The Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner (IOSME) and the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) today issued a reminder for parents and caregivers to keep a close eye on children playing in or around water. According to IOSME, three children have died from drowning in the last week.

“Since July 5, we’ve had two 2-year-olds and one 6-year-old die from drowning,” said acting State Medical Examiner Dennis Klein. “Adults losing track of the children for several minutes appears to be a major factor in these drownings.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drowning is the leading cause of death by unintentional injury in children between the ages of 1 and 5.

Iowans should remember water safety year-round in pools, spas, indoor water parks and aquatic facilities. During the summer, equal attention needs to be paid when visiting beaches and lakes. “Parents and caregivers must provide direct supervision to all young children and non-swimmers, even when lifeguards are provided,” said Debbi Cooper, IDPH Environmental Health Specialist. Other safety tips to remember when near or in water:

• Use lifejackets for non-swimmers to bridge momentary lapses in supervision.
• All Iowans, children and adults alike, should use lifejackets on recreational waters.
• Learn to swim and teach your children as well. Formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning, particularly among young children.
• Provide fences with self-closing, self-latching closures around swimming pools and spas.
• Avoid alcohol use while swimming or supervising children.

For more information on water safety, visit www.idph.iowa.gov/swimmingpoolsandspas/prevention or www.cdc.gov/SafeChild/Drowning/index.html.

More than two dozen students from around Audubon and surrounding area have spent the past week in a new, federal and state grant-funded program designed to teach kids persistence, hard work and give them experiences with what’s going on around the County and State. Jason Walter, Special Education/Dropout Prevention teacher at the Audubon High School, told KJAN News he’s grateful for the outpouring of support the “LAUNCH” program has received.

And, while you might think “LAUNCH” is an acronym for the program, Walter says that’s not the case. He says it’s a neutral name for a program that is available to students in Audubon and area Counties that is intended to “start our kids out right …launch them into their future…get them experiences in life.”

The program will be available during the school year, from 3:15-to 6:30-p.m. Walter says while the school year is underway, the program focus will shift slightly, to include help with their homework and more academic activities. He says School District Superintendent Brett Gibbs made it clear that he wanted both the summer and school year program to teach kids without them realizing that they are actually learning something.

He agreed with the idea that it’s kind of like getting kids to eat their vegetables without knowing they’re being served healthy foods. Walter said they are still taking any student who wants to participate in the summer program. Simply stop by the south side of the Audubon Elementary School gym, or search for Launch Kids Club on Facebook. You can also call Jason at 641-203-3035. He says they basically just need a calendar on what days you plan on having your child attend, and emergency contact information.

The cost of the program is $50 per week for students who are NOT participating in the Free and Reduced Lunch program, and you can choose the number of days or weeks you want to send your child. Free and Reduced Lunch participants have the program available to them at no charge. The summer LAUNCH program ends August 19^th, but the regular program with a more academic focus will resume at the end of the first school day on August 23^rd, beginning at 3:15-p.m.  Jason says he’s been blessed with three associate staff members and two lead staffers, who are making the program a great success.

Two Washington State residents were arrested early Tuesday morning, in Mills County. The Sheriff’s Office says 18-year old Alexis Rashelle Todd, of Vancouver, WA.,  was arrested following a traffic stop on Interstate 29. Todd was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Her bond was set at $300. 19-year old Ryan Eric Webb, also of Vancouver, was arrested for being a Fugitive from Justice, and for Providing False Identification. Webb was being held without bond, in the Mills County Jail.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office said also: 28-year old James Thomas Hume, of Sidney, was arrested early Saturday morning, for Disorderly Conduct. His bond was set at $300; 36-year old Douglas Dwayne Mortensen, of Omaha, was arrested Saturday as well, for Interference with official acts and Public Intoxication. His bond was set at $600.

On Sunday, Mills County Deputies arrested 28-year old Benjamin Wade Edmund Starkel, of Omaha, for Public Intoxication. His bond was set at $300.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors met this (Wednesday) morning at the courthouse in Atlantic. The Board tabled action on a Resolution approving Audubon County’s plan of reimbursement to Cass County for Administrative Assistant services rendered to the Audubon County Attorney’s Office.

The Board passed a Resolution authorizing County Engineer Charles Bechtold to execute the Certification of Completion of work and final acceptance, in accordance with the plans and specifications associated with all Farm to Market construction projects. Auditor/Board Secretary Dale Sunderman said the move is essentially a formality that’s done whenever a new County Engineer comes on-board, as is the case with the retirement last month of former Engineer Charles Marker.

Cass County Engineer Charles Bechtold

Bechtold agreed. He said some counties, however, will approve the resolution on an annual basis. The Board also approved an ordinance establishing a policy for the construction and reconstruction of roadways and bridges in the County. Bechtold said the policy stems from FEMA, and is designed to cover disasters affecting the County.

He said for instance, if a bridge goes out due to a flood or other disaster, the County is allowed to put the same type of structure back in. The new bridge would be brought up to current standards, though. The same stipulations apply to roads damaged or destroyed in a disaster. And, in his regular report to the Board, Bechtold said a “fracture critical” bridge in the Washington Township is scheduled to be inspected, Thursday. The bridge is located southwest of Atlantic, on Jasper Road. He also discussed an ISU study being conducted on a test plot in Pottawattamie County, that deals with gravel road degradation.

The results of the study, which just recently began, may affect how counties repair their gravel roads, which are costly to maintain in-part because of the dwindling supply of aggregate and crushed rock.

State Radio near Lewis reports a vehicle was stolen last night, from Atlantic. According to the All-Points bulletin, the vehicle is a black 2000 Chrysler Sebring with Iowa license plate DVP 203. It was taken from a person’s place of business, along with the keys to the registered owner. If you see the vehicle, contact your local law enforcement agency.

This vehicle was stolen from Atlantic.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says an Ellston man reported that his home was broken into sometime between 6-and 11:30-p.m., July 3rd. Stolen from the home was a Sentinel gun safe containing three weapons, a rifle scope and related firearms equipment. The weapons were described as including a 9-m.m. Mansfield pistol in a red plastic gun case, a 870 Remington 12 gauge shotgun, and a 30-06 bolt action Savage axis rifle with 3X-9X scope.  The loss was estimated at $2,300.