Iowa National Guard spokesman Col. Greg Hapgood said Sunday, that the Secretary of Defense has notified the 294th Area Support Medical Company, Iowa Army National Guard based in Washington, Iowa, of a pending mobilization in support of Operation United Assistance. The mobilization will affect approximately 80 Soldiers from the unit.

Operation United Assistance, the U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, is led by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The Department of Defense and other U.S. government agencies are providing certain unique, supporting capabilities as needed to the operation.

Army National Guard personnel, in conjunction with other U.S. military personnel, are being deployed to provide military force command and control, engineering, logistical, and training support to the whole-of-U.S. Government humanitarian mission. This deployment is in support of a humanitarian mission designed to stop the spread of the Ebola virus and keep it from becoming a pandemic that could potentially impact American citizens. It is anticipated that the deployment will commence in Spring 2015 and last for approximately six months.

All Soldiers will be provided necessary training and equipment to prevent the Ebola virus from infecting them. As a precautionary measure and to ensure everyone’s safety, all Soldiers re-deploying from Africa will undergo an observation program overseas to ensure all returning personnel are healthy and have not contracted the Ebola virus.

The 294th Area Support Medical Company previously deployed in 2009 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where the unit provided full spectrum medical support at the Taji Theater Internment Facility Reintegration Center (TIFRC).

The Stuart Fire Dept will be conducting a controlled house burn this morning at southwest 5th and Gains Streets, in Stuart. Officials say during the burn, they ask all spectators stay back a safe distance, and do not park where where you will hinder the fire trucks from reaching the scene.

There will be personal from a couple of surrounding departments assisting with the controlled burn.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – More than four dozen companies will be hiring at a job fair being held in Omaha. The fair will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Comfort Inn on Grover Street in south-central Omaha.  Organizers say a full range of fields will be represented at the fair, and some 50 employers are seeking full-time, part-time or seasonal workers.

Those looking to hire include AAA Nebraska, Century Link, Fed Ex, First Data, Omaha Steaks, Physicians Mutual and UMB Bank. Participants are encouraged to bring resumes, be prepared for onsite interviews and to dress the part.

Several southwest Iowa school districts hope to join Council Bluffs in launching a Teacher Leadership and Compensation System program next school year with the backing of the Iowa Department of Education. The Daily NonPareil reports, across Iowa, 39 schools are implementing TLC for the first year of its three-year phased launch, with Council Bluffs being the only area school district approved for the program for the 2014-15 school year.

Funding from the statewide initiative has paired new teachers with eight full-time mentors in the Council Bluffs Community School District, as well as adding model teachers, instructional coaches and curriculum specialists, all with the goal of classroom teachers stepping up into leadership positions. Funding for the first year is $50 million in state funds. Council Bluffs received about $2.8 million to launch its TLC program, which the district has said would cost an estimated $4.4 million in total, including 30 new positions.

To support those new roles, the Council Bluffs district brought in consultant Diane Sweeney to work with teacher leaders on how to effectively do their new jobs. To participate in the TLC program, districts must agree to pay a minimum of $33,500 for all full-time teachers, select teacher leaders using a committee, involve at least a quarter of its teachers in leadership roles, maintain teacher compensation levels the following year and apply the leadership program across all schools in the district.

Thirteen school districts in the Green Hills Area Education Agency applied for funding for the second year of the TLC grants. The Green Hills AEA spans districts in portions of 22 counties across southwest Iowa. Among the districts applying for funding by the Oct. 31 deadline were AHST, Atlantic, Glenwood, Griswold, Lewis Central, Red Oak and Underwood, according to Norgaard. Area school districts not seeking funding include Boyer Valley, East Mills, Fremont-Mills, Harlan, Logan-Magnolia, Missouri Valley, Riverside, Treynor, Tri-Center, West Harrison and Woodbine.

Iowa Department of Education Director Brad Buck, Deputy Director Ryan Wise, and Linda Fandel, special assistant for education to Gov. Terry Branstad will meet with teachers, administrators and others to find out what’s working and what needs improvement in the program. The state’s goal is to have all school districts voluntarily participating in the Teacher Leadership and Compensation System by the 2016-17 school year. The program’s goals are to attract and retain quality teachers, promote collaboration, reward professional growth and improve student achievement.

A man from Chicago, IL, was injured Saturday evening, when the pickup he was driving spun out of control in Mills County, went off the road and hit a sign post and a culvert before coming to rest on the roadway. The Iowa State Patrol says 31-year old Dennis Smagur, who was not wearing a seat belt, was transported by Glenwood Rescue to Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs.

The accident happened at around 5:35-p.m., as Smagur was east on Bunge Avenue, near the intersection with Alcorn Avenue. The man was found under the rear of his pickup. A report on his condition was not available late Saturday night.

Authorities in Montgomery County are asking for the public’s help in locating a vehicle that slid-off the road and hit a light pole in Stanton, Saturday evening. Sheriff’s officials say at around 5:15-p.m., a mid-2000’s model Chevy pickup, dark grey or black in color, slid-off the road and hit a light pole near the intersection of Halland and Broad Avenue’s in Stanton. The vehicle then sped-off northbound, out of town.

The light pole owned by the City of Stanton sustained $2,000 damage. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Montgomery County Crimestoppers at 1-800-432-1001, or the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at 712-623-5107.