The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office says two Council Bluffs men were arrested this (Thursday) morning, following the theft of an ATM from the Farmer’s Trust and Savings Bank in Earling. 34-year old Robert Edie and 19-year old Patrick Eggerling were taken into custody on felony charges which include: 1st degree theft; 3rd degree burglary; Possession of Stolen Property; and Criminal Mischief in the 2nd degree. Both men were also charged with Possession of Burglary tools, an aggravated misdemeanor. They were being held in the Shelby County Jail.

Officials say deputies were called to the bank at around 4-a.m., after witnesses observed a Chevy Blazer with two male suspects, at the bank. The witnesses saw the men use a log chain to pull an ATM out of the bank and onto the street. They then allegedly loaded the machine into the vehicle and took off.

After a description of the SUV was broadcast to law enforcement agencies, a Harrison County Sheriff’s Deputy observed the vehicle on Highway 30, near Logan. The suspects failed to yield to the deputy, who then engaged in a pursuit. The chase continued to Interstate 680, with the Iowa State Patrol and Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputies joining in the pursuit.

The incident concluded with the SUV being wrecked when it crashed into a ditch on Whipperwill Road, near mile marker 18 of I-680. Both suspects ran from the vehicle, but were eventually taken into custody a short distance from where the SUV was abandoned. Deputies recovered the ATM from the rear of the Blazer after the suspects were taken into custody. The SUV was later determined to have been stolen from Wright County.

The Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office is inviting the public to attend the 4th Judicial District Department of Correctional Services’ “Crime Victims’ Rights Week” luncheon, on April 25th. The event, which is sponsored by the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors, takes place at the Council Bluffs Country Club (4500 Piute St.), beginning with a buffet lunch at 11:30-a.m.

A program, featuring keynote speakers Jennifer Eaton-Bertagnolli and Micky Oldham, runs from Noon until 1:15-p.m.  Eaton-Bertagnolli is a co-founder of “The Ken Eaton Foundation,” along with Dr. Rico Bertagnolli. The foundation was created in memory of Jennifer’s father Ken Eaton, who was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in Des Moines, on Feb. 13th, 1988.

Oldham is a survivor of the Von Maur shooting in Omaha. The incident happened December 5th, 2007, at the Westroads Mall. A sole gunman identified as 19-year old Robert A. Hawkins entered the store. He killed eight people and injured five others before killing himself. Oldham will answer questions about the incident, and sign copies of her book “35 Minutes and Counting,” after her presentation.

There is no cost to attend the event, but reservations are necessary. To reserve your place at the luncheon and program, call Jen Foltz at 712-325-4943, extension 203, or e-mail jen.foltz@iowa.gov.

Officials with the Harlan Community School District are warning local businesses about a company which is conducting unauthorized sales of HCS Cyclone posters. High School Activities Director Mitch Osborn said businesses in the Harlan area are getting calls and e-mails from Millennium Products LLC, in an attempt to sell an ad on their 11×17 HCHS color football poster, with prices nearly 4 times the amount local businesses and service groups sell their sponsorships for.

Osborn says, the groups pop up from time to time, and he wants area advertisers to know that not one dime comes back to the school system or booster club, while a portion of the funds raised from the Lions Club, Harlan Newspaper and our sister station KNOD, are donated back to the community.

Millennium Products is not associated with the school system, nor is it associated with the posters and sponsorships promoted by the Harlan Lions Club, Harlan Newspaper or KNOD. Osborn said often the groups will print a handful of posters, mail them just to the advertisers and leave town with the cash.

(7-a.m. News)