The Harlan Police Department reports three men from Nebraska were arrested Sunday, following an investigation into threats they allegedly made to a woman in Harlan.  Following a traffic stop, 27-year old Carlos Roberto Fonseca Triminio,18-year old Samael Steven Lopez Duran, and 18-year old Jose Joaquin Sagura Mendez, all of Omaha, were taken into custody and transported to the Shelby County Jail. Each was charged with Possession of a controlled substance, Possession of drug paraphernalia, and Prohibited acts penalties.  In addition, Fonseca Triminio was charged with violation of a no contact order and open container passenger.  Lopez Duran was charged with open container driver and failure to have a valid driver’s license.  Sagura Mendez was charged with open container passenger.  31-year old Amber Larsen, of Harlan, was charged with violation of a no contact order.

Harlan Police said also, on Nov. 19th, 20-year old Brandon Henderson, of Harlan, was arrested after Officers were called to a disturbance in the 1500 block of 7^th Street.  Henderson was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with domestic abuse assault and disorderly conduct.

Last Friday, Harlan  Police responded to the 700 block of 9^th Street for a subject who allegedly had kicked in the door and stolen a phone, keys, and a baseball bat.  As a result of the investigation, complaints were filed with the Shelby County Clerk of Court charging 25-year old Michael Tremayne, of Harlan, with burglary 2^nd degree and trespass.

And, last Thursday, 50-year old Derrick Kaldenberg, of Harlan, was taken into custody when he was seen by officers coming from behind private property.  Kaldenberg was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with trespass, possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of prescription drugs.

The Griswold School Board, Monday night, approved a draft Request For Proposal (RFP) for the services of an architectural firm, with regard to the possible construction of an Elementary School Building addition to the Middle School High School Building, in Griswold. The Facilities Committee had earlier asked the Board to consider hiring an architectural firm so the Committee can get a better idea of the costs associated with the construction option.

Superintendent Dr. Dave Henrichs, told KJAN News RFP’s have been sent out to various firms. Their resumes or qualifications is due back to the District by Dec. 19^th.

(As said: The Committee consisting of Board Members, the Administration, the Business Manager and a member of the Facilities Committee, will meet Dec. 20^th and select which firms they want to interview. Those interviews will take place January 5^th.)

The Committee will then recommend to the Board, the hiring of one of the interviewed architectural firms. The firm will put together a schematic plan of what a new building would look like, as well as help the District engage the community, with the intent of going forward with a bond referendum.

(As said: Henrichs wants to be clear “No decision has been made to build this building. We’re just getting all of our ‘ducks in a row,’to make sure that’s the right choice.”)

If the building is constructed, all Griswold School District facilities would be located in Griswold. In other business, the Griswold School Board elected Heather Pelzer as Board President. Rod Peterson will continue to serve as Vice President. And, the Board approved a change in next month’s school calendar, to accommodate a special sporting event for basketball players.

The boys and girls basketball teams have been invited to participate in the Jennie Edmundson Shootout Dec. 16^th at the Mid-America Center, in Council Bluffs. The girls game begins at 2:30, the boys game at 4. The Board was asked and approved an early dismissal Dec. 16^th, at 1-p.m.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman was arrested Monday in Shenandoah, on a valid Page County warrant for Drug Distribution to Persons Under 18, & Harboring a runaway minor. 23-year old Victoria Diane LeeAnn Kimbro-Johnson, of Shenandoah, was unable to post the $25,000 bond, and was transported to the Page County Jail where she was being held pending future court appearances.

Victoria Diane LeeAnn Kimbro-Johnson

The CAM School Board, Monday night, reluctantly approved the resignation of their Talented And Gifted (TAG) Program instructor, Ksenia Zhbanova. Superintendent, Dr. Casey Berlau told KJAN News their decision wasn’t an easy one.

(The Board will now look to find a replacement for the position.)

Zhbanova, who has been with the CAM District for about four-years, recently got married. Since her husband accepted a job in Mississippi, she requested the Board release her from her contract in January, so she can be with him. Ksenia has indicated a willingness to help find her replacement to finish out the year.

In other business, the Board approved a bid from the Massena Telephone Company to replace the High School and Elementary School phones, which have been down the entire semester. Dr. Berlau says also, if you have ever wanted to own a school bus, you’ll have the chance to buy one or two.

(An ad requesting bids will be in the local paper, and the Board will approve any bids received during their meeting next month.)

Iowa’s drunk driving policies are among the worst in the country, according to a new report from Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The report gives Iowa one-and-a-half stars out of five for its various laws and efforts to deter and arrest impaired motorists and keep them from repeating the offense. Frank Harris, MADD’s director of state government affairs, says only two states scored lower. Harris says, “Iowa needs to take action to improve their drunk driving law as it’s lacking some key countermeasures, specifically, utilizing ignition interlocks or in-car breathalyzers for all drunk drivers, as well as tying in the use of ignition interlocks with any type of driving privileges post-drunk driving arrest.”

The interlock device is wired into a vehicle’s ignition system and a convicted drunk driver must blow into the device in order to start the vehicle. If they have a measurable amount of alcohol in their system, the vehicle won’t start. A state report this week found almost one-third of the fatal crashes in Iowa this year were alcohol-related and Harris says it’s clear, something needs to change.

“The state needs to give law enforcement more tools to fight drunk driving by allowing for law enforcement to do what’s called a sobriety checkpoint,” Harris says. “Thirty-eight states plus DC utilize sobriety checkpoints. The goal of a sobriety checkpoint is not necessarily to catch a drunk driver but to deter somebody from driving drunk in the first place.”

He says such checkpoints are proven effective in reducing drunk driving deaths by 20-percent. No states got a five-star rating this year. Michigan got one star and Montana only got a half-a-star. Part of Iowa’s one-and-a-half star rating comes from the state’s administrative license revocation law. “There’s a process upon arrest where someone’s license can be taken away but the issue with that is, 41 states have laws like this and they’re very effective and Iowa’s one of them,” Harris says, “but the problem is, Iowa doesn’t utilize ignition interlocks immediately following a drunk driving arrest.”

He says the average drunk driver has driven drunk 80 times before a first arrest. Last year, the MADD report says Iowa had 78 drunk driver-related deaths and 937 alcohol-related crash injuries, as well as 9,028 D-U-I arrests. The report, “Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving, 2016 Report to the Nation,” is being released as the country begins holiday celebrations that mark a deadly period of drunk driving crashes. Nationwide last year, 973 people were killed in drunk driving crashes between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, which is nearly 10% of all drunk driving crashes for the year.

(Radio Iowa)

The Exira-EHK School Board, Monday night, discussed but took no action on, offering an Early Retirement incentive package. Superintendent Trevor Miller says instead, they’ll make that decision during their meeting in December. Miller said three people are eligible for Early Retirement this year.

In other business, the Board hired Mark Emgarten as Junior High Girls Basketball Coach, who formerly served as the Adair-Casey Boys Basketball Coach, and, they accepted the resignation of long-time teacher Julie Christensen, whose resignation is effective at the end of the current school year. Christensen retired once, and came back to serve part-time. Now, after having served the district for 42-years, she’s decided to pursue other avenues in life.

They also approved the sharing of a Human Resources position with the Neola/Tri-Center School District. And, the Board also talked about what they discussed and had learned at the IASB Convention last week, as well as acted on approving the SBRC (School Budget Review Committee) application for Modified Allowable Growth for Increasing Enrollment, Open Enrollment Out, and LEP (Limited English Proficiency) Instruction beyond 5-years.

The Audubon Community School District’s Board of Education, Monday night, spent a considerable amount of time discussing the possibility of offering Early Retirement for the current school year. Superintendent, Dr. Brett Gibbs, said they talked about what that package could look like. He said they’ve offered Early Retirement in the past, but the past year was the exception, because of declining enrollment and the uncertainty of State funding, Gibbs is recommending the District offer the option to its current staff, but it would not become effective until July 1, 2017.

Gibbs said they discussed how many years a person would have to have served in the District in order to qualify. The Board will determine what type of package they would like to offer and act on approving, it during their meeting in December.

He says “Sadly, we need some people to take early retirement due to help our financial situation with declining enrollment…and the lack of State aid.” He says if personnel take the option, assuming it’s offered, it would clear up some space in the District’s General Fund. Gibbs didn’t want to say right now how many people might be interested in taking the option, since it hasn’t officially been offered. He said there are some who he thinks would take Early Retirement if it’s offered, but he has not officially solicited any responses so as to not get anyone’s hopes up.

In the past, a person had to have served the District for 15 or more years. Currently about a dozen employees would meet the requirements, and who are at least 55-years old. Dr. Gibbs said also, they talked about, but did not take action on, their Drop Out Prevention/At Risk program, which needs to be completed by Dec. 15^th and submitted to the State. He says since it just came online yesterday (Monday), they didn’t have time to get the forms filled out detailing how they use those funds and what types of services are provided to students through the use of the funds.

He said also the District’s Principals submitted a report to the Board on the “Smarter Balance Testing” for students, that’s scheduled to start next year in Iowa. The subject was discussed at last week’s IASB Convention.