The Cass County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public about a current scam. Officials say a person claiming to be from the IRS is calling people and telling them they have outstanding tax debt and that they must immediately go to a convenience store and load money on a Green Dot card to pay this debt. The scammer claimed his name was “Sam Thomas,” and had a middle-eastern accent. Authorties warn THIS IS A SCAM. Simply hang up the phone.

Earlier this month, the IRS reported the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) had received 90,000 complaints through its telephone hotline. To date, TIGTA has identified approximately 1,100 victims who have lost an estimated $5 million from these types of scams.

As a taxpayer, it is important for you to know that the IRS:

• Never asks for credit card, debit card or prepaid card information over the telephone.
• Never insists that taxpayers use a specific payment method to pay tax obligations
• Never requests immediate payment over the telephone and will not take enforcement action immediately following a phone conversation. Taxpayers usually receive prior notification of IRS enforcement action involving IRS tax liens or levies.

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, here’s what you should do:

• If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. The IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue, if there really is such an issue.
• If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes (for example, you’ve never received a bill or the caller made some bogus threats as described above), then call and report the incident to TIGTA at 1-800-366-4484.
• If you’ve been targeted by this scam, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their “FTC Complaint Assistant” at FTC.gov. Add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments of your complaint.

Taxpayers should be aware that there are other unrelated scams (such as a lottery sweepstakes) and solicitations (such as debt relief) that fraudulently claim to be from the IRS.

Police in Red Oak say a local man was arrested this (Thursday) morning for operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent. 52-year old Randall Ray Talbott, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 8:15-a.m. at the Pottawattamie County Jail, and held on $2,000 bond.

Authorities in Audubon County report a Bayard woman was arrested on numerous charges early this (Thursday) morning, following a traffic stop on Highway 44 near Lark Avenue. The Sheriff’s Department says 43-year old Ruth Ann Abernathy was charged with Driving While Revoked for an OWI.

The woman also had an outstanding warrant out of Audubon County, and faces charges of OWI/Drug related, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana/2nd offense, and Possession of drug paraphernalia. Those charges stem from an investigation into an accident that occurred on August 2nd on 190th Street near Nighthawk Avenue.

Abernathy was brought to the Audubon County Jail and later appeared before a magistrate before being released from custody.

An Atlantic woman charged last week in connection with a fundraising scam involving her 5-year old daughter, faces additional charges. 30-year old Leatha Slausen, who initially faced a single felony count Child Endangerment Causing Bodily Injury, and Distribution of drugs (cannabis oil) to a child under the age of 18, now faces another count of child endangerment causing bodily injury, and 10-counts of Unlawful Possession of a Prescription Drug (Neupogen). The additional charges were filed Wednesday by Atlantic Police, in Cass County District Court.

Court documents show Slauson admitted to injecting her five-year-old daughter Riley with Neupogen well as treating her with cannabis oil. The Neupogen was apparently obtained by the girls’ mother from someone other than a physician. Neupogen is used to stimulate the production of a type of white blood cell in patients undergoing therapy that will cause low white blood cell counts. It’s used to prevent infection and neutropenic (low white blood cells) fevers caused by chemotherapy and is a support medication only. It does not treat cancer. The drug, which is only supposed to be given under doctor’s orders, can cause pain in a person’s body.

Slauson solicited money and attention for her daughter’s supposed Metastatic Colorectal Cancer treatment, but an investigation initiated after officials with the Atlantic Community Schools inquired about care Riley needed as she attends classes, resulted in the discovery by law enforcement that the girl wasn’t suffering from cancer or any other terminal illness. A feeding tube administered to Riley by Leatha Slauson without any medical training, has been taken into evidence.

It’s not the first time the Slauson’s have requested help involving the health of their children. Prior to moving to Atlantic, family lived in Fort Dodge. A number of fundraisers were held there as well, including one last year in downtown Fort Dodge that raised over $1,000 for health care equipment for the Slauson’s son Cole, who was born premature, and another son who is reportedly autistic. They are also said to have two daughters who suffered from cystic fibrosis. In 2010, the community of Ft. Dodge raised money for the family to acquire an autism service dog.

Leatha Slauson was being held in the Cass County Jail on bond amounting to $30,000. She’s set to appear in court on Sept. 2nd for her preliminary hearing.

The last holiday weekend of summer is just ahead and more Iowans are expected to be on the road this Labor Day compared to last year. Rose White, at Triple-A Iowa, says holiday travel should be picking up nationwide. “Across the country, we’re expecting that travel will be up about 1.3% from last year with about 34.7 million Americans taking trips 50 miles or more away from home,” White says. “In fact, this will be the highest level of Labor Day travel that we’ve seen in 6 years.” Most people who are taking trips for the holiday will be traveling by car, about 86-percent, according to the motor club’s survey.

“If you are traveling by car, you will see some lower fuel prices that will help make the trip more affordable,” White says. “Some will see the lowest prices for this holiday weekend since 2010. Although we did see an increase in the Midwest fuel prices over the last few weeks, they are now on a downturn.” U-S oil production is at a record high level, and since the winter-grade fuel is cheaper to produce, White says prices at the pump should continue to drop as we head into fall.

“In Iowa, prices right now are below the national average,” White says. “In Iowa, you can expect to pay about $3.33 for self-serve unleaded, a year ago, that price was at $3.52.” The survey finds Iowa’s most expensive gas is in Des Moines at 3-36 a gallon, while it’s cheapest in Sioux City at 3-22.

(Radio Iowa)

Foul weather is forcing the cancellation of the final day of one of the nation’s biggest agricultural exhibitions, what’s considered the World’s Fair of everything farm-related. Dena Morgan, spokeswoman for the Farm Progress Show in Boone, says it’s a huge disappointment, but the show will -not- go on today (Thursday) and it’s now closed for the year.

“We’re not going to open,” Morgan says. “It was raining this morning and it was forecast that there was lightning coming through, so we decided to close the show for everyone’s safety.” The show opened Tuesday. Organizers have 600 vendors on the grounds and had been expecting up to 150-thousand visitors over the three-day run.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors will hold their regular weekly meeting, beginning at 8:30-a.m, Friday. During their session in the Board Room at the Cass County Courthouse, the Board will act on approving:

A tax suspension for a parcel of land in Section 5 of Bear Grove Township; An Assignment of Tax Sale Certificate for an 11-foot wide section of land in lots 1 and 5, Meredith’s Addition, in Lewis; An Abatement of tax for properties owned by the City Atlantic at 611 Linn, 1200 Birch and 1106 Poplar Streets, and Atlantic Municipal Airport buildings and land in Washington Township.

The Supervisors will also hear regular reports from the Cass County Engineer and Mental Health/General Assistance Coordinator.

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) – Retiring Des Moines Police Chief Judy Bradshaw isn’t done working yet. The Iowa Law Enforcement Academy announced Thursday that Bradshaw will become the assistant director Oct. 6 after she ends a 34-year tenure with the Des Moines Police Department.

Bradshaw will replace Mike Quinn, who was fired in June after female cadets and workers complained that he behaved inappropriately. Some have alleged the academy has a hostile environment for women.
Academy Director Arlen Ciechanowski says Bradshaw “brings an incredible wealth of law enforcement knowledge” to the academy, which trains Iowa police officers, jailers and dispatchers.

The 55-year-old Bradshaw says she’s eager to “share what I’ve learned in my career with Iowa’s future law enforcement leaders.”

A business in Shelby County has donated a building to help create a new alternative high school program for AHST-W students. The Daily NonPareil reports VCM LCC, a subsidiary of Nishnabotna Valley REC of Harlan, donated a 10,000-square-foot building at 919 N. Chestnut St. to the school district last week, which will open its doors for a new program to help students at risk of not graduating earn their high-school diploma.

Superintendent Jesse Ulrich said that Thursday was the first day for the new Viking Excel program, which will serve 10 students in 10th through 12th grades with an additional five or so students anticipated by the end of the year.

The AHST Community School District serves the communities of Avoca, Hancock, Shelby and Tennant, as well as secondary students from the Walnut Community School District through whole-grade sharing. Ulrich said Walnut had sent alternative students to programs in Atlantic and Council Bluffs, but AHST had left them in the mainstream high school program.

Creating an alternative program moved to the top of the district’s to-do list after an evaluation of the AHST programs focused on addressing the number of dropouts. Ulrich said the at-risk students were not being given learning opportunities to meet their needs. The new program will blend online learning with support from a teacher and an administrative assistant for about half of the school day.

The district received the building for free after inquiring about purchasing it from VCM. AHST couldn’t afford the original price, but the company came back and offered the building, which has been vacant for about four years after being leased to a telemarketing firm with about 150 employees.
Records from the Pottawattamie County Assessor’s Office show the property’s assessed value at $275,600.

Ulrich said an appraisal is being completed before the deed is transferred, which may require a couple months to complete. AHST hopes to use the remaining space for economic development in Avoca, while continuing to make its facilities a regional hub for education.

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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