Authorities in Page County say a 12-year old Red Oak boy was charged with 1^st degree arson Thursday, following a residential fire early that same morning in Red Oak. Fire Chief Rick Askey says the juvenile was charged after firefighters responded to the scene of a house fire at 104 West Maple at around 1:45 a.m.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, a heavy fire condition was observed in a second story bedroom, and a great deal of smoke was coming from the front and rear sides of the residence. Askey says they determined the intentionally set fire began with common combustibles, in an upper floor bedroom in the house’s northwest corner.

Six people lived in the home. All were able to escape without injury. Firefighters were able to knock down the blaze in less than two hours. The juvenile was in the house when the fire started, but Askey says the boy wasn’t not the first to recognize that a fire existed, or alert others to the danger.

Most of the damage to the home was confined to the upper floor bedroom. The entire house sustained smoke damage, though, while the bedroom where the fire began, and a living room on the first floor sustained water damage.

After State Fire Marshal John Ticer confirmed Red Oak Fire investigators’ suspicions about the cause of the blaze, the juvenile was questioned and later taken to the Council Bluffs Juvenile Detention Center.

Three people were hurt in a three-vehicle chain-reaction collision Thursday evening on the south side of Shenandoah. The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports 50-year old Julie Baxter and 59-year old Patrick Whipple, both of Shenandoah, along with 55-year old Teresa Jackson, of Clarinda, were all transported by Shenandoah Rescue to the Shenandoah Memorial Hospital, for treatment of unknown, possible injuries.

Officials say the accident happened at around 4:50-p.m., at the intersection of Highway Two and A-Avenue. According to the Sheriff’s report, a 2008 Toyota Prius driven by Julie Baxter was eastbound on Highway Two and stopped at the intersection with A Avenue waiting to turn north. A 2007 Pontiac Vibe driven by Teresa Jackson pulled up behind Baxter.

The third vehicle, a 2007 Ford Taurus, driven by Whipple was also traveling eastbound on Highway Two. Officials say when Whipple became distracted, he failed to notice the two stopped vehicles in front of him. His car rear-ended Jackson’s vehicle, which was shoved into the rear of Baxter’s car.

Jackson was trapped in her vehicle and had to be extricated by rescue personnel. All three drivers were wearing their seatbelts. Damage from the crash amounted to nearly $15,000. The Sheriff’s report did not indicate if any charges were filed.

Three southwest Iowa men are in custody following a chase involving four vehicles and shots fired early this morning in Adams and Union Counties. Adams County Sheriff Alan Johannes says 19-year old Logan Jenkins faces 5-counts of attempted murder and one-count of going armed with intent. His 22-year old brother Trenton and 44-year old father Eric Jenkins, all from Prescott, were both charged with five-counts of Assault While Participating in a Felony, following an incident which began just before 1-a.m. in Adams County, and ended on Highway 34, on the outskirts of Creston.

Johannes says the trio were in three separate vehicles which were chasing another vehicle. During the chase, Logan allegedly fired multiple rounds from a rifle, some of the bullets from which struck the vehicle being chased. That vehicle was occupied by five people, all of whom were under the age of 18. None of persons in the chased vehicle were injured.

The Jenkins’ were being held in the Adams County Jail. The incident remains under investigation.

Two Harlan residents, an adult and a juvenile, were arrested May 6^th following an investigation into an alleged assault. Police in Harlan reported Thursday, 17-year old Emily Boeck was charged with assault in connection with an incident allegedly involving Ashley McWilliams, of Harlan. Boeck was cited and released to the custody of her mother.

25-year old Zachary Scheffler was arrested in connection with the incident, and charged with domestic abuse assault, and violation of a no contact order.

If Scheffler and Boeck’s names sound familiar, that’s because last Friday, we told you the were arrested April 30^th when police executed a search warrant for Scheffler, at a residence in Harlan. During the course of the search, Boeck was one of five people charged with interference with official acts.

Scheffler was arrested following the search, on charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance and Drug Paraphernalia, interference with official acts, criminal mischief, and on a warrant for domestic abuse, in connection with an incident April 22^nd, during which he allegedly vandalized McWilliams’ vehicle.

The Harlan Police Department reports four area teens were cited last weekend for Minor in Possession, of Possession of Alcohol under legal age. The citations and one arrest were made during a patrol of the races at the Shelby County Speedway.

Those cited on Saturday, May 6^th, include: 18-year old Amanda Skow, of Atlantic; 17-year old Dezaray Forde, 17-year old Katie Weihs, and 16-year old Sunny Peck, all from Walnut. They were released from custody after being given a citation. Officials say 21-year old Marshall Fischer, of Omaha, was arrested on a Shelby County warrant for theft in the 4^th degree.

U-S Atty. Nicholas Klinefeldt

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa said today (Thursday) two Pacific Junction residents were sentenced Monday, to a total of five-years in prison for being persons prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.

U-S Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt say District Court Judge James E. Gritzner sentenced 49-year old Gustine Evelyn Augustine to 24 months of imprisonment, to be followed by two years of supervised release, and, 36-year old Joseph Lynn Belt, was sentenced to three years probation, to include 180 days of home detention except for maintaining his long-time employment.  Judge Gritzner also ordered Augustine and Belt to pay a $100 fee to the Crime Victim Fund. In addition the defendants were ordered to forfeit of seven rifles and shotguns which were in their possession.

Gustine Augustine remained on pretrial release and supervision pending designation of the Federal Bureau of Prisons facility at which she will serve her sentence. A Federal jury in Council Bluffs found Augustine guilty On February 9th, 2011 of being a prohibited person in possession of firearms. Belt had entered a guilty plea to the charge against him a few days earlier.

On November 10th , 2010, a federal grand jury returned a one-count superseding indictment against both defendants.  In the superseding indictment Defendant Augustine was charged with being a person prohibited from possessing firearms because she was a prior convicted felon and because she was an illegal user of controlled substances.   

In the superseding indictment, Defendant Belt was charged with being an illegal user of controlled substances in possession of firearms.  The charges arose from the exercise of a search warrant by the Mills County Sheriff’s Department on July 23, 2010.  During the search, firearms, ammunition, marijuana and paraphernalia associated with the use of methamphetamine were found and seized. 

The case was investigated by the Mills County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Greg Forristall, State Representatuve, District 48

A lawmaker from southwest Iowa was arrested Wednesday afternoon on an OWI charge.

According to Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker, Republican State Representative Greg Forristall, of Macedonia, was taken into custody at around 3:30-p.m, after a sheriff’s deputy observed a vehicle driving erratically in Carson on Highway 92.

Danker says the deputy was eastbound, and he had to pull onto the shoulder of the road to avoid a vehicle that was driving westbound in the eastbound lane. He followed the vehicle and observed it swerving again, into the eastbound lane.

The deputy stopped the vehicle and spoke with the driver, who was identified as the 61-year old Forristall. Danker said Forristall told deputies he was on his way home to rural Macedonia from Des Moines. Because Forristall is diabetic, an emergency rescue crew was called to the scene to see if health issues contributed to the erratic driving, but Danker says the man checked out OK. He was then given a field sobriety test, which Forristall failed.

Forristall was brought to the Pottawattamie County Jail in Council Bluffs where a blood alcohol content test was administered. Danker said the test yielded a result of .276; .08 is the legal limit in Iowa. He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of first offense OWI. After being booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail, Forristall posted $1,000 bond and was released.

Forristall issued an e-mail statement Thursday regarding his arrest Wednesday for suspicion of operating while intoxicated:

Quote —

“I am truly sorry for the decision I made. I apologize to my family, friends, and constituents for my poor decision. I fully accept the consequences of my actions.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A key Iowa Senate committee has approved a measure designed to block plans for a Council Bluffs clinic that would offer late-term abortions. Backers said the measure was narrowly drawn to block Nebraska Dr. LeRoy Carhart, who announced plans for the Council Bluffs facility after Nebraska passed late-term abortion restrictions. Critics worried that the measure could lead to more late-term abortions.

Under the measure, late-term abortions could only be performed in clinics in cities that have hospitals offering intensive care services for infants. There are five such facilities, one each in Davenport, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City and two in Des Moines.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee approved it on a 9-6 vote, sending it to the full Senate for debate.

Officials with the National Weather Service in Des Moines said Thursday, two tornado struck the Taylor County community of Lenox, Wednesday afternoon. An analysis of the storm data and damage indicated the first tornado, an EF-0 packing winds of up to 80-miles per hour, touched down at around 4:38-p.m. along south Maple Street in Lenox.

The twister left a curved path three-tenths of a mile wide and six-tenths of a mile long, during which it damaged several trees and the roofs and facades of two brick buildings on North Main Street.

The second tornado, an EF-1, with wind speeds of up to 105-miles per hour, touched down at around 4:43-p.m., in the southwest part of Lenox, near the intersection of State Highway 49 and West Platte Street…just a couple of blocks from where the first twister touched down.

The tornado left a path of destruction three-tenths of a mile wide and 1.2-miles long.

The greatest amount of damage occurred shortly after the twister made landfall, with one house sustaining damage to a second story dormer, and a manufactured home losing one-half of its roof. Additional damage was incurred upon trees and shingles on homes as the tornado continued its northerly trek on the ground.

It eventually turned northwest and hit an older home and business before finally exiting Lenox and continuing over open fields before dissipating one-half mile north of town at around 4:48-p.m.

No injuries were reported.