The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, passed a Resolution approving the Contract and Bonds for the Pedestrian Bridge and Connector Trail projects. Snyder and Associates Engineer Dave Sturm said the action was needed to proceed with the project, and was merely “A formality.”

The Council also approved a change order for the Highway 6 (7th Street) project, with regard to traffic controls at 7th and Olive and 7th and Plum Streets. Mayor Dave Jones explained that the existing, and often troublesome “loop” detector system that triggers the stop lights at those intersections, will be replaced with a more modern method of controlling traffic flow.

The wireless system will include four cameras that monitor traffic flow and vehicles at the intersections. It costs $48,850, with the State’s share amounting to $18,800. They are not intended to serve as the controversial “Red Light” cameras that motorists in other cities receive tickets for in the mail, if they blow through a stop light.

In other business, City Administrator John Lund reported applications are being accepted until July 30th, for a part-time Administrative Assistant. Applications may be filed at City Hall. Lund also said work on the Highway 6/7th Street project continues. He said despite the rain, progress is being made, and he expects an update next week.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A former western Iowa physician accused of molesting young patients years ago has surrendered his state medical license. The Des Moines Register reports that 82-year-old Wing Tai Fung recently surrendered his medical license, according to documents released Wednesday by the Iowa Board of Medicine. The documents say Fung also agreed to pay a $10,000 fine.

Fung, now of Ontario, Canada, pleaded guilty earlier this year to assault with intent to commit sexual abuse and indecent contact with a child, both misdemeanors. A criminal complaint accused Fung of molesting a 10-year-old girl in January 1999 while treating her for a knee sprain at Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan. He received a sentence of probation and must register as a sex offender in Iowa.

An anonymous complaint was lodged with a state agency about the Atlantic Public Library, which, in-turn, said the concern is a misunderstanding. According to the Daily NonPareil, the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB) received a complaint about the Atlantic library’s board of trustees, declaring that its discussions should be considered confidential, an allegation based on its meeting minutes.

In the minutes of the board’s June 8th meeting, Atlantic Library Board President Linn Headlee reportedly told her board “that discussions held in the board are confidential and should be treated with discretion.” The complaint with the IPIB alleges that constitutes a violation of state open meetings law. It also raises questions of whether meeting minutes might not accurately reflect discussions.

The complaint, lodged June 28th, was filed by someone identifying themselves as “A Concerned Atlantic Library Patron” who refused to give a name or contact information because they feared “reprisal from any Library Board member or any City representative appointed to the Library Board.”  The complainant says “Public libraries, like other tax-supported agencies, must operate in the best interest of the public. Additionally, there may not be a way of knowing if Minutes from any previous board meetings have been censored at the President’s request.”

At its regular meeting Monday, the library board reviewed the open meeting law as well as the IPIB’s training materials. Library Director Natalie Struecker said she communicated that discussion with the state board’s representative as well. Struecker wasn’t at the June 8th meeting, because she was newly hired and wasn’t on the job until shortly after that meeting. She told the paper she believes the matter was a misunderstanding, and that the Library Board is aware nothing at the meeting is confidential.

The complaint will be included in today’s (Thursday’s) IPIB agenda as a new case. The agency’s Deputy Director, Margaret Johnson, said no action is planned on the case. In a separate matter, Johnson said the IPIB does not plan any new action regarding a complaint by Margaret Stoldorf against the Red Oak Community School District. That case remains under investigation, according to the agenda. The complaint challenges meetings in January following a protracted set of complaints against the school district addressed by the state agency last year.

Police in Red Oak arrested a man late Wednesday night, on an assault charge. 49-year old Russell Lee Peterson, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 10:30-p.m. at a location on E. Maple Street. Peterson faces a felony Assault Causing Serious Injury charge. He was also cited on a simple misdemeanor Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, charge. Peterson was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $5,000 bond.

And at around 8:40-p.m., Wednesday, Red Oak Police arrested 21-year old Blake Mitchell Wilkinson, of Red Oak, on a Montgomery County warrant for Providing Alcohol to persons under the age of 21. Wilkinson was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.