Bagley Man To Faces Possible Charges After Accident
This past Monday a Bagley man was injured after his vehicle went into an embankment on the Raccoon River in Greene County.
Sheriff Steve Haupert says at 10:05am, 29 year-old Levi Dawson was traveling south on Highway 4 when he reportedly fell asleep and his 2005 Chevrolet Traiblazer went off the road near the North Raccoon River bridge, just south of Jefferson, and flipped upside down in the west embankment.
Following a 911 call by Onstar, the Jefferson Fire Department had to extricate him from the vehicle and the victim was transported to Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines by Life Flight with non-life threatening injuries.
Deputy Shane Monthei says Dawson was wearing his seatbelt which helped save his life.
Iowa State Patrol Trooper Kevin Leffler tells Raccoon Valley Radio that the 29 year-old will be facing charges pending the completion of their investigation.
The Iowa State Patrol was assisted by the Greene County Sheriff’s office, the Jefferson fire and police departments and the Greene County Emergency Medical Services.
Scranton Manufacturing Broke Ground To Expand
A little over 300 people attended Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony for Scranton Manufacturing and New Way’s expansion.
The garbage truck manufacturer will expand to the north of their current facility in Scranton which will include 56,000-square feet to house their welding and painting departments.
Chief Executive Officer and founder John McLaughlin says this is the largest expansion his company has had since the building was first established in the mid-1970’s.
A $250,000 grant through the Iowa Economic Development Authority was for the creation of 75 new jobs to be added over the next three years to the over 250 employee-strong business.
Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds points out that to add that many jobs to a rural Iowa business shows the type of dedication of growth a rural Iowa business can have with the right planning.
President Mike McLaughlin states that the 1 ½ year project will also include three new garbage truck product lines to all be in full production by 2015.
The entities involved in the expansion project include the Greene County Board of Supervisors, Scranton Telephone Company, Region XII Council of Governments, the City of Scranton, Greene County Community Foundation, Midwest Partnership, the United States Department of Agriculture and the IEDA.
Greene County Medical Center And McFarland Clinic To Part Ways
Last week at the Greene County Medical Center’s Board of Trustees meeting, board members voted to terminate its lease agreement with McFarland Clinic.
The decision was made following approval from the Board at their May meeting to establish UnityPoint Clinic.
The new clinic is part of the medical center’s strategic plan to ensure health care providers and coordinated health care services are available to everyone in the County.
McFarland Clinic’s Marketing and Public Relations Director Shelley Goecke says they will continue to provide services in Jefferson and the surrounding communities. She adds that right now, they’re focus is finding a new location in the City.
The one-year cancellation notice allows UnityPoint Clinic transition time to establish providers in Jefferson.
McFarland Clinic’s lease will expire in June of 2015.
PAWS Is Looking For Help
Greene County’s People for Animal Welfare Society is requesting weekend volunteer help.
Chores include taking care of the animals and keeping the animal shelter in Jefferson clean. Officials say all chores can be done within 1 ½ hours.
Volunteers can work both Saturday and Sunday, but you can also help for just part of the weekend, either just in the mornings or the evenings. They are also looking for regular dog walkers that can handle both small and large sized canines.
Depending on the number of volunteers, you won’t have to work every weekend.
Interested individuals or groups may call 515-386-9814 or through their facebook page.
Grand Junction Delays Water Main Project
Due to the large amounts of rainfall, the City of Grand Junction has delayed it’s water main installation.
Water Department officials had originally scheduled Monday, June 30th to shut-off the City’s water service to install a new water main. However, due to several days of rainfall, they have rescheduled it to Monday, July 7th.
Once the water service is turned back on, the City will be under a boil order until further notice after their water samples come back clean of any possible contaminants.
Residents are reminded to boil their water for at least one minute before using it for drinking or cooking purposes.
Raccoon Valley Radio will let you know when the boil order will be lifted.
Science Center Of Iowa’s Visit To Jefferson
About 60 kids attended Friday’s special event with the Science Center of Iowa visiting Jefferson.
Richard Miles, coordinator with the Science Center, showed the audience several different experiments that included transforming matter into a gas, how to use air pressure and there were even small-scale explosions.
He told Raccoon Valley Radio that he wanted to bring a smaller version of what they offer at their Des Moines location to people in different communities.
The event is related to this year’s kids summer reading program of “Fizz. Boom. READ.”
It was open to everyone to enjoy which children’s librarian Terry Clark said they wanted to make sure that everyone had the opportunity to see some of what the Science Center does that wouldn’t normally get a chance to participate in.
The next free opportunity sponsored by the Jefferson Public Library and the Greene County Board of Supervisors is in July when a magician comes to Jefferson.