Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have announced the agency is providing additional tools for federal, state, local officials and others, to alert and warn the public about severe weather. The Commercial Mobile Alert System, or CMAS, will be used to deliver Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) to wireless carriers for distribution to the public. That means your cell phone will receive messages on its screen, similar to a text message, showing the type and time of the alert, along with what type of action will be taken. The alerts will NOT take the place of locations where CODE RED alert systems are in-place, as those systems also handle a wide variety of local emergency situations. 

The message will be no more than 90 characters, and will have a unique tone and vibration, indicating a WEA has been received. If an alert is received by your cell phone, you are advised to follow the instructions and seek additional information from local radio, television, NOAA Weather Radio and other official sources for emergency information. 

The alerts will be broadcast by cell towers. Any cell phone within range of those specific towers will immediately pick up the signal, provided they are capable of receiving the alerts. The availability of WEA alerts will be dependent on the network status of the wireless carriers and handset availability, since not all cell phones receive WEA’s. Check with your cellular carrier to see if WEA alerts are available in your area. 

FEMA says as with all new cellular services, it will take time for upgrades in infrastructure, coverage and handset technology, to allow WEA alerts to reach all cellular customers.

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin has announced the City of Atlantic’s airport has received a grant amounting to $510,763 to assist the facility in meeting design standards. The funds were a portion of the more than $11.5-million awarded to 27 Municipal airports in Iowa, from the US Dept. of Transportation and F-A-A. 

Also receiving grant monies were these airports; Arthur N. New in Carroll, $236,700 – for the acquisition of replacement snow removal equipment; Creston Municipal Airport, $412, 408 – to enhance airport access; Guthrie County Regional Airport, $382,500 – for construction of a hangar building; Red Oak Municipal Airport, $142,106 – for the replacement of snow removal equipment; and Schneck Field in Clarinda, $313, 920 – for the rehabilitation of the runway lighting system. 

Senator Harkin, who is a member of the appropriations subcommittee which funds the DOT, said the funds will ensure Iowa’s municipal airports have the resources they need to update, repair or replace their facilities.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest Thursday of two Villisca residents. Officials say 19-year old Taylor Shane Luna, was arrested at around 11-p.m. Thursday, on charges of public intoxication and disorderly conduct, following an incident which occurred at 2^nd Avenue and High Streets. She was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $300 bond. 

And, at around 5:45-p.m., 24-year old Kahla Ellen Morrison, of Villisca, was arrested for driving while revoked, for OWI test refusal. Morrison was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 cash bond.

Officials with the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic report CCMH has gone live with a new integrated information system, which is designed to stabilize and integrate the facilities’ technology solutions across the organizations, enable the hospital to control costs, and provide a higher level of patient safety and care. The new Health Care Information System (HCIS) includes all clinical and financial software, including scheduling, registration, laboratory, radiology, and several other applications. 

One change patients will notice, according to hospital officials, is the need to re-create their medication information in the new hospital system, as the previous list did not transfer to the new computer system. Patients who are seen in the CCMH Outpatient Specialty Clinic, are asked to bring either a list of med’s and dosage levels, or their actual medications to review with the nurses. Arriving 5- to 10-minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time will help to facilitate that process. 

This does not affect patients being seen at the Atlantic Medical Center, Southwest Iowa Surgery, Eye Associates, or the Southwest Iowa Mental Health Center.

Officials with the Adair-Guthrie County Emergency Management Office report 9-1-1 service has been restored in Guthrie County. The office had put out a notice at around 6-p.m. Thursday about a disruption in 9-1-1 service that began sometime between 5:30- and 6-p.m.  The service was restored, a few hours later. A Sheriff’s dispatcher in Guthrie County said a fiber optic cable was accidentally cut somewhere. 9-1-1 service he said, was also knocked out in southern Iowa’s Clarke County at the same time.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

The Adair/Guthrie County Emergency Management Agency is reporting that the 9-1-1 phone lines in Guthrie County are not working. If you have an emergency call the regular Guthrie County Dispatch line at 641-747-2214. Until further notice.

(posted 5:39-p.m. 5/31/12)

The Harlan Police Department reports four 18-year olds were arrested last week on alcohol charges, following a traffic stop. Taken into custody on May 25th, were: Brock Travis, Jared Klein, and Cari Freml, all of Harlan, and, Rachel Ferry, of Kirkman. Each was cited for Possession of Alcohol under legal age, and later released. Their booze was confiscated.

On that same day, 32-year old Shelly Hulsebus, of Harlan, turned herself in to authorities. The woman was wanted on an active Shelby County warrant for 3rd degree theft, after allegedly taking $412 from the cash register at the place of her employer, Bomgaars Supply, Incorporated, in April. Hulsebus was being held in the Shelby County Jail on $1,000 bond.

Authorities in Harlan also spent part of the past week investigating an incident of vandalism. On May 23rd, a Harlan woman reported that her 1992 Lincoln Town Carr was intentionally scratched on both sides, and the driver’s seat punctured twice. The damage was estimated at $1,500, and the case remains under investigation.

Officials with the Harlan Police Department and authorities in Harrison County are investigating the theft of an SUV from Harlan. On Monday, officers with the Harlan P-D were called to the 900 block of Durant Street, where it was reported a 1997 Ford Explorer belonging to Donna Kester, had been stolen. The following evening, Harrison County Sheriff’s officials notified Harlan Police that the vehicle was recovered near Missouri Valley. The case remains under investigation.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Thursday, set June 13th and 20th as the dates for public hearings, and the 1st and 2nd readings of a proposed Illegal Dumping Ordinance. The ordinance, if adopted after the second reading, would apply to all the unincorporated areas of the County, and would call for a $100 fine on the 1st offense if the items illegally dumped weighed less than 10-pounds, or up to 15-cubic feet in volume, and up to $250 for the second and subsequent offenses. The fines increase from $250 to $500 respectively, for trash that exceeds 10-pounds, or 15-cubic feet in volume.