ONAWA, Iowa (AP) – A fourth-grade teacher in western Iowa facing misdemeanor charges, accused of possessing marijuana, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, will appear in court later this month for an arraignment hearing. 43-year-old Karen Kay Bartelson, of Blencoe, was taken into custody west of Onawa, July 21st, after authorities found her with meth hidden inside an artificial sweetener packet, tucked in her purse.  Marijuana and drug paraphernalia were also allegedly found to be in her possession. She’s plead not guilty to the charges.

Bartelson is scheduled to appear in a Monona County courtroom for her arraignment, on August 20th.  The West Monona Community School District website lists Bartelson as a teacher at Central Elementary School. District Superintendent Lyle Schwartz said Tuesday that Bartelson is on administrative leave. He would not comment further. Bartelson’s attorney has not returned calls from the Associated Press, seeking comment, and a phone listed for Bartelson is no longer in service.

Officials with Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), an Alliant Energy Company, in association with the Trees Forever organization, have announced they are awarding a total of $90,300 to 23 Iowa communities or organizations, through the “Branching Out” program. Among the recipients, is the City of Clarinda, which was awarded $1,500 for the planting of trees near the Clarinda Regional Health Center, and, the City of Creston, which receives $10,000, for planting post-tornado trees, to replace those which were lost at McKinley Park, and on the campus of Southwestern Community College.

Branching Out is a nationally-recognized grant program through which Alliant Energy, Trees Forever and local community leaders work together to fund and implement tree-planting projects. The program is designed to encourage energy efficiency, environmental awareness and community involvement in Iowa.

Since the start of the Branching Out program in 1989, more than 1.1 million trees and seedlings have been planted. Branching Out grant applications are accepted on an ongoing basis throughout the year, but are considered for funding during a spring and a fall grant-making cycle. Deadlines are on June 1 and November 1 of each year.

For more information, contact Trees Forever at 1-800-369-1269. Applications are available online at alliantenergy.com/branchingout or treesforever.org.

A Red Oak man was cited following a single-vehicle accident this (Tuesday) morning, near Red Oak. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says a SWITA (Southwest Iowa Transit) bus was legally stopped at a railroad crossing about one-quarter of a mile west of the intersection of Highways 48 and 34 outside of Red Oak, when a 2008 Dodge Caravan registered to JFSCO Engineering, approached from behind. The driver of the van, 62-year old Charles Peter Crawford, of Red Oak, was checking an e-mail on his cell phone, and did not see the SWITA bus, with its 4-way flashers on.

When Crawford finally noticed the bus, he took evasive action. The JSFCO van entered the north ditch and hit the railroad tracks before coming to rest in a field. The vehicle sustained $3,000 damage. There was no damage to the SWITA bus. The accident happened at around 9:45-a.m.

Officials say following an investigation, Crawford was cited for using an Electronic Communications Device While Driving.

(12:40-p.m. News)

President Obama on Monday signed a law which extends a program named for a late National Guardsman from Iowa. Andrew Connolly of Dubuque spent 16 months in Iraq before returning home in August 2007. A year later, doctors discovered a cancerous tumor in his spine related to his military service. Andrew quickly lost his ability to walk and applied for a federal veterans grant to help build a wheel-chair accessible home. Connolly died just under one year ago. His wife, Jennifer, remains in the home. Jennifer is now caring for the couple’s son, Brody, who has a neuromuscular disorder that restricts his breathing and keeps him confined to a wheelchair.

The “Andrew Connolly Veterans Housing Act” was set to expire, but now the benefit is extended for a decade. In May of 2011, Andrew Connolly testified before a panel in Washington, D.C. about the frustration he felt when he was confined to a wheelchair while living in a duplex built in 1890. The federal grant allowed him and his family to move into the wheel-chair accessible home.

“Today, I am in my new house. Today, I took a shower by myself in a five by five (foot) roll-in shower with handicap controls. Today, I cooked my own breakfast because I was able to reach all of the ingredients. Today, I was able to watch my son sleeping in his bedroom because I could (fit) through the doorway with my wheelchair,” Connolly said during the hearing. Andrew Connolly died on August 26, 2011. He was 28 years old.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors Wednesday, are expected to act on approving a Resolution to place a public measure on the November 6th General Election ballot, calling for the appointment of township officers to occur by the Board of Supervisors, rather than by election. Auditor Dale Sunderman says 12 townships in Cass County current have their positions filled by the Supervisors. Four townships (Benton, Edna, Union and Victoria), would be affected if the Resolution is approved.

The Board is also expected to act on awarding a tuckpointing contract to one of two firms who submitted bids and made presentations to the board a couple of weeks ago. The Supervisor’s meeting begins at 9-a.m., in their board room at the Cass County Courthouse, in Atlantic.