Perry Man Arrested After Allegedly Starting Home on Fire
A Perry man faces a felony arson charge after allegedly starting his home on fire early Monday.
As previously reported by Raccoon Valley Radio, crews were called to 1611 4th Street shortly after midnight Monday in response to a report of the house on fire.
Officers on scene that morning gathered information from witnesses and after a joint investigation with the State Fire Marshall’s Office, due to the suspicious nature of the fire and information from witnesses, a first degree arson charge has been filed against 45 year-old Raymond Leo Steadman Jr.
Police Chief Eric Vaughn says an ambulance responded to the area Monday and transported Steadman Jr. from the scene, though reasons behind the hospitalization were not related to the fire. He was arrested Wednesday at Mercy West Lakes hospital in West Des Moines. Steadman Jr. also faces an aggravated misdemeanor charge of public intoxication 3rd offence and two serious misdemeanors for unlawful possession of prescription drugs.
It took nearly two hours for firefighters to fully extinguish the blaze and the family’s dog was killed due to the smoke and fire. The house also received extensive damage.
Vaughn says the first degree arson charge is a Class B Felony, and such a charge is filed when “the presence of one or more persons can be reasonably anticipated in or near the property which is the subject of the arson.” If convicted, Steadman Jr. faces up to 25 years in prison.
April Unemployment Figures Released
Two counties in our primary coverage area saw a decrease in the percentage of people without a job last month, while one saw an increase.
According to Iowa Workforce Development, Guthrie County saw the biggest change between March and April as unemployment went from 4.8 to 3.5. Perry also saw a decrease last month of 0.4 percent to 2.8 percent unemployed.
Greene County’s unemployment rate increased in April to 4.2 percent, up from 3.8 percent the month before.
All three counties are reporting rates lower than this time last year. The current statewide unemployment rate in Iowa is 3.8 percent.
Dallas County Extension Responds to Statewide Poultry Ban for Fairs
Fair organizers across the state are having to make adjustments to their plans for this summer after the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship decided to prohibit all live poultry from both county and state events.
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Marketing and Communications Coordinator Caitlyn Ryan tells Raccoon Valley Radio they are working with the Dallas County Fair poultry superintendent to find innovative ways for youth to still showcase their projects without physically having the birds at the fair.
Last year, Ryan says they had nearly 30 youth show poultry including chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, quail and pigeons. While the ban will only affect a small portion of the overall fair, she says they know there are some disappointed 4-H members who take pride in showing their animals, especially those they have bred and raised themselves.
However, Ryan says 4-Hers practice excellent biosecurity and understand that if they would have brought poultry to the fair, there would be an increased risk of exposing the birds to the avian influenza.
This year’s Dallas County Fair takes place July 8th through the 12th.
Raccoon River Valley Receives Above Normal Rainfall
It was another rainy week in the Raccoon River Valley, as we reach the end of a rainy month.
According to the National Weather Service, all three of our local weather reporting areas have received above normal rainfall this month. Jefferson registered another 2.3 inches of precipitation this week alone, Perry saw another 1.8 inches and Guthrie Center saw 1.7.
That brings monthly rainfall totals to between 5.6 and 6.3 inches locally, compared to the normal average of 4.5 to 5 inches.
There’s more rain possible yet this weekend.
Perry Grass Ordinance Reminders
Lawns and gardens are growing quickly this spring, thanks in part to all the rain we’ve received recently.
As a reminder to Perry residents, city ordinance states that all grass is not to exceed six inches in length. Those who do not obey the ordinance can be cited by the City’s compliance officer. City employees will then mow the lawn and assess the cost to the property owner.
In addition, when mowing your lawn Deputy Public Works Director Josh Wuebker says it’s also important to make sure you don’t leave clippings in the street.
“I know sometimes when you mow a little bit gets (out into the street) but you can take your mower and blow it back into your yard. It keeps the street cleaner and helps us save on storm intakes. We’ve had a lot of calls ‘My storm intake is plugged, can you come look at it?’ because it has rained lately so a big factor in that is grass so if you could not do that, we’d greatly appreciate it.”
The clippings in the street rule is also spelled out in the City’s ordinance and those who do not obey are subject to citations.