(Atlantic, Iowa) – A Public Hearing will be held 5:30-p.m. Wednesday at the Atlantic High School Media Center, during a meeting of the Atlantic School Board. The hearing is with regard to the Board adopting the proposed plans, specifications, form of contract and estimated costs, for Washington Elementary School Playground Equipment. A second public hearing for the 2023-24 School Calendar that had been set to take place, was instead scheduled for March 29, 2023, due to a publishing error.

In their regular session, the Atlantic School Board will act on approving the resignations of Evan Adamon (HS Vocal Music, Musical Director, NHS Advisor & TLC Mentor), and Sheryl Hinzmann, Washington Title Math Teacher. They will also act on Superintendent Steve Barber’s Contract Recommendations for: Ashley Mosier, Transfer to Title 1 Teacher, (2023-24); Alexandra Griffin Uren, 6-12 School Librarian Teacher (2023-24); Donald Klindt, School Bus Route driver; Tracy Daugherty, Transfer to Title 1 Math Teacher (2023-24); and Megan Anderson, HS Math Teacher.

Superintendent Barber is expected to remind the Board the Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held March 15th from 3:30-to 6:30-p.m., to allow parents another opportunity to talk with their students’ teacher(s). Both the Washington and Schuler conferences will be shortened from 20-to 15-minutes. And, he’ll report Camblin Mechanical is installing a big HVAC unit for the High School air quality project, which, when connected to the duct work, will produce higher air quality, especially in the auditorium.

The Board is expected to act on several, including:

• A recommendation from Mr. Barber to terminate the 2023-24 School Business Officer (SBO) sharing agreement with Adair-Casey. A-C is looking to share the position with the Guthrie Center District, with which they also share students.
• Approving a 2022-23 sharing agreement between the Atlantic, Exira-EHK and CAM Districts, with regard for HS Boys Soccer. The recommendation comes from Athletic Director Andy Mitchell, who says the Atlantic CSD currently has the same agreement in-place for girls soccer.
• Approve a 2023-24 purchasing agreement with AEA, which allows the Atlantic CSD to buy from different consortium’s, especially in the area of Food Service, and is compliant with the Federal Food Program.
• Act on appointing Ahlers & Cooney as the District’s Legal Council. The two attorneys come to the District from the Lynch Dallas Law Firm and have a long relationship with the District.
• The Board will review bids received for the Washington Elem. School Playground Equipment which, if approved, would be paid for through SAVE funds.
• They will also act on passing a Resolution for a 2022-23 Fund Transfer from General -to- Activity, for proactive equipment (Protective athletic gear). That includes pads/girdles, helmets and helmet reconditioning, for a total of $19,300.
• And, the Atlantic School Board is expected to pass a Resolution for a Board Approved 2023-24 PPEL (Physical Plant and Equipment Levy), which – if approved – gives the Board the authority to approve 33-cents on the PPEL, and will be reflected in the certified budget. The money will be used for building repaid, transportation vehicles and technology.

In other business, the Board of Education is expected to set March 29th at 5:30-p.m., as the date and time for Public Hearings on the 2023-24 School Master Calendar, and, Certified Budget.

(Radio Iowa) – With a rash of recent cyberattacks on Iowa hospitals, schools and companies large and small, it’s recommended we consider abandoning the use of passwords and instead, switch to using pass phrases. Computer security expert Jesse La Grew says the old way of creating short, cryptic passwords that you change frequently is no longer practical for most Iowans. The longer a password, the more secure it should be from hackers.

Some computer systems require passwords that need to be between 16 and 20 characters, which is where using a pass phrase is handy. You can create a pass phrase out of a series of four or five words that are easy for you to remember, but that are exceptionally hard for anyone else to discover. It will make your account more secure from most attempts by hackers to force their way in.

(Radio Iowa) – Two Casinos and one sports betting operation have been fined by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. Racing and Gaming administrator, Brian Ohorilko says the Diamond Jo Worth Casino had an underage individual enter and gamble in May of 2022. “That individual entered with three adult companions — the security officer posted failed to request identification — and so that end individual entered the floor unchallenged and was on the floor for two hours and 30 minutes,” he says.

The casino was fined 20-thousand dollars for the violation. “Diamond Jo Worth has not had any commission level underage gambling violations in the past 365 days. And that is why that fine is at 20-thousand dollars,” Ohorilko says. “The first two for any casino would come in at 20-thousand dollars typically.” The Iowa West Racing Association in Council Bluffs and its Horseshoe Casino was fined 20-thousand dollars for a self-exclusion violation involving a gambler in April of 2022. “That individual, after gambling for some time had approached a security officer and had requested to self exclude themselves from casinos. The facility had indicated to the customer that there wasn’t anyone on property to enroll that individual in the statewide self exclusion program,” Ohorilko says.

He says the casino directed the person to another casino where the gambler was able to sign up — but that violated regulations. “Every casino in Iowa is expected to have someone available to enroll a customer if a customer requests, and so obviously that did not occur that particular evening,” he says. The final violation involved licensed online sports book Rush Street Interactive. Rush Street used a payment processing company that had inadvertently permitted customers to use a credit card to load their sports betting account. “During the period of time in question, Rush Street had accepted 42 credit card transactions amounting to just shy of 10-thousand dollars. Rush Street acknowledged that this was a violation,” Ohorilko says.

The company agreed to an administrative penalty of 20-thousand dollars. Ohorilko says Rush Street was one of a half dozen companies that used this payment processing company that allowed the use of credit cards, which are not legal for gambling Iowa. The other companies have all paid fines for their involvement.

(Radio Iowa)- Iowa ranks as one of the nation’s top states for volunteerism and as more Iowans leave the workforce or retire, they’re encouraged to stay active by finding a new passion through the giving of their time. Atalaya Sergi, director of the AmeriCorps Seniors program, says older Iowans can draw on a wealth of experience from decades in a wide array of professions.

Sergi says, “They give their time and their energy, their gifts and talents that they have developed over the years and focus on something that is a local challenge.” AmeriCorps Seniors matches more than 170-thousand older people nationwide with service opportunities every year, and studies find the benefits of volunteerism go well beyond the good being done in the community. Sergi says volunteers who devote 100 hours or more per year are most likely to experience health benefits themselves.

“Eighty-eight percent of volunteers reported a decrease in feelings of isolation, 84% reported improved or stable health at a time when we would anticipate that their health would be declining,” Sergi says, “and we know that through other research, states with higher rates of volunteerism have lower incidence of heart disease.” Here in Iowa, there are hundreds of volunteering options for seniors, and the program lets them choose how they’d like to give back.

You can mentor and tutor children, helping them learn to read, helping them gain a deeper understanding of math and science concepts,” Sergi says. “You might want to support a homebound, older adult to live independently in their home, helping them with minor household chores, making sure that they’re getting to their appointments or staying connected.” Other options include supporting families or veterans in need, and helping the homeless or the hungry through food banks or shelters.

A recent federal survey ranked Iowa the number-four state in the country for volunteerism, with more than 40-percent of Iowans donating their time, well above the national average of around 30-percent. The Corporation for National and Community Service says Iowans are very generous with their giving, donating more than 75-million hours of their time with an annual economic impact of nearly $2-billion.