Two Atlantic teens were arrested over the weekend on burglary charges. The Atlantic Police Department reports 18-year old’s Andrew Laughlin and John Waltz were taken into custody Saturday. Both were arrested on Cass County warrants for Burglary in the 2nd degree, in connection with a residential burglary that occurred on Halloween. Laughlin and Waltz were booked in to the Cass County Jail. Officials say the arrests are not connected with any incidents reported this past summer, and the public need not be alarmed about an increase in burglaries, as this was an apparent isolated incident.

The Atlantic Board of Education Monday night, approved a contract with the Deluxe Driving Academy, based in Carroll, to offer Driver’s Education to students in the district, beginning with the Summer of 2013. The Academy’s bid of $345 per student was the lowest of two which had been received for the course.

The Academy will use qualified teachers from the district as instructors for the course, along with vehicles the district will provide. Business Manager Mary Beth Fast said the arrangement will save the district money in the long run. Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein agreed, and added that it will provide students more opportunities to drive, by offering more classes with fewer students in each class than had previously been possible.

The district will still collect money for the courses, but it won’t have to worry about the necessary paperwork and the standard payroll obligations. Those will be handled by Deluxe Driving Academy.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The City of Atlantic’s Planning and Zoning Commission will meet this evening at City Hall, to review the Namanny Commercial Development Final Plat. On Oct. 17th, the Atlantic City Council approved plans for the Preliminary Plat. At that time, City Administrator Doug Harris said the owners of the property plan to sub-divide the 7.86-acre parcel, which is zoned as Light Industrial, into four lots.  Harris  said there are several people interested in developing the parcels when they are sold off. The actual grading and drainage of those lots won’t happen until a site plan is created for each individual lot.

In other business, the P-and-Z will receive a status report on the updating of the City’s Zoning Ordinance, which includes landscape requirements and design standards. Their meeting begins at 5:30-p.m.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Officials have released the name of a 26-year-old man killed in a Sioux City job accident.  He was identified as Cesar Balderama, of Sioux City. He died Saturday afternoon while working at the new Sabre Industries site in Southbridge Business Park.

The Sioux City Journal reports that Balderama worked for a contractor.  Details about the accident haven’t been released. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating Balderama’s death.

w/ Ric Hanson

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has threatened to take over protection of Iowa’s waterways from the state.  The Des Moines Register reports that a federal investigation shows the state has been lax in requiring that livestock operations follow rules to keep manure out of Iowa’s creeks and rivers, ponds and lakes.

The EPA report says the state hasn’t properly inspected livestock facilities and failed in its duties about half the time when responding to livestock pollution.  The Iowa Natural Resources Department says the EPA criticism is misplaced.   DNR spokesman Kevin Baskins says his agency has been encouraging compliance, rather than imposing fines and other penalties as punishment for failure to follow environmental rules. And Baskins says there’s evidence the strategy is working.

A Red Oak man was arrested without incident Monday evening following a two-hour stand-off at a residence there. Red Oak Police report officers were called to a home in the 800 block of East Coolbaugh Street at around 4:50 p.m., after they received word about a disturbance. When Officers arrived on the scene they learned 19-year old Joshua M. Salvato was in possession of a weapon. He also refused to let officers enter the room he was in.

Negotiators from the Red Oak Police Department and the Iowa State Patrol were called to the scene. Less than two-hours later, Salvato surrendered to authorities. He was taken to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital for mental evaluation. Officials say no charges are expected to be filed.

The Red Oak Police Department was assisted by Red Oak Fire and Rescue, The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Troopers of the Iowa State Patrol.

The Atlantic Middle School’s Student Council has the honor of being one of the top student council’s in the State of Iowa. Student Council Advisor Ginger Bechtold told the School Board the good news during their meeting Monday night.

Members of the Atlantic Middle School Student Council explain to the School Board how they won their Award of Honor, and show-off their prize-winning plaque.

Bechtold said last summer the AMS Student Council submitted a scrap book to the State for approval. The Atlantic Middle School placed second, but was the only Middle School in the State to win the Award of Honor.

Bechtold said there were several criteria that had to be matched in order to achieve the award.The only criteria she says they couldn’t meet or match, was sending kids to a leadership camp, which is only available to high school students. Among the activities the students participated in fill their scrapbook before submitting to the State, was collecting pop can tabs for the Iowa Firefighters Association, for donation to the Shriners Children’s program. The AMS Council worked to gather more than 15-pounds of tabs, for a total of  58,880 pull tabs last year. They also did “Penny Wars” in the home room classes from March 5th to March 9th, in order to raise a little more than $2,000 for the Relay for Life. The winning team played dodgeball with the teacher.

This year, the Student Council is working on establishing a Constitution for their State Project, along with a project to raise funds to help find a cure for Alzheimer’s. In order to do that, they plan on holding a dodgeball tournament.

A teenaged girl was hurt during a single vehicle accident Friday afternoon in Adams County. The Sheriff’s Department said Monday, 17-year old Amanda Simmons, who was one of two passengers in the vehicle, was flown by helicopter to an area hospital following the crash that took place just before 4-p.m. Friday, on Kentucky Avenue in Adams County.

Officials say a 2005 Saturn Vue driven by 19-year old Kaitlyn DeYoung, of Corning, was traveling over a hill north of Corning, when the vehicle went out of control and entered a ditch before hitting some trees. The accident remains under investigation.