The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of a one vehicle accident around 11:00 a.m. today (Wednesday) at the intersection of Highway 59 and 320th Street.The caller advised that the vehicle was submerged in a pond and the driver was trapped inside.

Seventy-seven year old Delores Louise Ellis of Lytton was traveling northbound when she hit a patch of ice and lost control of her 2006 Buick Lucerne. The car came to rest in a roadside pond and became submerged up to the rear doors. Ellis was assisted out of the vehicle by Shenandoah Fire and Rescue. She was uninjured but was transported to Shenandoah Memorial Hospital to be checked out. No charges have been filed at this time.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office, Shenandoah Fire and Rescue, and the Atchison County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Fremont County Sheriff’s Department with the accident.

The Iowa Senate has passed three bills which would increase school budgets by tens of millions of dollars and provide about 55 million in property tax relief. One of the bills would increase general state taxpayer support of K-through-12 public schools by 240-dollars per student. Republicans like Senator Joni Ernst of Red Oak objected, saying lawmakers should pass education reform first, then decide how much money schools should get. “Let’s take time. Let’s not be premature,” she said. “Let’s not get the cart ahead of the horse.” Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, responded.

“I don’t, really, quite know what to say,” Quirmback said, just before yelling: “We’re violating the law by a year — and yet you still say we’re premature.” According to state law, the level of general state aid for schools is supposed to be set 18 months before the school year starts. Republican Governor Terry Branstad and Republicans in the legislature last year decided to skirt that law and Iowa schools don’t yet know how much state aid they’ll get for the school year that begins July 1st. Senator Mark Chelgren, a Republican from Chariton, says lawmakers need to focus on more than just the dollars.

“I want to give more money to schools than we did last year, but I want to make sure that they’re accountable for those dollars, that we have a good plan in place,” Chelgren said. “To simply put money there with no expectations that the school systems in Iowa will be improved is irresponsible.” Senator Rob Hogg (Hoh’g), a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says Iowa’s per-student spending is about a thousand dollars below the national average, and the Democrats’ proposed four percent increase is a “modest” first step.

“If you want world class schools for all of the kids in Iowa, you’ve got to pay for it,” Hogg said. “We’ve got to quit doing this education on the cheap. It doesn’t work.” Democrats and Republicans in the senate also voted for another proposal that would take 55-million out of the state’s “Taxpayer Trust Fund” to ensure property taxes paid to schools don’t go up along with the increase in general state support. However, before a final vote on the measure, Republicans tried unsuccessfully to substitute their own plan to use the state budget surplus to give every Iowa adult who pays income taxes a 375-dollar tax credit.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), an Alliant Energy company, say the utility is participating in the Iowa Pipeline Association’s 2013 Pipeline Awareness and Education training offered at locations throughout the state. The training informs and instructs emergency responders and public officials about pipeline safety and prevention strategies. The Iowa Pipeline Association will conduct interactive scenarios allowing attendees to practice and apply their emergency response knowledge.

In addition to the scenarios, topics that will be covered include basic pipeline safety, leak recognition, hazard awareness/damage prevention, detailed incident response information, and much more. IPL encourage emergency responders and public officials to attend one of the upcoming sessions offered in your area. The event will begin with a free dinner at 6:00 p.m. with the program following at 6:30 p.m. There is no fee to participate, but attendees are asked to register online at www.iowapipelinesafety.com.

The Iowa Pipeline Association’s 2013 Pipeline Awareness and Education Meetings will be held on the following dates and cities in February : Feb. 12th, in Onawa;  Feb. 13th, in Audubon; Feb. 19th, in Council Bluffs, and Feb. 20th, in Corning .