The Cass County Board of Supervisors held their regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday morning in Atlantic.

The board approved setting a date for a public hearing on a loan agreement, approved a new county jailer, and held a closed session.

The general obligation urban renewal loan agreement has a principal amount not to exceed $555,000. It will be used for the Amaizing Energy Urban renewal Area consisting of the northwest sewer and water line extension project.

After some discussion among the board members, they unanimously approved a public hearing date regarding the loan that will be held at 9:05 AM on Friday, July 29 at the Cass County Courthouse. Any interested person may give their input at the meeting or submit written comments.

After the public hearing on July 29, the board will vote on entering into the bond agreement.

The board also unanimously approved Amanda Doherty as a county jailer effective as of Sunday, July 17. Doherty is replacing a jailer who had earlier retired.

The board voted unanimously to go into a closed session for a period of about 15 minutes. They discussed litigation and pending litigation matters with county attorney Daniel Feistner.

In other business the board approved setting July 31 – August 5 as Cass County Tourism week, and heard from Micah Lee about a project taking place at Lewis Lake.

Authorities have identified the young boy who was killed in a drowning incident in the Nodaway River near Clarinda.

He was identified as 11-year-old Deontae Haynes of Chicago.

Haynes and small group of other youths had been swimming in the Nodaway River near a Dam in Clarinda. Police say Haynes was wading when he stepped into water over his head and was pulled toward the dam.

16-year-old Tamra Haley of Clarinda attempted to save Haynes but had to be rescued herself the scene.

Haynes was recovered in approximately 27-feet of water by divers and transported to the hospital in Clarinda where he was pronounced dead.

Haley was hospitalized at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha.

Conservation officers with the Iowa DNR, the Page County Sheriff’s Department, the Clarinda Police Department, the Clarinda Fire and Rescue, and several southwest Iowa dive teams all assisted at scene.

Homecoming ceremonies have been set in Council Bluffs and Carroll on Friday for Iowa Army National Guard units returning from Afghanistan.

Ceremonies for Company A, 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry will be at held at 2:30 PM Friday at Carroll High School. 110 soldiers are part of the unit.

Ceremonies for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry will be held at 3:30 Friday at the Mid-American Center. 165 soldiers are part of the unit.

The units are part of roughly 2,900 Iowa soldiers who arrived in Afghanistan in November 2010.

AMES, IOWA – Stifling heat that has lingered over Iowa the past five days is leading to reports of cattle death losses across the state. “In some cases, producers have reported just one or two cattle dying, but reports of larger losses are starting to trickle in,” said Dal Grooms, communications director for the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association.

Compared to other animals, cattle rely on respiration more than sweating to cool off. The heavy humidity, lack of wind, and continued high temperatures through the night makes it very difficult for cattle to cool down.

“Producers are working hard to protect their cattle by providing shade, extra water, and sprinkling systems, and that is where their efforts need to be right now. But once this heat has passed, they need to concentrate on reporting any of their losses through the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) at their local FSA office,” Grooms said.

LIP is a program that has not been used much by Iowa livestock farmers, so it’s important that they understand how it works.

LIP only provides 30 days to report a loss after it has occurred. “While there are exclusions in the program, it is critical that producers make a timely ‘Notice of Loss’ report so they can be included if they qualify,” Grooms said. Once a report is made, and livestock continue to succumb because of the same weather event, those numbers can be included for the event.

ICA is recommending that producers document their losses, as well as the measures they took to protect the cattle. “Rendering truck receipts, photos, and third party verifications from veterinarians, extension personnel or insurance adjusters are important, as is noting the approximate weight of the cattle that died. Likewise, take photos of your sprinkler systems, pen set-up and shade,” Grooms said.

The 2008 farm bill included LIP, which provides benefits to producers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse weather. The details of the program are available from the Farm Service Agency (FSA), which administers the program. In most cases, the program will provide coverage up to 75% of the value of the animal.

For the payment, producers must file an ‘Application for Payment’ with FSA. LIP is scheduled to close on October 1st, and continued funding for it is unsure. “We encourage cattle producers to make that ‘Application for Payment’ as soon as they think their herd as fully recovered from this effects of this heat,” Grooms said. That is the time to also bring in documentation to the FSA office.

The indemnity may not make producers whole, but it does keep this situation from becoming a financial disaster, ICA said.

(Press Release — Iowa Cattleman’s Association)

A Council Bluffs man has been sentenced to over nine years in prison on drug charges,

Michael Tracy Snuttjer of Council Bluffs was sentenced to 109 months of prison for Conspiracy to Deliver Marijuana according to the US Attorney’s Office. After his prison term, US District Judge James Gritzner ordered Snuttjer to serve a four year term of supervised release. Snuttjer also forfeited to the government two Omaha condominiums as well as cash and other property.

On March 3, Snuttjer entered a guilty plea in Federal Court in Council Bluffs to Conspiracy to Deliver Marijuana in the amount of 100 kilograms or more. Investigators say Snuttjer obtained the marijuana from Mexico and brought it to Council Bluffs.

The investigation was conducted by the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, the Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office, Iowa Division of Narcotic Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, Internal Revenue Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest of two people Tuesday.

33-year-old Mahan Steven on Atlantic was arrested on a warrant for assault without intent causing serious injury. He was transported to the Cass County jail and booked.

30-year-old Tammy Bolin of Atlantic was arrested on a warrant for assault without intent causing injury. She was transported to the Cass County jail and booked.