Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman reports Frank Waters, the chair of the Cass County Conference Board (Office of County Assessor), has called for a meeting to be held Wednesday, September 23, 2015 at 5:30-p.m.

In a statement, Cass County Attorney David Wiederstein said “I asked the Conference Board Chair, Frank Waters, to reconvene the Board and to rescind the vote of non-appointment because of how the vote was conducted. There may or may not have been a violation of Open Meetings laws when the three voting units caucused at the same time.

“Members of the public in attendance, therefore, had to simultaneously divide their attention three different ways. At the next meeting Frank will ask the voting units to caucus one at a time so the public can have unimpeded attention to the deliberations of each voting unit. I have already brought this to the attention of the IPIB (Iowa Public Information Board) Director, Margaret Johnson, and it is my belief that IPIB needs no further involvement in this matter due to corrective measures being followed by the Board Chair.”

This past Wednesday, several members of the public spoke up at the Board of Supervisor’s meeting, and asked him to reconvene for a re-vote on the Conference Board’s Sept. 3rd decision not to re-appoint County Assessor Brenda Nelson.

An accident Thursday afternoon in Page County caused $1,000 damage, but there were no injuries. The Page County Sheriff’s Office says 65-year old Larry Hamm, of Clarinda, was driving a 2004 Chevy pickup southbound on Highway 71 at around 3:45-p.m., about a mile and a-half north of Clarinda, when his pickup was scraped on the side by a passing trailer hauling an oversize load.

The accident happened as Hamm was behind a semi tractor-trailer and was trying to see oncoming traffic in an attempt to pass, after an escort vehicle in front of the semi hauling the oversize load in the opposite lane, had gone by. The trailer hauling the big load was not damaged. No charges were filed.

AMES, Iowa (AP) – Six Iowa State University students living in a rented home in Ames have been vaccinated for rabies after officials learned they have collectively killed 23 bats in their home. The Des Moines Register reports the students were vaccinated Tuesday night. Ames Animal Control supervisor Ron Edwards told the students and their girlfriends to get vaccinated once he learned how many bats they had been exposed to. One bat tested negative for rabies.

Twenty-one-year-old Quinn Nordland said a roommate found the first bat in the basement Aug. 30, and another one the next morning. The bats kept continued to appear and the students would walk the hallways at night with tennis rackets to combat the animals.

The students said the infestation has persisted despite reporting it to their landlord. Mike Fresco of First Property Management said a company has been hired to find a solution to the problem.

A search warrant executed Thursday night at a home in Red Oak resulted in one person being arrested on numerous drug-related charges. Police say 28-year old David Andrew Strange, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 9:30-p.m. at 111 E. Prospect Street.

Strange faces felony charges that include 3 counts of Delivery of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, and Possession with the Intent to Deliver. He also faces varying degrees of misdemeanor charges that include: Possession of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine – 2nd offense; Unlawful Possession of Prescription Pills; and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Strange was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond.

A Red Oak man was arrested Thursday night on an assault charge. Police says 28-year old Travis Ray Thompson faces a Simple Assault charge after he was taken into custody at around 11:45-p.m.  Thompson was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $300 cash bond.