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Iowa man reaches plea deal in infant’s death

News

November 26th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) — A southwest Iowa man has reached a plea deal in connection with the death of a 13-month-old girl he was babysitting. The Council Bluffs Nonpareil reports 23-year-old Colby Puckett, of Pacific Junction, pleaded guilty Monday in Mills County Court to second-degree murder in the February 2012 death of Aliyanna May. The plea deal drops charges of first-degree murder and child endangerment causing death.

Puckett was dating the infant’s mother when he was watching the girl and two of her siblings. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says the infant sustained extensive injuries to her head and eyes while in Puckett’s care. Aliyanna was treated at a hospital and died. Officials later ruled her death a homicide.

Puckett is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 13.

Special Weather Statement: Winds and Wind Chill 11/26/13

Weather

November 26th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

AREA COUNTIES: SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-POLK-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD…

NORTHWEST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH…WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 35 TO 40 MPH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. CROSSWINDS WILL BE MOST NOTICEABLE ON EAST TO WEST ROADS. THE WIND MAY ALSO BLOW LOOSE OBJECTS AROUND. MOTORISTS AND ANYONE ELSE ENGAGING IN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THESE EFFECTS.

IN ADDITION…WIND CHILL VALUES WILL DROP THIS AFTERNOON ESPECIALLY AFTER THE 3 TO 5 PM TIME FRAME. THE COMBINATION OF FALLING TEMPERATURES AND THE WIND WILL RESULT IN WIND CHILLS AS LOW AS THE 5 ABOVE TO 5 BELOW ZERO RANGE BY 6 PM. WIND CHILLS WILL CONTINUE FALLING INTO THE NIGHT. IF YOU WILL BE OUTSIDE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING BE SURE TO DRESS WARMLY.

DEBORAH LYNN BEACH, 52, of Atlantic (11-29-13)

Obituaries

November 26th, 2013 by Jim Field

DEBORAH LYNN BEACH, 52, of Atlantic died Monday, November 25th at Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic.  Memorial services for DEBORAH LYNN BEACH will be held on Friday, November 29th at 11:00 am in the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Atlantic.  Hockenberry Family Care in Atlantic has the arrangements.

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Visitation with the family will be held on Thursday from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the funeral home.

Memorials may be directed to Unity Point Hospice in Atlantic.

Deb Beach is survived by:

Husband:  Dean Beach of Atlantic.

Parents:  Robert & Gloria Johnson of Sutton, ND.

Children:  Cassie (Marc) Freeman of Council Bluffs & Sergeant Ryan Beach of Colorado Springs, CO.

Brother:  Douglas (Sherri) Johnson of Sutton, ND.

Grandson:  Corbin Freeman.

Vehicle-vs.-pedestrian accident in Atlantic

News

November 26th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

A woman walking along Aspen Drive in Atlantic Sunday afternoon was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital, after being struck by a car. According to Atlantic Police, Audrey Goettsche, of Atlantic, was hit by a vehicle driven by Kathryn Nelson, of Atlantic, as Nelson was backing her vehicle out of a driveway, and failed to notice Goettsche prior to striking her. The accident took place at around 3:05-p.m., Sunday.

Nelson’s vehicle sustained $500 damage during the accident. No citations were issued. A report on Goettsches’ injuries was not available.

3 arrests and vehicle vandalism reported in Harlan

News

November 26th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

The Harlan Police Department reports three arrests were made over the past week. On Monday, 24-year old Shannon Schow of Harlan, was arrested on an active Shelby County bench warrant for failure to appear in court. She was transported to the Shelby County jail.

On Nov. 21st, 51-year old Jeffrey Pape, of Omaha, was arrested following a traffic stop. Pape was taken to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with driving while revoked, possession of a controlled substance and prohibited acts penalties.

And, on Nov. 19th, 33-year old Stephen Nichols, of Harlan, was taken into custody when he allegedly violated a no contact order with Melissa Nichols. Nichols was arrested on November 22nd and transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with two counts of violation of a no contact order.

In other activity, authorities in Harlan say they received several reports on Nov. 22nd, of vehicles being broken into. The incidents occurred along West Park, Court Street and 16th Street. Among the items taken were a Garmin GPS unit and an iPod Shuffle.

Officials remind citizens of Harlan to lock their vehicles and stay alert to persons in the neighborhood. Crimestoppers rewards may be awarded to persons who provide information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for the burglaries.

Flu vaccine still available in Shelby County

News

November 26th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

Officials with Shelby County Health Clinics report the Flu vaccine is still available at Myrtue Medical Center’s Public Health office.  And, there will be another Flu Vaccination Clinic on December 4th from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m.   You can register for an appointment at www.shelbycountyclinics.com or by calling 755-4422.  All ages are welcome for the clinic.

Shelby County Public Health Director, Jennifer Muff says  “As long as flu viruses are circulating, people can get sick.” She says “Flu activity generally peaks in January or February and lasts into the spring, so it is definitely not too late to get a vaccination.” It takes about two weeks after vaccination for the body’s immune response to provide fully protection.

Shelby Public Health joins the Iowa Department of Public Health and the CDC in recognizing December 8 through 14 as National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW). The CDC established NIVW to highlight the importance of continuing flu vaccination through the holiday season and beyond.  For more information, see http://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/nivw/nivw_media_toolkit_2013.pdf .  Flu vaccine is also available at Myrtue Medical Center’s medical clinics.

The CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older as the first and most important step in protecting against the flu. While the flu vaccine is the best defense against getting influenza, it’s also important to take personal actions to help prevent the spread of illness. Remember the 3Cs: Cover your coughs and sneezes; Clean your hands frequently; and Contain germs by staying home when ill.

KARIE GRAHAM, 70, of Omaha (Svcs. 11/30/13)

Obituaries

November 26th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

KARIE GRAHAM, 70, of Omaha, died Nov. 23rd, at her home in Omaha. Funeral services for KARIE GRAHAM will be held 10:30-a.m. Sat., Nov. 30th, at Zion Lutheran Church in Manning. Ohde Funeral Home in Manning has the arrangements.

Friends may call at Zion Lutheran Church one-hour prior to the service on Saturday (9:30-a.m.).

KARIE GRAHAM is survived by:

Her sons – Tim Graham, of Omaha and Todd (Kim) Graham, of Portland, OR.

Her sister – Ruth (Mike) Muckey, of LaVista, NE.

Her brother – Carl (Carol) French, of Manilla.

and 2 grandchildren

Temporary road closure in Shelby County

News

November 26th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency reports a portion of Elmwood road will be closed for today (Tuesday) only. The section of Elmwood Road near 1150th Street is closed for a pipe replacement. The EMA says work will be completed by the end of today and the road will reopen Wednesday.

Pay at the pump and buy a lottery ticket?

News

November 26th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

Minnesota and Missouri are now allowing lottery sales as people gas up their vehicles and pay at the pump, but Iowa Lottery C-E-O Terry Rich isn’t ready to ask Iowa legislators to allow those kind of transactions at gas pumps here. “It’s a subject that has and needs a lot of safeguards,” Rich says, “and I sure wouldn’t feel positive about doing something until I’m fully convinced that we have all the safeguards in place for amount of money people might be able to spend and/or the whole safeguards in terms of social impact.”

Minnesota began testing Powerball ticket sales at gas pumps last year. Missouri began testing the concept this fall at 15 gas stations as well as 100 A-T-Ms in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas. Rich says the technology to allow those gas-pump ticket sales is rather expensive and that’s one reason he’s not yet sold on the concept for Iowa gas stations.  “We really want to see what the financial impact is,” Rich says. “I don’t like to spend money unless I know that it’s going to be a positive financial return for the State of Iowa.”

This fall Delaware’s lottery began offering on-line casino games like blackjack and roulette. New Jersey is on the verge of doing that, too, but the games won’t be operated by that state’s lottery. The neighboring state of Illinois is selling Powerball and MegaMillions tickets online.  “There are so many safeguards that we want to make sure and ensure are in place,” Rich says. “We think those are in place now, but we’ll continue to test those and look at that, but it’ll really be determined by what the public and, I think, the other gaming entities in Iowa do to see what our next step is.”

Iowa’s casinos have been lobbying legislators to pass a law that allows the casinos to offer on-line poker games, but the effort has stalled in each of the past two years.

(Radio Iowa)

Retail specialist talks about early sales and why they are happening

News

November 26th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

Some are criticizing the decision of retailers who have decided to open their doors on Thanksgiving Day instead of waiting for Friday to kick off holiday shopping. Iowa State University retail and small business specialist, Ron Prescott, says one of the reasons stores are making the move is because they think it will get them sales. “The whole things is actually consumer driven. People are interested in shopping earlier,” Prescott says. “Now that may come from the recession, where people are interest in spreading out their paychecks over a longer period of time.”

While consumers want to shop earlier, Prescott says they may not go along if things continue moving up on the calendar.  “I think there is going to be a point where people say ‘enough is enough’ and we’re encroaching on our holiday season a little bit too much,” Prescott says.

But for this year anyway, opening on Thanksgiving isn’t the limit. “Up to this point, it doesn’t seem like that’s the trend, at least in 2013,” Prescott says. While some retailers are trying to get the jump on holiday shopping, Prescott says overall he’s seen something else that he views as good for the economy. “Employment is up for retailers this holiday season — you know everybody is concerned about unemployment. And it’s just not temporary,” Prescott says.

He says many retailers are hiring full-time employees, and that means they have a positive view of the economy and for business beyond the holidays.

(Radio Iowa)