The Atlantic RAGBRAI Organizing Committee is urging all residents to use caution while driving on Sunday, July 24 and Monday, July 25 while in the Atlantic Area. Cyclists will be traveling into Atlantic on Highway 6 from Lewis on Sunday, July 24. The cyclists will also be traveling throughout town to reach campsites and private homes.

“We’d encourage everyone to avoid Highway 6 entirely on that day,” says Steve Green, Atlantic Chief of Police. “There will be a number of other closures and high-traffic areas that should also be avoided.”

All RAGBRAI support vehicles will use I-80 Exit 57, which is Olive Street. The traffic will come into Atlantic on Olive and then be directed to their campgrounds from Olive Street. Due to the large number of support vehicles, local traffic should avoid Exit 57 and Olive Street.

“Obviously, 7th and Olive is going to be a very busy intersection,” says Green. “We’ll have officers and volunteers directing traffic all over town, but we’d urge our locals to avoid these areas if at all possible.”

Other areas of congestion include 10th Street between Olive and Highway 6, Sunnyside Park, Cass County Fairgrounds, and Roosevelt Drive.

On Monday, July 25, the riders will be leaving Atlantic by traveling from Sunnyside Lane to 6th Street, north on Front Street, and then proceeding north on Marne Road (Highway 173) to Elk Horn.
“My best advice is that locals should keep up on RAGBRAI announcements in the newspaper and on local radio stations,” says Green. “Think through your route to work and home on Sunday and Monday, and try to avoid the cyclists whenever possible so that we can keep everyone safe.”

For a map of all RAGBRAI events, campgrounds, and more information, please visit www.atlanticiowa.com/ragbrai.

(Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Press Release)

Sgt. 1st Class Terryl Pasker, IANG

(DES MOINES) – Gov. Terry Branstad has ordered all flags in Iowa be flown at half-staff Monday, July 18, 2011 in honor of Iowa National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Terryl Pasker, 39, formerly of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Sgt. 1st Class Terryl Pasker was killed in action Saturday, July 9, 2011 during a mounted patrol in Panjshir Province, Afghanistan. Pasker was assigned to Co. B, 334th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Iowa Army National Guard, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The Governor’s directive applies to all U.S. and state flags under the control of the state. H.R. 692, signed in 2007, requires federal government agencies in the state to comply with the Governor’s Executive Order that the U.S. flag be flown at half-staff in the event of the death of a member of the Armed Forces.

Flags will be at half-staff on the State Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex, and upon all public buildings, grounds, and facilities throughout the state. Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

Sgt. 1st Class Pasker is survived by his wife Erica; his mother and father, Mary and David Pasker; brother Andrew; and sisters Christine Ross and Rebecca Southard. Memorial services for Sgt.  1st Class Pasker will be held Monday, July 18, 2011 in Cedar Rapids. Gov. Branstad has cleared his schedule to attend the funeral service.

The U.S. flag flown over the state Capitol on the day of the funeral will be presented to Sgt. 1st Class Pasker’s family at a later date, along with a proclamation honoring him.

On August 5-6, no Iowa or local sales tax will be charged on clothing and footwear priced below $100.  A family that spends $500 on clothing during the back-to-school season could save $30 or more in sales tax if they make their purchases on those days.

The exemption applies to “any article of wearing apparel and typical footwear intended to be worn on or about the human body.”  Some items are NOT exempt from sales tax, including: watches, jewelry, umbrellas, and sporting equipment (such as skis, roller blades, or swim fins).

Does the sales tax holiday mean that you should buy all your fall clothing on that weekend?  “Not necessarily,” says Mary Beth Kaufman, ISU Extension Family Finance Specialist.  “The sales tax holiday is a good deal IF you buy items that you would normally buy, and IF you get them at a good price.”

Kaufman adds that the tax holiday can backfire on families if they go overboard.  “When families use the tax holiday to buy items they would never normally buy, then it can create problems.  Likewise, when people use credit cards to buy more than they can pay for now, and then pay interest for more than 2 or 3 months, the cost of the interest will exceed the savings provided by the tax holiday.”

To take full advantage of the August 5&6 tax holiday, Kaufman offers the following suggestions:

• Review family members’ clothing needs in advance.  Identify what they already have that fits and is in good condition, and make a list of items that are needed.
• If possible, know in advance what sizes are right for each person.  This will make shopping easier, especially if stores are busy.
• Keep receipts for all clothing purchases during July and August.  That’s always important, but especially so during these months.  Any time you return an item, the store will need to know whether you paid sales tax on it.
• Plan to have funds available by saving between now and that weekend.  Delay or cancel other unnecessary purchases so you’ll have the money you need for clothing purchases.

For more information on the Iowa Sales Tax Holiday,  see the website: www.state.ia.us/tax/educate/holiday1.html

For more ideas and details about planning for back-to-school spending, contact the _Cass_ County Extension Service (712-243-1132) for a planning guide.

Parole Board holds Dyess commutation hearing

Tracey Dyess speaks via video conference

A woman who killed her younger brother and sister in a house fire went before the Iowa Board of Parole this (Friday) morning asking for her 45 year prison sentence to be reduced. Tracey Dyess was 17 at the time she set her home ablaze in Griswold. She told investigators the fire was intended to kill her abusive stepfather, but instead her siblings were killed. She took a plea bargain in 2005 that makes her eligible for parole in 2022.

“I know I took the plea deal and I know that what I did was wrong,” Dyess told the Parole Board. “I know I killed two innocent people and tried to kill more. I understand I need to be punished for it and I think I already have and I’m going to pay for it the rest of my life.” Dyess’ mother and her stepfather, Brian Street, escaped the fire. Street was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2007 for sexually abusing Dyess and her 13-year-old sister, Jessica. Dyess told board members she’d like to be released from prison before her sentence is up in 2035.

“I’m not saying I want out now, but maybe before my mandatory (sentence) is up,” Dyess said. “I did try and kill everyone in the house that night and I realize this and my brother and sister died.” Parole board members told Dyess they would NOT recommend Governor Branstad commute her sentence. Board chair Elizabeth Robinson noted Dyess agreed to the plea bargain and the 45 year prison sentence.

“I’ve read your file front and back and the DCI report and you had a horrible life. You…were a victim, but one crime cannot be committed to cover another crime. That’s where you went wrong,” Robinson said. “You lived right across the street from the sheriff. There were plenty of people you could’ve gone to for help.” Board members said they were also troubled by the fact that Dyess poured gasoline around the entire house, including an area near a couch where her sister was sleeping. Dyess said she didn’t intend to kill her siblings.

“That night, when I poured the gasoline, I wasn’t thinking about where I poured it. I just poured it and got anything I could because I was tired of all of it and just wanted it all to end. When I poured it that night, I wasn’t thinking about them,” Dyess said. One parole board member asked Dyess what she would say to her sister and brother if she could speak to them today.

“The only thing that I could think to say is that I’m sorry. I don’t know what I could say, I mean, there’s a lot that I’d like to say and a lot of regrets that I have. I don’t know,” Dyess concluded. She spoke to the Parole Board, gathered in Des Moines, via a video feed from the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville. Parole Board member Thomas Phillips wasn’t swayed by Dyess’ arguments for early release.

“In my opinion, you seem to have little remorse in what crimes you committed,” Phillips said. “I think to say simply ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘I don’t know what I would say to those individuals,’ I think personally does not show remorse.” James Felker, another Parole Board member, agreed with Phillips.

“I’m not impressed by statements on your part that you feel you’ve served enough time,” Felker told Dyess.”You don’t seem to be very remorseful, so therefore, my vote is no.” Dyess is now 24-years-old. Kaleb, the six-year-old boy she refers to as her brother, was actually her nephew. Dyess told board members she considered Kaleb her brother because he was being raised by her mother.

(Pat Curtis/Radio Iowa)

AMES, Iowa – July 15, 2011 – The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) is reporting that the road closure point for Interstate 29 in Council Bluffs has been changed to exit 55, the North 25th Street interchange. The road had been closed to exit 54B, the North 35th interchange, due to an emergency repair project being performed by the city. 
Both the south- and northbound lanes of I-29 remain closed between exit 55 in Council Bluffs and exit 71 near Loveland due to the flooding. This is expected to be a longer-term closure.

Police in Shenandoah are asking for the public’s help in locating a stolen motorcycle.  The purple, 1983 Honda VF-750 was reported stolen from a residence in the 500 block of 6th Avenue, sometime late Thursday night and early this (Friday) morning.

The cycle’s Iowa license plate number is 4696-LX.  Anyone with information on the stolen motorcycle should call Shenandoah Police at 712-246-3512.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Sheriff’s officials in Adams County report a Corning woman just out of jail on a harassment charge was arrested Thursday evening, along with a minor female. 18-year old Janelle Blaisure was charged with violating a Protection Order.

Blaisure was found guilty last month on a charge of 3^rd degree harassment, in connection with an incident which occurred on April 20th. A judge ordered her to pay a fine and serve one day in jail. She served her sentence on Monday, and was released.

MAPLETON, Iowa (AP) – More than three months after a tornado leveled much of Mapleton in western Iowa, volunteers are still coming to the rescue.

Sioux City television station KTIV reports that vans full of people are still pulling in to town to clean, build or paint buildings and other property damaged by the twister. No deaths were reported. The tornado was among at least 18 twisters in Iowa on April 9.

Pastor Katie Newman says her church has been working hard on recruiting and has lined up almost 200 volunteers over the next six weeks. Some are coming from across the country, including Devon Anderson. He came from Massachusetts to lend a hand.

Anderson says he’s “just helping with the tornado ’cause I felt bad and I thought we could help.”

BLAIR, Neb. (AP) – Officials are starting to think about what it will take to clean up the flood damage around Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant and get it running again once the Missouri River recedes.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a July 27 meeting with Omaha Public Power District officials to talk about Fort Calhoun’s recovery.

Much of the nuclear plant about 20 miles north of Omaha remains surrounded by floodwaters, but the plant itself remains dry inside. And Fort Calhoun will stay shut down until after the flooding eases sometime in the fall.

Regulators will meet with utility officials at Omaha’s downtown Doubletree Inn.