(Red Oak, IA – (June 28, 2016) First Responders in Montgomery County are now some of the best-equipped in the nation to save a pet’s life. That’s because Invisible Fence of the Heartland has donated six pet oxygen mask kits to Montgomery County Emergency Management. The donation is just a small part of Invisible Fence® Brand’s Project Breathe™ program, which was established with the goal of equipping every fire station in America and Canada with pet oxygen masks.

Shelly Jenkins with Invisible Fence® Brand of the Heartland presents the pet oxygen masks to Montgomery County Emergency Management Director Brian Hamman, Red Oak Fire Chief John Bruce and Grant Fire Chief Greg Vetter. (Photo’s courtesy Brian Hamman/Montgomery County EMA)

The masks allow firefighters and EMS staff to give oxygen to pets who are suffering from smoke inhalation when they are rescued from fires and often save pets’ lives.
Invisible Fence® Brand has donated a total of more than 12,400 pet oxygen masks to fire stations all over the U.S. and Canada throughout the life of the program. A reported 150+ pets have been saved by the donated masks so far, including two kittens saved by the Salt Lake City Fire Department in March.

Ed Hoyt, Director of Invisible Fence® Brand, said “When a family suffers the tragedy of a fire, lives are turned upside down. Pets are valued family members, so we want families to know that their pet can be cared for if tragedy strikes. We realize that humans are the first priority, but in many cases, pets can be saved if firefighters have the right equipment. The ‘Project Breathe’™ program is simply a way of giving firefighters the tools necessary to save pets’ lives.”

Shelly Jenkins gives a presentation on how to use the pet oxygen mask on her dog to area first responders.

The Red Oak area is now joining the ranks of cities like Seattle, Chicago, Denver, and Salt Lake City who have all received donated pet oxygen masks from Project Breathe™ program. Although the number of pets that die in fires is not an official statistic kept by the U.S. Fire Administration, industry web sites and sources have cited an estimated 40,000 to 150,000 pets die in fires each year, most succumbing to smoke inhalation.

In most states, emergency responders are unequipped to deal with the crisis. The loss is terrible for the family, heart wrenching for firefighters. The company has set up a website, www.invisiblefence.com/O2, where local fire personnel can make a request for their own departments.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of a Red Oak woman on Tuesday morning for Simple Domestic Assault.  At 10:26am officers arrested 25-year-old Shelby Marie Williams at her home on East Prospect Street.  Williams was taken to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held on no bond.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A fourth-floor water fountain apparently ran nonstop over the weekend and damaged floors, walls and equipment in the Pottawattamie County Courthouse in Council Bluffs. The Daily Nonpareil reports the leaky fountain was discovered Sunday morning, but by that time water had seeped through much of the courthouse.

On Monday, crews spread through the building, drying floors, tearing down parts of walls and cleaning up ceiling tiles that fell onto computers and other equipment. Jim Yochum, the county’s director of building and grounds, says it’s too early to say how much money it will cost to repair the damage.

Officials with ISU Extension in Montgomery County say four Montgomery County residents have been appointed to the Iowa State University Extension Council Nominating Committee. The committee is charged with nominating candidates for the (four) vacancies on the council before August 10th, 2016. Committee members selected to nominate extension council candidates for the 2016 election are Ryan Beeson, Red Oak; Jan Herzberg, Villisca; Sherry Heuer, Red Oak; and Chad Jacobs, Villisca.

By law the nominating committee must include two women and two men, and cannot include any current member of the council. The committee is required to take county geography into consideration when nominating candidates.

Terry Maloy, director for Iowa Association of County Extension Councils, says “Serving as an extension council member is one way to give back to your community. If you believe local educational opportunities are vital to the community’s well-being, then you should consider running for council. It is rewarding to know that people are able to improve their lives, farms, businesses and communities because of ISU Extension and Outreach’s education and information.”

Candidates nominated by the committee must submit petitions containing the names of 25 qualified voters to the county election commissioner by 5 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2016. Additionally, individuals may petition to have their names placed on the ballot through a self-nominating process by submitting petitions with 25 names to the election commissioner. Petition forms are available from the election commissioner and at the county extension office.

Voters will cast ballots for the nominees in the Nov. 8th, 2016, general election. Successful candidates will serve four-year terms beginning in January 2017.

The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department’s Board of Directors will meet in a special session Wednesday afternoon, to act on end of Fiscal Year 2015-16 budget matters, along with the FY 2016-17 budget that begins July 1st. The Board will also act on approving a ground lease agreement with Atlantic Municipal Utilities, and the appointment of Assistant Parks and Rec Director Seth Staashelm to Parks Director.

Their meeting held June 20th, was the last session for current Parks Director Roger Herrring, who had earlier announced his retirement. In other business, the Parks and Rec Board will discuss and likely act on matters pertaining to the Sunnyside east shelter masonry work, and support of a PetSafe Grant. Staashelm will provide an update as well, on the Harl-Holt Park basketball court project.

The meeting takes place at the Atlantic Parks and Rec Department Office (1200 Sunnyside Lane), beginning at Noon, Wednesday. The next regular meeting of the Atlantic Parks and Rec Board is July 25, at City Hall.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest Monday evening, of a man wanted on a warrant for Harassment in the 1st degree, and Violation of a No Contact Order. 36-year old Christopher Joseph Brown, of Glenwood, was arrested at around 5:15-p.m. and taken to the Mills County Jail, where his bond was set at $2,300.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says an Afton resident reported on June 19th, that someone slashed the tires on his Honda Civic and Chevy Tahoe, while the vehicles were parked outside his home in the 100 block of W. Railroad. The incident occurred sometime overnight or early that morning. The loss was estimated at $700.