A trio of area school districts will hold their regular, separate monthly meetings Monday evening. In Griswold, the school board meeting begins at 5:45-p.m. New business and action items include: the FAT (Fully Automated Timing) System for track; a chemical bid for the lawn and athletic fields; the Parent/Teacher Conferences schedule, and setting the Long-term planning work session date.

The CAM school board meeting gets underway at 6:30-p.m. Monday, in Anita. Action items include: A 1:1 Laptop initiative Resolution; Initiation of bargaining with regard to the 2015-16 Master Contract; and  a revision to the board policy pertaining to a Tobacco Free Environment. The board will also hold a closed session for negotiations.

And in Elk Horn, the Exira-EHK School Board will meet at 7-p.m. and discuss the Exira-Elk Horn/Kimballton proposal with regard to contract negotiations. New business includes discussion about the school start date, summer projects, starting school at 8-a.m., and Summer Driver’s Education fees.

The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department Board of Directors will meet Monday evening at 5:15 in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. During their session the Board is expected to formally approve the hiring of Seth Staashelm as Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation. He’s expected to begin the position on Feb. 2nd with a salary of $38,000 plus benefits. He’ll handle the Operations side of the Parks & Rec Department, while current Director Roger Herring handles more of the Administrative matters, such as writing grant applications.

The Parks Board will also act on approving office space and related matters for Staashelm, and on the purchase of a cell phone signal booster. In other business, the Board will: review the site plan prepared by Snyder and Associates, for replacement of the Kiddie Korral at Sunnyside Park; receive an update on the Bull Creek reconstruction and Buck Creek Dog Park projects; and an update on the Urban Forestry grant.

In his report to the Board, Director Roger Herring is expected to report that while the gates to Sunnyside park are closed for the season, the park is still open to anyone wanting to use it for family gatherings and recreational activities. He’ll also talk about new street signs that have been ordered for Sunnyside Park, as well as department safety and maintenance equipment matters

Authorities in central Iowa are searching for man wanted for Murder in the 1st degree and Going Armed with Intent. Marshalltown Police say 19-year old Jose Enrique Morales, of Marshalltown, is alleged have shot 20-year old Dedrikk Fisher at a residence in the 1200 block of West Church Street, in Marshalltown. The incident happened at around 11:10-p.m., Saturday.

Jose Morales

Fisher was rushed to a local hospital where he died shortly after midnight Sunday. Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper says an arrest warrant has been issued for Morales, who should be considered armed and dangerous.

Tupper says investigators believe the two men knew each other, but they’re not sure if the victim lived at the house where the shooting took place. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is helping with the case.

Police in Council Bluffs are investigating a robbery that took place at around 7:43-a.m., Sunday. Officials say a white male entered Cal’s Food & Gas Mart at 429 Veterans Memorial Highway, and pointed a handgun at the clerk demanding money from the cash register. After receiving an undetermined amount of money from the register the suspect exited the business and fled the area in an unknown direction.

Police in Red Oak report the arrest early this (Sunday) morning of a Red Oak man on an assault charge. 47-year old Raymond Lee Briggs was taken into custody at around 12:30-a.m. in the 1600 block of east Summit Street, and charged with Simple Assault. His bond was set at $300.

Saturday night, 32-year old Ronald Glenn Ballinger the 3rd, of Glenwood, was taken into custody in Red Oak, on a charge of Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree. He was arrested at around 9:20-p.m. in the 700 block of east Maple Street. Bond was set at $2,000.

And 35-year old Joseph Earl Smith, of rural Red Oak, was arrested Saturday afternoon on a charge of Driving While Barred, an aggravated misdemeanor. A Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputy saw Smith traveling south on Highway 71 just after 3-p.m., and knew the man was prohibited from driving. Smith was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $2,000 bond.