Plans for the Southern Iowa Rural Water Association (SIRWA) to bring a dependable supply of water to parts of southwestern Cass County have dried up, at least for now, because of wetter weather over the past couple of years, a fairly good supply of private wells, and because of a general lack of interest in the project. That was the word today (Wednesday) from SIRWA officials, who spoke before the County Board of Supervisors.

SIRWA inspector Max Crawford said the $7-million dollar project is on-hold for now, because they weren’t able to acquire enough participation in two separate studies which began late last Spring.

In order to qualify for a $5.4-million USDA grant to make the project feasible, Crawford said there needed to be a good majority of the people participating. He says there were 335 customers in the second area they studied, with 166 indicating they were interested in hooking-up to rural water, or 49.6-percent. Crawford said that wasn’t good enough. He says they needed at least 277 sign-up’s or 70-percent participation from the approximate 385 rural homesteads in the area. Follow-up efforts included door-to-door contacts, publishing meetings in local papers, and phone calls. Still, Crawford says the response was not what they’d hoped for. 

Beth McDermott, who lives in the area, said meetings which were held on the project were not sufficiently publicized, and therefore resulted in low turnout. Crawford said it wasn’t for a lack of trying to get the word out through print and broadcast media. McDermott, who would like to subscribe to rural water, mailed out more than 300 letters herself, to area residents trying to spur interest. Crawford said SIRWA also tried repeatedly to contact residents, but it got to the point where some people who had been contacted multiple times and refused, were getting annoyed. He said after reviewing the amount of time and money spent on pre-engineering land options for water tower sites and the conducting of surveys…nearly $120,000…and only receiving 49% interest from the residents and land owners, the SIRWA Board said no more money would be invested in the project. 

He said efforts to find other ways to bring dependable water to residents of the area, some of whom desperately want it, will proceed, but it may not be SIRWA who provides that service, and it may take up to 10-years for any progress to be made.

w/ Chris Parks

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w/ Ric Hanson

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The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says a Crescent man was injured when the motorcycle he was riding slammed into a car Monday evening, about two-miles southwest of McClelland. Sheriff Jeff Danker says 38-year-old Chad Mayberry was transported to a Council Bluffs hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, following the crash at around 5:30-p.m., on Honeysuckle Road near McClelland Avenue. 

Danker says Mayberry was traveling east on Honeysuckle Road at about 60-miles per hour in a posted 35-mph zone. When he came over the top of a hill, the cycle hit one of two vehicles which were stopped on the road, before veering into the south ditch and coming to rest. The driver of the car Mayberry hit, 47-year-old Robert Hirchert, of Omaha, was not injured. 

An investigation revealed the cycle had allegedly been stolen out of Omaha. Mayberry was cited for failure to maintain control, excessive speed, driving while barred and driving without insurance.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says a Hastings man was arrested late Tuesday morning, on two warrants. 49-year old John Michael Hudson was taken into custody on warrants for Contempt of Court/Failure to Appear on a Child Support Hearing. Hudson was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 cash bond.

No injuries were reported following an accident Tuesday afternoon in Montgomery County, about six-miles south of Red Oak. Sheriff’s officials say they received word of the car-versus-truck crash at the intersection of Highway 48 and 250th Street, at around 12:10-p.m.  An investigation revealed a 2005 Chevy Cavalier owned by Leo Manuel Martinez, Jr., of Emerson, and driven by 20-year old Effie Elizabeth Armstrong, of Emerson, was traveling north on Highway 48.

A 1992 International 4000 series truck owned and driven by 69-year old Neal Frederick Curry, of Villisca, was turning left onto the highway from 250th Street, and as he did so, the truck hit the driver’s side center of the Martinez vehicle, causing the car to go out of control and spin into the west ditch. The vehicle sustained $4,000 damage.

Curry was cited for Failure to Yield upon entering a through highway.

The U-S Drug Enforcement Agency is working with state and local officials to conduct the “National Prescription Drug Take Back Day” this Saturday. The acting director of the Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy, Dale Woolery, says it’s not uncommon for people to have old prescription drugs collecting dust in their medicine cabinets. “We don’t all necessarily use every pill that gets prescribed and especially with prescription pain killers. They work great when you need them, but at some point you may not need them anymore. And if you’ve got some sitting around, it’s time to get rid of them, now is a good opportunity to get rid of them,” Woolery says.

He says there will be approximately 100 sites around the state set up to take the unused medicine and safely get rid of it.  The take back day is part of the spring cleaning mindset, and you should check for expired or unused medications, now is the time to get rid of them in an environmentally friendly way. Woolery says some people might throw expired prescription drugs in the garbage, or flush them down the toilet — but doing that can allow those drugs to cause environmental problems. And he says clearing out old drugs ensures they aren’t misused. “We know that in Iowa, like the rest of the nation, we have a growing problem with prescription drug abuse that leads to some addiction, and tragically, ultimately can lead to an overdose death. And the major source for those prescription drugs that are abused, unfortunately happens to be the medicine cabinet,” according to Woolery.

This is the fourth federal take back day. Over the last two years, more than 10-thousand (10,000) pounds of unused or unwanted or expired medicines have been disposed of by Iowans so far,” Woolery says. Most sites will be open from 10 a-m. until two p-m on Saturday. To find a collection site near you, go to: www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov and look for the take back link.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the drop-off sites for disposal of your prescription medications:

Audubon – Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church,326 Leroy Street  (Sponsored by the Audubon Police Dept.)

Carter Lake City Hall – 950 Locust Street. (Carter Lake P.D. sponsored)

Council Bluffs – Walgreens, 535 East Broadway (Council Bluffs P.D.)

Glenwood – Glenwood Police Dept., 209 Sharp St.

Guthrie Center – Dowd Drug, 307 State St., (Guthrie Co. Sheriff’s Dept. sponsored)

Manning – Manning Pharmacy, 317 Main St. (Manning P.D.)

Winterset – Farmer & Merchants Motor Bank, 722 N. John Wayne Dr. (Winterset P.D.)

Note: More sites are added to the list daily, so check the DEA’s website mentioned above for the latest listings.

(Dar Danielson/Radio Iowa & Ric Hanson/KJAN)

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