Officials say the shift away from round-the-clock institutional care for people with disabilities has led to layoffs at the largest employer in the Dallas County town of Woodward. Twenty-seven jobs at the Woodward Resource Center were eliminated Tuesday. Roger Munns, a spokesman for the state agency that manages the facility, says that adjusts staffing levels to the reduced number of disabled residents.”Both of our facilities, at Woodward and Glenwood, have worked very hard, vigorously, to try to find community or home-based placements for people with disabilities and we’ve been very successful, averaging about a dozen new placements from both places,” Munns says. “As a result of this, budgets and staff have been reduced.”

In the past five years, there’s been a 25 percent reduction in the number of full-time residents in the Woodward facility. “There are fewer people to care for,” Munns says, “and, obviously, you need fewer staff.” On Monday, nearly 700 people were employed to care for 181 disabled residents. A total of 27 staff positions were eliminated Tuesday, but some union workers who got layoff notices will be able to take the position of an employee in a similar job who has less seniority. As the number of Woodward residents declined in recent years, layoffs had been avoided through staff turnover.

“Normal attrition — people leaving for other positions — but there wasn’t very much turnover at Woodward,” Munns says. “There were very few people who left for the incentive for early retirement a couple of years ago. As a result, there are more people (on staff) than the budget can support.” The Glenwood Resource Center in western Iowa is the permanent home for 263 disabled residents. Managers of that facility say they’ll be able to manage reduced budgets without layoffs this year.

(Radio Iowa)

The Atlantic City Council will act Wednesday evening on a Resolution awarding a bid for the reconstruction of the Sunnyside Tennis Courts. The move will follow a public hearing on the plans and specification for the project, and approval of those matters. Bids for the project were due in to the City Clerk’s Office by the close of business on Tuesday.

Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring has been working on the project, and is set to present the plans and specs as prepared by Snyder and Associates Engineers. The plans and specs reflect the design requirements of the U-S Tennis Association, so that the project can receive a $50,000 grant. The project is expected to cost about $241,000. City Administrator Doug Harris has said the project will be paid for with $88,000 in 2012 Bond proceeds, $65,000 in grants from the USDA and Iowa Western Community College, along with two, separate payments of $44,000 each from the Atlantic Community School District.

In other business, the Council will hold the first reading of an Ordinance amending the Code of Ordinances, by adding a new chapter entitled “Illegal Dumping.” Cass County Landfill Director Wendy Wittrock has asked the county and cities to adopt the ordinance, so there could be consistent rules and enforcement, county-wide. The Council will also hold the first reading of an Ordinance amending the City Code, by adopting a section entitled “Private Wells,” as recommended by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and the City’s consulting engineers. The ordinance would prohibit private water wells (except closed-loop systems), within 1,000-feet of “High risk sites.” It would still permit the use of closed-loop geothermal and heat pump wells, however, because those systems prevent human exposure to the water.

And, the Council will act on appointments to various Boards and Commissions, as suggested by Mayor Dave Jones. They include: Mary Ward and Katrina Sonntag, to the Board of Adjustment; James Behrens, to the Planning & Zoning Commission; Rollie Landsness to the Community Promotion Commission; Michelle Saluk and Steve Teague, to the Cable TV Commission; and, Linn Headlee, Sid Winchell, and Carolyn Hanson, to the Library Board.

The Atlantic City Council meeting begins at 5:30-p.m., Wednesday.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Saturday of 29-year old David Allan Minard, of Griswold. Sheriff’s officials said late Tuesday afternoon that Minard was taken into custody on a Mills County warrant for Burglary 3^rd Degree and Theft 2^nd Degree. The man was taken to the Cass County Jail, where he was awaiting transport to Mills County.

On Monday, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office charged Minard with Burglary 3^rd Degree in conjunction with an investigation into a reported break-in at the concession stand at the Griswold High School that occurred on July 25th. Three juveniles also involved were cited into juvenile court for charges of Burglary 3^rd Degree, Criminal Mischief 4^th Degree, Theft 5^th Degree, and Minor in Possession of Alcohol.

Minard was also charged with three counts of Providing Alcohol to Minors. He remained in the Cass County Jail Tuesday on $6000 bond for Cass County, and $10,000 bond for Mills County.