A State Patrol Trooper who served western and central Iowa for 24-years died early Tuesday evening as a result of a single vehicle car crash near Indianola.  The Iowa Department of Public Safety says

Trooper Mark Toney

43- year old Trooper Mark Toney was traveling northbound on US Highway 65, just south of Indianola. Witnesses indicate his emergency lights were activated. For unknown reasons the patrol car left the roadway and then landed in a field west of the highway.  Witnesses to the incident called 911 shortly before 4:40 PM.

Upon arrival at the scene, emergency responders found the patrol car fully engulfed in flames.  The fire was extinguished, and Trooper Toney was pronounced dead at the scene.  An autopsy will be conducted at the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny today (Wednesday).

Colonel Patrick J. Hoye offered his condolences, “My heart goes out to Trooper Toney’s family. In their time of sadness, they should know how much the State Patrol family grieves with them.  Trooper Toney gave his life in service to Iowans.”

The Iowa State Patrol continues to investigate Tuesday’s fatal car crash.

Southern Iowa Rural Water Association (SIRWA) officials have planned a meeting at the Lewis Community Center on Thursday September 22^nd beginning at 6:30 P.M. regarding the Southwest Cass County Rural Water Project.  SIRWA will be conducting the meeting to inform the rural residents of SW Cass County on the status of the project.  SIRWA officials spoke to the Cass County Board of Supervisors last March to get permission to utilize the area for a project to provide rural water to approximately 350 residents of SW Cass County.  Areas included in the proposed project are Pleasant, Noble, Cass, Bear Grove, Washington, Grove, Franklin, Lincoln, Union and Massena Townships.

The money for this project includes $1.8 million in loans, $5.4 million is grants and $108,000 of SIRWA’s money. Grant money is associated with the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). Total estimated project cost is $7.2 million dollars.

Anyone living in SW Cass County with an interest in connection to rural water is encouraged to attend the meeting. Back in May SIRWA began canvassing the area to determine interest in the project. To date only 20% of eligible customers have indicated an interest in connecting to the new service. In order to qualify for the ARRA funding 70% of potential customers need to consent to hooking up. Without the ARRA funding SIRWA will be unable to continue with the project and there is no contingency plan to provide rural water to the area in the future. SIRWA will determine if they will proceed with the project by Mid-October 2011. 

If anyone is unable to attend meeting, but would like more information concerning the project, please contact Max Crawford at 641-782-5744.

No injuries were reported following an accident in Atlantic Monday morning. Atlantic Police say following their investigation into a collision at 10^th and Plum Streets, Sandra Meis, of Lewis, was cited for failure to obey a stop or yield sign.

Officials say Meis was traveling north on Plum Street at around 10:30-a.m., and had stopped at the intersection with 10^th Street before proceeding into the intersection. Her vehicle collided at the intersection with the right front end of a vehicle driven by Evelyn Rechtenbach, of Atlantic, as Rechtenbach was traveling west on 10^th.

The accident caused a total of $2,300 damage.

Sheriff’s officials in Adams County report a Corning man was arrested this (Tuesday) morning on a warrant out of Indiana for Failure to Appear in court. 29-year old Richard Doran Alexander was taken into custody just after 9-a.m. after he turned himself-in.

Alexander was being held without bond in the Adams County Jail, awaiting extradition to Indiana.

A statement was released this (Tuesday) morning by Atlantic Community School District Business Manager Mary Beth Fast regarding the a settlement in the strip search lawsuit.  The statement reads quote “After the investigation of all the facts involving the searches of several girls at the Atlantic High School several years ago (Aug. 2009), the Atlantic Community School District has determined that the searches violated the school’s policy and state law regarding school searches. The school district acknowledges that the involved girls did nothing wrong.”

The district’s attorney, Gregory Barntsen of Council Bluffs, declined to elaborate or discuss any financial terms of the settlement. The statement, according to Barton, is what both parties agreed to be issued as a press release, and  is part of the recently settled lawsuit that followed the search. The families of three of the searched girls filed it in 2010 against the district and two school officials involved in the incident. Iowa law bans strip-searches of students by school employees.
The plaintiffs alleged that Paul Croghan, then Atlantic High School’s assistant principal and athletic director, ordered guidance counselor Heather Turpin to search five female students after another student reported $100 missing.  Court documents indicate Turpin had at least four of the girls individually strip to varying degrees in a locker room while Croghan waited in an adjacent room. No money was found. Croghan resigned in November 2009. He is now the principal and athletic director of East Mills High School in Malvern. Turpin remains a guidance counselor in Atlantic, according to the school district’s website. The families had alleged, among other things, that the girls’ state and federal rights against unreasonable searches had been violated.

In related news, the ACLU of Iowa’s related open records case has reached the Iowa Court of Appeals. The civil-rights organization says the case will be argued Thursday. The American Civil Liberties Union has been trying to find out what discipline, if any, was imposed on school officials involved in the search. The organization lost its bid in district court, but appealed.

Cass County Republican Party Chair David Wiederstein has announced delegates to the County Convention for Atlantic Wards 2 and 3 convened Monday night (Sept. 19^th), to select a Republican nominee to appear on the November 8^th Special Election ballot for the District 2 position on the Cass County Board of Supervisors. The seat was left vacant by the recent death of Supervisor Chuck Kinen. Nominated by convention was Atlantic resident Gaylord Schelling. Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman reported late Tuesday afternoon, that Jeff J. Richter had also been nominated by petition, for the seat.

Sunderman said earlier this month, that while the County Republican and Democratic Conventions may select their own candidates for the seat, the nomination is also open to all interested persons who are residents of Cass County, who file a nomination petition by 5-p.m. Friday, September 23^rd.