Watts, Baudler and Chapman to Hold Town Hall Meeting Today in Perry
Anyone with questions about what’s happening in state government is encouraged to meet with our local lawmakers in Perry this weekend.
A legislative town hall meeting will take place at the Perry Public Library Saturday at 11am.
State Senator Jake Chapman and State Representatives Ralph Watts and Clel Baudler will be there to share an update on this year’s legislative session, as well as answer questions and hear concerns from the public.
The event is free and open to the public.
ADM High School’s Fire and Ice Prom is Tonight
Adel De Soto Minburn High School students will get all dolled up and dance the night away at prom this weekend.
This year’s theme is Fire and Ice. The grand march starts at 7:15pm in the north gym. All community members are invited to attend and admission is $1 per person. The dance then takes place from 8-11pm in the middle school commons.
Students will then take part in the “Glow” ADM After Dark party into the early morning hours. There are a variety of activities for the students to take part in including a casino night, mechanical bull, glow games, bingo and a hypnotist at the high school, roller skating and snacks at the old middle school and bowling, pool and karaoke at the Adel Family Fun Center. Busses will transport the students to the different locations and the after prom party is open to all juniors and seniors regardless of if they attended the dance or not.
Two Arrested After Chase that Started in Perry
An adult male and a juvenile male from Perry were arrested early Thursday after a high speed chase.
According to Perry Police Chief Eric Vaughn, officers saw a blue Mercury Sable near Highway 141 and Willis Avenue shortly after midnight. Police attempted to stop the vehicle for a traffic violation near Williams and Iowa Streets but the 17 year-old driver failed to pull over.
The chase reached up to 80 miles per hour and continued north to 16th Street and into Boone County on gravel roads, eventually turning back to the east and then south on Highway 169. Dallas and Boone county sheriff’s deputies responded to assist and stop sticks were deployed near the county line. Vaughn says this action successfully punctured three of the Sable’s tires and the vehicle stopped after turning west on 130th Street.
Both the juvenile driver and a passenger, 24 year-old Timothy Glen Pittman, then attempted to flee on foot and were chased by Perry police and Dallas County deputies. Both men were apprehended shortly before 1am. The driver was transported to the Dallas County Hospital for evaluation of a medical condition unrelated to the arrest. He is charged with an aggravated misdemeanor charge of eluding, simple misdemeanors for interference with official acts and driving under suspension, along with citations for speeding, failure to obey a stop sign and failure to signal.
Pittman was arrested for a simple misdemeanor for interference with official acts. He also had an outstanding warrant for a probation violation and was transported to the Dallas County jail.
Wetland Credit Bank Benefits Dallas County
Wetland credit purchase requests are often an item on the Dallas County Board of Supervisors’ meeting agendas but what exactly are these credits and why are they beneficial?
County Conservation Director Mike Wallace and the Board explained just that at the meeting Tuesday. Wallace says anytime a portion of a wetland area is developed in Iowa, it needs to be replaced 1-to-1 in another location. Dallas County built acres of wetlands in advance in order to have a bank of such property. Agencies or entities who then need to purchase credits to replace the area they are developing can then request a purchase from the Supervisors.
Wallace says this is a win-win situation as the entities are able to purchase the credits instead of having to manage wetland themselves and spend more to do so, while the County makes money and is able to offer a nice wetland area that can be enjoyed by the public in a variety of ways.
Supervisor Kim Chapman says “Dallas County has a lot of gems and in my opinion this is just another gem added to the treasure chest.”
The cost to start up the wetland bank was around $2,070,000 which includes start up expenses, land purchase and development. The County keeps a balance of 125% of the initial development cost in a fund to be used for maintenance to the original 116 aces of wetland in phase one.
Wallace says once all of the acres that have been purchased or reserved are paid for, they will have more than $600,000 available to use for the development of phase two of the wetland project.
Weekly Precipitation Update
It was a relatively dry week here in the Raccoon River Valley.
According to the National Weather Service, Guthrie Center received 0.1 inch of rain this past week, Perry has been dry and Jefferson’s data is still not available for April.
So far this month both Perry and Guthrie Center have received around a quarter of an inch of rain while the normal monthly average for April is between 1.3 and 1.4 inches.