Businesses and individuals from Atlantic to Red Oak have banded together to offer a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the theft of a three-piece concrete garden bench that sat next to the grave of a woman who died in a rollover accident in August, 2011. Patty Amos suffered the loss of her 21-year old daughter Kayleen in the crash. She said the bench located at the Whipple Cemetery northwest of Griswold, was a gift to her family from a cousin. She says the family visits the cemetery frequently, and uses the bench when they visit Kayleen’s grave. Patty says her second daughter discovered the bench was missing when she went there to put roses on the grave, on the date of the Griswold Junior Prom on April 28th.

She says they’ve narrowed down the dates of the theft from April 23rd to the 28th. Patty says she has no idea why anyone would steal the nearly 100-pound three-piece garden bench, or how they would know it was there, because of the remote location. The bench has three separate concrete legs and a curved seat which sits on top of them. Patty says her brother-in-law put a protective coating on the bench to seal it from the elements. There’s also an inscription engraved into the bench. The verse was similar to an Eskimo proverb that says “The stars in the sky are like openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon to let us know they are happy.”

If you have any information which may lead to the return of the stolen bench, please call the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office at 712-328-2200. Patty says letters have been written to many areas news papers and other media have been contacted, but so far there’s been no luck in getting the graveside bench returned to the family, so they hope by spreading the word even further, someone will step forward with information that leads to its return.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Wednesday), approved the 1^st reading of an Ordinance designed to penalize those to illegally dump refuse in County ditches and elsewhere. The action followed a public hearing, during which a man who works for a local trash hauling company said he was fully in favor of the Ordinance. 

The ordinance which was presented to the Board during their meeting by Cass County Attorney Dan Feistner, was tweaked for minor wording changes, but other than that was left intact. Its purpose is to prohibit illegal dumping in public places and on private property within the unincorporated areas of the County. Supervisor Frank Waters said it’s really meant to get people to use the County Landfill, and discourage the throwing of appliances, tv’s, building and other, potentially hazardous materials or trash, into the ditches. 

The ordinance, which is expected to be adopted following the next and final public hearing and second reading next Wednesday, says the penalties for persons who knowingly dump trash in the unincorporated areas of Cass County, will face fines ranging from $100-to $1,000, depending on the combined weight of the trash that was dumped, and the number of times the offense has been committed. The person or persons will also be responsible for the complete abatement, cleanup, removal and disposal of the items dumped.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports a 9-1-1 call for help early this (Wednesday) morning resulted in the arrest of 33-year old Matthew Ronald Corey, of Clarinda. Corey who has a long history of run-in’s with the law, now faces a misdemeanor Assault charge, after officers responded to the Parkview Apartments on East Main Street, at around 1:45-a.m. According to Brothers, the 9-1-1 call was with regard to a woman who could be heard screaming for help. When officers spoke with the woman, she  alleged that she had been assaulted by Matthew Corey, who resides in the apartment with the woman. Corey was taken into custody and brought to the Page County Jail, where he was held without bond pending an initial appearance before the Page County Magistrate Court. Brothers said the female did not sustain any injuries that required medical attention.

w/ Ric Hanson

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Terry Branstad says he’ll propose during union negotiations that state employees pay 20 percent of their health care costs.   Branstad told The Des Moines Register on Tuesday that, “Everybody ought to have some skin in the game and ought to pay something toward health insurance.”   Iowa legislators and most state employees don’t share the cost of the insurance premiums.
 
Officials calculate that Branstad’s initiative could save the state almost $111 million a year.   State union leaders have said that not having to pay health care premiums is the employees’ trade-off for the lower pay in government jobs.

More than 800 residents of Iowa are 100 years old or older and Iowa Department on Aging spokesperson Machelle Shaffer says that places the Hawkeye state third in the U.S. in terms of per capita number of centenarians.

photo from the 2011 Centenarian's recption

The Iowa Department of Aging will be honoring Iowans 100 years of age or older at a reception in Des Moines later this year. Shaffer says it’s interesting to hear from the centenarians about the secrets to a long life. “Nine times out of 10 they’ll say the same thing: ‘hard work.’ And a lot of it was hard work on a farm,” Shaffer says. “They talk about walking a lot and not having access to an automobile. So, that Midwestern/Iowa work ethic…is helping people live longer, healthier lives.” Centenarians are encouraged to contact the Iowa Department on Aging so they can be included on a registry and the invite list for 2012 Centenarian Honors Celebration reception. It’ll be held October 23 at the State Historical Building in Des Moines.

“We just want to encourage folks, if they know somebody who is 100 or will be turning 100 by the end of October, to give us a call at 1-800-532-3213,” Shaffer said. The reception on October 23 will be open to all of Iowa’s centenarians – both those new to the registry and those previously honored.

(Radio Iowa)

Offficials with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving Nebraska, South Dakota and southwest Iowa are warning consumers to be cautious if working with home improvement sales contractor Rick Warner. The BBB says it received a complaint from a consumer stating that she had signed three separate documents with a home improvement company located in Omaha, NE., to make repairs to her home and to replace a shed that had been damaged by hail. Rick Warner was the salesperson hired in August, 2011 as an independent sales contractor to handle arrangements and contracts with the company’s customers.

The consumer provided three documents to the BBB: a job summary and two contracts. According to the consumer, they were signed in the presence of Warner. Although the job summary included the provision of a new shed and specific home repairs needed, the home improvement company told the consumer that they do not sell sheds. The first contract, dated August 20, 2011 listed specific home repairs including windows and roofing. It also stated that the proceeds from the consumer’s insurance would be used for payment. A second contract, dated November 29, 2011 was a supplement for repairs to the home that were not covered by the consumer’s insurance. The consumer paid the company just over $3,887 for the contracts.

Because the replacement of a shed was not included in either contract, Warner said that he would provide the shed, and the consumer paid him a little more than $1,000 for it. To date, no shed has been delivered.Unfortunately, the consumer wasn’t the only one victimized by Warner. The company found out that Warner had charged $10,000 for building materials and was using the business’ name to acquire an additional $20,000. Warner was fired in November, 2011.
Previously, Rick Warner was known to the BBB in 1998 as president of Classic Renovations.  BBB records indicate that it went out of business in September, 2006 and the principals may have moved to Tennessee.  At this time, Warner’s whereabouts are unknown. There is currently a warrant for his arrest in Nebraska involving “Felony Theft by Deception.”

BBB President Jim Hegarty advises, “If you are considering home improvements, it’s important to find a contractor that you can trust. “Always check with the Better Business Bureau for the company’s Business Review to make sure they are reputable. This will help you avoid being victimized.” One tip is to remember the rule of thirds and follow it:  Pay one third at the start of the project, one third when work is 50 percent completed and one third after completion. Hegart says you should always make payments directly to a company, and never write a check made out to an individual for payment. Always make it out to the specific company that was hired. BBB has Business Reviews on more than 100,000 general contractors across North America, available for free at bbb.org/search.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press