol’s aircraft, based in the Atlantic Airport hangar.

Officials with the Iowa Farm Bureau have announced Sawmill Hollow in Missouri Valley, the country’s first aronia berry farm, is this month’s Iowa Farm Bureau Renew Rural Iowa entrepreneur award winner.

Aronia Berries

The organic berry operation is a family farm run by Vaughn and Cindy Pittz and their son, Andrew.  In 1997, the Pittzes planted 207 aronia berry plants and have since expanded the farm to 26 acres and more than 13,000 plants. The berries, also known as black chokeberries, can be made into a variety of products, including syrup, sauce, powders and wine.

After looking into a number of value-added ideas, ranging from Christmas trees to pumpkin patches, the family found aronia berries offered the best potential.The business is a benefit to Iowa’s ag industry and to the Missouri Valley economy with its annual festival. Sawmill Hollow’s fifth annual North American Aronia Festival is this weekend, Sept. 15-16, featuring children’s activities, wine tasting, recipe contest, farming and gardening workshops and more. (For a full schedule, go to http://sawmillhollow.com/.)

Renew Rural Iowa (RRI) is an Iowa Farm Bureau Federation initiative supporting new and existing businesses through education, mentoring and financial resources. To learn more, visit www.renewruraliowa.com.

w/ Ric Hanson

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An Iowa man who brought the world to thousands of Iowa students over three decades will be remembered in Stuart this weekend. Al Bell traveled all over the planet and filmed his adventures, then visited schools across Iowa and made grand presentations. His daughter, Becky Bell-Greenstreet, says the film festival of her father’s work is the second one they’ve held in the past few years. Bell-Greenstreet says Sunday’s event will feature films that were not shown two years ago as there’s now a complete film library of her dad’s movies. Bell made his appearances in schools across Iowa between 1949 and 1979, highlighting his trips to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

She says her father was always well-received whenever he visited a rural Iowa school. “Those gyms and auditoriums were just packed to the rafters,” with kids from kindergarten through high school in one assembly, she says, “and my dad’s job was to teach them about a particular country. She says her dad would go all out for the films and for the assemblies. He would come out in costume and taught the students words in foreign tongues while the movies were well-produced and funny, artistic and sometimes bringing screams of surprise from students. T

he Al Bell Film Festival will be held at the Saints Center in Stuart, opening at noon, with artifacts, costumes, photos, foreign dolls, original posters and films on display. Films will be shown at 1 and 3 PM. Learn more at: “www.albellremembered.com”

(Radio Iowa)