A prosecutor in southwest Iowa is now discussing what landed a Council Bluffs woman in jail this week after she wrote about school shootings on Facebook. Police charged 39-year-old Teri Pallat with harassment and making terroristic threats after she suggested her son might soon be opening fire at Lewis Central High School. Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber says that type of comment is not the way to vent one’s frustrations.

Wilber says, “In today’s day and age, especially when we’re sitting here at the one-year anniversary of Sandy Hook and within a couple days of another school shooting out in Colorado, we take all of these threats very, very seriously.” Pallat was upset because her son, a student at the school, had been bullied over many months and she blamed administrators for not doing anything to stop it. Reports say Pallat had filed a police report about an attack on her son at school last month.

“I know that law enforcement was at least looking into some of her concerns,” Wilber says. “I know that one of the assistants in my office had been talking either to her or law enforcement. Obviously, it was a little different situation when I started receiving phone calls at night about the situation on Facebook.”

In her rambling Facebook rant, Pallat said her son would “get the ones that caused this,” and claimed he’s a good shot. School officials reported the posting to police and deny there’s a problem with bullying at Lewis Central. Wilber says people need to understand something about how the law works. “There is no criminal law against bullying,” Wilber says. “We don’t charge bullying. If there’s been an assault or there’s been harassment or there’s been threats, those are things we look at in criminal law. You hear the word bullying used all the time but we don’t have the crime of bullying.”

Pallat has told reporters her son hit his head when he was tackled by a bully in a locker room and now suffers from seizures.

(Radio Iowa)

The Atlantic School Board Thursday night, discussed the reasons for choosing a considerably more expensive new construction and renovation plan for the school district, prior to voting on proceeding with the process to bring a $19.8-million bond referendum to the voters. Superintendent Mike Amstein said it all boils down to current and projected increased enrollment and the need to provide a quality education.

Board Member Dennis Davis, who was the only one to vote against Concept 2, wanted to know why Amstein thought the less expensive option (Concept1). wasn’t more fitting. Amstein said it doesn’t provide any additional space for what’s going to be needed in the next two- to three-years. He said when space for Title 1 and ESL increasing enrollments are taken into consideration, Concept 1 doesn’t provide the necessary space. It does provide space for regular classrooms, but the other classes are cramped. Concept 2 he says, will provide that additional space.

Davis wanted to know how firm and accurate the projected enrollment numbers are that is prompting a proposed expansion of the district’s facilities. Amstein said “Our best guess comes from our 4-year old program and our 3-year old program. Both of those numbers still tend to run along the same lines we’ve been receiving in the past few years.” He said graduating class numbers are also expected to increase over the next couple of years.

Past that, Amstein says it’s difficult to project what the numbers will be, but the State is projecting 120-to 125 kindergarten students coming in. Amstein says they’ve already surpassed that. He said he doesn’t think the district is “overbuilding.”  Board member Phil Hascall said he “Would have voted in a heart beat for Option 1,” so the district could build faster and get rid of the mobile classrooms, but it would “short change” the kids. He said he’s glad the administration gathered the necessary input and the board made the right decision in choosing Concept 2.

Hascall said he thinks it gives the district more flexibility. Option 1 also didn’t contain a renovation for the Industrial Tech program. Board member Rod Hartwig said Concept 2 helps meet the Board’s goal of a high standard of education.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The outbreak of a contagious bacterial infection that causes diarrhea has worsened in northwest Iowa’s Woodbury County.  Siouxland District Health Department Deputy Director Tyler Brock tells the Sioux City Journal that shigellosis had sickened 225 children and adults in the region as of Wednesday. That’s up from 95 cases in late November.   Woodbury County recorded a single case of shigellosis last year.

Most people who are infected have frequent watery stools that could be bloody, as well as fever and stomach cramps, starting a day or two after exposure to the bacteria. Symptoms usually last several days.