(Greenfield, Iowa) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports there were four arrests last week.

• 48-year-old Jeremy Lathan Rushing, of Des Moines, was arrested May 13th by Adair Police, for Simple Assault and Contempt of Court for failing to follow substance abuse recommendations. He was taken into custody after an officer  was dispatched to the Ivory Plains Recovery Center in Adair, for a reported escapee. An employee said Rushing, who was ordered by the court to attend the facility for a period of 30-days, had escaped it at around 11-a.m., May 13th.  He was located in a local motel room taken into custody without incident on the contempt charge, and for allegedly assaulting a homeless female outside the motel. Rushing was released the following day on his Own Recognizance.
• Adair Police also arrested 37-year-old Cory Anthony Eugene Hall, of Des Moines, on May 13th, for Driving While Barred. He was taken into custody at around 11:05-p.m. following a traffic stop for speeding 86-mph in a 70-mph zone on Interstate 80 near mile marker 74. A brief conversation with Hall and a check of the records, both confirmed he was barred from driving. Hall was released the following day on his Own Recognizance.
• On May 14th, the Iowa State Patrol arrested 30-year-old Mikele Adadi Neyte, of Des Moines, on a Clarke County District Court warrant for Failure to Appear April 21st on a charge of Driving while license denied or revoked. His bond was set at $2,000. The Patrol turned Neyte over to a Clarke County Deputy.
• And, an Adair County Sheriff’s Deputy arrested 43-year-old Wendi Nicole Wright, of Stuart, following a traffic stop on I-80 and Highway 25. She was taken into custody on an Adair County warrant for Violation of Probation. Wright was being held in the Adair County Jail without bond.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports one person appeared to have been injured following one of three separate accidents that took place Saturday. The first occurred at around 5:30-a.m. on Wagon Road, when a car driven by 31-year-old Heather Norell, of Stuart, rounded a curve and struck a deer. The 2016 Chrysler 300 she was driving sustained an estimated $15,000 damage.

The second accident happened at around 4:10-p.m. on Poplar Avenue in Guthrie Center, when 17-year-old Ashton Zekucia, of Guthrie Center, looked down at his phone, and ended-up over-correcting when the 2019 Hyundai Sante Fe SUV began to enter the east ditch. Zekucia tried to regain control when the vehicle hit a culvert, causing the driver’s side airbag to deploy. The vehicle sustained extensive damage to its undercarriage that was estimated at $10,000. The teen was cited for Failure to Maintain Control.

The third accident in Guthrie County happened at around 4:30-p.m., Saturday, on Highway 25 northbound. Authorities say a 2020 GMC pickup driven by 43-year-old Thomas Lee Semke, of Jefferson, stopped quickly to avoid hitting a dog that was running left across the highway near the intersection with Division Street. A 2013 Harley Davidson motorcycle operated by 26-year-old Seth Ashby, of Guthrie Center, was unable to stop in time. When the motorcycle ran into the rear of the pickup, Ashby was partially ejected from the motorcycle seat into the rear of the pickup. He complained of pain/possible injuries, and was transported to an unknown destination.

Both vehicles sustained an estimated $5,000 damage. Deputies cited Semke for having no valid driver’s license.

(Radio Iowa) – Thousands of Iowa college students graduated or wrapped up their coursework for the school year in the past week or so, and as they’re now moving out of their college apartments, they need to be sure they’re getting back as much of their security deposit as possible. Consumer protection expert Michelle Reinen suggests you do a checkout and take pictures of the apartment so you can get back your entire deposit.

“A landlord needs to provide you with an itemized deduction list,” she says, “telling you how much they are withholding and why they are withholding that amount.” Reinen says landlords and property managers can’t charge you for routine cleaning and maintenance after you leave.

“Waste, damage and neglect are the words that we tend to use quite a bit,” she says. “Normal wear and tear is not something that they can charge for.” You can reach the Consumer Protection Division of the Iowa Attorney General’s Office by emailing consumer@ag.iowa.gov or by calling 515-281-5926.

(Radio Iowa) – There will be a change in the way road use tax funds are distributed to counties after the governor signed a bill into law cutting the number of state boards and commissions. The D-O-T’s Stuart Anderson says the funding for counties had been determined by the Secondary Road Fund Distribution Committee.

“It had supervisor members and county engineer members, and they were tasked with a very detailed rule-making process the authority for determining how secondary road fund and farm to market road funds are distributed amongst the 99 counties,” he says. Anderson said during the Transportation Commission’s recent meeting that the committee helped deal with annual fluctuations in county road funding. He says the new law cut that committee and shifted the responsibility.

“Transferred that authority to determine how secondary road fund and Farm to Market Road funds are distributed to you the commission and you are required to define that process through rule-making,” he says. Anderson says the Transportation Commission can still seek input from the supervisor and county engineers.

“Although that committee formally does not exist anymore in Iowa code it’s likely something I think we as department staff would recommend to the commission you continue to utilize as as an ad-hoc group,” he says. Anderson says the Transportation Commission will be working on the rule-making process for distributing the county funds in the next couple of months.