Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley has nominated 55 outstanding Iowa students for consideration for appointments to the U.S. service academies. Each year Grassley has the opportunity as a U.S. senator to nominate either current or future Iowa high school graduates for a select few service academy placements. The Air Force, Military, and Naval academies all select at least one qualified student from Grassley’s nominations. The Merchant Marine Academy makes selections in proportion to states’ representation in Congress.

Among those nominated to the:

U.S. Military Academy at West Point…was Seth Horsley, from the Carroll High School,in Carroll, and Jose Olivo from the Griswold High School, in Griswold.

U.S. Naval Academy…Luke Schmitz, with the Harlan High School, in Harlan.

And to the Merchant Marine Academy: Gustave Doll, from St. Albert High School, in Council Bluffs.

Students interested in academy appointments should begin the application process in the spring of their junior year of high school. The academies select students based on the number of vacancies available for the next school year. Senator Tom Harkin and Iowa Representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives also make nominations. Traditionally, the high quality of Iowa nominees results in several Iowa students being selected to attend each of the service academies.

A low flying owl was apparently to blame for a single-vehicle accident Wednesday morning, in Page County. Sheriff Lyle Palmer says an SUV driven by 54-year old Teresa Riley, of Shenandoah, was traveling northbound in the 2300 block of B Avenue in Shenandoah, when a low flying owl passed before in front of the vehicle. Riley ducked in her seat and swerved to miss the creature, causing her to lose control of her 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The vehicle slid into the east ditch and rolled three-quarters of a turn before coming to rest on its passenger side.

Riley, who was not wearing a seat belt, was transported to the Shenandoah Hospital by private vehicle following the 7:20-a.m. crash., which caused $8,000 damage to her SUV. No citations were issued.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday morning, approved a 10-year lease agreement with the Cambridge Law firm for the portion of a building the County has agreed to purchase. The action followed a public hearing on a lease for the building at 707 Poplar Street. A portion of the lower half of the building with be used for either a new 9-1-1 Center or as the offices for the County Engineer and Assessor, so that space can be made available in the lower level of the courthouse for an expansion of the existing 9-1-1 Center. A final determination on the use of the building has not yet been made.

The term of the lease begins January 1^st, 2014 and continues until Jan. 1^st 2024 with two consecutive 5-year extensions thereafter, at the option of the tenant. Attorney Dave Chase, representing the Cambridge Law firm, said the agreement is a “win-win” for both parties, and he thanked the Supervisors for their cooperation in making the agreement feasible.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday, received a continuation of funding request from West Central Community Action Executive Director Joel Dirks. WCCA serves 10 counties in southwest and western Iowa, and uses the funds it receives to support the agency and the programs it administers for low-income families. Dirks requested $3,500 from the Board, which is unchanged from last year.

In making his request for funding, Dirks said the programs they administer provide alternatives to the County General Relief program, in meeting the needs of citizens in Cass County. His report covered the period of October 1^st 2012 to Sept. 30^th, 2013. Among the services WCCA provides to its clients, is: the operation of three Head Start classrooms, located in Anita and Atlantic; Child Care Resource and Referral; funding for Early Childhood Iowa areas, including Boost 4 Families and Reach for the Stars; a Child and Adult Care Food Program; Home Weatherization Assistance; Low Income Energy Assistance through the LI-HEAP program; A Senior Employment program, and many other services.

The Board took no action on the request during the meeting, but instead will consider it when it comes time to preparing the Fiscal year 2014-2015 budget, next month.

U-S Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt announced Wednesday a Creston man was among five people charged and convicted on child pornography charges, following the conclusion of a multi-agency investigation of internet-related child pornography crimes in the Southern District of Iowa. The investigation, spearheaded by Homeland Security Investigations-Des Moines, centered on the trading of child pornography pictures and videos on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks.

Five defendants were charged and convicted in separate prosecutions and were sentenced to a combined total of more than 43 years in prison. They include: Michael Hanold, of Creston, who will serve 48 months in prison; Francisco Zayas, of Marshalltown (240 months); Monroe Wardlow, of Grinnell (96 months); Enrique Guzman, of Osceola (80 months), and William Trimble, Jr., of Albia, who will serve 60 months.  After serving their terms of imprisonment, each defendant will be required to serve a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and to register as a sex offender.

Other law enforcement agencies assisting with the operation included the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Iowa police departments of Albia, Creston, Grinnell, Marshalltown, and Osceola. The cases were prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office
for the Southern District of Iowa as part of its “Project Safe Childhood” initiative.