SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – City Council members on Monday are scheduled to consider a proposal to penalize property owners an extra 25 percent on unpaid city fees for removing snow from sidewalks. The Sioux City Journal reports that the penalties would be levied on the unpaid fees added to the parcels’ property taxes.

City code requires owners to clear sidewalks within 12 hours after snow or ice has stopped falling. Noncompliance can result in a civil citation. If a sidewalk isn’t cleared after a 24-hour shovel notice is posted, a city contractor clears the sidewalk and the city bills the property owner for those costs.

The Creston Police Department says two thefts were reported over the past few days. Friday afternoon, a business owner told police someone took a chainsaw from his business (J&J Plumbing & Heating), at 211 S. Elm Street. The 20″ Jonsered chainsaw, which was taken sometime between 3:15-p.m. and 3:35-p.m. Friday, was valued at $503. And, Saturday evening, a resident in Creston reported sometime between March 16th and April 15th, someone took a fire ladder from an apartment at 301 W. Montgomery Street. The loss was estimated at $200.

Creston Police said also, 21-year old Todd Michael Murray, of Creston, was arrested over the weekend, on a charge of Driving While Suspended. Murray was later released from the Union County Jail on $300 bond.

The Southwest Iowa Housing Trust Fund (SWIHTF), in accordance with grant
money received through Federal Home Loan Bank, says it is seeking applications from low to moderate income homeowners in the City of Red Oak for housing repairs.

SWIHTF currently has no waiting list for Red Oak, and seeks to find nine homeowners to participate in the program. The FHLB repair program can assist owner occupied households to eliminate health and safety hazards and to conserve energy in their homes. Examples of assistance include electrical, heating, plumbing, handicap accessibility, windows, etc. The assistance is in the form of a five year forgivable loan with a maximum of $5,000 per home in repairs.

Applicants must be the owner of record, reside in the home, and meet income guidelines. The condition of the home must be suitable for repair. Interested applicants should contact SWIHTF at 712-243-4196 for more information.

A program launched nearly four years ago at Iowa State University is designed to teach students how to communicate without talking, while learning the culture of the deaf community. Sheridan Mottet, a junior at ISU from Parkville, Missouri, is among the students in the American Sign Language (ASL) program who recently spent several days in Council Bluffs working with students at the Iowa School for the Deaf.

“It’s definitely interesting to see where the students live, where they go to school, and how their daily lives are so much different than ours. In other ways, it’s weird to see how similar they are as well,” Mottet said. Students in the ASL program at Iowa State are required to interact with members of the deaf community around Ames and other Iowa cities. Cylina Engelhardt, a senior at ISU from Coggon, says the experience helps build her signing skills while learning more about the deaf culture.

“It’s what college is for, I guess, to immerse yourself in so many different cultures,” Engelhardt said. “I think this is a great experience. I have never been here before or anywhere outside of Ames for the deaf community. So, getting out somewhere else is incredible…for anybody to have this opportunity to come here.” During the trip to Council Bluffs, the ASL students were not allowed to talk out loud while they were at the Iowa School for the Deaf. Mottet said it was a significant challenge.

“In class, we’re not allowed to speak at all. So, it’s kind of the same as the classes, but this is for a much longer period of time and with a bunch of signers who are much better than me,” Mottet said. Cynthia Angeroth is the outreach coordinator at the Iowa School for the Deaf. She says the supply of qualified interpreters in Iowa is far below the demand.

“Iowa strongly needs teachers for the deaf and hard-of-hearing and they need interpreters across the state,” Angeroth said. One explanation for why there are so few interpreters is the commitment — it can take seven or eight years for someone to become fluent in ASL.

(Radio Iowa)