A shifting load of grain is blamed for an accident in Mills County Monday morning. The Sheriff’s Department says a 1987 Ford grain truck driven by Robert Valeika, of Pacific Junction, was rounding a curve as it was traveling east on Nims Road, when its load of corn shifted. The vehicle tipped over and came to rest on the passenger side. No injuries were reported. The accident happened at around 10:05-a.m., about four-miles southwest of Pacific Junction.

Sheriff’s officials in Mills County report a man from North Carolina was arrested Tuesday morning at the Sarpy County, NE., jail. 64-year old John Robert Schondelmeyer, of Fayetteville, NC, was taken into custody on a warrant charging him with two counts of Sexual Abuse in the 2nd degree and two counts of Lascivious Acts with a Child. Schondelmeyer’s bond was set at $70,000.

Western Iowans will have a chance to shape the future of Iowa’s conservation and outdoor recreation when the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) assembly comes to the Council Bluffs Public Library on Oct. 29th. REAP is a program that provides grants for and encourages enhancing and protecting Iowa’s natural and cultural resources. Meetings are being held across the state.

The assembly will begin with an open house from 6 to 6:30 p.m., followed by the meeting from 6:30 to 8 p.m. where Iowans can to voice ideas for changes and modifications to REAP and its programs.

Participants at each assembly will elect five members to the REAP Congress that will meet at the State Capitol on Jan. 4th,  to discuss conservation topics such as soil conservation, water quality and outdoor recreation.

Next year is the 25th anniversary of REAP, so the meetings will reflect on REAP’s accomplishments and look to the future. REAP received $16 million for fiscal year 2014 (July 1, 2013 to June 2014). In addition to projects that enhance and protect resources, funding also goes to enhance soil and water quality, historic preservation, roadside vegetation and several other programs that are beneficial to Iowa. REAP has funded projects in every county in Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa judge has ordered a Phoenix, Ariz., telemarketing company to never call Iowans again after the attorney general filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against the company.  Polk County Judge Douglas Staskal’s order against Advanced Employment Solutions entered Tuesday requires the company, its owner and general manager to permanently stop calling Iowans and to make refunds if requested.

The order covers telemarketing calls and charitable solicitations to Iowans. It resolves the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Tom Miller in September. Miller’s lawsuit alleges the company sold trash bags, kitchen items, Bibles, and American flags using callers falsely claiming to be handicapped veterans or disabled workers. Miller says undercover recordings revealed several illegal deceptive techniques aimed at older Iowans.

Numbers listed for the company were either not working or disconnected.

Cass County Engineer Charles Marker provided the County Board of Supervisors with an update on secondary road and bridge projects. He said some shoulder work was conducted by Henningsen Construction of Atlantic, on County Road M-56, where paving was recently completed. Shoulder work is still needed on the Lewis road to Highway 71. Both projects need centerline painting as well, before the work is finished.

Murphy Construction meanwhile, is conducting work on the Research Farm Road bridge crossing the Nishnabotna River. That project is nearly complete, but work has stalled. He says that’s because they’re waiting for a minority sub-contractor to finish the guardrails. Federal law requires the county to have a certain percentage of all projects issued to minority subcontractors, but they are already on other projects, and it’s not clear how soon they will be available.

Marker said also, Gus Construction of Casey is conducting box culvert work on Boston Road, just east of the “Valley.” And, the County road crews are keeping busy working on a bridge south of Highway 92 by Steinbeck Farms, near Griswold. Marker says a new beam was installed underneath the bridge. Steel deck work should be completed next week, followed by the adding of dirt and road rock and the re-opening of the bridge.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors met in a brief session Wednesday morning. On their light agenda for the day, was a 1^st Quarter report for Fiscal Year 2013-2014 from Veterans Affairs Director Mitch Holmes.

Holmes said his office has assisted 288 individual veterans during the Quarter. Claims for assistance in the Quarter amounted to slightly more than $2,100, with 16 having been filed. Holmes says that’s slightly higher than the same time frame last year, and is likely the result of an increase in the cost of living. Holmes said there were 25 applications for Federal VA Compensation and Pension benefits, which he said was spurred by the recently approved driver’s license benefit.

Claims covered reimbursement for transportation costs, rent, utilities and groceries. Holmes said Veterans who desire to have a “Veteran” designation on their license, need to come to his courthouse office. He said you’ll need to bring your DD-214 form as proof of Honorable Discharge in order to qualify.

Total contacts with Veterans for the quarter, including office and home visits, e-mail and other forms of correspondence, amounted to 1,717. Holmes said his office was not affected by the partial government shutdown, since he is a County employee. The only hitch was that he was unable to get into the Federal VA office, but he was still able to get paperwork accomplished on his end. Holmes said also, there should be no issues with Veterans receiving their disability benefits, due to the partial government shutdown.

w/ Chris Parks

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The Atlantic Police Department reports a Pottawattamie County woman was arrested Tuesday on a Theft charge. 18-year old Allyson Miller, of Avoca, was arrested for 5th degree Theft (Shoplifting). Miller was booked into the Cass County Jail and held pending an appearance before the magistrate.

An electrical fire Tuesday evening at a business in Harlan caused minimal damage and no one was injured. According to Harlan Fire Chief Roger Bissen, the department responded to a call around 4:57pm to 1111 Cyclone Ave for a structure fire. Bissen said the owner of the building was about to leave for the day and smelled something burning. Upon further investigation, smoke was coming from the south wall as the fire was inside the wall.

Firefighters were able to put out the fire with minimal damage done to the structure. The chief said some insulation and wiring would need to be replaced. Bissen said the owner was lucky he was still at work and was able to report it quickly. If the fire occurred two hours later, the building may have been in jeopardy. The Harlan Fire Department was on scene for about 30 minutes.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

w/ Ric Hanson

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