The 4th Annual T-Fred Golf Tournament held on August 11th at the Nishna Hills Golf Course in Atlantic, raised nearly $22,000 for area non-profit groups, organizations, and the Trevor Frederickson Memorial Scholarship. Melanie Petty with the Trevor Frederickson Foundation said the funds raised will enable them to continue to support the Foundations’ annual donations, which includes scholarships, Little League, Nishna Valley Family YMCA, School Libraries, Friends of Lake Anita, AHS Baseball Program and others.

Melanie says some new things for they’ll be helping with this year include the Schildberg Recreation Area, Healing Garden at the Cass County Memorial Hospital, the Atlantic High School Football Program, Atlantic Fire Department,  and assisting with the painting of Atlantic High School Trojan logo, the water tower off of Bryn Mawr Road.

Petty says prior to this year’s tournament, the Trevor Frederickson Foundation had given back over $42,000 in donations. She says by this time next year, that figure should be well over $60,000. The 5th Annual T-Fred Golf Tournament will take place August 10th, 2013. The T-Fred Memorial Golf Tournament is the only fundraiser for the Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund, which was formed to give back to the projects and organizations Trevor loved. Trevor was 21 years old when he lost his life in a Council Bluffs residential fire, in 2009.

The Harlan Community Schools Education Foundation has begun a nationwide effort to raise $2.1 million in private funding. During the Harlan Community District’s School Board meeting Monday, Superintendent Justin Wagner introduced the community fund drive for the school district. The fund drive will be broken down to 4 categories. Wagner says one category the fund drive focuses on is STEM. That stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Wagner says they are asking for $450,000 to start their own regional STEM academy, and to partner with other school districts.

The 2^ndcategory is the music department. Wagner says they have some instrumentation needs not only on the music side but also the vocal side. He says there is a $150,000 spot on there for the music program. The biggest part of the fund raising effort though, will be for Merrill Field. Wagner says they know they have to do some things regarding safety with the track, bleachers, and doing something with the entry way. he says installing field turf needs to be done all at once, and involves taking extra precautions to protect the track. The other renovations to Merrill Field include new scoreboard with a video board, a chain link fence around the entire football field and an automatic timing system for track. The total cost for the Merrill Field renovations is $1.5 million.

Wagner says the 4^th category is “Other.” He says if there is something else people want to give to, or have a passion for, they will be happy to take those gifts as well. Since the effort by the Harlan Community Education Foundation, all the money raised will be private funding with no tax dollars being used for the projects. A flyer is being mailed to residents in the Harlan Community School District within the next few days with more information about the projects. Wagner says the bottom line right now it would be easier to do nothing, but they don’t think that’s the right way to do things for students in the district.

In other business, the Harlan Community School Board approved a shared agreement with Lewis Central for girl’s swimming. The parents of the participants will pay $250 and provide transportation for their child. Lewis Central School Board also approved the agreement Monday night at their school board meeting.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

A fire that started in an attached garage Monday evening north of Corning, destroyed a home that was less than three-years old. Corning Fire Chief Donnie Willett told KJAN News the Adams County Sheriff happened to be driving by the Kevin Sorensen residence at 2007 Highway 148, about one-quarter of a mile north of the city limits, when he saw smoke and flames coming from a garage attached to the home. Willet says three occupants of the home didn’t realize the garage was on fire. The Sheriff went to the door and got every one out safely.

Corning Fire and Rescue responded to the call when it was dispatched just before 6-p.m., Monday. They received mutual aid from the Lenox and Prescott Fire Departments. Crews were on the scene for nearly six-hours. They returned later on to put out some hot spots.  The house was a total loss.

Willett says a family dog escaped with the family but a cat was missing. Fortunately, the cat was found this morning. There were no injuries to the family or any of the firefighters. The family sought shelter from another family. They were also in the process of receiving assistance from the American Red Cross.

Willett says the cause of the fire remains under investigation, and the State Fire Marshal’s Office has been called-in to try and determine how it started. Willett says he’s pretty certain it was NOT related to a vehicle parked in the garage.

The Atlantic Police Department reports a local man was arrested this (Tuesday) morning. 21-year old Alex Garside, of Atlantic, was taken into custody on a charge of Public Intoxication. Garside was booked into the Cass County Jail and held, pending an appearance before the magistrate.

Atlantic Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring said Monday, that the tennis courts at Sunnyside Park likely won’t be ready in time for the high school tennis season, because of a delay in getting bids for the project, and related logistics. He says it’s unlikely because asphalt plants won’t be up and running until May 1^st or the middle of that month, due to outside temperatures. Tennis tournament action typically starts in Mid-day.

The Atlantic City Council on August 1^st, tabled until November 7th, a Resolution approving the plans and specifications for the Sunnyside Tennis Court reconstruction project, due to a lack of bids. Snyder and Associates Engineer Dave Sturm told the Council contractors are extremely busy right now, they practically had to beg for an active bids. Sturm said they ended up taking just one bid, but it was more than $40,000 over what was budgeted for. The Engineer’s original cost estimate was $241,000.The project will be paid for through bond proceeds, grants, and with payments from the Atlantic Community School District. Sturm said after discussing the situation with Roger Herring and the Parks and Rec Board, it was decided to reject the bid and request bids for the project again at a later date.

Herring told the Parks and Rec Board Monday, that they’re exploring the use of “in-kind services,” to prepare the court area for work next Spring. That includes removal of fences and posts. As a result, the courts will not be available at all next Spring. Herring says the use of in-kind work should help to lower some of the costs associated with the project.

In other business, the Parks and Rec Board approved the purchase of playground equipment for Pellett Park. The playground equipment called “Freedom to Play,” will run about $17,000, and includes climbing apparatus, rope ladders, and other attractions. A similar set-up cost about $1,000 less, but was not as aesthetically pleasing to the Board members, and has less attractions for young people.

And, Adam Wieser, with Atlantic Boy Scout Troop 54, presented his proposal for an Eagle Scout project at Sunnyside Park, to the Board. The project involves re-landscaping an area near the park shelter to include new perennial flowers, Hostas, repainting and lighting the flag pole, setting stepping stones in place, a sign, and other work. He said he’d like to start on the project this Fall, and completed by next Spring. Weiser said the project would be paid for through donations. The Board moved to approve the Eagle Scout project and thanked Weiser for his contribution to beautifying the park.

Another Eagle Scout project, this one by Casey Ihnen, is nearly complete at the Schildberg Recreation Area. It features several new, strategically place park benches and sponsor or memorial plaques. Herring said the project has been very well received by the public.

w/ Ric Hanson

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IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The University of Iowa has moved up two spots and now sits No. 2 on the Princeton Review’s annual list of top 20 party schools.  The party school rankings are one of 62 lists included in the Princeton Review’s 2013 edition of “The Best 377 Colleges.”  The book has the Iowa school No. 6 on its “Lots of Hard Liquor” list and No. 9 on the “Lots of Beer” list. The university on Monday dismissed the rankings as unscientific. The school and Iowa City have been trying to curb binge boozing and underage drinking.  No other Iowa college was on the list of top party schools.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Roger Herring says he plans to meet with local skateboard enthusiasts Saturday morning. During a meeting of the Park and Rec Board Monday evening at the City Park outdoor shelter, Herring said improvements to the skate park at Sunnyside Park should be completed soon, after much time and effort. He said “It has been a very involved project.” Herring said 18 4×10 sheets of skate park quality wood, each with 54 screws, half of which are stainless steel have arrived, and are scheduled to be assembled by the end of this week. In addition, protective surfaces have been applied.

Herring attributed progress on the project to the fact his staff have not had to do much mowing due to the dry conditions. Roger said he plans to meet with all skaters and/or their parents this Saturday, to talk about the skaters’ their responsibility in seeing to it that vandalism is curbed. He says the meeting will likely take place at 10-a.m. Saturday. He will tell the skaters and their parents about the liability issues, and that they need to take pride in the facility and “police it.”  Herring says if they make it through this fall without any damage being perpetrated to the park, he will likely make a commitment to buying some more pieces for the park, to replace missing and/or damaged and removed components.

He says also, a new sign with the rules and regulations will be placed at the site. Herring will go over those rules during the meeting Saturday, and persons who normally use the park, will have to sign-off on a form acknowledging they understand those rules. Additional details concerning Saturday’s meeting will be released within the coming days. Herring says there’s a whole different group of persons using the park, and the number of people using it is up as well, from last year.

The Red Oak Police Department report 23-year-old man was arrested late Monday night for violating his probation, and on drug charges. Mike Andrews Lawson, Junior was taken into custody at around 10-p.m.  He was charged with Possession of marijuana and Possession of drug paraphernalia, in addition to the probation violation. Lawson, Jr., was being held in the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on $5,000 bond.