Two area school districts were among six districts from around the state selected to receive up to $38,000 in reimbursements, as a match for a new school bus, to replace the oldest buses still in regular use. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the East Union School District in Union County, and West Harrison School District in Harrison County, were among those receiving a new bus, and retrofit refunding. Each of the six districts will also receive full reimbursement for retrofits, to reduce diesel emissions on bus engines older than 2004 models in their fleets. A total of $280,359 will be awarded.

The funds were made possible by the Iowa DNR through the U-S Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Diesel Campaign. School Administrators of Iowa is handling administration of the grants on behalf of the DNR. The Bus Emissions Education Program (BEEP) assisted with grant publicity and other roles.

Additional information about the grants and BEEP is available at www.iowadnr.gov/Environment/AirQuality/BEEPSchoolbusEmissGrants.aspx.

The Atlantic Police Department reports 23-year old Kayla Ashburn was arrested Wednesday. Ashburn, of Atlantic, was taken into custody for unlawful possession of Prescription Drugs, and, for Driving While Revoked. Ashburn was booked into the Cass County Jail.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Sears says it will sell 11 stores in nine states including stores in Coralville and Council Bluffs.  The stores will be sold to mall operator General Growth Properties, which owns the malls in which the stores are located. The deals will close within the next two months.  Sears will continue to operate the stores into 2013. Final closing dates will be announced later this year.  The Coralville store is at the Coral Ridge Mall and the Council Bluffs store is in Mall of the Bluffs.
     Sears posted a fourth-quarter loss on Thursday. Its revenue fell 4 percent as demand in categories like appliances and consumer electronics fell. The store sales are part of a plan to raise cash to help offset poor performance.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The United States Postal Service says it is backing off of proposals to close mail processing plants in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo. The agency announced today (Thursday) it would close smaller plants in Carroll and Creston and move their work to Des Moines.  The postal service had been studying whether to close the plants since last fall as part of a nationwide downsizing of its distribution network.  Bruce Clark, president of the Iowa Postal Workers Union, says the closures of Carroll and Creston were probably inevitable since they did not have automated machinery. But he said the decisions to keep Cedar Rapids and Waterloo open were “fantastic news.”   In a statement, the postal service said it found “no significant opportunity to improve efficiency or service” by closing Waterloo or Cedar Rapids.

A Crime Scene Technician with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office received a bit of a scare Wednesday afternoon, while she was conducting a crime scene processing and inventory of a recovered stolen vehicle parked at the County and City of Council Bluff’s impound lot on South 15^th Street in Council Bluffs. Sheriff Jeff Danker says the unidentified woman discovered a round cylinder in the vehicle which she thought, was a red fire extinguisher. He says as she was pulling the object out of the vehicle, she discovered there were wires attached and a digital timer. Bomb squad experts from the sheriff’s office and Council Bluffs P-D used a “disruptor”-type round to blow the device open. At that point, Danker says they were pretty sure it was not an explosive, but did give the appearance of a bomb.

He says the first disrupter round didn’t give them a good enough look at the inside of the device, so a rope was attached to it. The device was pulled out of the vehicle and a second disruptor round was fired to open it up a little bit more. That’s when they knew it definitely was not a bomb. The bomb squad was on the scene from about 4-to 6-pm, Wednesday.

A traffic stop on Interstate 80 near Council Bluffs Wednesday afternoon, resulted in the arrest of two Ohio men, the seizure of a small amount of drugs and drug paraphernalia, and a large amount of cash. Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker says the arrests occurred after Deputy Brian Miller pulled over a 2012 Chevy Impala for speeding, on westbound I-80 about two-miles north of the Iowa Western Community College campus (Mile marker 10), at around 3:15-p.m. Danker says when Miller approached the car to speak with the driver, he could smell marijuana. Miller conducted a “probable cause” search of the car and found a baggie of marijuana along with some rolling papers. A further search resulted in the discovery of $50,000 in U-S currency.

The occupants of the car, 28-year old Antione Parker, and 27-year old Shawn Petrack, both of Canton, OH, were arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance for personal use, and brought to the Pottawattamie County Jail in Council Bluffs, where they were being held this (Thursday) morning, on $1,000 bond, each.

w/ Ric Hanson

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w/ Ric Hanson

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The City of Atlantic’s Community Protection Committee (CPC) will discuss and take input from the public on, a proposed speed limit reduction for 22nd Street. The Ordinance calls for the speed limit on East 22nd Street (from Highway 71 to Olive Street), and on West 22nd Street (from Chestnut to Highway 6), to be reduced from 45- to 35-miles per hour.  Following public input on the matter, the CPC will forward its recommendations to the City Council for a vote during their next regular meeting.

The Committee will also discuss deer hunting, within the Atlantic City limits, in an effort to cull the herd. The meeting takes place at 4-p.m. Friday, Feb. 24th, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall, in Atlantic.

A mechanical malfunction of some sort was to blame for a semi trailer fire early this (Thursday) morning on Interstate 80, in Cass County. Firefighters from Atlantic and Marne were called to the scene located on I-80 westbound at the 52 mile-marker, at about 5:49-a.m.  Atlantic Firefighter Gene Schmelling told KJAN News a tire burned out on the trailer of the semi which was hauling lime. The flames spread to the rest of the trailer, causing a substantial amount of damage to the rear. The semi’s driver managed to separate the tractor from the trailer, and prevent further damage. Firefighters were on the scene for about an hour. No injuries were reported. The DOT reported the right lane of I-80 westbound was blocked for a little more than four-hours this morning, while crews worked to remove the damaged trailer and clean-up the mess. Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon says the wreck was finally cleared by around 11:45-a.m. 

Firefighter Gene Schmelling said it’s not clear how the fire began, but it was most likely caused by a blow-out, bad brakes or worn bearings.

Semi Trailer Fire (Mike Kennon/Cass Co. EMA photo)

Trailer Fire on I-80 WB at mm 52 (Mike Kennon photo)