A fundraiser is being held for an Atlantic man diagnosed with lung cancer. 65-year old Ron Shipley, of Atlantic, was diagnosed with lung cancer in Oct. 2014.

Ron Shipley

A former Marine who served during the Vietnam War teaching machine gunners at a base located in the U-S. He’s been a resident of Atlantic since 1990. Shipley is currently at Methodist Hospital in Omaha, where he has undergone resection of the lower lobe of his left lung.

In light of a recent local, cancer-related scam, and the public’s skittishness at contributing to persons they may be unfamiliar with,  family friend Sherry Toelle  said she has a written statement from the physician caring for Shipley, confirming the diagnosis and prognosis.

Ron Shipley and his wife Betty are both retired and are drawing Social Security benefits. He worked at Abild’s from 1992-1993, then at Service Master from 1994 to 2000 where he was an area supervisor. In 1995, he went to work at Mahle’s as a plant cleaning supervisor for five years before being employed in the maintenance department at WalMart from 2004-2006. He has suffered from knee problems which have limited his ability to work.

1966 photo of Shipley

While eligible for Medicare, Shipley’s finances do not extend to being able to pay for a Medicare Supplement so he is, therefore, responsible for at least 20% of his cancer treatment costs. Toelle says for anyone who has personally dealt with cancer or has friends/relatives who have had cancer, they know what a financial burden even 2-percent can be.

Learning about his cancer diagnosis, friends decided to try to raise funds for Ron. A special bank account—the Ron Shipley Medical Fund—has been set up at the Great Western Bank at 1407 E. 7th Street in Atlantic. Donors can send checks or take cash to that location for deposit in the benefit account which will be used solely to defray Ron’s medical and incidental expenses. Donation canisters have also been placed throughout Atlantic—at HyVee, Fareway, all three Casey’s, Cappels, Deter Motors, and the Atlantic Animal Health Clinic, to name a few.

The fundraising effort is being sponsored by Friends of Ron Shipley. For more information, contact Sherry at 243-4861 or Kathy Kerns at 243-1109.

A traffic stop Friday in Fremont County led to the arrest of two people on drug charges. Sheriff’s officials say 38-year old Michael Beltran and 31-year old Lacey Smalley were taken into custody. Beltran and Smalley both face charges that include Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Child Endangerment. Beltran was also charged with Driving While Suspended.

Beltran was being held in the Fremont County Jail on $7,600 bond, while Smalley was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $4,300 bond.

The trial of former Council Bluffs teacher Jeffrey Daugherty won’t begin as previously scheduled on Tuesday. According to the The Daily NonPareil, a judge will hear a motion Monday to consolidate the cases based on two students’ allegations. A new trial date has not yet been set. The 29-year old Daugherty is accused of two counts of third-degree sexual abuse, five counts of sexual exploitation by a school employee and one count each of sexual exploitation of a minor and lascivious conduct with a minor.

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled in a case that defines the definition of rain when it comes to insurance claims. The Amish Connection Store in Crossroads Mall in Waterloo was flooded after a corroded drain pipe carrying rainwater through the building burst during a heavy rainfall in 2010. State Farm insurance refused to cover the losses, citing a provision in its policy that loses for rain are only covered if there is first damage from a storm that allows the rainwater to get into the structure.

The Amish Connection argued once the rain left the roof and entered the drain pipe it was no longer rain, and the damage was caused by the failure of the drain pipe. The district court dismissed the case based on the rain provision in the insurance policy, but the Court of Appeals overturned the district court ruling. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled the water in the drain pipe is still rain and not covered under the insurance policy.

The court says the insurer expects the property owner to keep the rain out and writes the policy to avoid paying for damage from rain resulting from deferred maintenance. Justices Hecht, Wiggins, and Appel had a dissenting opinion. They say the case should have gone to trial as it is reasonable that it could be found the loss Amish Connection suffered was not from the rain alone, but only because the pipe failed while the rainwater was passing through it.

(Radio Iowa)

The tens of thousands of Iowans who frequent Facebook are getting used to the social networking website’s managers doctoring policies. A few days ago, new standards were announced about what can and cannot be posted in terms of bullying, harassment, nudity and graphic content. Thor Schrock, a technology consultant in Omaha-Council Bluffs, says if a terrorist group posts a video with violent content, it’s removed immediately.

“However, if you are a Christian activist who is worried about the slaughter of Christians in Iraq and you post a video on your account, the exact same video the terrorists would have posted, then it’s okay because you’re trying to raise awareness,” Schrock says. “So, what it comes down to is, Facebook is trying to determine the intent of the person who is posting.” This latest change in policy, Schrock says, stems from an effort a few months ago to raise awareness about breastfeeding and the photos that were posted offended some users.

“Facebook has made the clarification now that the bare breast is not allowed unless you’re breast feeding or unless you’re showing a nude statue which is considered art, then that’s okay,” Schrock says. “As far as mooning people and stuff like that, it goes back to the definition of pornography. It’s hard to define it but you know it when you see it.” The new rules help clarify what is and is not allowed on the website. Schrock says Facebook relies heavily on users reporting content which they think is inappropriate.

“The trouble is, what Facebook does is, they don’t actually actively police their users,” Schrock says. “They wait for someone to report that a user has violated the rules and then they look into it and make a decision based on the content there.” Schrock says users can also self-police the site and simply block content they don’t want to see or “unfriend” the people who routinely post it.

(Radio Iowa)

A review by the State Auditor’s office that questioned the spending of four boards under the Iowa Department of Public Health has led to changes in procedures. State Auditor Mary Mosiman says the process for buying electronics raised concerns during an audit. “Expenditures that were reimbursed to employees who had used their personal credit cards or made individual purchases of technology devices — including i-Pads, printers, scanners, laptops, G-P-S navigators, some cameras, a Kindle was in there, some wireless speakers — instead of going through the normal purchasing process.

The review involved the Iowa Board of Pharmacy, Iowa Dental Board, the Iowa Board of Medicine, and the Iowa Board of Nursing. “One particular individual, he has used his personal credit card to the tune of a little over 18-thousand dollars,” Mosiman say. “And when you are using your individual credit card, you can be earning reward points or other incentives that typically should be the property of the state for future savings instead of being the property of the individual. So, it’s not recommended practice.” She says individuals also paid some sale taxes that would not have been paid through the state purchasing process.

Mosiman says failing to follow state procedures left the devices open to not having the proper protection. “Without going through the department’s I-T department they did not have the necessary security for data and protection that is necessary, specifically in health boards,” Mosiman explains. The report covers purchases made from July 1st of 2011 to August 31st of 2014. Mosiman says most of the purchases took place in 2011 and 2012. The Iowa Pharmacy Board had reimbursements for equipment of more than 45-thousand-500 dollars.

“We’re questioning whether all of these pieces of equipment were necessary. Because as we interviewed or discussed the matter with different employees, some of the i-Pads did not perform all of the services that they needed for technology, so they still had to use their previously issued pieces of equipment,” Mosiman says. “So, we were questioning the public purpose for all of these pieces of equipment that were purchased.”

Mosiman says they also questioned why the Pharmacy Board paid the full cost of internet service for employees, which totaled more than 14-thousand dollars in the 2013 fiscal year. There were cellphone plans paid for by the state, when there were very few calls made on the plan. The State Auditor says her organization made several recommendations on changes to bring the boards into compliance with state rules. She says changes were made soon after her office started the review.

“I think once the realized that it is considered questionable, they put procedures into play to make sure they are doing a better job of that,” Mosiman says. “So, for the most part there was a favorable response to the recommendations within our report.” Mosiman says the problems surfaced in a routine review of the purchasing process for the boards.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — Police say Slipknot guitarist Mickael Thomson has been charged in Iowa after a fight with his brother earlier this month in which Thomson was stabbed. Clive Police Department Chief Michael Venema said Friday an investigation found both 41-year-old Thomson and his brother, 35-year-old Andrew Thomson, were responsible for the March 11th assault that hospitalized the pair. Both have been charged with disorderly conduct by fighting. The metal band Slipknot formed in the 1990s in Des Moines.

TABOR, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say two 14-year-old boys have been arrested in connection with a fire that destroyed a southwestern Iowa home. The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports that the teens were charged with first-degree arson and are being held in the Council Bluffs Juvenile Detention Center. They are accused of starting several fires that ravaged a Tabor home March 15th.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — One of the oldest churches in Fort Dodge has been demolished. The Messenger reports that demolition of the Full Gospel Lighthouse Church began last week. The church has a cornerstone dated 1903. Crews were instructed to demolish the building because of problems with the foundation.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Ally Disterhoft scored 18 points, freshman Whitney Jennings had 16 and third-seeded Iowa held off American 75-67 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Iowa City. Melissa Dixon had 15 points with four 3s for the lady Hawkeyes, who will host 11th-seeded Miami in the second round Sunday.