Two fires that took place Monday night in Jefferson are being investigated as cases of arson. Authorities told Raccoon Valley Radio, a fire destroyed a Greene County School bus parked at the bus barn on the fairgrounds in Jefferson, at around 8:45pm. Three-hours later, a structure fire damaged a four-story concrete storage building in the 700 block of North Elm Street, in Jefferson.

There were no injuries reported. An investigator with the State Fire Marshall’s Office was expected to in Jefferson to determine how both fires started, but officials say the preliminary causes are suspected to be arson-related.

The Griswold School Board met Monday evening and received an update on various district capital improvement projects. Superintendent Dana Kunze told KJAN News the track project is nearly complete. All that’s left is seeding around the area, and the board is trying to decide whether to take care of that yet this fall, or next spring. There’s been no new developments on the boiler project. The board is waiting for design specifics before any decision is made.

Kunze said the Board also authorized a project which was added to the agenda, for asphalt work on the parking areas at the Lewis School building. He said they also received and approved a bid from Landon Preston, of Griswold, for snow removal. And, the Griswold Board authorized Kunze to assemble a package for the offering of an early retirement package for district staff.

Kunze said also, he briefed the Board on the district’s Certified Enrollment numbers. The numbers showed a loss of about 17 students from last year, for a total enrollment this fall of 576. He says the general population continues to drop, and while they’d like to see open enrollment numbers turn around, there is no consistent reason for a decline that he can pin-down.

The CAM Community School District’s Board of Education held its regular monthly meeting Monday night, in Anita. Business Manager Linda Edwards told KJAN News the Board approved various contracts during the meeting, including one for a pre-school driver and Co-head Speech Coach. The rest were essentially coaching contracts. Sharing the position of Junior High Wrestling Coach, is Corey Stephenson and Brian Follmann. The Board also made appointments for Junior High Basketball Coaches.

Edwards said the CAM School Board also received a presentation from the Anita Library Board, who pitched the services and opportunities available through the library that will enhance the learning opportunities for students and teachers alike. One of the tools is LearningExpress, while another is EBSCOhost, an online research database, which offers magazines articles, encyclopedias, newspapers, sound, information, pictures and more.

LearningExpress also has SAT and ACT prep information, and basic skills improvements for grades 4 and up. Another service is WILBOR, which includes downloadable audio and electronic books. The Anita Library wants to partner with the school district, so times are being set-up to visit with the staff at the various district buildings to explain what’s available.