w/ Ric Hanson

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A group of American Red Cross members from Iowa are preparing to assist the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Tammie Pech, with the Sioux City office of the American Red Cross says they are send five emergency response vehicles east. “We’ve got 10 volunteers on those five trucks and we also have another group of volunteers that are helping out in a leadership fashion…so currently we have 14 of the Iowa volunteers over there and many on standby to obviously go in as soon as the airports reopen and we can assess where the need is the greatest,” Pech says.

She says the Red Cross members will be scattered all over the eastern part of the country.
“We will be all up and down the eastern seaboard at this time, obviously New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Viginia …Baltimore, Maryland, I know we had a crew going there. There’s just going to be a lot of areas where people are going to be in need,” Pech says. If you want to help out, Pech says the best way is to make a donation to the Red Cross effort.

“A financial donation goes so far, just two dollars will provide snacks to kids who are in the shelters. Ten dollars provides a warm hot meal to shelter residents as they are waiting out the storm or until they get power restored to their homes. A financial donation is the best way to do that,” Pech explains. “They can do that by going to Red-Cross-dot-org (www.RedCross.org), texting the word ‘Red Cross’ to nine-zero-nine-nine-nine (9099) or calling 1-800-RED-CROSS. Just be aware that the 1-800-RedCross is also our emergency line, so that may be tied up right now.” Reports say as many as 17 people have died in the storm.

(Radio Iowa)

Sheriff’s officials in Mills County say a Pottawattamie County man was arrested Monday afternoon. 37-year old Terry Warren Haffner, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, on a Pott. County warrant for Domestic Abuse. His bond was set at $300.

The Mills County Sheriff’s office reports a Pottawattamie County man was injured during a single-vehicle rollover accident Monday morning, about a mile north of Glenwood. 52-year old Eric Parsons, of Council Bluffs, was transported by Glenwood Rescue to Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs, after the 1988 Honda he was driving crashed at around 10:45-a.m.

Parsons was traveling south on 221st Street when his vehicle went off the road to the right. When he over corrected, his actions caused the vehicle to cross the center line of the road and exit to the right, where it hit a large pine tree at 56325 221st Street, and rolled onto its driver’s side.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports a Hastings woman was injured this (Tuesday) morning, during an accident one-mile north of Silver City. 26-year old Sheena Winchel was transported to Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs following the crash, which happened at around 12:30-a.m., on 287th Street.

Officials say Winchel was traveling south on 287th, about one-half mile north of Cary Avenue, when the 2001 Dodge van she was driving crossed into the northbound lane and then onto the east shoulder for about 110-feet. When Winchel over corrected, the van went out of control and skidded 43-feet into the west embankment before it stood on-end, and came to rest facing north, without having rolled over.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) will launch a web-based tool November 1 designed to help Iowans who have chosen to quit smoking. “Web Coach” is an interactive online program that provides each participant with a personalized experience. The Web Coach focuses on four essential practices to enable smokers to quit for life:

• Quit at your own pace
• Conquer your urges to smoke
• Use medications so they really work
• Don’t just quit; become a non-smoker

Each of those practice areas will include articles, videos, e-lessons and interactive worksheets to help participants successfully quit tobacco. Progress toward that goal includes a spending calculator, to help a participant compare the cost of tobacco vs. the cost of medication; a tobacco usage tracker, which allows a participant to track when and where they smoke to identify patterns and triggers; and discussion forums and online groups for more personalized social support. After quitting, participants can track how long they’ve been tobacco-free and see how much money they’ve saved and time that has been added back to their daily life since quitting tobacco.

In 2011, approximately 2,800 Iowa deaths were directly attributable to tobacco use. Another 1,600 deaths were identified as likely being due to tobacco use. Estimated annual health care costs in Iowa directly related to tobacco use now total $1 billion. For more information about Web Coach, visit www.quitlineiowa.org.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Cass County Extension Service says volunteers for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program are needed in southwest Iowa.  VITA  is an IRS-sponsored program that certifies community volunteers to prepare and e-file basic tax returns at no cost for low to moderate income individuals and families. Volunteers  are needed to prepare 2012 taxes. Anyone interested should have a basic understanding of income tax laws, an interest in helping others, and basic computer skills.

VITA volunteers are provided free training, self study materials, and software necessary to prepare basic income tax returns including Forms 1040EZ, 1040A, and 1040.  They must complete a certification exam and the IRS waives liability for volunteers if they prepare returns within the scope of their certification. To find out more about the VITA program contact the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132 , or Mary Beth Kaufman, Extension Family Program Specialist at 712-755-3104 or e-mail: mbkaufma@iastate.edu.  Interested persons will need to complete a one page application.

The VITA program provides free tax preparation to low and moderate income families so they can claim the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Care Tax Credits.  In Southwest Iowa, the program is coordinated by Iowa State University Extension with funding and support from the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Human Services, and Iowans for Social and Economic Development (ISED).

Hurricane Sandy is blamed in at least 13 deaths in the U-S, while leaving more than six-million homes in 12 states without power. Allison Roach, with the Red Cross office in Omaha-Council Bluffs, says some volunteers from her chapter are already on the East Coast.  “We have many, many more who are on standby who are ready to go at a moment’s notice as soon as flights to those areas resume,” Roach says.

Several hundred disaster services volunteers in the region are offering a wide array of skills that will be needed in storm-damaged areas.  Roach says, “They will sign up and say ‘I am capable of going out’ and we will get a message from our national organization saying, ‘We need this many volunteers with these skills,’ and they’ll ask for these volunteers by name.” Roach says the best way Iowans can help is to make a donation to the Red Cross or by giving blood.

(Radio Iowa)

An Adams County man was arrested Monday night on a warrant out of Union County for Failure to Appear on a charge filed in April, of Animal Neglect.  Cody M. Jay, of Prescott, was taken into custody following  a traffic stop on Highway 34, at around 8:15-p.m. He was brought to the Adams County Jail and held.