(Lenox, Iowa) – A joint meeting of the Griswold and Lenox Community School District Boards of Directors will take place today (Wed., Jan. 25) at 6-p.m., in Lenox. The Board will gather in the Lenox High School Commons at 600 S. Locust Street, to consider extending the sharing agreement for the position of Superintendent – currently held by Dave Henrichs – and consider extending his individual contract. The meeting was postponed from last Wednesday, due to the weather.

Following discussion and a public comment period on the matter, the Boards will consider entering into a closed session. Upon return from the closed session, they will consider/act on renewal of the sharing agreement and consider/act on Henrich’s individual contract.

(Rural Villisca, Iowa) – A traffic stop Tuesday evening in Montgomery County, resulted in the arrest of a woman from Cass County (IA). The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 45-year-old Jessica Craddock, of Griswold, was taken into custody at around 6-p.m., in the 2300 block of Highway 71 (north of Villisca), on a Benton County warrant for Operating a Vehicle without the owner’s consent. Craddock was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The new Woodbury Jail construction is moving along with early work happening out of state. Jail Authority chairman, Ron Wieck, says the new cells are modular units.  “The cells were actually built north of Atlanta in Georgia and they have been built we were able to buy the material early on and get the cells built so that saved us some money in the project,” Wieck says. He showed off pictures of the cells to the media, and says they are self contained.

“Every cell has its own shower in it, as well as the bunks you could see the little workbench, you could see a mirror and a combi unit — which is a combination toilet lavatory,” he says. There are different sized cells that can hold two or four inmates, and some are designed for handicapped inmates. Shane Albrecht of the Baker group is overseeing the jail construction, and says the new cells will be very different than the ones in the current jail.

“These cells have a polyurea coating on them that allows for easy cleaning, and easy maintenance. It’s all assembled so the cell is actually finished. This is all assembled off site ahead of time. It’s all inspected before it comes. You’re rolling in a finish cell,” according to Wieck. “It’s part of the modulized construction that’s going on, where we build things off site, bring them to the site that was done under higher standards, higher scrutiny, and you know, everyone’s built the exact same.”

The cells will nearly double the current capacity of the jail, which can hold 236 inmates. The cell modules are expected to be delivered on February 6th, with jail construction slated for completion by September 1st.

(Red Oak, Iowa) — An unoccupied home in rural Red Oak was destroyed Monday evening. According to Red Oak Fire Chief John Bruce, the Fire Department received a call around 7 p.m. from the property owner at 2439 Aspen Avenue, stating he was advised that the house on the property had burned down.

By the time firefighters from Red Oak and Emerson arrived on the scene, the house was a complete loss. The incident remains under investigation.

Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at 712-623-5107 or the Red Oak Fire Department at 712-623-6504.