The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports two, recent arrests. Yesterday (Wednesday), 45-year old Stanley Oral Rossell, of Lewis, was arrested on a Cass County Sheriff’s Office warrant for Violation of a Protective Order. Rossell was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $300 bond.

And, on Tuesday, Cass County deputies arrested 34-year old Juan Manuel Anaya Mendez, of Atlantic, on two district court warrants for Failure to Appear. Anaya Mendez was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $10,000 bond.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following two recent, separate accidents. Officials say 20-year old Adam Hoffman, of Creston, was driving a 2010 Chevy Impala southbound on Yellow Rose Avenue at around 5:20-a.m. today (Thursday), when his vehicle met a 2000 Chevy driven by 50-year old Melissa Rodden, of Murray, at the crest of a hill. Both vehicles were in the center of the road. Hoffman swerved to avoid a collision, but Rodden’s car hit the Impala on the left rear side. Damage amounted to $4,000. No citations were issued.

The other accident in Union County happened just after 7-p.m. Wednesday, when a southbound 2003 Dodge driven by 36-year old Sheri Watters, of Shannon City, failed to stop at a stop sign for the intersection of 240th and Lark Avenue. Her car hit a 1989 dump truck driven by 29-year old Trever Tucker, of Creston, as he was traveling west on 240th. Damage from the collision amounted to $8,000. Watters was cited for Failure to Obey a Stop Sign.

Atlantic School District Superintendent Dr. Mike Amstein, Wednesday, reported to the School Board, the 3^rd grade Summer School and 3^rd grade Retention for Reading, has been postponed until the Summer of 2018. He said also, of concern to the school board, is the fact there has been no funding attached to assessments. Amstein said the latest word he’s received, is that funding will be attached for those programs in the next legislative session. He wasn’t holding his breath though, says “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Amstein said also, that the “Smarter Balanced Assessment” was put off until May 2018. In November 2015, the Iowa legislature began a formal process of adopting a new state assessment to replace the current state tests in math and reading taken each year by Iowa students. Smarter Balanced Assessments were recommended by a legislatively created task force of Iowans.

He said “At this time, we don’t know what our State Assessment’s going to be. We’re kind of in limbo on what we need to prepare for, for the upcoming year.” Amstein says it’s another case of “We’ll just have to see what happens.”

Smarter Balanced Assessments are designed to accurately measure how students have progressed in reaching expectations set by Iowa’s academic standards, which outline what students in kindergarten through 12th grade should know and be able to do in math, English-language arts, science, social studies and 21st century skills.