The Clarinda Police Department today (Friday), released a backlog of reports on arrests and incidents dating back to Nov., 2012. In the most recent activity: Officials say 22-year old Thomas Engstrand, of Braddyville, was arrested on Monday, for Driving Under the Influence, drug-related/1st offense. He was held in the Page County Jail until his initial appearance in court on April 16th. And, 43-year old Teresa Lynn Snyder, of Clarinda, was arrested Monday on a similar charge. Snyder was released on her own recognizance, and is scheduled to appear in court April 29th.

Last Sunday, Clarinda Police arrested 24-year old Brett Joseph Geer, of Clarinda, on a 1st offense DUI/Alcohol, charge. Geer was released on his own recognizance and appeared before the magistrate on Wednesday. And, last Saturday, officers in Clarinda arrested 28-year old Bradley Duane Ott, of Clarinda, on a 1st offense, DUI/Drugs charge. He’s scheduled to make his initial appearance in court on April 23rd.

The Council Bluffs local RAGBRAI committee has announced that www.councilbluffsragbrai.com is online!  The public is invited to log onto the website for information.  Pat Barton and Geoff Hubbard have spent many hours assembling the details you’ll find on the site.  Barry Cleaveland, Executive Committee Chairperson, is encouraging residents of the community to log on, because they are looking for housing and volunteers from the community.  The website, he says, is a resource of information for residents as well as for riders.

Included on the website are Mayor Tom Hanafan’s welcome letter, and tabs for camping information, housing, long term parking, vendor and volunteer information.  In addition, there’s a space for ordering the 2013 Council Bluffs official RAGBRAI T-shirt on the website. Kathy Fiscus, Chair of Publicity for Council Bluffs RAGBRAI, says “The unusual and highly desirable shirt includes a solar sensitive panel.” Fiscus says “The Council Bluffs official RAGBRAI pig riding a bicycle expands into many colorful panels of the pig when the shirt is exposed to sunlight.”   The theme, “Wild Ride for Your Hide” is printed on the front.  A slice of bacon with the phrase, “Sizzle In Your Seat” is printed in color on the back.

While www.councilbluffsragbbrai.com is a work in progress, the public is invited to log on now and return several times for updated information.  Riders for the event will be in town July 19-20, with the official Council Bluffs departure and start of the ride across Iowa early Sunday morning, July 21.

The Shelby County Public Health Department is sponsoring a popular kid’s event this weekend in Harlan. Susan Brumman with the Shelby County Public Health Department, says the 2013 Kidsfest is about safety, health and awareness. She says “It’s all about health and safety issues. It’s geared towards preschool to 5th graders. We have interactive booths with lots of activities for children to do. The 1st 500 children are going to get their choice of a prize and we have lots of other prizes that we will give out in a drawing every ten minutes.”

Brumman says the Public Health Department puts on the event so they can provide education to kids and parents. She said “There are a lot of opportunities for children to go through the fire safety house. They can sit in a police car and sheriff’s cruiser. We have a lot of mascots. They will meet Sparky the Dalmatian, Bitz and Larry the Crash Test Dummies, Charlie the CFL Light Bulb and a lot of the booths are geared towards health and safety issues.” The 2013 Shelby County Community Kidsfest will also feature a big red celebrity.

Brumman says “Clifford the big red dog, who is celebrating his 50th birthday this year. He will greet all the children. There will be a booth for children to go visit Clifford. They can listen to someone reading them books.” The 2013 Community Kidsfest will be held on Saturday at the Veteran’s Memorial Building from 9 to 11:30am and is free to the public.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

The Trustee in the bankruptcy case for G&R Feed and Grain Co., Inc., in Portsmouth, has provided a status update on the disposition of proceeds and sale of the property. Trustee Deborah L. Petersen says she has selected Del Peterson & Associates to auction the real estate, fixtures, machinery and equipment. Del Peterson & Associates is not related to the Trustee. The Bankruptcy Court must approve the employment of the auctioneer.

The Trustee has also filed the Notice of Intent to auction the property by public online auction to be held on June 11, 2013, subject to Court approval. Details are in the Notice which will be sent out by the Bankruptcy Court. Peterson says she has also accepted an offer to purchase the feed inventory and soybean meal on site. The property is intended to be sold to Fred Roane, (doing business as) “Your Feed Ingredients,”  for the price of $20,550.00. The sale is without warranty and the buyer will have to remove all items at Buyer’s expense. Again, this sale is subject to Court approval.

Peterson reports that she is also in the final stages of collecting accounts receivable that were due to G & R. She has filed an adversary proceeding against Cargill for the proceeds for the grain delivered in December. Peterson will begin claims review in May and still anticipates an interim distribution to creditors in late summer/early fall, again subject to the Court’s approval. The analysis of pre-petition preference claims and post-petition transfers will be done after the claims are reviewed.

The deadline for filing claims in the Bankruptcy is May 20, 2013. If you have a claim for a deferred price contract, or any other amount due you, you should take action to timely file a claim with the Bankruptcy Court. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has sent out all checks for warehouse receipt holders. The Iowa Department of Agriculture is still processing claims.

If you have legal questions, including how to file a claim, the Trustee advises that you should contact an attorney of your choice.

(9-a.m. News)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Unlike ordinary drivers, the Iowa Supreme Court says licensed truckers will not be given a break if they’re caught driving with a blood-alcohol concentration barely over the legal limit.  The court ruled Friday that the Department of Transportation can suspend commercial drivers’ licenses without considering the margin of error of breath tests.

Justices ruled against Brandon Watson, who lost his license for one year after police said he had a .041 blood-alcohol concentration during a traffic stop. The limit for truckers is .04.   Watson argued the DOT should have subtracted the test’s margin of error of .004, which means he would have been below the limit. That’s what DOT does for non-commercial drivers.

The high court ruled that state lawmakers have chosen to hold commercial drivers to a higher standard.

 Calling a local fire department in Harrison County will end-up costing the citizens of Missouri Valley, after an ordinance was passed last month by the City Council. According to the Missouri Valley Times, the Council approved an ordinance on Tuesday, March 19th, that allows the Missouri Valley Volunteer Fire Department to bill for its services. The ordinance says that after every service call, Fire Chief Johnnie Walker, will have a financial statement prepared and delivered for any fire, hazardous-material cleanup or similar service that the fire department provides. The payment of the fee will be made to the City of Missouri Valley. The money will go to a general fund to benefit the fire department.

The ordinance says also, the fire department has the authority to take in account several items to charge for services including: emergency vehicle actually used in response, standby status of support and man power needed and used and several other items. A false alarm will not be charged to the business or resident. City clerk Rita Miller told the paper, the City of Missouri Valley’s ordinance on billing for fire services, is based on similar ones in Harrison County, Shelby County and the City of Harlan.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Iowa Senator Tom Harkin has introduced a bill he says will address the need for major improvements in mental health care highlighted by the school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. Harkin, a Democrat, says the bill will reauthorize programs that focus on awareness, prevention and early indetification of mental health conditions, with a focus on schools. “We haven’t really trained teachers and other school people to recognize early onset of mental health problems and to seek appropriate services,” Harkin says. “The kid who is disruptive in school and may be disciplined maybe really does need some mental health services, in terms of what is happening at home or stresses and other things that may affect their lives.”

Harkin introduced the bill in the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pension Comittee he chairs. “The focus on schools I think is appropriate, but my bill doesn’t just do that — I would say the major emphasis is on schools — but it also spills out into other aspects of society also,” Harkin says. He says schools are where the problems may first surface, but there is also training for others who may come into contact with those who need some help. “The other part of my bill also responds by focusing on first responders and training them to recognize mental health problems, and getting them adequately trained,” Harkin explains. “A lot of people just don’t know how to recognize those symptoms.”

Harkin says the “Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act” passed the committee with support from both parties. He says most people can recover from mental health issues with the proper identification and treatment.

(Radio Iowa)