While authorities have declined to release the name of the teen killed in an Adams County crash Friday morning, a local funeral home has identified the victim. The Powers Funeral Home website says 16-year old Dalton Hribal, of Creston,died from injuries he suffered in the crash near Prescott, at around 8-a.m. Friday.

Dalton Hribal (Powers Funeral Home photo)

Hribal was a passenger in a Honda mini-van driven by an as-yet still unidentified 17-year old. The driver was transported to the hospital in Corning. The teens were not wearing their seat belts when the van crested a hill on a gravel road, went out of control and rolled, ejected Hribal, who died at the scene.

The funeral home says Dalton is the son of Christy Ann (Lowe) Hribal and Shane Joseph Hribal. He was educated in Creston School system, where he was active in wrestling and football. His sister MyKenna is in the 7th grade at the Creston Middle School. Dalton also worked at Fareway grocery store in Creston. Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at Creston High School Gymnasium in Creston.

(Additional funeral information can be found at: www.powersfh.com)

A pair of studies done this year and in 2010 found the number of Iowans diagnosed with cataracts rose by five-percent in just those two years. Ophthalmologist Dr. Bonnie An Henderson says she doesn’t think there’s been any sort of outbreak that’s causing the lenses in Iowans’ eyes to cloud over. “People are living longer, they’re healthier, they’re more active,” Dr. Henderson says. “They are noticing that they’re having more symptoms earlier on and they may be having eye exams earlier and therefore, they’re being diagnosed with cataracts. I think the increase in diagnosis is one of the main causes why you’re seeing a higher statistic.”

While many perceive cataracts as being a disease that only afflicts the elderly, it can often appear in people as young as their 40s. Eating carrots or wearing sunglasses won’t have any impact either as there’s no way to prevent it, Henderson says, it’s just a part of aging.  “People worry that if they’re looking at their computer, which, everyone now stares at their computer all day, they’re worried that looking at their computer increases the risk of developing a cataract and that’s just not true,” Henderson says. “Staring at the computer may be hard on your eyes for eye strain or dry eyes or headaches, but it does not cause cataract formation.”

After significant advances over the years, the surgery to have a cloudy, cataract-laden lens removed is now about a ten-minute procedure. Plus, Henderson says, the new lens that’s implanted can be modified to correct a patient’s other vision problems. “That lens actually decreases a patient’s dependence on glasses both for distance and for reading and there’s another lens for people who have astigmatism,” Henderson says. “It’s now become more of a refractive procedure as well as a medical procedure and it really helps the overall functioning and improves the quality of life.”

The survey found 15-percent of Iowans questioned in 2010 had cataracts while the figure rose to 20-percent in 2012. Henderson says the larger study found more than half of all Americans would develop cataracts by the time they’re 80, though she believes the figure is much higher and many people just don’t have the condition diagnosed.

(Radio Iowa)

A handful of public meetings are scheduled to take place Monday, as we get back to business following the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. In Atlantic, the Cass County Board of Health will gather in CCMH Conference Room #3 for a regularly scheduled session that begins at 12:15-p.m. Later in the evening, the Exira and Elk Horn-Kimballton Boards of Education will hold a joint session in Exira, to discuss and possibly act on matters pertaining to a reorganization of the two districts. The session begins at 7-p.m.  The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will also meet Monday evening. The 7:30-p.m. work session at the High School Media Center will cover IASB Board and Administrator Training, along with an informal evaluation of Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein. And, the Audubon City Council is slated to meet at 7-p.m.

During the Cass County Board of Health’s meeting, the Board will receive an Environmental Health Report and review the Public Health Budget. They’ll also discuss Board Member terms, which expire December 31st. The Audubon City Council will hold a public hearing with regard to a Housing Set Aside Grant application, during their session. They’ll also hold discussion pertaining to a Wash Bay, and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds, for the Rec Center.