ONAWA, Iowa (AP) – A 200-plus-pound St. Bernard won’t be seized from his owner, thanks to a vote by the Onawa City Council. The council voted 4-2 on Tuesday night to reverse a ruling by the police chief that Zhivago is dangerous. The giant pooch had gotten loose twice, but owner Billy Parker has said Zhivago is “a gentle giant” who poses no threat.

Council member LeRoy Habinck said at the meeting that if Zhivago were “going to bite somebody, he would have done it long before this.” Parker has installed a 6-foot-tall fence to keep the dog from escaping and roaming the neighborhood.

The council will be taking a look at city ordinances to clearly define what makes an animal “dangerous” or “vicious” and subject to city seizure.

Members of the CAM and Adair-Casey Boards of Education held discussions Tuesday evening at the High School in Anita, on a possible Whole Grade Sharing arrangement. CAM Superintendent Dr. Casey Berlau told KJAN News it was discussion only, no decisions were made. He said the matter of who Adair-Casey teams up with is in “Their court. What they expressed to us was that they want to get a decision made, but I don’t know that I heard and exact date when they’re expecting to do that.”

Adair-Casey School members met with the Guthrie Center School Board Monday evening, and are expected to meet with West Central Valley School Board members this (Wednesday) evening.

In other business, Berlau said the CAM School Board approved three resignations. They include: Rex Mehrhoff, Assistant Football & Assistant Wrestling Coach in the shared CAM/Atlantic wrestling program; Asst. Girls Basketball Coach Valerie McPheron, and 5th grade teacher Diane Casey.

The CAM Board also passed a Resolution approving the 2015-16 School Budget, for which the tax asking (levy) is relatively unchanged from last year, at $9.26 per thousand dollars taxable valuation, and, the approved a bid of about $19,000 from Glascock Floor out of Indianola, for work on the high school gym floor.

The Glenwood Police Dept. reports a Taylor County man was arrested Tuesday. 57-year old Kurt Wagaman, of New Market, was arrested for Public intoxication and interference with official acts. Wagaman was being held in the Mills County Jail on $600 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The office of U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley says he’s recommending a U.S. magistrate and a state district court judge to fill two openings on the federal bench in Iowa.

U.S. Magistrate Leonard Strand, of Sioux City, is being nominated to replace U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett for the Northern District of Iowa. State Judge Rebecca Ebinger, of Polk County, is being nominated to replace U.S. District Judge James Gritzner for the Southern District of Iowa.

Bennett and Gritzner are going on senior status.

Strand graduated from the University of Iowa law school and had a private practice before becoming a magistrate judge in 2012.

Ebinger, of Des Moines, has been a state judge since 2012. Ebinger has served as an assistant U.S. attorney in both of Iowa’s federal districts.

Atlantic Police arrested two people wanted on warrants, Tuesday. 45-year old Trena Vahle, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Criminal Trespass. And, 24-year old Damien Sopcich, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Willful Injury and Criminal Mischief. Both of the individuals were booked into the Cass County Jail and later released on bond.

And, the A-PD reports 29-year old Mallory Marsh, of Anita, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of 5th Degree Theft (Shoplifting). Marsh was booked into the Cass County Jail.

An educational program involving a mock collision will be held this (Wednesday) afternoon, at the CAM High School, in Anita. Judi Nelson, Coordinator of the Cass County “Every 15 Minutes” program, says the event is not open to the public, and residents are asked to avoid the area between 1-and 3-p.m., so as to not interfere with Emergency Vehicles. No Parking will be allowed in the area near the High School, in preparation for the event.

“Every 15 Minutes,” is a nationally recognized program that serves to educate, demonstrate, and personalize the consequences of impaired and distracted driving, the habits of which often begin in the teen years.

The program has been held three times in the Atlantic and Griswold School Districts, and was deemed a success by students, parents, teachers and members of the public who were involved in it.

In today’s scenario, a drunk driver, played by Trace Ticknor, loses control of his vehicle on a county road and rolled into the ditch. A passenger in the vehicle, 16-year old Mark Stender, will be “pronounced dead” at the scene. Another passenger, Tierney Sothman, will be flown to the Cass County Memorial Hospital, where she will also “die” from her injuries. Two other students actors who are passengers in the Ticknor vehicle will be treated at CCMH for their “Injuries.”

As events continue to unfold, Ticknor will be administered a “Field Sobriety” test and taken into custody before being transported to the Cass County Courthouse to await his “sentencing.” The “Living Dead,” including the actors involved in the crash, will be transported to the Courthouse to view the proceedings in front of Judge Susan Christensen, which includes a 25-year sentence on two counts of vehicular homicide.

There’s much more to the program, but again we remind you, that this is only an educational event, so if you hear on your scanner about an accident in Anita or drive by the High School and wonder what’s going on, it is NOT Real, but you should stay away from the area between 1- and 3-p.m., while the exercise is underway.

w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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One person was arrested and two thefts were investigated recently, in Creston. Police say 60-year old Jeff E. Mendenhall, of Corning, was arrested just after 6-a.m. today (Wednesday), on charges of Driving While Revoked and Driving While Barred. Mendenhall was taken into custody at 806 Laurel St. in Creston and brought to the Union County Jail, where he was being held on $2,000 bond.

Creston Police say a woman who resides on N. Oak Street reported Monday, that someone had taken her Utility Cart from 401 W. Adams Street. The cart, valued at $100, was stolen sometime between 2-pm and 2:45-p.m., Sunday. And, a woman on W. Howard St. in Creston reported Monday, that someone had taken her Dell laptop computer with a charger, that was in a black computer case on her back porch. The computer was stolen sometime over the past couple of days. The loss was estimated at $230.

The 7:06-a.m. report w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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