Members of the Atlantic School Board will meet in a regular session that begins 6-p.m. Wednesday (June 9), in the High School Media Center. On their agenda is action on:

• Resignations, including: Elizabeth Reid, TLC Instructional Coach, and, Pamela Klar, Bus Monitor/Car Driver.
• Contract Recommendations for: Bryce Smith, Assistant 9th Grade Football Coach, and Derek Hall, Head Boys Basketball Coach.
• The 1st reading of Revised Board Polices – 800 Series: The only real change is increasing the value of inventory requirements, from $1,500 to $2,500. (See other policies in the chart below).
• The Board will also act on 2021-22 TLC Contracts: approving the list of 19 teachers and TLC roles they will serve in 2021-22, at a cost of $94,985, to be budgeted for through the General Fund for Teacher Leader Compensation Funds.
• A phone system upgrade. NishnaNet has proposed to replace the District’s current, antiquated phone system with an IPO system that will serve multiple purposes of communication, both internally and externally. It will also provide notice of incoming calls, without interfering with learning in the classroom. The cost of the system is $46,350.
• and “Return to Learn” Plan modifications. Superintendent Steve Barber says “Even though our plan is basically resuming back to our pre-Covid procedures and practices, [with the exception of] cleaning procedures we still need to maintain our plan as documentation.”

The Atlantic School Board is also set to receive a special presentation from High School Principal Heather McKay, Alyssa Dovenspike and Sarah Rose, with regard to [student] College and Career Readiness. They will also receive an Athletic Facilities Project update.

(Radio Iowa) – Students from three Iowa high schools are among 100 teams nationwide competing in this month’s American Rocketry Challenge. It’s the Aerospace Industry Association’s flagship program, designed to encourage students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Jayce Abens is one of six members on the team from Webster City High School which will compete in the finals in Dayton, Ohio. “We compete to fly to a specific altitude and flight time, which they give us at the beginning of the season,” Abens says. “This year, we’re flying to 800 feet and 40 to 43 seconds.”

Photo via Rocketcontest.org

Each rocket is carrying fragile cargo. “We carry one egg as a payload,” he says. “It can’t be broken at all, otherwise, you’re disqualified.” After many months of test launches, the practice paid off as the team’s qualifying numbers were exceptional. “This year, we qualified with a score of 15 off of three qualifying flights,” Abens says. “We get a point per foot off of our altitude and four points per second out of the time range. We were right on time and just a few feet off for each flight.”

The finals are ordinarily held in Washington D-C but due to the pandemic, they’re being held in ten different cities this year between June 11th and 20th. Teams from Maharishi High School in Fairfield and Cedar Falls High School will compete in the challenge in Brighton, Wisconsin. Webster City and Maharishi were both in the 2019 national finals as well, while the team from Maharishi is all-girls. In addition to competing for the title of national champion, teams are also competing for $100,000 in prizes.

A woman was arrested and a man is wanted,  in connection with a Montgomery County drug investigation. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Monday, said 38-year-old Marcellia Marie Wilson, of Red Oak, was arrested late Friday morning for delivery of methamphetamine, following the execution of a search warrant at 205 South 2nd Street in Red Oak. Wilson was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $10,000 bond.

Marcellia Marie Wilson

The sheriff’s office is also asking for public assistance in locating another suspect, 33-year-old Michael Dean Wilson, who is wanted on drug charges and parole violations. He is described as a white male approximately 6 feet tall, 240 pounds. Michael Wilson could be driving a bronze or tan 2000 Chevy Blazer with either no plates, or Iowa license plate #GLT401. He could also be operating a gray 2004 Yamaha 1100 V Star motorcycle. The suspect is believed to be in Montgomery, Mills or Page counties.

Anyone with information on Michael Wilson’s whereabouts should contact their local law enforcement, or the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at 712-623-5107.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says this is a make-or-break moment for our republic and now is not the time to give up on election reform legislation that cleared the U-S House earlier this year.  “The fact that we cannot see that bill getting passed right now, that the senate is struggling to pass that bill — I’m astounded that anybody who is an elected office that takes influence out of elections…and allows people to have free and fair voting,” Axne says.

The bill includes new campaign finance disclosures and would require at least 15 days of early voting in every state. Axne says the measure as a necessary response to this political moment. “Right now we have some people who I work with who don’t even believe we have a valid president,” Axne says. Axne plans to personally urge West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin to change his stance on the bill. Manchin announced Sunday he won’t vote for an election bill that has the backing of just one party.

“I’m going to talk to him,” Axne said. “Listen, I take a lot of hard votes in states like Iowa. I think people who are authentic and true to their convictions and are representing the people who they serve, they’re going to make it back and I think anybody who stands up for the constitution and for people’s right to vote, they’ll make it back.” Axne spoke to about three dozen people last (Monday) night at a town hall forum in West Des Moines