A volunteer, on-duty firefighter with the Shelby Fire Department was struck and killed by a car Sunday evening at the scene of an earlier crash on Interstate 80, in Pottawattamie County. According to the Iowa State Patrol, 41-year old Michael Collins, from Minden, IA, was directing traffic at around 6:50-p.m. just east of the Shelby exit on I-80 eastbound, when he was hit by a car driven by 43-year old David Lee Thies, of Ames.

Thies‘ 2001 Honda Accord was in the closed lane of traffic when it hit Collins. Collins died at the scene. His body was transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny for autopsy. The accident, which remains under investigation, closed I-80 eastbound for about two-hours.

ATLANTIC – The Cass County Health System and Cass County Public Health Department have announced the availability of seasonal influenza vaccinations.  Community clinics are scheduled for the following dates and times:

• Saturday, October 1, 9 am – 11 am, Cass County Memorial Hospital Atrium
• Tuesday, October 4, 5 pm – 7 pm, Cass County Memorial Hospital Atrium
• Thursday, October 6, 9 am – 11 am, Health and Wellness Center, Anita
• Tuesday, October 11, 9:30 am – 11:30 am, Griswold Medical Clinic
• Tuesday, October 11, 1 pm – 3 pm, Massena Medical Clinic
• Thursday, October 13, 4 pm – 6 pm, Cass County Memorial Hospital Atrium

Charges for flu vaccinations at these community events will be $25 for seasonal vaccine, and $40 for the high-dose vaccine (those 65 and older).  Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Humana, and hawk-i can be billed.  Both injectable and mist forms are available at these community clinics. Businesses desiring onsite flu vaccination clinics for their employees may contact Denise Coder, Community Health Coordinator at 712-243-7475 or coderda@ihs.org.  Additionally, Cass County Public Health will be conducting flu vaccinations for students during school time at all Cass County schools in October.  Schools are distributing consent forms, which are due back to the school by October 1.

Flu vaccine is also currently available at Atlantic Medical Center (AMC).  No appointment is necessary; the immunization nurse is available from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm Monday through Friday, and 8:30 – 11:30 am on Saturdays.  AMC follows the Centers for Disease Control guidelines on influenza vaccinations, which are as follows:

• Everyone  6 months of age and older should get the flu vaccine, except those who have experienced a previous severe (life-threatening) allergic reaction or those with Guillain-Barre’ Syndrome;
• Again, only one flu vaccination will be necessary this year, as the seasonal flu vaccine will protect against several flu strains, including H1N1 Influenza.

AMC has all three types of available flu vaccine:  nasal mist for people 2 – 49 years of age ; fluzone injectable vaccine for ages 6 months – 64 years; high-dose vaccine for people ages 65 and older.  Other steps to preventing and controlling the spread of flu and other illnesses are to practice the 3 Cs:

• Cover your cough.  Use a tissue or your elbow.
• Clean your hands. Use soap and water, or hand sanitizer.
• Contain germs.  Stay home when sick.

For more information about seasonal influenza vaccinations, contact Denise Coder, Community Health Coordinator at 712-243-7475.

Six people, an adult and five children, were injured Sunday morning during a single-vehicle accident just north of Malvern, in Mills County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 40-year old Tiffany Monson, of Malvern, was driving a 1995 Chrysler Concorde that left the road at around 11:30-a.m., near the intersection of 315th and Jahnke Avenue, and struck a tree.

Monson, and the passengers in her car, two females, ages 15 and 11, along with three males, ages 12, 10 and 9, were injured.  Only one of the vehicles’ occupants, a 15-year old female, was wearing a seatbelt. All of the crash victims with the exception of the 9-year old male, were transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The other 9-year old was taken to Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs. The names of the children were not released, and a report on the victims’ conditions is not available.

ATLANTIC, Iowa (AP) – The Atlantic school district has settled with the families of three girls who sued over strip searches. That’s according to the Omaha World-Herald. A trial had been scheduled for this month in Cass County District Court, but a recent settlement ended the case. Attorneys in the case declined to reveal details of the agreement. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of three girls who claimed they were strip-searched in a locker room in August 2009 after a classmate reported the theft of $100 from her purse. No money was found.

The lawsuit claimed the girls’ state and federal rights against unreasonable searches had been violated, as was an Iowa law that specifically prohibits strip-searching students. The superintendent and several school board members declined to comment on the settlement.

A crash at a blind, uncontrolled intersection southeast of Elliott Saturday evening, caused $16,500 damage to the vehicles involved, but there were no injuries reported. Authorities say a pickup registered to Twin Pines Farms in Griswold, and driven by 39-year old Jeffrey Mundorf, of Red Oak, was traveling south on N Avenue just after 6-p.m. Saturday, at the same time a pickup driven by 43-year old Jeffrey Reynolds, of Elliott, was traveling east on 120^th Street.

When Mundorf crested a hill he saw Reynolds’ pickup approaching from the west but was unable to avoid contact. Reynolds’ 1999 Ford F-150 hit the 2011 Chevy Silverado pickup Mundorf was driving near the right rear tire, causing the vehicle to spin 360-degrees before entering the east ditch, just south of the intersection. Reynolds’ pickup went into the ditch southeast of the intersection and hit a tree before coming to rest.

The investigating officer’s report said no citations were issued because the crash was at a blind intersection coming from the north at the posted speed limit.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Enrollment at Iowa Western Community College has reached a new high. College officials say that 7,206 full- and part-time students are enrolled for 2011, a six-percent increase over the previous school year. President Dan Kinney says enrollment continues to grow because of the affordable tuition and agreements that allow students to finish their studies at four-year universities like Iowa, Northern Iowa and Buena Vista. Kinney also says the college in Council Bluffs is attracting younger students. The average age of students 15 years ago was 27. Now the average is under 21.