The Cass County Health System Foundation recently awarded three Louie and Elsie Hansen Scholarships. The recipients are Emma Mathisen, Samantha Freund, and Courtney Jensen.

Emma Mathisen is a student at Mercy College of Health Sciences in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. Samantha Freund will begin her studies at Mercy, while Courtney Jensen will begin at Iowa Western Community College, both with the goal of obtaining a BSN. All are graduates of Atlantic High School and each received a $5,000 award for the 2015-16 academic year.

Kent Gade, CCHS Foundation President, said “This is the second year the board has awarded three scholarships.” The awards are based on the applications received each year.

The Louie and Elsie Hansen Scholarship was established through the generosity and careful planning of the two life-long Cass County residents. The Hansens believed in higher education, so much so that over 70% of their estate was bequeathed for that purpose, including a gift to the CCHS Foundation.  Under the supervision and guidance of the CCHS Foundation, scholarship opportunities are provided yearly.

Scholarship candidates must have graduated from a Cass County high school and be enrolled in and accepted to an accredited nursing or medical school pursuing a degree as an LPN, RN or MD.

Police in Creston report four people were arrested Wednesday, and one burglary was under investigation. Authorities say 31-year old Thomas Dollen (for whom no address is available), was arrested Wednesday morning at 207 N. Oak Street, on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear on two-counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd or subsequent offense. Dollen was being held in the Union County Jail on $5,000 bond.

17-year old Jacob Blackburn, 13-year old Chaz Miller, and 12-year old Christopher Selvy, all of Creston, were arrested Wednesday morning, on a 5th Degree Theft charge. The boys were referred to Juvenile authorities and then released to the custody of their parents.

And, Wednesday afternoon, a Creston resident reported to police someone had stolen two children’s tablets, five porcelain dolls, an Apple IPad, laptop computer and jewelry from her home. The theft occurred sometime between 10:30-a.m. and 1-p.m., Wednesday. The loss was estimated at $1,350.

Four employees at the state-run Mental Health Institutes in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant testified before the Iowa Senate Oversight Committee Wednesday, disputing the governor’s assertion that their facilities are antiquated. Sue Rehwaldt-Hays is an occupational therapist who has worked at the Clarinda M-H-I since 1984. She says, just like the Iowa statehouse, the facility in Clarinda has been updated with recent renovations like new windows, new furniture and a fire alarm system that’s still being installed.

“You can do a lot of treatment and you can care for a lot of people in an old building and you can make a lot of decisions in an old building,” Rehwaldt-Hays said. Anna Short worked as a drug abuse counselor at the Mount Pleasant M-H-I until last week. Many of her former patients who’ve made a success of their lives after treatment there called after learning the place was closing.

“None of those success stories when they all called to tell me how well they were doing mentioned anything about an old building that they had to reside in during their stay,” Short said. “They seemed to be more concerned about the care that they received while they were there.” Short says the facility was actually built in the 1960s and, in the past year, it got brand new, specially-made furniture that was bolted to the floor in the psych ward; a new, million dollar elevator and a new security system.

“If I didn’t know better, you’d think it was prepping for the new owner,” Short quipped. Cindy Fedler, a nurse clinician, worked her last day at Mount Pleasant on April 6th. Fedler and the others argued the services of the mental health institutes are a crucial last resort for patients suffering from an acute mental illness who have failed in other settings. “I think we’re all very well aware that…really, we have a mental health crisis in Iowa right now,” Fedler said.

A woman from Shenandoah who gave her name as Christina spoke briefly as well, telling legislators her outpatient treatment elsewhere hadn’t worked and it was “vital” to be admitted for a month at Clarinda. “I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for that place,” she said. “…My illness was that bad that I needed that long stay.” She is now working full-time.

The Branstad Administration’s plan is to close the two mental health institutes in southern Iowa, but keep the M-H-I’s in Cherokee and Independence open. A spokesman for the agency in charge says there will be 30 MORE beds available after July 1st for in-patient treatment of acutely mentally ill patients in the two facilities than had been available when all four Mental Health Institutes were operating at full capacity.

(Radio Iowa)