DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Data shows the number of Iowa school buses flagged for repeated safety citations has nearly doubled since 2012. The Des Moines Register reports nearly 22,000 bus inspection citations have been issued since June 2012. They include unsafe tires, inoperable warning signals or strobe lights and dysfunctional wheel bearings.

The newspaper says most affected school districts have notified state officials that the buses were repaired before they were returned to service. But the state’s education department has sent letters to three districts this year over safety concerns.

The letters accuse the districts of falsifying some repair records. Representatives for two of the districts say some of the issues weren’t necessarily related to the same problem. One district official said a private company is now conducting its bus service.

The Cass County Health System’s Foundation has begun its annual fundraising drive. CCHS Foundation President Kent Gade said the goal of their 2015 campaign, is to raise $100,000 toward the cost of a state-of-the-art, high-tech Central Monitoring System (CMS)  for the Cass County Memorial Hospital’s Obstetrics (OB) Department.

The system is designed to work with the fetal monitors purchased from last year’s Foundation campaign. Together, the two systems use electronic fetal monitoring to create a powerful tool to monitor and protect infants.

Tax deductible donations to the CCHS Foundation’s 2015 fundraising drive will be restricted to the purchase of CMS equipment. For more information on how you can contribute, go to www.casshealth.org, or call CCHS Foundation Director Dawn Marnin at 712-243-7409, or e-mail mardd@casshealth.org.

A jury in Iowa has ruled that the Creston Water Works Board of Trustees owes its former general manager more than $77,000. The Omaha World-Herald reports 62-year old Steve Green, who was fired by the Board in June 2013, may end up being paid more than $154,000 altogether, including liquidated damages. Green was fired after the Iowa State Auditor’s Office released a report alleging Green took nearly $90,000 in improper or undocumented payments. Green’s attorney says the jury’s decision means they concluded the man had done nothing improper.

No criminal charges were ever filed against Green, in connection with the audit. Green sued the Board in late 2013, alleging a violation of Iowa’s wage laws, and Breach of Contract. He claimed that if he left the Water Works, he would be paid for accrued sick live and vacation hours, which the Board refused to pay. The suit also criticized the auditor’s report as being filled with unsubstantiated conclusions about each of the allegations.

The trial was held earlier this month, in Corydon. In its verdict announced Dec. 16th, the jury found that while the Board owes Green, Green also owed the Water Works $1,961 for excess money paid for the reimbursement of prescription drug expenses.

Green currently resides in the Okoboji area.

A traffic stop early this (Sunday) morning in Montgomery County resulted in a pursuit that ended in a rollover accident and arrest of an Adams County man. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says just after 2-a.m., a deputy attempted to stop a vehicle driven by 35-year old Jason Adam Oathoudt, of Nodaway.

Oathoudt ignored the deputy, and continued driving eastbound on 265th Street from Villisca, heading towards Nodaway. The vehicle then left the road at 265th & Birch Avenue, causing a property damage, rollover accident. Oathoudt was checked by Villisca Rescue personnel, but refused medical treatment.

He was taken into custody on charges of OWI/1st offense, Felony Eluding, and Speeding 90-miles per hour in a 55-zone. Oathoudt was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $5,000 bond.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Villisca Fire and Rescue, deputies with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office3, and the Red Oak Police Department’s K-9 Unit.

A traffic stop Saturday night in Adams County resulted in the arrest of two Nebraska residents on drug charges. Sheriff’s officials say 52-year old Thomas Lee Bendixen and 51-year old Teri V. Scully, both of Lincoln, NE., were charged with Possession of Synthetic Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, after the vehicle they were in was pulled over at around 7:25-p.m Saturday, at the intersection of Highways 34 and 148.

Officials say the Adams County deputy detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. A search resulted in the recovery of six bags of synthetic marijuana and a pot pipe. Bendixen and Scully were being held in the Adams County Jail on $500 bond, each.