SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A former Sioux City high school band director has pleaded not guilty in a student sex case. Court records say 34-year-old Lucas Sursely, of Sioux City, filed a written plea Tuesday to one count of sexual exploitation by a school employee. He resigned from North High School on Dec. 11. His trial is set to begin on April 26.

Authorities say Sursely texted a 15-year-old female student in one of his classes about having sex with her and sent the girl a picture of himself in his underwear.

The Powerball jackpot has been growing since early November and is now up to an estimated $450 million for tonight’s (Wednesday) drawing. Mary Neubauer, spokesperson for the Iowa Lottery, says “That’s the fourth largest jackpot in the history of the Powerball game. The jackpot is also number six on the list of the largest lottery prizes we’ve ever seen in North America.”

When lottery jackpots climb near record territory, more people tend to join office pools or buy multiple tickets with friends and family. Neubauer suggests the best way to keep office pools hassle “One of the most important things to do is keep very careful track of who did put money into the pool and who didn’t put money into the pool, so there won’t be any questions about that later,” Neubauer said.

The person who buys the tickets should also provide everyone in the pool with photo copies of the group’s tickets before the drawing. Neubauer says there have been court battles in Iowa and elsewhere over lottery office pools. “The arguments in those cases were that the people in the office pool were alleging that the person who bought the ticket took one of the tickets that should have been the office pool ticket and substituted in a different ticket because they were trying to keep the money for themselves,” Neubauer said.

The largest Powerball jackpot won in Iowa was a $241 million prize claimed in June 2012 by the “Shipping 20,” a group of co-workers from the Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids.

(Radio Iowa)

Sheriff’s officials in Fremont County say three people were arrested on drug charges Tuesday night, following an investigation into narcotics distribution in the Sidney and Hamburg areas, that spanned several months.  Sheriff’s deputies and the Fremont County K9 unit, worked in cooperation with the Fremont County Attorney’s Office in conducting the arrests.

William H. Bailey

Clinton Cook

Mikayla Edie (All photos provided courtesy the Fremont Co. S/O)

Taken into custody on felony charges, was 25-year old Mikayla Edie and 35-year old William H. Bailey, both of Hamburg, along with 35-year old Clinton Gabriel Cook, of Sidney.

Edie was arrested in Hamburg on a warrant charging her with four counts of Delivery of a Controlled Substance, (Methamphetamine). She was being held in the Fremont County Jail on $200,000 bond.

Bailey was arrested in Hamburg on a felony warrant for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. His bond was set at $50,000. Other charges are pending. And, Clinton Cook was arrested in Sidney, on active warrants for his arrest on several narcotics related offenses. He’s been charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.

Cook was also arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance, Methamphetamine/2nd offense, in connection to a traffic stop that occurred near Sidney on Dec. 26th. Cook was being held at the Fremont County Jail on $52,000 bond.