The annual “Shop with the Sheriff” program will be held tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 3rd), in Council Bluffs. Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker says the 13th annual event being held at the Target Store in Council Bluffs, will benefit 28 children this year. The program is funded by donations from individuals and businesses from throughout Pott County and the surrounding areas.

Danker says the names of families selected to benefit from this year’s program were provided by the Iowa Department of Human Services. Each child will receive $175 to spend for their families. They’re encouraged to use most of the money for clothing, shoes and other necessities, but the purchase of toys is allowed. In addition, each family will receive a food basket.

About 45 employees and families of employees with the Sheriff’s Office volunteer their time to assist with the program. The doors to the Council Bluffs Target Store will open one-hour early Saturday, before the public is allowed in,  to offer the children the chance to shop for their families.

Members of the CAM Community School District’s Board of Education will hold a special meeting Monday evening, in Anita. During the 7-p.m. session in the Media Center at the CAM High School, the board will discuss matters pertaining to an Online Charter School. No action will be taken on the issue.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Sheriff’s officials in Adams County report a Corning couple was arrested Thursday afternoon on drug charges. 48-year old Miles Cross, Jr., and 49-year old Shelly Cross, were taken into custody on Possession of Marijuana charges, following a traffic stop at around 4:40-p.m.  The drugs were discovered when a Ringgold County K-9 unit conducted a search of the couples’ vehicle. The Cross’ were being held in the Adams County Jail on $1,000 bond each.

And, a Corning man was arrested Wednesday afternoon on a Parole Violation. 26-year old Ronald Gilbert was taken into custody at around 1:50-p.m., and was being held in the Adams County Jail on a $5,000 cash only bond.

The Iowa State Patrol says one person died as the result of a single-vehicle rollover accident on Interstate 29 Thursday evening, in Pottawattamie County. 47-year old Eileen J. Walpus, of Glenwood, died after being flown from the scene of the crash near Council Bluffs, to the Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha. Officials says Walpus was traveling on I-29 at around 5:40-p.m. when her 2005 Dodge Neon left the road and entered a ditch before traveling through a fence and onto Beacon Lane. From there, the car entered another ditch and rolled over before finally coming to rest on its top. The Patrol says Walpus was wearing her seatbelt. The accident remains under investigation.

Two people were injured during a single-vehicle accident Thursday evening about one-half mile south of Lewis Lake. The accident happened at around 6:10-p.m. Lewis Fire and Griswold Rescue responded to the scene. One of the victims suffered a shoulder injury, the other a laceration to the head, when the car they were in went off the road and ended-up in a ditch. None of the injuries were believed to have been life threatening.
Emergency responders reported the roads in the area, especially on the curves, were “like a skating rink,”  meaning very icy. No other details are currently available.

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County say a California man was arrested Wednesday afternoon, after authorities found 53 pounds of marijuana in a rooftop luggage carrier on his vehicle. According to the sheriff’s department, Deputy Brian Miller stopped an SUV driven by 28-year old Robert Jones, of Oakdale, CA, on Interstate 80 eastbound near Neola at around 1:45 p.m., when the deputy noticed the 2005 Dodge Durango allegedly made an improper use of lane change.

During the stop, Miller asked for and received permission to search the vehicle. His k-9 partner Francisco alerted to the possible prescence of narotics. A  search of the rooftop carrier yielded numerous vacuum sealed bags of pot, which amounted to 53-pounds. Jones faces a charge of Possession with the Intent to Deliver/Marijuana, and other, related offenses. The man was booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety say an Iowa State Patrol Trooper suffered non-life threatening injuries this (Thursday) morning, after his cruiser collided with a pickup truck. The incident happened at around 11:30-a.m. According to the DPS report, Trooper Tim Sieleman attempted to make a traffic stop near the intersection of the South Expressway and 23rd Ave in Council Bluffs.

The driver of a white Dodge pickup refused to stop.  A pursuit ensued and the driver of the pickup crossed the median, driving north in the southbound lane.  The pickup and the patrol cruiser collided, injuring the trooper.  The trooper was taken to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs for treatment of minor injuries, and later released.

The driver of the pickup still would not pull over. They continued south on South Expressway, and then west on Veterans Memorial Highway (Hwy 92), where once again the suspect drove west in the eastbound lanes of Veterans Memorial Highway. At this point his pickup hit another patrol cruiser. The pursuit continued west on Veterans Memorial Highway, where stop-sticks were deployed to disable the vehicle. Two tires were punctured, but the pickup continued, crossing the Missouri River Bridge and entering Omaha.  Troopers then used their vehicles to box in the pickup at 24th and L St. in Omaha, ending the pursuit.

The 1998 Dodge Ram pickup had been reported stolen out of Omaha. The driver of the pickup and the single female passenger have been identified as 36 year old Carl Eugene Pelander, of Council Bluffs and 25-year old Katherine Elizabeth Lynn, of Shenandoah. The pair were taken into custody by officers the Omaha Police Department and being held in the Douglas County, Nebraska, Jail.

The Lenox Police Department reports a Taylor County man arrested November 15^th on a felony charge of 1st degree arson, now faces two additional felony charges of Arson in the second degree. The original charge against 25-year old Christopher Cameron, of Clearfield, was the result of a joint investigation by the Lenox Police Department and the State Fire Marshalls Office into a fire that occurred on November 6th, 2011, at the Lenox Motel.

The latest charges allege that on February 28th and August 11^th, Cameron started fires at a structure with the intent to destroy such structure. Two charges of fraudulent insurance submissions, both class D felonies have been filed in connection with the arson charges on Feb. 28th and August 11th.

Cameron remains in the Taylor County Jail on a $125,000 bond. His arraignment is set to take place December 6^th.