The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors heard a budget presentation from public health Thursday morning.
Coordinator Jotham Arber says that due to retirements and staff turnover, the most notable budgetary change will be to personnel. Additionally, Arber notes that revenues have dropped due to lower Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements. He adds that he is considering adding a homecare respite program in the near future which will be available to users with private insurance or who pay out of pocket.
The Supervisors made no decisions on any of Arber’s budgetary recommendations.
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The West Central Valley School District is reminding everyone not to park in their red-colored, designated fire lanes at the high school. Additionally, the district notes that only school buses are permitted to park in the area in front of the school marked bus loading/unloading zone. For more information, call 515-523-1313.
A registered sex offender who went missing Friday while on work release in Guthrie County was captured in Des Moines Wednesday afternoon.
The Iowa Department of Corrections reports that 26-year-old Ross Michael Clouse was apprehended at a private residence by the Fifth Judicial District Fugitive Unit and United States Marshals. He was transported to the Polk County Jail.
The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the case by locating Clouse’s GPS tracking device, which was discarded into a ditch near Guthrie Center.
Clouse was serving a sentence for third degree sexual abuse and indecent contact with a child. Additionally, he is in a lifetime sex offender supervision program.
Raccoon Valley Radio will bring you more information as it becomes official.
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The Adair-Casey School Board unanimously passed a whole-grade sharing agreement with the Guthrie Center school district Wednesday night.
‘It’s about as efficient as filling up a large swimming pool with a garden hose.’ That’s how Panora Telco Technology Development Director Curt Thornberry described Guthrie County’s ability to send large amounts of information from the courthouse to offsite locations, including the public health and secondary roads offices. Thornberry recommends the Supervisors pay to increase data transfer speeds by as much as 400%.
Additionally, Thornberry noted that the County’s Buffalo brand hard drives require near-constant maintenance, indicating that they are likely overworked. He recommends the County repurposing the equipment and purchasing more robust equipment to hold the bulk of their data.
The Board took no immediate action on Thornberry’s recommendations Tuesday morning.