The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Board will hold a special meeting today at Noon to announce the hiring of a new Parks & Rec Director. The person named will succeed Travis Garrett, who announced in March his resignation, effective June 23rd.

Today’s meeting takes place at the City Hall in Atlantic.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A former Woodbine banker has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to making a false statement to influence the action of a bank’s loan committee. The U.S. Department of Justice says 59-year-old Kenneth Waite was sentenced May 20 in U.S. District Court in Council Bluffs. Waite was indicted on 50 financial counts in August 2010. He pleaded guilty to one of the charges in January.
He was accused of making a false loan application to his former employer, Commercial Federal Bank, to obtain a $2.3 million line of credit for a financially distressed customer. He funneled funds into the customer’s account by altering bank records to increase funds available to other customers and transferring funds from those loans into the customer’s account.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Public Health has confirmed a case of the measles in a central Iowa resident who flew from Chicago to Des Moines earlier this month, and officials are looking for people who may have been exposed, the department said Tuesday.

The discovery is being treated as a public health emergency because measles spreads easily and can cause serious illness or even death. Symptoms of the measles include a cough, runny nose, pink eye and fever, and a rash can often develop a day or two later, said Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, the department’s medical director.

Local and state health officials are trying to determine who the unidentified Dallas County resident may have exposed to the illness so they can be checked and treated if needed. They’re looking for anyone who took a late-morning flight on May 11 from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago and visited the main terminal and baggage area in Des Moines.

Officials also are seeking those who visited the Mercy Central Pediatric Clinic and the Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines on May 14. “You can walk into a room where somebody with the measles left two hours before that, and you’re still exposed,” Quinlisk said. “You can imagine what could happen at a hospital, a mall, an airport.

The Center for Disease Control is working with officials in Chicago to track down anyone who may have been exposed there, department spokeswoman Polly Carver-Kimm said. Officials want to ensure that anyone who visited those areas have received measles and mumps vaccines. Health officials said anyone who has not had measles before or has not adequately responded to two doses of vaccines – which amounts to less than 1 percent of the population – can catch the illness if exposed.

Two to three people out of 1,000 who get measles die from the disease, which is easily spread through the air. Prevention is critical because there is no treatment for the illness, authorities said.

The Adair County Board of Supervisors will hold their regular weekly meeting Wednesday morning, in Greenfield. Among the items on their agenda is a public hearing on a Fiscal Year 2011 budget amendment. The 9:30-a.m. hearing will be followed by action on a FY 2011 Budget Amendment Resolution, and Amended Appropriations Resolution. The meeting begins at 9-a.m.

The Atlantic Police Department reports 36-year old Steven Root, of Atlantic, was arrested Monday. Root was taken into custody on a charge of Driving While Revoked for O.W.I Test Failure, and on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear. Root was booked into the Cass County Jail and held pending a court appearance.

FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
110 PM CDT TUE MAY 24 2011

...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY...

.A STORM SYSTEM OVER COLORADO WILL MOVE INTO THE PLAINS TONIGHT
AND WEDNESDAY...MEANWHILE AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE IN CENTRAL
NEBRASKA AND THE TEXAS PANHANDLE WILL MOVE INTO NORTHEAST KANSAS
AND SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA. PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS
WILL EXACERBATE THE FLOODING POTENTIAL OVERNIGHT AND EARLY
WEDNESDAY. ONE TO LOCALLY THREE INCH RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL BE
POSSIBLE THROUGH MIDDWAY WEDNESDAY THUS A FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS
BEEN ISSUED.

IAZ043-055-069-079-090-NEZ015>018-030>034-042>045-050>053-065>068-
078-088>093-250215-
/O.NEW.KOAX.FF.A.0001.110524T2300Z-110525T1700Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
MONONA-HARRISON-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-FREMONT-THURSTON-ANTELOPE-
PIERCE-WAYNE-BOONE-MADISON-STANTON-CUMING-BURT-PLATTE-COLFAX-
DODGE-WASHINGTON-BUTLER-SAUNDERS-DOUGLAS-SARPY-SEWARD-LANCASTER-
CASS-OTOE-SALINE-JEFFERSON-GAGE-JOHNSON-NEMAHA-PAWNEE-RICHARDSON-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ONAWA...MISSOURI VALLEY...
COUNCIL BLUFFS...GLENWOOD...SIDNEY...PENDER...NELIGH...PIERCE...
WAYNE...ALBION...NORFOLK...STANTON...WEST POINT...TEKAMAH...
COLUMBUS...SCHUYLER...FREMONT...BLAIR...DAVID CITY...WAHOO...
OMAHA...BELLEVUE...SEWARD...LINCOLN...PLATTSMOUTH...
NEBRASKA CITY...CRETE...FAIRBURY...BEATRICE...TECUMSEH...AUBURN...
PAWNEE CITY...FALLS CITY
110 PM CDT TUE MAY 24 2011

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM CDT THIS EVENING THROUGH
WEDNESDAY MORNING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OMAHA/VALLEY HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF IOWA AND NEBRASKA...
  INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...IN IOWA...FREMONT...HARRISON...
   MILLS...MONONA AND POTTAWATTAMIE. IN NEBRASKA...ANTELOPE...
  BOONE...BURT...BUTLER...CASS...COLFAX...CUMING...DODGE...
  DOUGLAS...GAGE...JEFFERSON...JOHNSON...LANCASTER...MADISON...
  NEMAHA...OTOE...PAWNEE...PIERCE...PLATTE...RICHARDSON...
  SALINE...SARPY...SAUNDERS...SEWARD...STANTON...THURSTON...
  WASHINGTON AND WAYNE.

* TIMING...THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING.

* AMOUNTS...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE
  THROUGH MIDDAY WEDNESDAY.

* IMPACTS...MANY OF THE LOCAL RIVERS AND STREAMS ARE ALREADY
  RUNNING HIGH DUE TO RECENT RAINS...ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN
  TONIGHT MAY LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD
TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.

YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION
SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED.

A Council Bluffs woman was crowned “Mrs. Iowa, 2011,” during an event held over the weekend. 29-year old Brooke Hubbard won the title May 21st, during her first foray into the pageant world.

Hubbard, who entered the pageant after stumbling onto the website www.mrs.iowaunitedstates.com. by accident, told the Omaha World Herald a number of emotions ran through her when she was named the winner, including being both surprised and proud. She said it was fun, and she’s “Excited to represent Council Bluffs.”

Her win in the Iowa contest allows Hubbard to move on to the 25th annual national Mrs. United State pageant on August 5^th, in Las Vegas.

AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION—TAYLOR--RINGGOLD Counties

1109 AM CDT TUE MAY 24 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA.

.DAY ONE…TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE REGION IOWA THIS AFTERNOON.  ANOTHER ROUND OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD NORTHEAST INTO THE AREA THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER WITH THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY…MAINLY DURING THE EVENING AND LATE NIGHT HOURS. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE PRIMARY SEVERE THREATS…HOWEVER AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS ALSO. RAINFALL MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES WITH THE STRONGER STORMS POSSIBLE LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY.

CRAWFORD-CARROLL-GREENE- -DALLAS-Counties

1109 AM CDT TUE MAY 24 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA.

.DAY ONE…TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON. A SECOND AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD NORTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER WITH THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY MAINLY THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE PRIMARY SEVERE THREATS…HOWEVER AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS ALSO POSSIBLE MAINLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80. RAINFALL MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES WITH THE STRONGER STORMS TONIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY.

(NWS/Des Moines)

Walnut Splash Pad (artist's conceptual drawing)

Nearly two-years after the concept of creating a water attraction in Walnut was devised, a dedication ceremony for the new, $200,000 “Splash Pad” will be held next week. The event at Fireman’s Park takes place 5-p.m. Friday, June 3^rd. Completion of the project was made possible through a variety of fundraising efforts, donations and grants.

City officials say the “opening day” celebration and dedication ceremony will feature hot dogs, hamburgers and drinks, for your free-will donation. There will also be a variety of giveaways, and the final chance for you to enter a quilt raffle, the drawing for which takes place at 7-p.m. that day.

Order forms will be available also, for you to purchase a memorial or honorary brick, that will become a permanent part of the Walnut Splash Pad. “Cash Splash” tickets will be available as well, for a raffle that takes place in August.

The City of Walnut will be giving away 26- $50 prizes, 4- $150 prizes, and one grand prize of $1,000. One $20 ticket enters you for all 31 drawings, and it is possible to win multiple times.

Be sure to bring your family, camera and lawn chairs to the Walnut Splash Pad dedication and grand opening ceremony, on Friday, June 3^rd, at 5-p.m. And, prepare to “get wet!”

Four area teens were injured over the weekend during a rollover accident Saturday afternoon, about a mile northeast of Shelby. The Shelby County Sheriff’s office said today (Tuesday), a 1999 Ford Expedition driven by 16-year old Kaelly Welsh, of Shelby, went out of control at around 4:20-p.m. on County Road F-66, just east of Hackberry Road.

The SUV traveled onto the south shoulder, into the south ditch, and rolled several times. As the vehicle rolled, Welsh, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected. Three passengers in the vehicle, who were wearing their seatbelts, remained in the vehicle as it rolled. They were identified as 16-year olds Casey Peters, of Shelby, and Carmen Allen, of Avoca, and 15-year old Tayler Engel, of Avoca.

All four of the teens were transported by Shelby Rescue and Medivac Ambulance to Myrtue Memorial Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.