The Montgomery County Extension Council and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach have announced the hiring of Chelsea Cousins as Montgomery County’s Youth Coordinator.  Cousins began working for the Extension Service April 4th.

As the County Youth Coordinator, her primary duties are to strengthen youth development through research-based education and interactive learning opportunities. Cousins will coordinate the planning and implementation of 4-H development and youth outreach programs, such as summer day camps, babysitting clinics, afterschool programs, Family Fun Night and more.

As an integral part of the 4-H program, she will focus on positive youth development by establishing community partnerships, supporting volunteers, county youth council, 4-H youth and committee and other project committees.

Chelsea Cousins is originally from rural Nebraska and was a member of the Nemaha Valley 4-H Club in Gage County. She graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Marketing, including emphases in Spanish and Ag Journalism.  Cousins brings several years of experience working with youth, leadership development and community collaboration.  Cousins resides just outside of Griswold with her husband.

Chelsea Cousins

She’ll will work closely with Montgomery County’s 4-H program and coworkers, Stephanie Langner, Program Coordinator and office assistant Jodie Smith, as well as other Field Specialists serving Montgomery County. Feel free to contact Chelsea at ccousins@iastate.edu or 712-623-2592 regarding any questions you may have about Montgomery County’s 4-H program and other resources available through Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in Montgomery County.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says a woman from Diagonal reported Wednesday, someone had gotten into her “Party Bus” while it was parked at 1678 E. Adams Street, in Creston. A sound system, which included a radio, speakers and amp, were stolen from the bus. The loss was estimated at $500.

A new report shows Iowa is seeing some important improvements in the prevention of child abuse. Sarah Welch, spokeswoman for Prevent Child Abuse Iowa, says while the state’s population has grown over the decades, reports of some types of violence against children have actually dropped. “For example, in child sexual abuse, we’ve actually seen a decline since the ’90s,” Welch says. “A lot of that came at the same time that we increased training and education for children and also for adults on how to create an environment that prevents that kind of situation from happening.”

She says the numbers are also falling in another key category. Welch says, “We’ve seen a decrease in physical abuse and some of that came at the same time that we were working on shaken baby syndrome and how to prevent those kinds of injuries in the first few weeks of a child’s life from the stress of parenting.” Prevent Child Abuse Iowa marked its 40th anniversary in 2015 and she notes the times have very much changed.

“Most people now are aware that child abuse exists,” Welch says. “Back in the ’70s when we got started, that wasn’t even considered an issue for the state and many communities. Now, people are aware it’s an issue and our next step is, how do we prevent it?” April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. The group’s annual conference is scheduled for April 25-27 in Des Moines.

(Radio Iowa)

Red Oak Police Chief Justin Rhamy and Montgomery County Sheriff Joe Sampson have announced a permanent Medication Drop box (Iowa Take Back drop box) is now located in the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center at 106 W. Coolbaugh Street, in Red Oak. The drop box will be accessible to the public during normal business hours. The special drop box is made possible through a small grant from the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy to address the increasing problem of prescription drug abuse.

Citizens wishing to utilize the medication drop box are asked to place all medications in sealed non-breakable containers and are requested to not include any “sharps” (syringes or lancets) or any other item that could cause injury to personnel servicing the drop box. Remove all personal identification from your unneeded “controlled prescription drugs,” seal the medicines in vials and/or bags, take them to your nearest Iowa Take Back drop box site, and anonymously place your medicines in the secure drop box.

Find additional Iowa Take Back sites at: http://www.iowa.gov/odcp/drug_information/takebacks.html. Most prescription drug drop boxes are located a short distance inside the main public entrance of local law enforcement centers. If you have questions, call ahead to the law enforcement agency.