Police in Red Oak report the arrest this (Tuesday) morning, of 34-year old Anthony David Smith. The Red Oak man was taken into custody at around 7:30-a.m. in the 400 block of N. Highland Avenue, on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense. Smith was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail, pending an initial court appearance.

Sheriff’s officials in Mills County report four recent arrests. Monday afternoon, 26-year old Laron D’Pree Hampton, of Omaha, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. Hampton was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

On Sunday, Mills County Deputies arrested 62-year old Thomas Eddie Sawyer, of Glenwood, on a Council Bluffs Police Department warrant for Assault. His bond was set at $1,000. And, 29-year old Jesscia Ann Hall, of Emerson, was arrested near the Tabor City limits, on a warrant for Assault. Her bond was set at $2,000.

And, on Saturday, Dec. 3rd, 31-year old Kuuleilani Michelle Zalopany, of Bellevue, NE., was arrested following a traffic stop in Mills County. She was taken into custody for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Bond was set at $1,000.

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones, Wednesday, is expected to officially appoint Police Lt. David Erickson as Chief of Police, effective January 1st, 2017. The action will be taken during the City Council’s regular meeting, which begins at 5:30-p.m.  Erickson will succeed Chief Steve Green, who formally submitted his letter indicating he will retire at the end of the year after serving the community for more than 30-years. He recommended Erickson as his replacement. Green will move into the elected role as member of the Cass County Board of Supervisors, in January.

Erickson joined the Atlantic Police Department in January, 1997. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 2008. Previously, he’s served as a Sergeant in the U-S Marine Corps’ Military Intelligence Division, attached to the Corps’ Sniper “Surveillance and Target Acquisition” (STA) Platoon. While in the Marines, he served in Central America and Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War, and after leaving the service worked for Atlantic Coca Cola Bottling company as a salesman/territory supervisor, and with the Atlantic Police Department’s Reserve Unit. Erickson is a graduate of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy and is a certified firearms instructor, field training officer and has been in charge of numerous children’s programs associated with the Police Department.

The Mayor is also expected to act on the re-appointment of Dr. Carol Trewett to the Atlantic Airport Commission, subject to Council approval. In other business, the Atlantic City Council will hold the second reading of an Ordinance “Providing for the Division of Taxes Levied on Taxable Property in the 2016 Atlantic Hotel Whitney Urban Renewal Area,” as specified in the Code of Iowa. The Ordinance is another legal step in establishing a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) for Old Whitney Hotel project area, which is expected to have an estimated property valuation of $1.5-million dollars, once the building is remodeled into affordable senior housing and commercial space.

The Council is also expected to act on approving the first reading of an Ordinance requested by the City’s Code Enforcement Officer, Kris Erickson, dealing with the improper disposal of human waste. City Administrator John Lund has stated that “We unfortunately have properties in Atlantic that are nothing more than shelters from the elements and do not have working sewers or water systems.” He says “At the moment, the City has a property where the residents are using a litter box to defecate and then dumping the litter box into their backyard.”

Lund says “This may be acceptable behavior in a third-world country, but not in Atlantic, Iowa.” He said also, that while there is nothing on local, State or Federal books to stop such actions, after speaking with and receiving the unanimous support of the Community Development Committee, the City Attorney decided that refining City Code 41.12 would be the most effective way to resolve the problem. The amendment to the Ordinance adds “To be dumped or deposited,” as part of the existing ordinance on urinating and defecating in public.

BURNSVILLE, Mn. (December 6, 2016) — Drivers who miss between one to two hours of the recommended seven hours of sleep in a 24-hour period nearly double their risk for a crash, according to new research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 35 percent of U.S. drivers sleep less than the recommended seven hours daily. And with drowsy driving involved in more than one in five fatal crashes on U.S. roadways each year, AAA warns drivers that getting less than seven hours of sleep may have deadly consequences.

“You cannot miss sleep and still expect to be able to safely function behind the wheel,” said Dr. David Yang, executive director for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “Our new research shows that a driver who has slept for less than five hours has a crash risk comparable to someone driving drunk.”

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s report, Acute Sleep Deprivation and Risk of Motor Vehicle Crash Involvement, reveals that drivers missing 2-3 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period more than quadrupled their risk of a crash compared to drivers getting the recommended seven hours of sleep. This is the same crash risk the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration associates with driving over the legal limit for alcohol.

The AAA Foundation report found that in a 24-hour period, crash risk for sleep-deprived drivers increased steadily when compared to drivers who slept the recommended seven hours or more:

• Six to seven hours of sleep: 1.3 times the crash risk

• Five to six hours of sleep: 1.9 times the crash risk

• Four to five hours of sleep: 4.3 times the crash risk

• Less than four hours of sleep: 11.5 times the crash risk

While 97 percent of drivers told the AAA Foundation they view drowsy driving as a completely unacceptable behavior that is a serious threat to their safety, nearly one in three admit that at least once in the past month they drove when they were so tired they had a hard time keeping their eyes open.

“Managing a healthy work-life balance can be difficult and far too often we sacrifice our sleep as a result,” said Amy Stracke, managing director of Traffic Safety at AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Failing to maintain a healthy sleep schedule could mean putting yourself or others on the road at risk.”

Symptoms of drowsy driving can include having trouble keeping eyes open, drifting from lanes or not remembering the last few miles driven. However, more than half of drivers involved in fatigue-related crashes experienced no symptoms before falling asleep behind the wheel. AAA urges drivers to not rely on their bodies to provide warning signs of fatigue and should instead prioritize getting plenty of sleep (at least seven hours) in their daily schedules. For longer trips, drivers should also:

• Travel at times when normally awake

• Schedule a break every two hours or every 100 miles

• Avoid heavy foods

• Travel with an alert passenger and take turns driving

• Avoid medications that cause drowsiness or other impairment

The AAA Foundation report is based on the analysis of a representative sample of 7,234 drivers involved in 4,571 crashes. All data is from the NHTSA’s National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey which comprised a representative sample of police-reported crashes that involved at least one vehicle that was towed from the scene and resulted in emergency medical services being dispatched to the scene.