COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A fourth-floor water fountain apparently ran nonstop over the weekend and damaged floors, walls and equipment in the Pottawattamie County Courthouse in Council Bluffs. The Daily Nonpareil reports the leaky fountain was discovered Sunday morning, but by that time water had seeped through much of the courthouse.

On Monday, crews spread through the building, drying floors, tearing down parts of walls and cleaning up ceiling tiles that fell onto computers and other equipment. Jim Yochum, the county’s director of building and grounds, says it’s too early to say how much money it will cost to repair the damage.

Officials with ISU Extension in Montgomery County say four Montgomery County residents have been appointed to the Iowa State University Extension Council Nominating Committee. The committee is charged with nominating candidates for the (four) vacancies on the council before August 10th, 2016. Committee members selected to nominate extension council candidates for the 2016 election are Ryan Beeson, Red Oak; Jan Herzberg, Villisca; Sherry Heuer, Red Oak; and Chad Jacobs, Villisca.

By law the nominating committee must include two women and two men, and cannot include any current member of the council. The committee is required to take county geography into consideration when nominating candidates.

Terry Maloy, director for Iowa Association of County Extension Councils, says “Serving as an extension council member is one way to give back to your community. If you believe local educational opportunities are vital to the community’s well-being, then you should consider running for council. It is rewarding to know that people are able to improve their lives, farms, businesses and communities because of ISU Extension and Outreach’s education and information.”

Candidates nominated by the committee must submit petitions containing the names of 25 qualified voters to the county election commissioner by 5 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2016. Additionally, individuals may petition to have their names placed on the ballot through a self-nominating process by submitting petitions with 25 names to the election commissioner. Petition forms are available from the election commissioner and at the county extension office.

Voters will cast ballots for the nominees in the Nov. 8th, 2016, general election. Successful candidates will serve four-year terms beginning in January 2017.

The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department’s Board of Directors will meet in a special session Wednesday afternoon, to act on end of Fiscal Year 2015-16 budget matters, along with the FY 2016-17 budget that begins July 1st. The Board will also act on approving a ground lease agreement with Atlantic Municipal Utilities, and the appointment of Assistant Parks and Rec Director Seth Staashelm to Parks Director.

Their meeting held June 20th, was the last session for current Parks Director Roger Herrring, who had earlier announced his retirement. In other business, the Parks and Rec Board will discuss and likely act on matters pertaining to the Sunnyside east shelter masonry work, and support of a PetSafe Grant. Staashelm will provide an update as well, on the Harl-Holt Park basketball court project.

The meeting takes place at the Atlantic Parks and Rec Department Office (1200 Sunnyside Lane), beginning at Noon, Wednesday. The next regular meeting of the Atlantic Parks and Rec Board is July 25, at City Hall.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest Monday evening, of a man wanted on a warrant for Harassment in the 1st degree, and Violation of a No Contact Order. 36-year old Christopher Joseph Brown, of Glenwood, was arrested at around 5:15-p.m. and taken to the Mills County Jail, where his bond was set at $2,300.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says an Afton resident reported on June 19th, that someone slashed the tires on his Honda Civic and Chevy Tahoe, while the vehicles were parked outside his home in the 100 block of W. Railroad. The incident occurred sometime overnight or early that morning. The loss was estimated at $700.

Criminals who prey on some of the most vulnerable Iowans are the subject of a Congressional hearing tomorrow (Wednesday) in Washington D-C. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he’ll preside over a Judiciary Committee hearing on how best to protect older Americans from financial exploitation. “The problem is growing as our population ages,” Grassley says. “Studies vary, but the annual financial loss by victims of this exploitation is estimated to be at least $2.9 billion, that would be the least, and 36-billion at the most.”

Two Iowans are scheduled to testify at the (9 AM/Central) hearing before the Senate panel: Donna Harvey, director of the Iowa Department on Aging, and Karla Sibert of Palo, the daughter of elderly victims of financial exploitation. “The problem is growing rapidly because scammers innovate to ensnare more victims and evade law enforcement,” Grassley says. “The crime is often under-reported so available information might greatly underestimate the impact on older Americans.”

They include so-called “sweetheart scams,” where isolated elderly people are pressed for money by thieves who pretend to befriend them. Grassley says, “These also include grandparent scams where fraudsters present themselves to senior citizens as a grandchild in distress in hopes of convincing that grandparent to send cash or give out credit card numbers.”

Grassley is crafting legislation that would target elder abuse. He says the bill will promote more effective interagency coordination, training to improve the investigation and prosecution of elder abuse, victims’ assistance, and tougher penalties for scam artists. Grassley says financial exploitation is the most widespread form of elder abuse.

(Radio Iowa)