SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City man has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the killing of a man whose body was found in South Dakota.  Martin Castellanos entered a written plea Monday in Woodbury County District Court. No trial date has been set. The 20-year-old Castellanos is accused of fatally shooting 20-year-old Adrian Rojas-Hernandez in October in Sioux City.

Hernandez’s partially burned body was found later in a ditch alongside a gravel road across the state border in South Dakota. A manhunt followed and Castellanos was arrested a few days later.

Another man, 22-year-old Ricardo Vital, of Sioux City, has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of accessory after the fact. Investigators say he drove a car used to move Hernandez’s body, and helped clean up evidence.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors will receive and act on a request for funding, Wednesday. The request will follow a report from the Cass County Library Association during the Board’s meeting, which begins at 9-a.m. The Board will also take action on a Local Match Resolution for the Hazard Mitigation Grant (HMG) Program. The County’s share of the in-kind match amounts to $7,950. The total grant amount is $53,000. $39,750 will come from the Feds, and $5,300 is from the State of Iowa.

In other business, the Board will hear a report from the Child Abuse Prevention Council, with regard to the “Scary Guy” program planned for all schools in the County, next fall.

Pending approval next month by the Exira-EHK School District’s “Super Board,” voters in the combined districts will head to the polls on Feb. 4^th, 2014, to act on a Public Measure adopting a Revenue Purpose Statement (RPS). Exira-EHK Superintendent Dean Schnoes told KJAN News the election is required by the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) and Department of Education (DOE).

He says even though both districts say the same thing, it still has to be approved by the voters. The new “Super Board” will meet Dec. 2^nd to approve a resolution to put the measure before the voters, and to continue on with what the RPS says.

The RPS will allow the districts to authorize the expenditure of revenues from the State of Iowa to secure an advanced vision for the education fund received by the Exira-Elk Horn Kimballton Community School District. The RPS specifies how the One-cent Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) can be used, including, but not limited to: Property Tax relief; New buildings or additions to current facilities; the lease or purchase of buildings or equipment, and more.

He says it’s kind of like a combination of the PPEL – Physical Plant and Equipment Levy – and the LOST, but it’s broader in scope as compared to what the PPEL allows, such as technology purchases and upgrades. The RPS is typically in effect for 10-years, which for each district independently is currently in 2020. Schnoes said because it’s a new district, it’s just another one of those things you have to have in-place, like a school starting brand new.” He said “If we’re going to continue on with the education that we have here providing the facilities, the curriculum, the things that we need to provide education…we still need to have [the RPS] in-place.”

If the measure fails to win voter approval on Feb. 4^th, it will not terminate or restrict authority previously granted by the voters to expend receipts from the “secure an advanced vision for education,” fund. If it’s approved, it will remain in effect until replaced or amended by the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton School District.

You can read details about the Special Election on the Exira-EHK website under “Public Notices,” or click on this link to the PDF: http://swmcdn.com/site_0244/EXIRAEHK_RevenuePurposeStmt_111813.pdf

A Red Oak man was arrested Monday afternoon on a warrant for Revocation of Probation. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says 40-year old Eric Huffstutlear was taken into custody at around 2-p.m.  He appeared before the District Court Judge and is being held in the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on a $5,000 cash bond.

Two people were arrested in Atlantic, Monday. The Police Department says 27-year old Jonathan Nelson, of Atlantic, was arrested on charges of Child Endangerment and Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana. And, 43-year old William Garside, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant charging him with 5th Degree Theft. Both men were booked into the Cass County Jail.