COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Council Bluffs firefighter accused of arson and fraud has taken a plea deal.Henry Hinkel pleaded guilty on Monday to a felony charge of providing false information.His lawyer, Mike Murphy says that Hinkel took the deal in an effort to save his job.Police say Hinkel set his 2002 Jaguar on fire in July. Hinkel says he’s not guilty.Hinkel has been sentenced to two years of unsupervised probation. Pottawattamie County prosecutor Jon Jacobmeier says Hinkel’s future as a Council Bluffs firefighter will be up to the city.

Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green reports a large-scale cyber theft event is underway in the area and elsewhere that involves an e-mail virus, and targets mainly businesses and individuals who conduct a substantial amount of Automated Clearing House, or ACH, transactions from their computers. ACH is an electronic network for financial transactions, that processes large volumes of both credit and debit transactions which are originated in batches. ACH credit transfers include direct-deposit payroll payments and payments to contractors and vendors. ACH debit transfers include consumer payments on insurance premiums, mortgage loans, and other kinds of bills. Businesses are also increasingly using ACH to collect from customers online, rather than accepting credit or debit cards.

Green would not offer specifics on which businesses have been affected by the ACH scam, but there are some victims here in Atlantic. He says there is one definite victim and one that was in progress, but hopefully was stopped before any funds were lost. The Chief says another suspect e-mail claims to be from the IRS. The e-mails serve as a way for thieves to access routing numbers in your computer and allow the cyber-thieves to re-route the ACH transactions. He says people should remember some rules about how the IRS conducts business. He says the IRS will NEVER contact you by e-mail unless they are responding to your specific e-mail inquiry. Even then he says, they will more often than not call you directly. He says if you get an e-mail from the IRS, “It’s bogus.”

Green recommends e-mails not be opened on any computer that is also tasked with ACH transactions, unless they are from a well known source. But the main thing to remember, is to be on guard at all times against cyber-crime. He says be especially suspicious of forwarded e-mails that may contain a virus, unknown to the sender. Green suggests making sure you have the latest anti-virus protection on your computer, and use common sense with regard to e-mails. He says if you or your business receives suspect e-mails, don’t forward them to anyone, not even the police department. He says you should delete the e-mails, and then clean-out your deleted files folder.

Green says these are not new threats, but ones which have resurfaced in great numbers, and appear to be Eastern European, in origin. All businesses and persons who make substantial ACH transactions should review their e-mail procedures on any system connected to the financial computer. Green says the U-S literally loses hundreds of millions of dollars every day to computer scams and identity theft.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Department of Transportation has received more than $5.2 million in federal funds to help repair or rebuild highways damaged by this summer’s flooding. The funds, announced Monday, come from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program for damage to highways in western Iowa from the Missouri River flooding, and flash flooding in eastern Iowa. Sen. Tom Harkin says the funds will reimburse Iowa for funds already paid.

More than $4.2 million will go toward repairs of highways in western Iowa and include Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Pottawattamie and Woodbury counties. About $931,000 will go to projects in Dubuque and Jackson counties in eastern Iowa.

Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Megan Roberts reports the deadline to nominate someone for the annual Angels of Christmas awards has been extended until December 2nd. Each year, the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce and Stifel Nicolaus sponsor the awards to give thanks and recognize area residents who symbolize the true meaning of the season.

Roberts says the awards are given for a number of reasons:  Angels may give in the true Christmas spirit all year long, put others before self, are very generous, or are just madly in love with the holidays and show it in some way. Roberts said. “We usually have multiple nominations for recipients because there are so many out there who have been affected by the recipient’s holiday spirit.”

Nominations are submitted in writing to the Chamber by the first Friday in December, from which two are designated as Angels of Christmas. The honor is bestowed during the Christmas in Atlantic Holiday Concert, this year being held on December 10th at 7 p.m., at the First United Methodist Church of Atlantic. Angels of Christmas receive AtlantiCash and an angel figurine in appreciation for their positive attitude of giving.

Examples of past recipients include Dr. Keith Swanson, Eleanor Hoover, Bart & Bev Webb, and the Caring for Cole Club. To nominate an Angel, submit a brief essay by December 2nd, to the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at 102 Chestnut Street in person, through the mail, or by e-mail to chamber@atlanticiowa.com.

ONAWA, Iowa (AP) — A Sergeant Bluff woman has been charged with drunken and reckless driving after police say she hit a man with her SUV outside a bar in Onawa. As we told you Saturday morning on KJAN and on kjan.com,  44-year-old Kimberly Heberer was arrested early Saturday morning after police say climbed she from the back seat of a parked SUV into the driver’s seat, and backed up the vehicle, which ran into 25-year-old Manuel Anton, of Blencoe. The incident took place during a verbal altercation in an alley behind a local bar. 

Anton, who was standing behind the SUV when he was hit,  was taken to a local hospital before being transferred to a hospital in Sioux City. Police say the investigation is continuing and that additional charges may be filed. Officials with the Monona County jail say Heberer has been released from custody.