The Creston Community School District is pleased to announce that it has received a $30,000 Constructing or Remodeling a Building grant from the Dekko Foundation and a $15,000 grant from the South Central Iowa Community Foundation. Grant funds will help support the upgrade of the Creston Community High School auditorium. Aspects of the upgrade project include new energy-efficient LED stage lights, a new sound system and microphones, new stage curtains, LCD projector and motorized screen, and full-length practice mirrors.

An upgraded auditorium will not only benefit the students and school district, but also the community. In addition to the numerous high school events and activities, the Creston Community High school auditorium has held dance recitals, community theatre productions, holiday concerts, education conferences, political events, and much more.

Laura Granger, speech and drama director at CCHS, has spearheaded this auditorium upgrade project, but she hasn’t done it alone. With the grant-writing help of parent Pam Hoffman and the mentoring of longtime-arts advocate Jan Knock, this project has started to come to fruition. And thanks to the CCHS class of 2016 for donating the money toward a new light board and the generous people of the Dekko Foundation and the South Central Iowa Community Foundation, the goal of updating the auditorium is within sights.

Auditorium upgrades are an expensive project and CCSD still needs to procure at least $58,000 to complete the almost $142,000 project.

The school administration recognizes the need for this project, but due to the overwhelming costs, the auditorium upgrade project has stayed at the bottom of the “To-Do List”, until now. One way community members can help is by attending the Drive 4 UR School event on Saturday, Sept. 16. It will start at 11:30 a.m. or immediately following the Balloon Days parade at Creston Automotive on 401 W. Adams St. If you would like more information or if you or your company would like to donate money toward the auditorium project, please contact Laura Granger by email at lgranger@crestonschools.org.

A three vehicle accident in Mills County early Tuesday morning left two people injured according to the Iowa State Patrol.

At 5:44am this morning a 2006 International Semi driven by 26-year-old Richard Dady of Bellevue, NE was traveling east on Highway 34 near the 25 mile-marker while a 1996 Chevy C1500 driven by 66-year-old Dennis Swain of Red Oak was was traveling west. For unknown reasons Swain crossed the center-line and struck Dady’s oncoming semi. That collision caused the semi to cross over to the west bound lanes and struck a 2014 Ford Expedition driven by 36-year-old Adriane Aufdenberg of Red Oak.  The Semi and Ford both came to rest in the north ditch. The Chevy came to rest on the east shoulder of the highway.

Both Swain and Dady were transported the University of Nebraska Medical Center with unknown injuries by Red Oak EMS. Mills County Sheriff’s Deputies and Red Oak Police assisted at the scene.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of a Creston man on Sunday on drug charges. At 2:00pm Deputies arrested 28-year-old Kyle Duane Hoadley at the Union County Law Enforcement Center for possession of controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. No further details were provided.

The Creston Police Department reports the arrest on Monday night of 21-year-old Taran Austin of Clarinda. At 9:40pm Officers arrested Austin in the 300 block of North Birch Street on the charge of Public Intoxication. He was taken to the Union County Jail and held on $300 bond.