The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports an Atlantic man was arrested Sunday, on a district court warrant for Failure to Appear. 20-year old Michael Andrew McConnell, was brought to the Cass County Jail, and later released on $2000 bond.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following a two-vehicle accident Monday afternoon, in Anita. Officials say the accident happened at Linn Street and Highway 83, at around 3:35 p.m., when a  2012 Buick Enclave driven by 25-year old Matthew Quinn Bonnesen, of Anita, was struck from behind. The incident happened as Bonnesen was westbound on Main Street in Anita, and waiting to turn into the Casey’s General Store parking lot. His car was hit by a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse driven by 16-year-old Kolby Dean Hansen, of Anita.  Hansen was ticketed for Failure to Stop within Assured Clear Distance. Damage to Bonnesen’s vehicle is estimated at $2000; damage to Hansen’s vehicle is estimated at $3000.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Tuesday) released additional details on a rollover accident which occurred Saturday evening near the Cass-Adams County line. Officials say they were notified about the crash on Yankton Road, just east of 630th Street, at around 6:20-p.m. Their report said a 1996 Chevy Corsica driven by 16-year-old Hunter Daine Bechtol was traveling eastbound on Yankton Road when Bechtol lost control of the car, which rolled into the north ditch. Bechtol and three male passengers in the car, ages 13-, 14-, and 15, suffered minor injuries and were transported to Cass County Memorial Hospital for evaluation by Medivac, Griswold Rescue, and Villisca Rescue. All occupants were wearing seatbelts. Bechtol was ticketed for Failure to Maintain Control. Damage to the vehicle is estimated at $2,500.

The driver of a semi tractor-trailer suffered what were described as minor injuries to his shoulder following an accident north of Atlantic late this (Tuesday) morning.

Semi in south ditch off I-80 Eastbound Tuesday morning (Ric Hanson photo)

According to the Iowa State Patrol, 60-year old Russell W. Hays, of Rock Island, IL., was traveling east on Interstate 80 at around 10:50-a.m., about one-quarter of a mile west of the Olive Street, or Exit 57 interchange, when the 2003 Freightliner semi he was driving went out of control, and entered the south ditch. The rig came to rest upright against a drainage ditch.

Hays was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic by Medivac Ambulance, for treatment of his injuries. Officials say he was wearing a seat belt.

(Ric Hanson photo)

The operator of an all-terrain vehicle was arrested Sunday in Audubon County, following an investigation into a crash that sent three people to the hospital. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Department says 25-year old Cale James Bolick, of Gray, was arrested at around 4-a.m. Sunday on OWI/1st Offense, Reckless Driving and Interference with Official Acts charges, following the crash, which occurred earlier that same morning, northeast of Gray.

Officials say three passengers on the 2006 Artic Cat ATV were injured. 39-year old Brandi Kay Vansickel and 17-year old Megan Boehm, both of Gray, and 18-year old Helena Trusty, of Denison, were transported to the Audubon County Hospital by Audubon Fire and Rescue. Bolick, and another passenger on the ATV, Casey Steven Bolick, of Gray, were not hurt during the crash.

Authorities say the vehicle was traveling north on Goldfinch, when it collided with a bridge railing and went into the east ditch before rolling over. The incident remains under investigation, and additional charges are pending. Damage to the ATV was estimated at $1,500.

Officials with the Cass and Audubon County Community Foundations have selected recipients of their respective scholarship awards. In Cass County,  the 2012 McCurdy scholarsship awards went to Michaela Schwenke and Tanner Brown, both of whom are seniors at the CAM High School. The teens have won $500 scholarships from the Dustin McCurdy Endowed Scholarship Fund.

In Audubon County, the 2012 Exira Lions Club/Harold & Beverly Ann Godwin scholarship award of $1,000 went to Daniel Petty, a senior at the Exira High School. The award marked the second year for scholarship, which is available to any graduating Exira High School senior pursuing a two or four year degree, full-time, at any accredited vocational/technical or educational institution or a college or university who can demonstrate a successful high school academic career along with demonstrated community service spirit of volunteerism.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests over the Memorial Day weekend. On Saturday, 25-year old Ronald Elroy Haskins, of Tabor, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension, and 31-year old Matthew Garrett Polk, of Lincoln, NE, was arrested on OWI and Speeding charges.

Other arrests last week in Fremont County include…on Thursday: 27-year old Troy Edward Grindle, of Glenwood, for Violation of a Protection Order, and, 35-year old Allen Lee Smith, of Sidney, for Violation of a No Contact Order and Criminal Mischief in the 5th degree. On Monday, May 21st: 39-year old Dennis Joseph Doyen, of Tabor, was arrested on charges of Child Endangerment, Simple Assault, and Operating a vehicle without the owners consent, and, 18-year old Richard Charles Golden, of Sidney, was arrested for being a Person Under Legal Age, and Failure to Obey a Traffic Control Device.

The Sheriff’s Department reports also, the arrest May 18th, of 35-year old Joshua Glenn Carpenter, of Riverton, on a charge of Serious Assault, in connection with an incident involving James Harvey, of Sidney.

The state’s largest Catholic Diocese is implementing a policy to create a separation between church and sports. Bishop Richard Pates of the Des Moines Diocese has approved a policy at the requests of the priests council that would prohibit any Catholic school from holding activities not related to religious services or religious education on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings.  “Our priests especially are experiencing the fact that it’s kind of a creeping incursion Wednesday evenings and also Sunday mornings, particularly in terms of their participation related to youth leagues related to sports, etcetera, soccer and that sort of thing,” Pates says. The Bishop says a young person confronted with the possibility of playing sports or going to church, they would naturally want to play sports, and the puts pressure on the parents that want them to go to church. The other Catholic Dioceses have varying policies that seek to accomplish the same end. 

The diocese in Dubuque and Sioux City leave it up to the schools to set restrictions and officials says most schools have some type of rule. Bishop Pates says the rules only apple to Catholic schools, but he hopes it will give parents some backing and allow them to take a stand with their kids. Pates says the Catholic church isn’t the only one facing the issue and he plans to seek support from the larger religious community.”The priests have asked me also to invite our ecumenical brothers and sisters to take a look at this. Our Lutherans, our Methodists, our Baptists…the Episcopalians, to see too if they might adopt a similar policy so it would have a little more teeth to it, and recognize that it is kind of widespread need in our community,” according to Pates.

Pates says it is important to keep the church’s place within the family along with the other activities. “You know, people are going around in circles all the time and don’t have time to relax and enjoy one another, and what I would describe of some of the finer things in life, that are so important for us to experience in our growing up,” Pates says. “You know the warmth of love and care for one another is also very important.” The Des Moines Diocese policy follows up the recent steps the leaders have taken to develop what it calls a “comprehensive ministry” for young people in the church.

A task force of Iowa teachers and administrators has begun meeting to discuss ways to retain the best teachers and raise teacher pay. Iowa Department of Education director Jason Glass says most teachers who want to grow professionally take “exit ramps” out of the classroom and become a school administrator — or leave the profession entirely. “Education research clearly indicates what anyone who’s ever spent a minute in a classroom already knows, that there are differences in teacher quality and that these differences have an impact on student learning,” Glass says. “The ability of our education system to raise and sustain high levels of student learning is inextricably linked to our ability to raise and sustain high levels of educator quality.”

During a recent task force meeting, some members of the group lamented that the best athletes are recruited out of high school, but there’s little effort to lure the best students into the teaching profession. Glass says giving teachers more leadership opportunities inside their schools will hopefully raise the status of the profession. “By empowering and supporting educators and building teams focused on instruction in every school in Iowa, we take important steps that are in line with high-performing school systems around the globe,” Glass says, “to appropriately honor the teaching profession and more effectively use the best educators we have to grow other great educators.” On August 3rd Governor Branstad will convene a one-day symposium focused on ways principals and teachers can collaborate.

Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds notes both she and the governor have daughters who are teachers.”We know first-hand how incredibly hard our teachers work to make sure that our students succeed,” Reynolds says. “We also realize that growing expectations for students place even more demands on teachers without always providing teachers with the support they need to meet those demands.” Reynolds and Branstad held town hall meetings around the state this winter and spring to discuss education reform ideas, and the governor said last week he’ll put on a “full court press” to build public support for education reform ideas he hopes to get the legislature to embrace in 2013.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)