At least three school district Boards of Education will meet Monday evening, here in the KJAN listening area. At 5:30-p.m., the Griswold School Board will hear an update on the district’s improvement projects, and discuss the results of last month’s Public Ballot Measure. The board will also discuss and act on a Special Education Deficit, Redistricting Board of Director Districts, and, Guidance on Donations. Their meeting takes place in the Central Office Board Room.

At 7-p.m., the CAM Community School District’s Board of Education will meet at the High School in Anita. Among their discussion and action items, are those pertaining to: Fitness equipment; an Energy Audit; the Bleacher Project; Wellness Center; School Property, and approval of the Washington, D.C. trip.

And, the Elk Horn-Kimballton School Board will meet 7-p.m. Monday, in the Family and Consumer Science room at the High School, in Elk Horn. The board will act on approving a third-grade teaching contract with Rachael King, and: requesting allowable growth and supplemental aid for a negative special education balance from 2010-2011; approval of a Special Education contract with Ogden; and, early graduation requests.

A tip to authorities led to the arrest in Shenendoah Friday, of one person on drug charges. Authorities say a search executed by a K-9 unit at 610 Northwest Road #42 in Shenandoah, resulted in the recovery of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Officials say 34-year old Rae Ann Huntley was taken into custody on Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia charges.

Huntley was being held in the Page County Jail on $5,000 bond.

Here’s the latest area news, from KJAN News Director, Ric Hanson….

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WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Hy-Vee is part of a voluntary recall of bagged salads by a California company because of possible contamination of listeria. The Iowa-based grocery store says the recall is by River Ranch Fresh Foods of Salinas, Calif. Hy-Vee says the possible contamination was found during routine tests by the Ohio Department of Agriculture in a bagged salad product for the Giant Eagle chain, based in Pittsburg. River Ranch issued the recall for Giant Eagle Farmers Market brand salads and Hy-Vee salads produced at its plant on Sept. 27. The products carry a “best by” date of Oct. 14.

Hy-Vee says four varieties of Hy-Vee bagged salads are covered by the recall. The company says all affected products have been removed from the stores but customers should check their refrigerators.

Sheriff’s officials in Adams County say a Creston man was arrested Friday night in Union County, on  warrants out of Adams County. 24-year old Adam Drake, of Creston, was taken into custody at around 8-p.m., on warrants for Operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent, Eluding, and Driving While Barred.

Drake was brought to the Adams County Jail, where he was being held pending an  appearance before the magistrate.

U-S Attorney Nicholas Klinefelt says a western Iowa woman was sentenced Friday to 10-years in prison on a charge of conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine in Iowa. 35-year old Terra Jo Wilson, of Council Bluffs, was also ordered by Judge John A. Jarvey, to serve a seven year term of supervised release following incarceration.

On June 30th, Wilson entered a guilty plea to the charge of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine based on evidence that she was distributing methamphetamine, along with four other people, in the Council Bluffs area. During a six month investigation by law enforcement, it was determined that Wilson had assisted co-defendant, 44-year old Scott Dilley, of Council Bluffs,  in distributing over 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine.

Dilley was sentenced by Judge Jarvey to nearly 16 and a-half years in prison, on August 11th. The Judge also ordered Dilley to serve 10-years  in prison for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The terms will be served concurrently. In addition, Dilley will have to serve a five-year term of supervised release following his incarceration.

The investigation that lead to Wilson’s arrest and conviction was conducted by the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, Iowa State Patrol, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

There’s a bright spot to the months of flooding along the Missouri River in western Iowa that destroyed homes, thousands of acres of cropland and bridges and roads. All that water is actually good for the De Soto National Wildlife Refuge near Missouri Valley. Each fall, thousands of migratory birds – including geese and ducks – use De Soto as a resting place as they fly south. Deputy Refuge Manager Mindy Sheets says those birds are now feasting on a more natural diet. “This flood has killed off a lot of exotic and invasive plant species and the native species that should be here have responded,” Sheets said. The visiting birds are no longer loading up on “junk food” from area farm fields. Instead, they’re eating the resurging native plants.

“That’s what the water fowl are supposed be eating, not corn and beans and stuff, so there’s more natural food than normal,” Sheets said. This week has been prime time for viewing with many varieties of geese and ducks as well as pelicans flying through. The 3,500 acre refuge is closed to the public for the time being, but Sheets hopes they’ll be able to re-open portions of the park in the next few weeks.

(Radio Iowa)

A southwest Iowa school was the recipient of a $250 gift card good for purchases at a sporting goods store, as part of the “Live Healthy Iowa Kids’ Fall Fitness Day.” Marnie Simons Elementary School in Hamburg was chosen as one of seven schools from around the state to receive a total of $2,750. The funds will be used to benefit those schools’ physical education programs.

In all, 178 schools and more than 56,460 youth participated int The Fall Fitness Day, which was designed to get students active and educate them on the importance of physical activity. Schools planned for a minimum of 30-minutes of physical activity. Those schools which reported 100-percent participation of their enrollment were eligible for a random drawing of cash prizes.

Since its inception in 2004, the Live Healthy Iowa Kids’ program has given back more than $48,750 to participating schools’ physical education programs, to award them for their dedication and committment to health and wellness.

For more information on the Fall Fitness Day and all Live Healthy Iowa Kids initiatives, visit www.livehealthyiowakids.org.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say two animal-rights activists from Texas were arrested before they could free minks from a Sioux City farm. Sioux City Police Officer Jeremy McClure says 21-year-old Kellie Marshall and 24-year-old Victor Vanorden were arrested early Monday. Both are from Austin, Texas. McClure says they were found in a soybean field before they could release the animals. Officers found fences nearby that had been cut. A Woodbury County jailer said that both remained in custody Friday, pending $5,000 bail each. Online court records don’t list their attorneys’ names. Charges include burglary and criminal mischief. Last week, authorities in Hamilton County reported that up to 1,500 minks were released from pens and buildings at a residence in Jewell.

Police in Council Bluffs say a local woman was the target of an “extreme e-mail” scam. Sgt. Chad Meyers told the Daily NonPareil a Council Bluffs woman received two threatening emails Wednesday from someone warning her a “group of assassins” was going to kill her unless she sent them $70,000.

Meyers said it was the first time he’s aware of an e-mail of that nature having been received by someone in the community. He said the woman should have left the messages unopened, adding that “If you don’t recognize who sent it, you should not open it.”
Meyers commended the unidentified woman however, for calling the police and filing a report.