A Head-On Collision Results in Minor Injuries in Greene County
One person was injured and two vehicles were totaled in a crash in Greene County Wednesday.
Sheriff Steve Haupert says at 5:23pm, two deputies, Grand Junction Fire and Rescue and Greene County Emergency Medical Services all responded to the crash on Highway 30 near X Avenue. 53 year-old Jerri Lynn Riesberg of Carroll was traveling west on the highway in a 2006 Saturn Vue when she crossed the centerline and was hit head on by a 1994 Buick, driven by 34 year-old James Michael Lefeber of Jefferson.
Riesberg was taken to the Greene County Medical Center by Greene County EMS for minor injuries and Lefeber was uninjured. Haupert notes that air bags deployed in both vehicles.
Riesberg was cited for crossing the centerline and Lefeber was cited for failure to have a valid driver’s license. Both vehicles were considered to be total losses.
New Promotion Looking to ‘Mob’ a Jefferson Business
Jefferson Matters: Main Street is hosting a special event this morning.
Program Director Peg Raney says the “Who Loves Ya, Baby?” is a cash mob promotion sponsored by their promotion committee.
Participants are asked to meet at the Main Street office at 110 West Lincoln Way at 10:30am. A participating business will be drawn and the participants will then “mob” that store and spend at least $20. All receipts will be collected and everyone will have lunch at the Uptown Cafe. A receipt will be drawn and the winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to the Sierra Community Theater.
“I think it’s a great promotion. A retail business will benefit, someone that we all go to lunch with will benefit and then you get to go to the Sierra Theater at another time, so it’s a win-win.”
They are hoping for at least 36 people to join them, so that the impact could be as high as $720. There’s no pre-registration required.
The promotion committee includes Deb McGinn, Amy Roberts, Dianne Piepel, Margaret Hamilton, Lynda Cochran and Shirley Stapleton.
President’s Day Closure Notices in Jefferson
With President’s Day coming up on Monday, several offices and businesses will be closed in Jefferson.
The Greene County Courthouse, Jefferson City Hall, Jefferson Public Library and the Jefferson Post Office will all be closed in observance of the holiday. The library staff wants to remind everyone that nothing is due to the library when it is closed for a holiday.
City staff reminds residents that garbage routes will be delayed one day due to the holiday. Monday’s routes will be on Tuesday. Tuesday’s garbage will be collected on Wednesday. Wednesday’s routes will be pushed to Thursday and Thursday’s garbage will be picked up on Friday. Garbage routes will return to normal the following week. Garbage should be at curbside by 6am to ensure pick up.
Greene County Early Learning Center Reduces Capacity, But Waiting List Grows
The Greene County Early Learning Center’s capacity recently reduced and the waiting list continues to grow.
Director Cherie Cherveny says they decreased their capacity from 108 two-week to 12 year-olds to 96 because they relocated their school-age youth from a classroom at the middle school back to their main site at 204 West Madison. The Early Learning Center was using an additional classroom at the middle school to expand their numbers, but after looking over the finances and handling concerns with the classroom’s functionality, Cherveny decided to make the change.
The waiting list is also up to 29 youth and they lost $25,000 at the end of 2015. For the first time in a while, they raised employee salaries to $8 per hour to compete with surrounding jobs in the area, which Cherveny tells Raccoon Valley Radio has certainly helped to slow down their turnover.
Because the Early Learning Center is a non-profit organization, they rely on funding from other sources like grants, fundraisers and other donations, which totaled over $28,000 of their over $300,000 operating budget.
To make a donation, call them at 386-2092.
Greene County Medical Center Signs With Managed Care Organization Contract
The Greene County Medical Center recently signed with their first Managed Care Organization for Medicaid coverage.
With the delay of the privatization of Medicaid in Iowa to March 1st from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the medical center signed a contract with United Healthcare as one of three identified MCOs. Any Medicaid patient will receive covered care at the medical center, while emergency care for all Medicaid patients will continue to be provided through the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act guidelines.
The hospital is also working with AmeriHealth and AmeriGroup to complete contracts ahead of the March 1st start date. Visiting specialists and UnityPoint Clinic are conducting their own negotiations and will not be part of the medical center’s arrangements. Medicaid recipients are encouraged to communicate directly with their individual providers.
Medicaid recipients have the option to change their provider by May 18th. Anyone with questions can call the Iowa Medicaid Member Services at 1-800-338-8366.