Paton Fun Day is Today
Everyone is invited to a full day of fun at Paton Fun Day today.
Committee member Shari Burrell says the town celebration is held every other year and this year’s event will feature a new activity, a human foosball tournament. The event will be at 10am.
Other activities includes a 5K Pound the Pavement fun run that starts at 8am, breakfast from 8 to 10am, plus a double bocci ball and volleyball tournaments, a show and shine automobile show and lunch will be served at 11am.
The afternoon activities includes a variety of kids games sponsored by Community State Bank of Paton from 1 to 3pm, the Town and Country Band will perform at 1pm along with John Deere Paton serving cake, lemonade and coffee also at 1pm. Horse Shoe games will be at 1pm and bingo with the Jefferson VFW Post #9599 will be from 2 to 4pm.
The festivities close out with a live band called Party Attack in the beer garden at 209 Main Restaurant at 9pm.
Greene County School Board Approves Bond Request for Special Election
The Greene County School Board of Directors met in special session on Wednesday.
The Board approved a resolution for a special election to issue a $20 million general obligation bond. A facilities committee collected 81 more signatures than the required 168 for the bond request to be placed on the ballot for special election in September.
The facilities committee has determined that the school district should reduce its number of buildings to two, which committee member Sam Harding says could help the district save money overall.
“We’re spread over too many buildings right now and that over time, it’s going to just break the district financially. So, with the way the state (government) appropriates money at the current rate of one or two percent, it’s pretty obvious that we better consolidate our expenses as much as we can.”
The proposed bond includes making additions to the elementary and high school buildings in Jefferson. Superintendent Tim Christensen says the plans are to build four new classrooms at the elementary school and make that building into a pre-kindergarten through fourth grade building and add another 24 classrooms, plus offices for administration, a competition gym and a commons area onto the high school for a fifth through twelfth grade building.
Christensen adds that the District will release more information as the special election gets closer. By law, school districts in Iowa are only allowed to release factual information to educate the public and not slant the information one way or another.
Mid-Week Storms Force Road Closures But Not Much Damage in Greene County
All rivers and creeks are receding back to normal levels following two thunderstorms in Greene County this week.
Greene County Sheriff Steve Haupert says his deputies were out late Wednesday night and into Thursday morning monitoring the depth of water that was going over several county roads from heavy rainfall. However, because wind wasn’t a factor in either storm, Haupert believes there wasn’t any property damage in the County.
County Engineer Wade Weiss says his 24-man crew worked overtime during the storms to put out barricades and signage to over 200 locations on county roads where there was minor and major flooding. Weiss tells Raccoon Valley Radio that as of Friday afternoon, most of the roads were back open with only minor repair work left to be done.
Field flooding also caused wash outs of several campsites at Spring Lake Park. County Conservation Director Dan Towers says only a few campsites with rock pads are available for camping this weekend.
Former Kum & Go Employee in Jefferson Arrested for Theft
A former Kum & Go employee in Jefferson is charged with a felony after stealing from the station gas for two years.
According to court documents, 33 year-old Danielle Brady Ferguson is charged with a Class C Felony for first degree theft. The affidavit indicates that on February 12th, an employee suspected Ferguson had allegedly taken money out of the cash register. A manager then confronted her about it and contacted the police department.
Ferguson admitted to taking $729.95 in VISA gift cards, $209 in cash and $43 in Lottery punch tickets that day. She later told officers that she stole the same kinds of items since she started working at Kum & Go in June of 2013. It was believed that Ferguson stole over $30,000 from the store.
An arrest warrant was issued on June 9th and she turned herself into the Greene County Jail last week. She was booked and released on her own recognizance.
Ferguson is no longer an employee at Kum & Go.
Law Enforcement Agencies Broke Up 200 Person Party in Greene County
Several law enforcement agencies broke up an underage party in Greene County that involved 200 people.
Chief Deputy Sheriff Jack Williams says just after midnight on Friday, three deputies and the Sheriff, along with a Jefferson police officer and Boone and Carroll County deputies responded to a party in the 700 block of P Avenue following a phone call from one of the kids’ mothers.
Williams states that most of the individuals were non-compliant and because law enforcement was severely outnumbered, K-9 Leo was used as a deterrent to calm the situation. With the exception of the two occupants of the home, everyone else was from Humboldt, Webster, Story and Boone counties. The two that live in the home will be charged with providing alcohol to minors and contributing to the delinquency of minors.
Williams tells Raccoon Valley Radio they were able to detain 50 kids. 29 of the 50 didn’t register any alcohol in their systems and they were released. 17 of the 50 did register alcohol in their systems and their ages range between 18 and 20 years-old. Those individuals will be charged as adults for possession of alcohol underage. Five of the 50 are under the age of 18 and will be referred to juvenile courts.
Williams says they also made two arrests. 19 year-old Tyrrell Scheuermann of Story City is charged with a Class D Felony for second degree criminal mischief and misdemeanors for two counts of assault on a peace officer, possession of alcohol underage and interference with official acts. 19 year-old Chloe Duckett of Fort Dodge is charged with misdemeanors for providing false information and possession of alcohol underage.
Williams comments that this was the biggest party he’s had to break up. The next largest was 30 to 40 people. He adds that the party was advertised through social media and at locations around Fort Dodge which he believes is the reason why some many people were there.
Williams notes that the investigation is ongoing and Scheuermann remains in the Greene County Jail.