The Atlantic School Board held a special meeting Wednesday evening at the high school and after much discussion, voted to approve a $2.2-million budget amendment for the 2013-2014 school year. The action came after the Board held a public hearing, during which there were no comments. Business Manager Mary Beth Fast explained there are four areas where a budget could be exceeded that would require a budget amendment. They include Construction, Support Services, Non-instructional programs and Total “Other” expenditures.

Atlantic School Board acts on Budget Amendment. (Ric Hanson/photo)

She said if a district exceeds expenses in any one of those areas, the budget should be amended. Fast said nearly 50-percent of Iowa’s school districts amend their budget at some point in time, some more than once. It is especially common she said, when a construction project is underway or was recently completed. The bulk of the Atlantic School District’s budget amendment comes in the area of Support Services.

Mary Beth said the biggest expenses came as the result of the installation wireless system at the Middle School, the Access Control System, Auditorium repairs/lights and sound, and the purchase of two new buses. Those items total around $303-thousand.

Board member Rod Hartwig was concerned about the 42-percent adjustment in the budget and wanted to know where the other $1.9-million is coming from. Fast says she’s “Hoping that’ll more than cover” what the district will need, but she “Would rather err on the side of certifying too much or amending too much, than to cut it close and have that area be exceeded.”  She went on to describe other expenses, much of which were computer-related.

The $2.2-million she said, would cover any additional expenses (bills) that arrive before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1st. Board President Kristy Pellett said she too, was concerned with the large amendment. She said if they failed to sufficiently plan for it 18-months ago, they need to make sure the plan for what they can spend, in the future.

Districts have until May 31st to amend their budget and submit it to their county auditor, or as late as June 30th, but if there was a protest from members of the community, there wouldn’t be enough time for the Iowa State Appeals Board to review render a decision, therefore the amendment would be void. Mary Beth Fast answered the question of “Why do you wait so long to amend your budget?,” by saying  districts are sometimes faced with unexpected expenditures, such as when the purchase of a bus is billed in one fiscal year instead of another, the timing of construction project and payments, curriculum materials being delivered before the end of the current budget year, and damages caused by severe weather that are not immediately reimbursed by insurance.

The Atlantic Police Department is warning area citizens about a phone scam that is occurring in the Atlantic area. Officials say several customers of the Atlantic Municipal Utilities have been called and told that their electrical service will be disconnected unless the customer provides the caller with bank information.

Authorities in Dallas County have identified a man who died after falling from a boom truck Tuesday morning, while installing a power line. According to the Sheriff’s Office, 39-year-old David Denger, of Panora, died at the scene of the accident located about two-miles north of Dexter. Denger was working on installing power lines at around 10-a.m., when he fell about 50-feet to the ground, from the bucket of a boom truck.

The incident remains under investigation.

Police in Atlantic have arrested a man wanted on a warrant out of southeast Iowa. 21-year old Austin Lemke, of Atlantic, was arrested Tuesday on a Mahaska County warrant for Absence from Custody. Lemke was brought to the Cass County Jail and held pending transport to Mahaska County by their deputies.

The Harlan City Council heard from several citizens about the current Harlan Country Club Estate (HCCE) sidewalk agreement. In a regular meeting Tuesday, the council intended to make a motion to approve the sidewalk agreement has to be completed by December 31st, 2014. The Estate is located on the South side of the Harlan Golf Course in particular the discussion was from citizens residing on Hawkeye Avenue between Country Club Parkway and Shelby Street. One resident, Tamera Ploen  told the council the sidewalks are an issue in the whole city.

“So it’s not just Hawkeye Avenue or the houses surrounding me that have sidewalk problems in the city. We have a lot of sidewalks that need to be redone.” She said her main concern was safety for the children.“The parking is on my side of the street right now. If you put the sidewalk on my side of the street, I am afraid children going in and out of parked cars. We already have cars going by super fast. And when you have a parked vehicle, the other thing is you have people coming around that vehicle and you don’t have access for two vehicles coming down that street.”

Councilman Dave Miller offered a rebuttal. He said “We have been discussing sidewalks in the city of Harlan since the early ‘90’s or late ‘80’s when the first ordinance was enacted. We have discussed all the streets of Harlan that don’t have sidewalks and the areas/homes that don’t have sidewalks will be getting letters also. A timeline we can’t put to it but it is an on going project.”

A motion was made to extend the timeline for completion on the sidewalk agreement for the Harlan Country Club Estate to November 1st, 2015. The motion was passed on a 5 to 1 vote. Councilman Mike Kolbe (Colby) said he would like to bring the topic back up to discussion at the next city council meeting. “I personally would like to see us come back on the June 3rd council meeting and take action on the entire city once we get this done tonight. Give everybody in town the same deadline of November 1st, 2015.”

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

The creators of “Roar into Harlan” are gearing up for a strong summer with several events planned on the square in downtown Harlan. Mike and Pat Wohlhutter from Metal Ink in Harlan spoke at the city council meeting Tuesday, to give an update on the Roar into Harlan events for the rest of the summer. The bike night on the square takes place on the 3rd Thursday of the month from May through September. The first Roar into Harlan was held on May 15th featuring the Westside Bar. Mike Wohlhutter said the next event is June 19th with The Rocking Chair as the featured business.

“There will also be a dunk tank. Some of the people sitting behind there (the council table) are participating in it. The Mayor will be, City Administrator Terry Cox, Police Chief Frank Clark, Superintendent Justin Wagner, Don from the Lounge and Harlan Fire Chief Roger Bissen. We have a lot of willing volunteers. Well I think mostly because any and all the money taking in from the dunk tank stays in town and goes to the American Legion to support them.”

The couple plans to make July 17th a kid’s night on the square, ladies night will be in August and an open mic night will happen sometime during the Roars. Pat and Mike said the volunteers have been very generous.  “We’ve had a great group of volunteers too, in particular Luke Clark. We couldn’t do it without Luke. He loves doing it and we have a great time with him. The girls at Iowa Wines they have been incredibly helpful and the guys on the street department and Ron Buck. As I said all the people that has anything to do with the city and there that lies within have been very supportive and helpful. Thank you.”

The Wohlhutters also received a considerable amount of funding from the Shelby County Hotel/Motel Tax Committee to help promote the upcoming events for the year. You can find more information on the Roar into Harlan nights on Facebook by searching Roar into Harlan Bike Night.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

No injuries were reported following a rollover accident Tuesday afternoon, in Mills County. Sheriff’s officials say Joseph Baughman of Bellevue, NE, was driving a 1996 Ford westbound on Highway 370 at around 3:45-p.m., when a white car…possibly a Ford Taurus…attempted to pass him at high rate of speed.

At the same time there was a vehicle traveling eastbound on Hwy 370. Baughman told authorities he had to take evasive actions to keep from all vehicles striking each other. He said the white car would not have had time to get over into the westbound lane without causing an accident.

When Baughman’s car hit the northbound shoulder, he over-corrected and lost control. The vehicle entered the south ditch where it rolled at least once before coming to rest on its top. Baughman refused Rescue, and said he was not hurt.