This is the Aaron Eilerts Day of Service and Giving in Iowa on what would have been the 20th birthday of the young man from Eagle Grove. Eilerts was one of four Boy Scouts who were killed when a tornado hit their camp in western Iowa six years ago this June. Beth Stephas, a guidance counselor at Robert Blue Middle School in Eagle Grove, says students are honoring Eilerts all day.  “One of our tasks today is to help carry on his legacy and carry on his memory,” Stephas says. “Part of the day, we will be spending some time sharing stories about Aaron and some of the things he did and then the other part of the day, the kids will actually be working on some of the projects that he did.”

Stephas says Eilerts was very active in launching projects that would help others and she thinks he’d be overwhelmed to see that his efforts are still being carried out, years after he’s been gone.
“We have students that will be sewing pillow cases, that’s one of his big projects that he had, he made pillowcases for patients,” she says. “We have some students that will be creating small pet blankets out of fleece fabric. That’s another project that he was passionate about.” The blankets are going to pets in animal shelters that would otherwise be sleeping on cold hard floors.

Stephas says other projects underway in the region and statewide are considered Aaron-inspired. “We will be supporting some projects at an orphanage in Haiti by making some t-shirt dresses, dolls and craft items,” Stephas says. “We also will be supporting a project in Thailand for girls who have been saved from sex trafficking.” Other projects today include: collecting canned goods for food pantries, making cards for soldiers overseas, fixing up the school greenhouse and volunteering to pump gas and wash windows at a local gas station for donations to charity.

Every year, Character Counts in Iowa offers the Aaron Eilerts Award for Volunteerism. Entries are now being accepted at: www.charactercountsiniowa.org.

(Radio Iowa)

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Dept. reports the arrest on Thursday of a Hamburg man on Burglary, theft and drug charges. 36-year old Daniel Scott Gubser, of Hamburg, faces a Burglary in the 3rd degree, Theft in the 2nd degree, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, charges.

Also arrested last week in Fremont County, was 42-year old Bret Phillip Samuelson, of Newton, who was charged with Driving Under Suspension, and 20-year old Colton Frank Sederburg, of Montrose, CO., who was taken into custody for Revocation of Probation.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Another University of Iowa student has reported a sexual assault. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports) that the student told university staffers on Thursday that she was assaulted at an off-campus fraternity house on Feb. 15th.

On Friday the university police issued a “timely warning” about the attack. It was the ninth such warning issued by UI police since August. The warnings are issued as part of the university’s compliance with federal Clery Act, which requires colleges to keep and report statistics on crimes in and around campus.

The woman has asked police to not investigate the sexual assault.