Police in Shenandoah, Thursday night, arrested a woman on drug charges following the K9 unit search of a residence in the 200 block of W. Grant Avenue, in Shenandoah. Officials say 37-year old Ronda Allison Howard, of Shenandoah, was arrested at around 6:20-p.m. for possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Howard was being held at the Page County Jail on $1,000 bond.

Ronda A. Howard (Shenandoah P-D photo)

A traffic stop Thursday afternoon on Interstate 80 northeast of Council Bluffs, resulted in one man being arrested on drug charges, and another cited. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy pulled over a Toyota Tundra pickup on I-80 at around 2-p.m., because the vehicle had illegal, dark tinted windows.

After approaching the vehicle, Deputy Brian Miller noticed an odor of marijuana coming from inside the truck. A “probable cause”search was conducted, during which Miller found the driver, 24-year old Dustin James Castillo, of Truckee, CA., in possession of 3.8-pounds of marijuana, packaged in four individual plastic bags. Castillo was arrested for Possession/and or Delivery of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, and booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail.

A passenger in the vehicle, 23-year old Andrew Thomas Rowley, of LaGrange, IL, was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia, and released.

The Griswold School Board held their regular monthly meeting Thursday night, following a meeting of the Griswold Facilities Committee. Griswold Superintendent Dave Henrichs told KJAN News the Committee was updated on the process for getting information together in advance of a bond referendum. He said JPE Design Studio – with offices in Omaha and Des Moines – was hired for pre-referendum and pre-design services. The facilities committee will work with the firm to develop information for future community meetings. The next meeting is set for Feb. 1^st.  

In the interim, packages of information will be put together to share with the community to gather their thoughts and ideas. The Griswold School Board also discussed, but took no action on the structure of the District’s Transportation Department. Henrichs said they’re going to shift some of the duties over to Al Hunter, with regard to reporting.

And, they discussed the potential hiring of a Construction Manager. Paul Newhart, from Estes Construction has been involved with the school through the Iowa Construction Advocate Team [ICAT], which assists schools with their building projects for free, if they belong to the Iowa Association of School Boards [IASB]. As a side note, Newhart works for Estes Construction, which also provides construction management services to the District. The Board, Henrichs says, needs to make the decision, as they progress through the possibility of a new building, whether or not to use the design, bid, build process, or use a construction manager. Newhart presented the pro’s and con’s of both systems.

At the next Board meeting, the hiring of a Construction Manager will be placed on the agenda, assuming the process continues to move forward. And, the Board held two closed session last night, prior to adjournment. One dealt with Teacher Negotiations and future issues that need to be addressed. The other session was with regard to staffing issues dealing with operational sharing for the 2017-18 school year.

DENISON, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have resumed a search for a girl missing since the vehicle she was in plunged into the Boyer River in western Iowa. The accident was reported about 3 a.m. Thursday in rural Crawford County. Authorities say the car was carrying five people when it ran off a rural road into the river. Four who reached safety on their own or were rescued were taken to a Denison hospital. Their names and the girl’s haven’t been released. She’s believed to be teenager.

Deputies, firefighters and a dive team searched the river and its banks until 11:15 p.m. Thursday and stopped because of heavy fog. The searchers returned this (Friday) morning.

Police in Creston report an Adair County woman was arrested Thursday evening on a drug charge. Officials say 34-year old Kristina Marie Clarke, of Bridgewater, was arrested just after 6-p.m. for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense. Clarke was being held on a $1,000 cash bond, in the Ringgold County Jail.

Late Thursday morning, Creston Police arrested 40-year old Shelby Lynn Weis, of Creston, on a Dallas County warrant for Probation Violation.  Weis was transferred to Dallas County where she was held without bond.

Creston Police said also, two incidents of Theft have been reported. Thursday evening, a resident told police a mountain bike was stolen from his property located in the 400 block of Livingston Avenue, in Creston. The incident happened sometime Wednesday afternoon and 5:15-p.m. Thursday. The loss was estimated at $100.

And, on Jan. 7th, a woman living in the 600 block of S. Bureau Street told authorities a TV valued at $350 was stolen from her residence. The incident occurred sometime between the hours of 1- and 4-p.m, Jan. 7th.