Officials with the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce say the Chamber’s Image Committee has awarded Dan and Shellie Brown, of 1111 Plum Street, with the Community Improvement Award. The award recognizes the successful efforts to improve a property in the Atlantic Area.

Chamber Executive Director Ouida Hargens says “Dan and Shellie have done an outstanding job improving the exterior of their home over the past three years. And a beautiful job landscaping the entire yard. They take pride in their own property and the entire community and we greatly appreciate it.”

Pictured: Bill Saluk, Gene Fischer, Gerald Brink, Ouida Hargens, Executive Director and Dan and Shellie Brown. (photo submitted)

The Community Improvement Award is given to a businesses and residents that takes pride in making Atlantic a welcoming and beautiful community by continuing to improve its appearance.

If you would like to nominate a business or community member for a Community Improvement Award, contact the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce: 712-243-3017 or chamber@atlanticiowa.com

Thanks to a 150-thousand dollar grant, more nurses aides in Iowa are learning to provide basic dental care to patients. The two-year grant is part of a statewide effort to integrate oral health into standard care for seniors and people with disabilities. Di Findley, director of the non-profit Iowa CareGivers, says the Lifelong Smiles Coalition developed a training program for health care aides called, “Mouth Care Matters,” and 100 direct care workers have been trained so far.

Findley says, “One of the direct care workers mentioned at our statewide conference when they began to understand that connection between the mouth and the rest of the body, she said, “I’m going to start placing a much higher priority on oral health and checking that person’s mouth than I am putting lipstick on.'” Findley says standards for oral health care should be added to the intake process for nursing home patients and especially for those receiving home health care services. For example, aides or nurses could ask a few simple questions, like, “Can you eat?” or “Do you have sores or pain in your mouth?”

She says, “I think promoting standards that can be recognized at the state level and integrated into the bigger system, that’s the only way it’s going to change significantly.” The grant comes from the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation. Delta Dental of Iowa is a nonprofit insurance company and its foundation’s purpose is to help improve oral health care in the state.

Learn more at: www.lifelongsmilescoalition.com.

(Radio Iowa)

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) – After a 15-year restoration, a mechanic was taking a classic 1961 Chevrolet Corvette for a final test drive in Mason City before shipping the car to its owner in Florida. Then came the crash. Ray Shimak told the Globe Gazette  he was checking on a shifter adjustment when another car swerved into the Corvette.
No one was hurt, but the crash damaged the Corvette’s right rear and front.

Shimak had been restoring the Corvette since 2006 for retired Mason City businessman Lee Snell, who bought the car in the 1970s and had worked on it for years. Shimak says the latest repairs should be done by Jan. 1st. He says Snell accepted the news of the crash well, noting “He’s a patient man.”