The first day of Spring is still well over a month away, but it’s time to start thinking about the first flower of Spring, and what it represents.

Am. Cancer Society's "Daffodil Days" 2012

 With the American Cancer Society’s “Daffodil Days” set to take place March 12th through the 16th, orders are being taken now through February 17th, to raise funds for cancer research. Purchasing daffodils offers you a chance to show your support for cancer patients, and the hope cancer will be beaten. The daffodil is a symbol of hope.

Denise Coder, Board member of the Cass County Unit of the ACS, says the latest statistics indicate a decline in cancer mortality for the second year in a row, and Daffodil Days serves to continue as a means to fight cancer. Bouquets of 10 daffodils are available for your $10 donation. In addition, the ACS is once again offering the Boyd’s “Bear and a Bunch” selection, made up of a bunch of daffodils, along with a specially-commissioned Boyd’s bear with the American Cancer Society logo on one paw, and a bunch of daffodils on the other. The bear edition is being made available for a $25 donation.

For $15, donors can order “Dainty Daffodils,” in a pot, which can be replanted outside, to bloom year-after-year. And, the “Gift of hope” can be purchased for $25. It will be delivered anonymously to a cancer survivor. Atlantic residents can call Meyer & Gross Real Estate at 243-4100 to place your orders.

Donations collected through the sale of daffodils will be used for cancer research, education, advocacy, and patient services. For more information, call Denise Coder at 243-7475, or log on to www.cancer.org.

Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Jason Wickizer says a course for experienced firefighters and other personnel exposed to fire, heat or toxic atmospheres, is being offered in Defiance next month. The Advanced Breathing Apparatus Course is designed to provide experienced fire service personnel with advanced knowledge and skills development involving the use of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), for the purpose of increasing the chance of survival, in an emergency situation.

Wickizer says a Mobile Breathing Apparatus Trailer (MBAT) will be in Defiance from March 5th through the 17th. Among the topics to be covered during the ABA Class are: fire fighter deaths and injuries; respiratory hazards; maintenance of SCBA; limitations of SCBA’s; tight space maneuvering, and, emergency survival techniques.

For more information, or to schedule a time, call Jason Wickizer at 712-755-2124 or e-mail jwickizer@shco.org.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – An American Airlines flight to Dallas had to return to Omaha shortly after takeoff because the pilot reported engine problems.  American Airlines flight 1349 landed safely in Omaha Tuesday morning. It originally took off from Omaha around 8:20 a.m.  It’s not clear how many people were aboard the plane.

The Cass and Adair County Boards of Supervisors will hold their regular weekly meetings Wednesday, in Atlantic and Greenfield, respectively. In Greenfield, the Adair County Board will receive a recap on the new Public Safety Center/Jail building, along with their monthly reports, and a 5th Judicial Annual report. Other business will include discussion and/or action on the E-911 addresses, a sponsored Research Agreement, and, work on the budget. In addition, the Adair County Supervisors will set the date for a public hearing on their budget. The meeting begins at 9-a.m.

In Atlantic, the Cass County Supervisors will meet at 1:30-p.m., instead of at their usual 9-a.m. time slot. The board will hear a report from the Cass County Fireman’s Association, and a related Request for Funding from the Emergency Management Association Budget, for fireman’s training. The Board will also hear a Secondary Roads update from the County Engineer, and possibly act on the appointment of a Pymosa Township Trustee. As time allows, they will also review the proposed Fiscal Year 2013 departmental budgets.

A traffic stop on Interstate 80 in Pottawattamie County at around Noon, Monday, resulted in the recovery of 13-pounds of marijuana, some questionable baked goods, and the arrest of two men. Pott. County Sheriff Jeff Danker told KJAN News this (Tuesday) morning, after Deputy Brian Miller pulled a Ford Mustang over for speeding on I-80 eastbound near the 7-mile marker, the deputy suspected the vehicles’ occupants were involved in the transportation of illegal narcotics.

When Miller’s k-9 partner Francisco conducted a “free-air” search around the car, the dog alerted to the presence of narcotics, and the vehicle was searched. Inside the car, Miller found vacuum sealed bags of marijuana, amounting to 13-pounds, and some questionable baked goods, which he suspected contained marijuana as an ingredient.

Taken into custody on charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance with the intent to deliver, Prohibited Acts, and Violation of the Drug Tax Stamp, was 20-year old Ryan Vardeman, of Pittsburgh, PA, and 25-year old Charles Thompson, of Huntington Park, CA. The men were being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail, pending a closed-circuit video appearance before the magistrate.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Police in Red Oak arrested 27-year old Scott Jacob Cisar, Monday. Cisar, of Red Oak, was wanted on a warrant charging him with assault. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $300 bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

Patrons of the Oakland-Riverside and Glenwood School Districts will be heading to the polls today for different reasons. In the Oakland-Riverside District, voters will decide on whether or not to approve a $13.3 million bond issue for construction of a new K-through-12 building.

The facility would replace the district’s three separate buildings, in Oakland, Carson, and Macedonia, with one building to house students in all grades. It would be built on approximately 70 acres of land located a mile south of Oakland. With the sales tax bonds and cash on hand, the project’s total cost is $21,608,000.

A similar referendum failed last year when it received only 53 percent of the vote. The measure must receive a 60 percent super majority, in order for it to pass. Polls are open at the Oakland and Carson Community Centers and Macedonia City Hall Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Voters in the Glenwood School District are facing a decision on whether to renew the district’s revenue purpose statement (or, RPS), which allows for the expenditures of revenues from the statewide local option sales tax. Approval of the referendum by a simple majority would extend the statement for another 16 years. The current RPS is set to expire next year. The state’s penny sale tax law sunsets in 2029. School officials have said they would use the funds to reduce the district’s debt.

The polls are open at the Glenwood American Legion Building from noon to 8 p.m.