Man Leads Officers on a Chase in His Third Stolen Vehicle this Year
The Jefferson man arrested after leading officers on a chase in a stolen truck early Tuesday is no stranger to vehicle theft. In fact, the one he allegedly stole this week is the third one he has taken in less than eight months.
Thirty-three year-old Andrew Jensen was put on probation in July after pleading guilty to two felony charges of second degree theft, stemming from car thefts on March 3rd and March 6th. A Greene County judge suspended his prison sentence this summer and instead sentenced him to at least two years, but no more than five years, of probation.
Two Perry Police Department squad cars sustained minor damages while chasing Jensen late Monday into Tuesday morning. Chief Eric Vaughn says four tires were damaged in the pursuit due to stop sticks. “Luckily, two of the tires were slated to be replaced this week anyway” said Vaughn.
The chase ended in the 21000 block of Highway 169 after the pickup hit stop sticks, drove into the ditch and then fled on foot. Deputies were able to take Jensen into custody after deploying a Taser.
He faces several charges from the Dallas County Sheriff’s office, Perry Police Department and Jefferson Police Department including first degree theft, felon in possession of a firearm, eluding and driving while revoked.
The case remains under investigation and additional charges could be filed.
Yard Waste Burning Season Starts Today in Perry
A reminder to Perry residents, the shortened fall open yard waste burning season will begin Saturday.
However, the City encourages residents to use other methods of disposal when possible.
“You can mulch your leaves in your yard, it’s actually a pretty good fertilizer. Also we do our yard waste pickup in the brown yard waste recycle bags. Also, if you have a really large amount and you want to put it on a trailer and take it somewhere in the back of your pickup the North Dallas County Landfill does accept yard waste drop offs as well.”
That’s City Administrator Sven Peterson who says though some residents have expressed concerns with the shortened burn season, Perry residents are better off than those in other areas.
“I think we have quite a few options in town. Talking with other communities, some of them have to pay about a dollar per bag to get rid of their yard waste. So I think we have it pretty good here that we can just put it by the curb and the city will pick it up for us.”
All burning must take place between 10am and sundown. It’s allowed only in the rear of private property, at least 30 feet from any neighboring buildings. Additionally, all open burning needs to be supervised at all times.
The all open burning season will end on November 22nd. If you have questions, call City Hall at 465-2481.
Dallas County Dispatch Moving to the Renovated Human Services Campus
The Dallas County Sheriff’s office dispatch center will soon be moving from the 902 Court Street building to the old county care facility north of Adel.
Sheriff Chad Leonard says the move is necessary to accommodate all the new communications equipment they will be getting. He says they will be in a separate wing of the newly renovated human services campus that is not connected to the rest of the building from the inside.
The communications department was part of the plans for a new jail each time it was on the ballot before voters but Sheriff Leonard says even if that bond does pass at some point, dispatch will remain where it’s at.
“This is one and done. It will be out there for the foreseeable future. If the (new) sheriff’s office ever passes with the voters we won’t move it into the new facility. It would be nice because the whole goal is to get everything under one roof but we have communications issues (now). I mean there’s fire departments and police departments that are having problems with communications ever since we narrow banded the frequency and that’s key to our operations. So we need to whatever we can to upgrade that and we’ve found a way to do it so we’ve moving forward with that. It’s towards the center of the county so it will benefit everybody.”
The campus is still being renovated, with plans to move several departments to the building yet this year.
Perry Holds 3rd Annual Safety Day
City of Perry employees from all departments gathered at the fire station Wednesday for the 3rd annual Safety and Employee Appreciation Day.
The three hour event started with a welcome by Mayor Jay Pattee, followed by an update on workman’s compensation claims for the year.
Representatives from the Iowa Municipalities Workers’ Compensation Association then presented on work place safety, followed by an employee recognition ceremony.
Hy-Vee then served lunch for all in attendance, followed by a proper lifting demonstration from Clint Lutterma n with 21st Century Rehab and an emergency first aid presentation from Dallas County Emergency Medical Services Director Mike Thomason.
Weekly Precipitation Update
The Raccoon River Valley finally received some measurable rain this past week.
According to the National Weather Service, Jefferson added another 1.35 inches of rain to their total of 1.43 inches this month. Perry added just under an inch for a total of 1.1 inches so far and Guthrie Center received their first precipitation since September when 1.29 inches fell.
Usually, our local area sees between 2.4 and 2.6 inches of rain in October.