The Atlantic School Board, Tuesday afternoon, passed a Resolution approving the Contract and Bonds for the Washington Elementary School Parking lot project. The contract is with Precision Concrete Services, of Atlantic.

The Board heard from the District’s Bond Counsel Travis Squires, with PiperJaffrey, with regard to the sale of General Obligation Bonds to cover the cost of facilities improvements, and the levy of taxes for the sale. Bids for the purchase of the bonds were received at 10-a.m. Tuesday.

Squires said “In summary, over the last month we completed the bond rating process. The District was assigned an “A-Plus” rating from S&P (Standard and Poors), which is very good (and) puts (The district) in the upper half school district bond ratings in Iowa.” There were three electronically submitted bids for the bonds. Squires said he was surprised there weren’t more bids, but the economy has played a role in that factor.

Each of the three bids had interest rates assigned to them, of 5% and 4% at the onset, with a declining interest rate beginning in 2026. The rates for the bonds are different from the yield investors earn, according to Squires. The average interest rate is 2.15%. The purchase price for $9.5-million dollars in bonds at $10.2-million. The winning bidder was Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc., from Milwaukee, WI. They have already wired the District $95,000 as a good faith estimate. A Resolution passed by the Board Tuesday, locks in the District’s interest rate.

Squires said because of the bond rate, the district is limited to the total bond amount plus premium to be under $10-million per calendar year, so the G-O Bonds Series 2019 were later resized to $9.26-million, which leaves the District with $240,000 in voter authority that is not being issued, but the District is actually getting more than $9.5-million, because of the Premium. Long story short, the final True Interest Rate is 2.146%, which means the District will pay less than $1-million interest on the $10-million in debt.

The levy rate starts out in Fiscal Year May 2020 at 3.498%. Next year the rate in 4.04%, but then in 2022 it drops to 2.73% and finally levels off at around 1.88%. The next step, Squires said, is to start conversations with local banks to gauge their interest and at what rate level, before negotiating a a good solution.

Sheriff’s deputies in Montgomery County, arrested a man from Elliott for Domestic Abuse/1st offense. Authorities say 32-year old Cory R. Smith was taken into custody at a residence in Elliott at around 9:50-a.m., Tuesday. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail pending an appearance before the magistrate.

Red Oak Police say a teenager was injured during a collision at around 3:30-p.m. Tuesday at 1st and Corning Streets. Authorities say 16-year old Alyssa Resh, of Red Oak, suffered minor facial injuries due to an airbag deployment that occurred when the car she was driving was struck on the passenger side. She was not transported to the hospital, though.

Resh was driving a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix northbound on 1st street, and did not come to a complete stop at the stop sign. She pulled into the intersection with Corning Street and was struck broadside by a 2006 Ford truck that was traveling westbound, and was driven by 43-year old Edward D. Strickland, of Red Oak.

The car came to rest in a yard and knocked down a stop sign. Strickland, and a passenger in Resh’ car, were not hurt. Resh was cited for Failure to Yield from a stop sign. Strickland was cited for having no valid driver’s license. Damage from the accident amounted to $6,100.

DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation today (Tuesday), for Union County in response to heavy rains, hail, straight-line winds, tornadoes, widespread flooding, and flash flooding beginning May 17 and continuing. The governor’s proclamation allows state resources to be utilized to respond to and recover from the effects of this severe weather and activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program for qualifying residents, along with the Disaster Case Management Program, for Union County.

The Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program provides grants of up to $5,000 for households with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level or a maximum annual income of $41,560 for a family of three. Grants are available for home or car repairs, replacement of clothing or food and temporary housing expenses. Original receipts are required for those seeking reimbursement for actual expenses related to storm recovery. The grant application and instructions are available on the Iowa Department of Human Services website. Potential applicants have 45 days from the date of the proclamation to submit a claim.

Disaster Case Management is a program to address serious needs to overcome a disaster-related hardship, injury or adverse condition. Disaster case managers work with clients to create a disaster recovery plan and provide guidance, advice and referral to obtain a service or resource. There are no income eligibility requirements for this program; it closes 180 days from the date of the governor’s proclamation. For information on the Disaster Case Management Program, contact your local community action association or visit www.iowacommunityaction.org.

Iowa residents of counties impacted by the recent severe weather are asked to report damage to help local and state officials better understand the damage sustained. Damage to property, roads, utilities and other storm-related information may be reported. This information will be collected by the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and shared with local emergency management agencies.

For more information on Iowa flooding, visit floods2019.iowa.gov or contact 2-1-1.

(Radio Iowa) — A Bloomfield man has been sentenced to 120 years in prison for sexual abuse involving a child. Steven Douglas Crook Junior pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of a child. Prosecutors say he sexually abused a girl from the time she was an infant until she was six. She was rescued from his home in March of last year.

Court documents showed Crook took photos and videos and sometimes live streamed the sexual abuse on social media. Judge Stephanie Rose described the crimes as “horrific” and says he was given the maximum sentence to effectively keep him in prison the rest of his life because she said Crook remains “very dangerous.”

Two people were arrested this (Tuesday) morning in Page County, after authorities were called at around 8-a.m. to investigate a report of persons allegedly attempting to steal a vehicle at 1273 D Avenue.

During the investigation, 40-year old Jerry Joseph Richardson and 38-year old Danielle Rene Adams, both of Essex, were arrested. Richardson was charged with Theft in the 2nd Degree and Driving while license is barred. His bond was set at $7,000. Adams faces a charge of  Aiding and abetting Theft 2nd degree. Her bond was set at $5,000. Both remained in custody Tuesday afternoon.

Adams

Richardson