Members of the Audubon School District Board of Education will hold their regular monthly meeting Monday, April 19th, in the High School Board Room. The meeting begins at 7-p.m. Some action items on the Board’s agenda include (but are not limited to…):

• Approving the last day of school and the list of graduates.
• Approving an AEA Purchasing Agreement.
• Approval of a “Quit Claim” Deed for the Christensen Trust.
• and approval of a late Open Enrollment request.

In other business, the Audubon School Board will receive updates from Superintendent Eric Trager, with regard to Federal COVID Relief Funds, along with a report on buildings and grounds. At the end of regular business, the Board will move into an Exempt (closed) Session, for the purpose of strategy negotiations with those employees not represented by a collective bargaining unit.

Coming out of the closed session, the board will take action on approving raises for those same employees

The CAM Community School District will hold a Community Engagement meeting live, and via ZOOM, beginning at 6:30-p.m., Monday (April 19th), with regard to district facilities. The meeting takes place at the CAM Middle School, in Massena (If you wish to view the meeting by ZOOM, click HERE).  Everyone is encouraged to attend the meeting, either in-person, or virtually.

(Atlantic) – If you love to read a good book, you have an opportunity to fill your bookcase, AND, help out the Atlantic Public Library. The group “Friends of the Atlantic Public Library,” (FOL) will hold their Spring Book Sale this coming Wednesday through Friday, from 9-a.m. to 6-p.m., each day. Proceeds from the book sale helps to support a variety of library programs, such as the: Summer reading program; adult programs; youth programs and the annual “Shred day.”

COVID threw a wrench in efforts to hold the event last Spring, but the Fall sale went on as scheduled. Persons planning to attend the Spring Book Sale will still need to wear a mask and practice social distancing. In 2019, 15 volunteers worked more than 200 hours getting ready for the event. They unpacked booked, arranged and alphabetized them, and ended-up selling an estimated 5,000 books/periodicals. Their efforts raised a little more than $3,100, from books sold for anywhere from 25-cents to One-dollar.

You can also donate books, prior to the sale. If you’d like more information about FOL, contact President Ken Moorman, Vice President Linda Templeman, Secretary Barb Chase, or Treasurer Dottie Krogh.

Kansas City, MO – Although its origins are uncertain, April 20 (more commonly known as 4/20) has become synonymous with marijuana use and, in some circles, the date is a marijuana “holiday.” On Tuesday, April 20, 2021, there will likely be an increase in marijuana use. To help keep drug-impaired drivers off the roads, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Region 7, consisting of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, is spreading the message that drug-impaired driving of any kind is dangerous and illegal. NHTSA wants to remind all drivers: If You Feel Different, You Drive Different. Drive High, Get a DUI.

Just like drunk driving, drug-impaired driving is illegal nationally, and yet 25.1% of crashes where results are known across the country involve a driver who tested positive for drugs. Over the past 25 years, the number of automobile crashes with fatalities where at least one driver involved tested positive for drugs has surged across all Region 7 states as well. In 2019, the percent of crashes with fatalities where at least one driver tested positive for drugs: Arkansas 36%, Iowa 16%, Kansas 18%, Missouri 33%, and Nebraska 9%.

This is why it’s so important we spread this life-saving message: If You Feel Different, You Drive Different. Drive High, Get a DUI.  If you think driving while high won’t affect you, you are wrong. Regardless of the term used, if a person is high, stoned, wasted, or drunk, they are impaired. Driving while impaired by any substance is illegal and can be deadly to the driver and other road users. It’s that simple.

NHTSA Region 7 Administrator, Susan DeCourcy says “Drug-impaired driving is a safety issue for everyone on the road. We hope that people will think twice before driving while impaired by drugs. It is deadly for the driver and for his or her passengers and for other people on roadways. If you are taking any type of drug, prescription, over-the-counter or illegal, pass your keys to a sober driver. Remember: A DUI is for more than just alcohol.”

There are many resources available to get home safely. Plan ahead and designate a sober driver. Use public transportation or a rideshare service. Law enforcement partners will make zero exceptions. By working together, we can save lives and help keep America’s roadways safe.