COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa Catholic parish has packed tens of thousands of meals to send to east African families. The Daily Nonpareil reports volunteers from the Corpus Christi Parish packed an estimated 30,000 meals on Saturday destined for families in Moshi, Tanzania.
Deacon Monty Montagne says the meals include rice, beans, dried vegetables and vitamins. He says each packet will feed a family of six for one day.

The parish worked with nonprofit Outreach Inc. on the project. According to the parish’s website, it serves the communities of Council Bluffs and Carter Lake and includes the Queen of Apostles, Holy Family and Our Lady of Carter Lake churches. Jennifer Brungardt, a member of the parish’s social concerns committee, says about $7,500 was raised from the three congregations to fund the project.

A man serving a seven-year sentence for Willful Injury Causing Bodily Injury, Assault with a weapon and Assault Causing Serious Injury, has escaped from a work release facility in Council Bluffs. Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Corrections say 21-year old Joseph Cias Smith Junior was reported missing, Sunday.

Joseph Cias Smith, Jr.

Smith was transferred to the Council Bluffs Work Release Facility after being granted a work release by the Iowa Board of Parole. His parole was revoked on March 12 2015, and his sentence began on March 28th.

Smith is described as being a white male, 5-10, and 198 pounds, with brown hair, Hazel eyes and tattoos on his upper right arm, forearm, left hand, and left thigh. If you have any information about his location, call the Council Bluffs Police Department at (712) 328-4701 or the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department at (712) 890-2200.

Police in Red Oak arrested a man early this (Monday) morning, on an assault charge. 19-year old Bryson Lee Powell, of Red Oak, was taken into custody for Domestic Abuse Assault, at around 12:20-a.m., in the 500 block of East Coolbaugh Street. Powell was being held without bond, in the Montgomery County Jail.

Several area fire departments responded to field or grass fires Sunday: Massena Fire was called to a field fire at around 1:50-p.m., near 61040 765th Street;  Crews from Brayton, Audubon and Exira fought a field fire southeast of Exira, just east of 2268 300th Street, at around 4:40-p.m.; Kirkman Fire was called to the scene of a tractor fire at 1417 Woodland, at around 5:40-p.m.; and, another fire was reported to have taken place at around 2:30-p.m. Sunday, across the road from the Audubon County Landfill. No other details are available.

In other activity, rescue crews from Cumberland were called to the scene of a go-cart accident at around 5:15-p.m., Sunday. The accident took place near 207 Jackson Street, in Cumberland, where a 37-year old female reportedly suffered from non-life threatening head, arm and leg injuries. The woman was transported to the hospital and released late Sunday evening. She reported later on her social media page that she was “banged-up and bruised,” but nothing was broken. Her name was not officially released by the Sheriff’s Department.