Armed robbery probe underway at nursing home
The Newton Police Department is investigating an alleged armed robbery following an incident early Sunday Morning and Nelson Manor Nursing Home.
Two men with handguns reportedly entered the facility at 2:48 a.m. through the front door and stole medications before running out of the building. Police say there was no sign of forced entry. The incident was reported to police by Nelson Manor staff who were present during the incident.
The men were described as black males wearing dark clothing and bandanas covering their faces.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Newton Police Department at 641-792-1547 or Jasper County Crime Stoppers at 641-792-8362 or jaspercrimestoppers.com.
Supervisors OK warning lights for Killduff corner
Two flashing beacons will be added at the accident-prone corner in Killduff.
The light will be fixed to speed limit signs on both the northbound and southbound lanes of Highway T22S. The measure became necessary after many Killduff residents spoke out in concern of the safety of the corner.
Jasper County Engineer Russ Stutt has ordered the solar-powered beacons and said they should be installed by the end of the month.
Congressman visits Progress Industries
U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack was in Newton Monday to meet with representatives of Progress Industries to address funding concerns with the ongoing attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Progress Industries, based in Newton, provides residential, employment and day rehab services to more than 350 individuals with disabilities in central Iowa. The recent funding cuts have CEO Sandy Ham concerned about the future of the organization.
Despite the funding concerns, Ham said the organization is utilizing resources as efficiently as possible by increasing the use of technology. During her meeting with Loebsack, Ham outlined some strategies that are being considered by Progress Industries. Currently, the 16 residential homes provide 24-hour support for individuals in need and those homes are staffed around the clock. Ham proposes using cameras to monitor at night and have staff make the rounds nightly instead of having someone stationed in the home. Staff is also making use of video messaging technology that allows them to communicate with the client twice a day, and allowing them to meet with more clients in a single day.
Food donations needed at
Salvation Army
With the holidays approaching, many families in need lean on the Newton Salvation Army and its resources. The stores in the food pantry are critically low and more donations are needed to help families in Jasper County.
Food pantry coordinator Ed Poe said he struggles with the need when he packs food up for families on a daily basis. For the past six years, Poe has seen the food pantry serve around 170 families per month, but that number has risen to 280 families and at times more than 300 families.
The Salvation Army is also preparing to distribute Thanksgiving and Christmas food boxes, which Poe said he usually starts putting together around this time of year. The food pantry is also in need of plastic bag donations.
Items needed include: canned green beans, canned corn, canned fruit, stove top stuffing, canned sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese and packaged fried french onions.
Heating outage prompts fix
The Jasper County Board of Supervisors approved a $53,000 replacement for the 10-year old boilers at the Jasper County Law Enforcement Center during a special meeting Wednesday.
Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty told the supervisors the two boilers used to heat the majority of the building were beyond repair and too dangerous to fix. He also said the inmates at the jail are unaffected by the outage as the jail area is served with separate heat and air from an alternate system.
Following the approval, county maintenance director Adam Sparks said work was already underway to replace the system.
Mingo Middle School plans begin to take shape
The Colfax-Mingo School District is drafting a plan on how to most effectively use the former Mingo Middle School building, which has been vacant for several years.
According to C-M superintendent Jim Verlengia, the old middle school in Mingo received a substantial amount of water damage in the spring due to a failure of a float switch on a boiler fed water tank. The water has since been shut off. The boiler provided heating for the area of the facility that includes the gymnasium.
With the gym needed for athletics by Nov. 1, Derek Bond of MODUS Engineering said one option the school could take to heat the building is simply to repair the boiler. The work was previously estimated to cost around $45,000.
The second option Bond presented was the district could hire MODUS or another company to design an alternate solution for heating the facility, removing the boiler and install heat through another source.
Bond said this option would require a larger financial and time investment. The preliminary cost of the work was estimated at $500,000, and the installation and design of the new system would take about a year to complete.
PCM board sees final high school designs
For the first time since construction and renovation began at PCM Middle School early this year, the PCM school board held its regular monthly meeting Monday night in Prairie City.
While surrounded by the middle school media center’s new digs, the board heard an update on the next phase of the district’s $20 million building renovation project — PCM High School.
Neumann Monson architect Sally Obernolte and Clay Schneckloth, a civil engineer from Snyder & Associates, presented updated designs for the high school which includes new classroom additions and a canopied walkway on the building’s west side, a newly designed commons/study area, a redesigned parking lot and revamped music room.
The school board is expected to approve the final high school designs at its November meeting.
School board
vacancy filled
Life-long Prairie City resident and Mustang parent Mindy McCarthy has officially accepted an appointment to represent PCM’s second district on the seven-member board.
The school board unanimously approved the appointment Monday at its regular monthly meeting. McCarthy fills a vacancy left by a blank ballot in the second district during the September school board election. No candidates filed to replace former board member Brenda Downey.