DURANT, Iowa (AP) — An unusual circumstance let a speeding drunk driver avoid a trip to jail after her recent arrest in the small eastern Iowa town of Durant: the sheriff isn’t honoring arrests made. Saying he cannot rely on the truthfulness of officers in the farming community of 1,800 people about 165 miles east of Des Moines, Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington has declared that his jail will not book any suspects whom they arrest for the foreseeable future. He has barred Durant officers from setting foot in the county law enforcement center and ordered his own deputies to not base any arrests on the observations of Durant officers.

Wethington’s directive, issued last month, has won him praise from residents, who see it as a rare public stand against police misconduct by a law enforcement official. But it has escalated his long-running feud with Dawn Smith, chairwoman of the Cedar County Board of Supervisors, whose husband Robert Smith is the Durant officer at the center of the sheriff’s allegations.
Wethington said the main problem is that Robert Smith, one of the town’s three full-time officers, has a history of being untruthful, using questionable force and generating complaints about his harsh demeanor. And Durant’s police chief, he says, is aware of the problems but hired Smith anyway last year even though some of them have to be disclosed to criminal defendants.

Robert Smith retired from the Iowa State Patrol last year after a 30-year career and then was hired by Durant, where his wife previously served as mayor and one of her supporters is the police chief. Dawn and Robert Smith said that he left the patrol in good standing. But court records show that the Cedar County prosecutor’s office routinely discloses to criminal defendants that Smith’s truthfulness as a witness may be called into question by issues that surfaced during his job as a trooper. Such disclosures are referred to as Giglio notices because they are required under a Supreme Court decision by that name and can be a career-ender for officers subjected to them.

Records detailing Robert Smith’s past issues are maintained in a sealed file at the courthouse that defense lawyers and judges have been allowed to review in-person. Robert Smith declined comment on the contents of the file but said, “My record stands by itself and that’s all I have to say.” Durant Police Chief Orville Randolph declined comment, citing the advice of the city attorney. Dawn Smith called the sheriff’s move an attempt to get back at her after the two elected officials have clashed on other issues. She said Wethington “chose to target me, my family, my friends and my community” after she looked into his admitted unprofessional behavior at a May 1 meeting of the county’s 911 board, which he chairs.

Wethington acknowledged that he used foul language and was “downright mean” to vendors of the county’s radio system because he was outraged their equipment isn’t working and he demanded answers. However, he says Dawn Smith has made an issue of the meeting only to try to discredit him after she caught wind of his plan. He said their feud “makes it easy” to speak out against Durant officers but that’s not why he’s doing it. Randolph, the Durant chief, said his department is continuing business as usual amid the situation. But it is having a real-world impact.

A 43-year-old woman was charged with operating while intoxicated last month after she was pulled over for speeding 24 miles per hour over the limit in Durant and had a blood alcohol level over the limit. A criminal complaint says she was released with a date to appear in court rather than jailed because the “Cedar County Sheriff refused to take defendant.” Calling the situation unfortunate, the chief judge of the judicial district has ordered that people who are arrested in the Cedar County part of Durant can be taken to the Scott County jail in Davenport. If that jail is full, they are to be taken to the Muscatine County jail. Durant, despite its small population, stretches into all three counties.

After they make court appearances, the suspects can then be ordered sent back to the Cedar County jail in Tipton pending further proceedings. Wethington says that he’s willing to accept the inmates at that point since their charges have been reviewed by the court — even though it means an 85-mile roundtrip for one of his deputies to pick them up. In addition to the transportation costs, the arrangement could mean additional hearings for the judges and clerks in Scott County. The sheriff said the response has been “overwhelmingly good” despite those costs, pointing to social media posts cheering him on. “I even got an ‘I Stand With Warren’ hashtag,” he said with a laugh.

DRAKESVILLE, Iowa (AP) — An August sentencing has been scheduled for a man accused of running over two children and fleeing the scene in southern Iowa. Davis County District Court records say 42-year-old Terry Petary, of Drakesville, pleaded guilty last week to four felony charges: vehicular homicide, causing serious injury by vehicle, failure to stop at the accident scene and possession of methamphetamine. His sentencing is set for Aug. 2.

The Iowa State Patrol says Petary’s pickup truck struck a boy and his brother a little before 10 p.m. June 24 last year as they walked on a rural road west of Drakesville. The patrol identified the dead boy as 9-year-old Merlin Beechy and his brother as 12-year-old Nathan Beechy, of rural Drakesville.

(Radio Iowa) — A section of interstate in southwest Iowa that was reopened after flooding in March and then closed again in May is now back open. D-O-T planner Scott Suhr, in Atlantic, says traffic started moving Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 29 from Interstate 680 to the Missouri border. He says there is some more work to do on that stretch. “A little bit of shoulder repair that will need to be done,” Suhr says, “but some of the measures that we installed this spring into April and May held up — and we don’t have near the damage that was done back in March.”

Suhr says they used one repair technique in particular that held up after the floodwater came up a second time. “We installed a product called flex-a-mat, and it basically stabilizes the slope near the shoulder. And that helps the water run over the should without actually degrading underneath the pavement,” Suhr explains. “And we actually had a layer of asphalt that helped hold that in place too. So, between those two things — it pretty much helped keep the pavement and shoulder from being undermined.”

Suhr says they have been trying different techniques like this as they fix the miles of flood-damaged roads. “Obviously no one wants to go in there and do things twice, so we are trying to find ways to protect ourselves in the event of another flooding,” Suhr says. There are still several stretches of highway that floodwaters are preventing from being repaired and reopened. “We got U-S 34, Iowa 2 and portions of I-29 south of U-S 34 to the Missouri border that are close. And we’ve got an area on I-29 in Council Bluffs where water is over the roadway. It’s kind of a low-lying area. And then we’ve got water over the roadway at the 67 mile maker,” according to Suhr. “So, we are basically waiting for the water to recede so we can inspect the pavement.”

They’ve had some dry days to get work done, but Suhr says they know the potential for flooding remains. “We just have to continue to monitor because the water may go up at any time or down. Obviously with no rainfall right now that is helping — but we’re just going to have to continue to monitor to make sure that it’s going to be safe to open back up,” Suhr says.

You can check 511ia.org , the Iowa 5-1-1 mobile apps or call 5-1-1 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide) for up-to-date closure information on state-owned roadways across Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) –  A reminder: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is looking to fill temporary positions in Council Bluffs, Sioux City and the Des Moines suburb of Windsor Heights. Spokesperson Deanna Frazier says the agency is hoping to hire for a variety of jobs. Frazier says they will train you for many of the positions. If you have business skills that is helpful — and some of the positions require engineering skills and those do pay more.

Frazier says the pay depends on the type of job you are doing. “These positions range anywhere from 16 dollars an hour — anywhere up to 42 dollars an hour,” according to Frazier. The jobs are not permanent. “These positions are for 120 days and they may be extended in 120 day increments based on the need of the disaster,” Frazier says.

You can find out more about the jobs online. She says you can go to USAJOBS.gov and type “FEMA Local Hire” in the search box and “Iowa” in the location box. Detailed information is provided for each position, including pay, benefits and the application deadline. The deadline to apply is July 2nd or when 200 applications have been received for each position. Frazier says Iowa’s low unemployment rate has made it tougher to find people to fill the jobs that are not permanent.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Mississippi River is dropping below flood stage along many of Iowa’s riverfront cities after nearly three months of record highs caused by melting snow and torrential rain. The National Weather Service says the river dropped below flood stage at Guttenberg, Iowa, early Tuesday, and was more than a half-foot under flood stage Thursday morning at one Dubuque gauge. The weather service says the river’s been above flood stage in Dubuque for a record 85 days, breaking the old mark of 34 days set in 2011.

The river remains around 2.5 feet (three-quarters of a meter) above flood stage at Davenport, where floodwaters surged into downtown after a barrier failed April 30. Missouri River levels also have dropped but are expected to remain high for much of the summer.

Mills County Sheriff’s officials say a distracted driver caused an accident in a construction zone Wednesday evening, that resulted in a woman being transported to the hospital. Authorities say 48-year old Maria Harger, of Shenandoah, was legally stopped at a stop sign for a construction zone on Highway 34. An eastbound 2011 Chevy driven by Kyle O’Banion, of Glenwood, collided with the rear of Harger’s 2015 Chevy, at around 6:45-p.m.

O’Banion told authorities he was distracted by children in the back seat. His vehicle failed to slow down for the construction zone, despite several warning signs. He saw Harger’s vehicle at the last second and tried to swerve into the left lane to avoid the collision, but his vehicle clipped the left rear of her car Following the collision, O’Banion’s Chevy continued into the westbound lane and came to rest in the north ditch.

Harger was transported by Malvern Rescue to the hospital. O’Banion was cited for Driving While Suspended and Failure to Maintain a reasonable and proper speed.

An investigation into suspicious activity at around 12:06-a.m. today (Thursday), just east of the Avoca City Limits, resulted in an arrest. A deputy noticed a pickup truck parked in the drive lane of the Avoca Pool/Park after hours. After making contact with two individuals, 18-year old Matthew Sauvain, of Avoca, was arrested for Carrying a weapon/weapons in a Weapons Free Zone. Sauvain was brought to the Pott. County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.

And, at around 11:05-p.m. Wednesday, 31-year old Sean Alain McMahon was arrested following a traffic stop on Interstate 80 in Council Bluffs. A deputy on patrol saw an approaching 2018 Chevy Silverado on Highway 6. The driver flashed the bright lights at the Deputy multiple times. After the Deputy turned around and followed the pickup onto I-80 westbound, he stopped the vehicle, and upon further investigation, arrested McMahon for OWI/1st offense.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office reports two people were arrested Wednesday on drug charges, following the execution of a search warrant at a residence in Lenox. Taylor County Deputies, with the assistance of Deputies from Ringgold County, entered a home in the 600 block of E. Ohio Street in Lenox, and after conducting a search, charged 44-year Erron Bolinger, of Lenox, with Possession of a Controlled Substance, (methamphetamine), and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Bolinger was being held on a $1,300 bond, with additional charges are pending.

28-year old Samantha Gile-Smith, of Creston, was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and held on a $300 bond.

A Creston resident reported to the police department Wednesday morning, that someone had stolen a wallet from his car, while it was parked in the 300 block of S. Lincoln Street. The wallet was later recovered, but $300 cash and a check book and register, were missing. The loss was estimate at $350 altogether. It’s not clear what the time-frame for the theft was.