Originally used as a space for students struggling to get their work done in the classroom, the Panorama School District says their Student Success Center (SSC) has evolved to provide for a variety of educational needs. Students have access to a program called OdysseyWare, which gives them access to a digital version of a course they have previously failed, in order to be able to graduate on time. Additionally, the Student Success Center provides assistance to students taking online college courses, and who need help acclimating to the next level of education. The district says they’re trying to allow the Student Success Center to better bridge the gap between middle school and high school success.
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The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors voted yesterday to grant the Sheriff’s department funds for an additional deputy. The decision came after close to an hour of deliberation, which included removing funding for body cameras, and lowering the proposed raises of two sheriff’s department employees in order to make room for the deputy. Sheriff Marty Arganbright says he’ll do the best he can with the adjusted budget, but getting the deputy was his number one concern. “All that I can do is try, like we all do every year. I can’t tell you what the criminals are gonna do, and that’s not gotten better, that’s gotten worse. It’s our job to keep crime down, that’s why we are out there. If that’s [budget cuts] are what it takes to come to terms on another deputy, then I’ll do my best.”
The decision on the deputy comes just as the Board of Supervisors and the Guthrie Center City Council move forward on a committee to explore future options for law enforcement in the city, which could further grow the size of the Sheriff’s department.
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A measles outbreak at Disneyland in the closing days of 2014 has led to reported cases of measles in seventeen states. The Iowa State Department of Health reports that 98% of Iowans are vaccinated against measles, and Guthrie County’s Public Health Administrator Jotham Arber says we’re not quite at that number locally, but we’re close. “Guthrie County is sitting right at around 94%. So that herd immunity that everyone is talking about, that keeps everyone safe is fairly high. It falls within that range that the CDC wants to see, which is around 95% or higher.”
Arber says that there are no known measles cases in Iowa, but with the amount of people traveling in and out of the state, the disease could fairly easily be brought in.
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The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program is designed to help lower-income Iowa renters and homeowners pay a portion of their heat bill during the winter months. There are many variables that go into determining eligibility, including; household income, household size, type of fuel used to heat and type of housing. To find if your household qualifies, and to make an appointment to sign up, you can call New Opportunities of Guthrie Center at 641-747-3845.
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State Representative Clel Baudler is in the process of working through legislation that would further the fight against synthetic drugs, commonly known by names such as K2, Kronic and Black Mamba. Baudler says the epidemic of people using these dangerous hallucinogenic drugs is bigger than most people realize. “I can tell you, it’s huge. Maybe I’m pushing the panic button on a conspiracy theory, but it’s not gonna be an easy one. As I speak, we’re crafting a bill to try to get ahead of this synthetic drugs or at least keep up with them.”
Baudler says he’ll release more information on that legislation as the language is finalized.