The Atlantic City Council this week is set to hold the 1^st reading of an ordinance dealing with the establishment of a Minimum Maintenance Code. If it’s eventually approved, Chapter 144, which would be added to the City’s Code of Ordinances, would require property owners to keep structures in reasonable good repair. It’s designed to keep properties from deteriorating to the point that they are dilapidated and dangerous.

City Administrator Doug Harris says the City is facing a proliferation of dilapidated structures, which are not only dangerous, but have an adverse affect on surrounding property values, which tends to further the spread of urban-style blight. Harris said often times the cost to abate those properties exceeds the value of the property, resulting in it becoming tax acquired City property. That means an added expense to demolish the structure and clear the grounds. The cost for those services fall on the taxpayers of the City. Harris said the Community Development Committee has held three meetings on the matter, and arrived at the proposal which will be presented to the Council during their meeting Wednesday evening, at 5:30.

The Council will also hear a report from Dave Chase, with Nishna Valley Trails, Incorporated, with regard to a proposed agreement with property owner Ted Wickman. Chase received approval for a resolution regarding the arrangement, from the City of Atlantic’s Park and Recreation Department, during their meeting Monday evening. The resolution stipulates that the land Wickman currently uses for farming continue to be used for that purpose until such time as the Schildberg Quarry Recreation Area project advances to the stage where the trail is expanded to Olive Street. It also calls for the City to give adequate notice to Wickman as to when he should withhold his usage of the land.

And, the Atlantic City Council will hold a public hearing Wednesday, with regard to the disposition of 706 Walnut Street. The hearing offers an opportunity for the public to comment on what the City should do with the 50-by 140-foot parcel, which was put out for bid last year, after it was determined it did not serve a public purpose. The property became available to the City again, after Atlantic resident Ed Leistad paid $1,000 to terminate a $5,000 purchase agreement he made with the City for the property, earlier this year.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Glenwood Police Department reports one person was arrested, and arrest warrants have been issued for two other people, in connection with a string of vehicle burglaries which occurred over the summer. An investigation led by Glenwood Police Officer Anthony Trejo resulted in the arrest of 19-year old William Lewis, Jr., of Glenwood.

Warrants have also been issued for the arrest of 23-year old Justin Chamley, of Omaha, and 20-year old Cody Blystone, of Red Oak. The trio are charged with two counts of Theft in the 2nd Degree, Ongoing Criminal Conduct, and Conspiracy to Commit a felony.

As the the investigation continues, authorities ask anyone with information pertaining to the thefts and subsequent investigation, to contact the Glenwood Police Department at 712-527-4844.

Two Elk Horn teens were injured during a single-vehicle accident Monday afternoon, in Shelby County. Sheriff’s officials say the driver of the car, 19-year old Preston Waymire, and his passenger, 17-year old Preston Juelsgaard, were hurt after the car they were in went off the road and hit a field driveway. The accident happened on Highway 173, about 5-miles south of Elk Horn, at around 2:20-p.m. 

Officials say the pair were traveling north on 173 when the 2005 Chevy Malibu they were in left the road and traveled some distance in the ditch before hitting the field drive. The impact caused both of the car’s airbags to deploy. 

Juelsgaard suffered minor head injuries and was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital for treatment. Waymire sought private medical assistance. Damage to the car was estimated at $6,000.

Officials with the Council Bluffs Police Department say several agencies have banded together to sponsor a prescription drug take back program on October 29^th. The program provides an opportunity for the public to dispose of potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. The drop off location for those medications will be at the Walgreen’s store at 2508 West Broadway Street, in Council Bluffs, from 10-a.m. until 2-p.m., on October 29^th. Other disposal sites include the Hy-Vee Pharmacy in Red Oak, and the Carter Lake City Hall.

Officials say disposing of meds by flushing them down the toilet or throwing them into the trash pose potential safety and health hazards. Medicines that are left in the home are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Studies show the majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

Last April, Americans turned in more than 376,590 pounds — or, 188 tons — of prescription drugs at nearly 5,400 sites operated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and more than 3,000 state and local law enforcement partners.

The Council Bluffs P-D has participated in three National Take Back Day events since the program’s inception in 2010. Those efforts have yielded an average of 176 pounds of surrendered prescription drugs in the City. For additional sites accepting prescription meds on October 29^th, check out the DEA’s website at http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/

A Red Oak man charged in connection with a September 5^th go-cart accident that critically injured his two-year old son, now faces an additional charge as a result of an on-going investigation. According to Red Oak Police, 35-year-old Shawn Michael Soar was charged Monday with Operating a motor vehicle While Intoxicated.

Soar also faces Felony charges of Child Endangerment and Serious Injury by Vehicle. The man and his son Ryan were riding a go-cart at around 9:15-p.m. September 5^th, when the machine hit a parked, small pickup truck, in the 700-block of East Grimes Street in Red Oak. The child was flown by helicopter to a trauma center in Omaha, while his father suffered only minor injuries.
An investigation into the accident continues.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Board Monday evening presented a small bouquet of flowers to Chairperson Nancy Frederickson, who, after serving 30-years on the board, has decided not to seek re-election in November. Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring commended Frederickson for her service to the community. Frederickson said she’d spent half of her life on the board, and if she had to do it all over again, she would. Herring says the board will always welcome her expertise and involvement in the future.

In other business, the Atlantic Parks and Rec Board heard an update on the Schildberg Recreation Area Campground project. Herring said the Schildberg Committee is excited about the Phase 1 project, which involves establishing 18 gravel pads for the campground. The campground will be located at the southeast corner of the park, at the corner of N. Chestnut and Iowa Avenue. The site is currently a soybean field. Hopes are for modern restroom and shower facilities to be included in the project, at a later date.

Currently all the utilities are in place near the site, including water and electricity. Herring said fundraising efforts are underway to pay for the project, including part of the proceeds from a raffle to be sponsored by the Atlantic Rotary Club. Phase two, the most expensive part of the project, would include the construction of permanent restrooms and shower facilities, within the next couple of years. In the interim, porta-potties will be put in place, when the campgrounds are built over the course of the coming year.

A Council Bluffs man was taken to the hospital in critical condition Monday, after the motorcycle he was a passenger on crashed into a car at South 16^th Street and 2^nd Avenue in Council Bluffs. Sgt. Pat Toscano said 23-year old Eric Brandt was taken to Creighton Medical Center in Omaha following the crash, which happened at around 9:30-p.m., Monday.

Toscano said the driver of the cycle, 30-year old Scott McNeal, of Council Bluffs, suffered serious injuries in the crash. Both of the motorcyclists were wearing their helmets. The driver of the car, Bruce McFadden, of Council Bluffs, suffered minor injuries. McNeal and McFadden were also transported to the hospital.

According to the Police report, McNeal and Brandt were being pursued westbound on 2^nd Avenue by a pickup truck. An investigation is underway to determine if shots had been fired by a passenger in the truck during the chase. As the cycle, which had been reported stolen from Council Bluffs in August,  approached the intersection of South 16^th Street, it collided with McFadden’s 2000 Ford Taurus, after he stopped at the intersection and proceeded south.

The incident remains under investigation.

Police in Council Bluffs are looking for a man they say tried to entice a child into his vehicle Monday evening. Bluffs Police Sgt. Dave Dawson says at around 6:30-p.m., a white male about 30-to 50-years of age approached a 9-year old girl who was standing by her bicycle at the intersection of Tipton and Berwick, in Council Bluffs.

The man got out of his pickup and came to within about four-feet of the girl, before kneeling down and stretching out his arms, as if to beckon her to him. The girl however, got on her bike and quickly rode away.

The man was described as being about 5-feet 11-inches tall, weighing 200-pounds. He had brown hair showing through a black ski mask, brown and black long sleeved shirt (possibly plaid or checkered) with a white embroidered name on the chest with blue-green lettering. He was also wearing blue jeans, and black shoes with no laces. The suspect is missing a top right front tooth and bottom left front tooth. He has blue or green eyes, and a possible, visible injury to one of his thumbs.

The suspect’s vehicle was said to have been a red extended cab Chevy pickup with damage to the right rear and a missing wheel cover or aftermarket rim, on the right rear. The truck had gray duct tape on the right rear window, wheel covers or rims with a possible spoke pattern. In addition it’s right front fender may have had some sort of a decal on it, while the rear of the truck had several rock chips or paint scratches. The license plates may have had the numbers 7-4-3, but the exact sequence is unknown.

If you have any information about the vehicle or the suspect, you’re asked to contact the Council Bluffs Police Department at 712-326-2512.