Sellers named Iowa Girls Athlete of the Year

Jun 11, 2024 | News

Jaidyn Sellers accepts the award as Iowa Girls Athlete of the Year.

The award presented to Jaidyn Sellers on June 10.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

Panorama’s Jaidyn Sellers was honored as Iowa Girls Athlete of the Year on June 10 during the Iowa High School Sports Awards at Hoyt Sherman Place located in Des Moines. The Iowa High School Sports Awards is an athletic recognition program honoring the area’s top-performing athletes, coaches and teams. The nine-month program, which selects and announces nominees each season, culminates at this in-person awards show. The program is co-sponsored by The Des Moines Register and the Iowa City Press-Citizen and is part of the USA TODAY High School Sports Awards.

Adair Yard of the Month winner

Jun 11, 2024 | News

The Adair Yard of the Month for June 2024 is Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at 1107 Broad St. Pictured are Bill Nelson, Connie Littler and Pastor Kyle Fever.

By Rich Wicks | Times. Vedette

The Adair Chamber of Commerce is awarding a “Yard of the Month” award each month, June through August of 2024. The recipient of the Adair Chamber of Commerce’s Yard of the Month for June is Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at 1107 Broad St. Bill Nelson, Connie Littler and Pastor Kyle Fever are among the Good Shepherd members who landscape and maintain the lawn. Nominations for the July Yard of the Month are due no later than Friday, June 28 and may be emailed to dawopharmd@outlook.com or submitted to the Adair City Clerk during normal business hours.

Guthrie Center to add ‘bugs’ to treatment lagoon

Jun 11, 2024 | News

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

During the regular meeting of the Guthrie Center City Council on June 10, the councilmembers heard from a representative of Team Lab, a company that offers solutions for municipalities’ wastewater treatment systems. They council was told that because the city’s wastewater treatment lagoon hasn’t been dredged in more than 40 years, it has roughly 2.5 feet of sludge built up. 

The representatives said dredging would cost approximately $100,000, but Team Lab offered a biological alternative. The company provides micro-organisms (“bugs”), which would be added to the lagoon on a regular basis. The bugs would gradually eat much of the sludge over the next few years. The council voted to approve this proposal for a three-year period. The first year will cost $22,405, with the second and third years to each cost slightly less. City Clerk Kris Arrasmith said the city already has adequate funds set aside to cover this plan.

Streets Department Head Darin Sloss shared additional repairs needed at the city’s swimming pool.

“You don’t have a pool to make money. You do it as a service to the city,” Arrasmith said.

Councilmember Carolyn Masters said she’s heard complaints about vehicles being illegally parked on North 12thStreet. The consensus of the council was that this doesn’t appear to be a frequent problem. Sloss will check to see if additional signage is needed in that area.

The council approved two personnel actions. Erick Van Cura was appointed to fill a vacant spot on the city’s Utility Board. The council also approved hiring Molly Claman to start July 2 as a new hire at City Hall. Claman will start at $25 per hour.

Arrasmith reminded the councilmembers of the upcoming citywide garage sales.

“As of tonight, we’ve had 17 people sign up. The maps will be available Thursday afternoon or Friday morning,” Arrasmith said. “We’ll have them at both banks. We will have some here (City Hall). We’ll have some at Dollar General, and then Sparky’s and Casey’s.”

Arrasmith said citizens can continue to sign up for citywide garage sales through Wednesday (June 12). She added that 36 citizens have signed up for citywide cleanup.

“I just want to know about brush, when they do the city cleanup,” Masters said.

Arrasmith said brush is not accepted during citywide cleanup, but the landfill accepts brush at no cost.

The council’s next regular meeting will be June 24. The public is welcome.

Panora City Council to pursue expanded UTV usage in city

Jun 11, 2024 | News

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

During the June 10 regular meeting of the Panora City Council, the councilmembers returned to an issue that had been brought up by citizens at the May 26 meeting. Mayor Curt Thornberry explained that the citizens, Jim Wendl and Pat Moylan, had asked the council to consider allowing expanded use of UTVs in Panora.

“What they were advocating for is maybe some expanded routes within the city or just opening it up within the city so that they don’t have to ride on state highways,” Thornberry said.

Councilmember Roger Dorr spoke in favor of fully opening the city to recreational UTV usage, for one main reason.

“My thought is we’re losing a lot of business by not having this opened up,” Dorr said. “There’s been numerous rides, and they tell everybody to stay away from Panora because of how we have this set up. So, a lot of that business right now is going to Guthrie Center, going to Adair, going to Casey, going to Stuart, and they’re spending a lot of money at those businesses.”

Although no formal action was taken, the consensus of the of the council was to begin the process of possibly amending the city’s ordinance (Chapter 75.05). This will include scheduling and holding a public hearing, as well as multiple readings of any proposed amendment.

City Administrator Lisa Grossman updated the council about citywide cleanup and the Jackson Street project.

“The citywide cleanup closed on Friday. I believe we had 36 residents sign up,” Grossman said. “And Jackson Street, we’re still working through the process with the punch list.”

Grossman brought up a concern about the city’s storm sirens.

“I know we had gotten, with that last storm, a lot of complaints on our storm siren and (residents) not being able to hear it. We had an analysis done, and what we discovered is when they measured for what we would need with a siren, I don’t think they took into account all the foliage of the trees,” Grossman said. “It looks like if we want more coverage than that, we might need to look at an additional siren.”

Dorr asked about the old sirens that are still up. Grossman said they are no longer in use but simply haven’t been taken down yet.

The council voted unanimously to submit the city’s proposal to the county for EMS (Emergency Medical Services) per the county’s RFP (Request for Proposals). Grossman pointed out that the proposal from the city is for only the geographical area that the city is currently covering.

The next regular meeting of the council is set for June 24. The public is welcome.

Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office Weekly Report June 3-9, 2024

Jun 11, 2024 | Guthrie County Sheriff's Report

6-3-24

6:55 a.m. Guthrie County Deputy responded to a single-vehicle accident in rural Jamaica

8:15 a.m. Guthrie County Deputy attempted to serve a civil paper in rural Panora

8:20 a.m. Guthrie County Deputy assisted a motorist in rural Panora

9:07 a.m. Guthrie County Deputy assisted a motorist

11:52 a.m. Guthrie County Deputies responded to a single-vehicle accident in rural Stuart

12:10 p.m. Panora Police performed a welfare check

12:40 p.m. Panora Ambulance responded to a medical call in rural Panora

1:30 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy responded to a report of a theft in Casey

2:05 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy followed up on an investigation in Guthrie Center

8:10 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy served two civil papers in Guthrie Center

8:30 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy followed up on a case in Guthrie Center

 

6-4-24

4:25 a.m. Guthrie Center Fire Department and Panora Ambulance responded to a fire alarm in Guthrie Center

10:15 a.m. Panora Police responded to a complaint

12:30 p.m. Stuart Police and Guthrie

1:30 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy did a civil stand by in Jamaica

2:10 p.m. Stuart Police responded to a complaint

5:05 p.m. Panora Ambulance transported a patient from Guthrie County Hospital to Des Moines

5:45 p.m. Stuart Police assisted a motorist

6:15 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy responded to a complaint in Guthrie Center

7:50 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy assisted an individual

9:02 p.m. Panora Ambulance responded to a medical call in rural Panora

10:55 p.m. Stuart Police assisted a motorist

11:45 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy and Panora Police assisted Crawford County with a notification in Panora

11:50 p.m. Stuart Police assisted an individual

 

6-5-24

2:27 a.m. Guthrie County Deputy performed a warrant check in Guthrie Center 

9:10 a.m. Guthrie County Sheriff and Deputies gave a presentation in Guthrie Center 

9:45 a.m. Stuart Police followed up on an investigation

11 a.m. Stuart Police responded to a parking complaint

12:25 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy and Stuart Police responded to a complaint in Adair

2:30 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy assisted Adair County with a call in Adair

2:10 p.m. Guthrie County Deputies attempted to locate two wanted individuals in rural Guthrie Center

2:25 p.m. Guthrie County Deputies arrested one individual in rural Guthrie Center

2:55 p.m. Guthrie County Deputies arrested a second individual in rural Guthrie Center

3 p.m. Guthrie County Deputies transported two individuals to the Guthrie County Jail

4:20 p.m. Guthrie County Deputies conducted a search warrant in rural Guthrie Center 

4:25 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy and Panora Police responded to a driving complaint in the Panora area

5:40 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy responded to a report of a two-vehicle accident in Guthrie Center

6:20 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy followed up on an investigation in Guthrie Center

 

6-6-24

7:47 a.m. Stuart Ambulance responded to a medical call in rural Stuart 

9:25 a.m. Panora Ambulance responded to a medical call in Bayard 

11:20 a.m. Panora Police responded to a report of a suspicious person 

1:20 p.m. Stuart Police responded to a report of a suspicious item 

2:54 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy assisted a motorist on Juniper Avenue 

3:24 p.m. Stuart Police, Fire and Ambulance and Menlo Fire responded to a grass fire on I-80

4:13 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy responded to a family situation in rural Casey 

5:19 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy responded to a complaint in Guthrie Center 

7:14 p.m. Panora Police and Guthrie County Deputy responded to a disturbance in Panora 

9:37 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy took a complaint in Bayard 

9:51 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy removed debris from Highway 25

 

6-7-24

1:10 a.m. Stuart Police responded to a report of a theft in progress

5:02 a.m. Guthrie County Deputy responded to a complaint in Casey

1:28 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy assisted a probation officer in Guthrie Center 

3:30 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy responded to a report of a theft in rural Guthrie Center

3:40 p.m. Stuart Rescue responded to a medical call in Stuart

4:20 p.m. Stuart Police responded to a complaint

5:30 p.m. Stuart Police attempted to locate a wanted individual

7:22 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy performed a warrant check at Lake Diamondhead

7:41 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy assisted a motorist on White Pole Road  

7:55 p.m. Panora Police assisted a motorist

8:05 p.m. Guthrie County Deputies attempted to locate a wanted individual in Adair

9:50 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy assisted a motorist in Bayard

10:55 p.m. Stuart Police and Guthrie County Deputy responded to a complaint in Stuart

11:05 p.m. Panora Ambulance responded to a medical call in Guthrie Center

 

6-8-24

12:45 a.m. Guthrie County Deputy responded to a report of an altercation in rural Panora

1:50 a.m. Stuart Police responded to a parking complaint

4:50 a.m. Panora Ambulance transported a patient from Audubon County Hospital to Des Moines

5:25 a.m. Stuart Rescue Unit 1 responded to a medical call in Menlo

6:40 a.m. Stuart Rescue Unit 2 responded to a medical call in Stuart

7:50 a.m. Panora Ambulance responded to a medical call in Guthrie Center

10:20 a.m. Guthrie County Deputy responded to a complaint in Jamaica

10:30 a.m. Guthrie County Deputy followed up on an investigation in Guthrie Center

10:40 a.m. Guthrie County Deputy responded to a driving complaint in rural Guthrie Center

10:50 a.m. Panora Fire Department and Panora Police responded to an alarm at city hall

12:07 p.m. Panora Ambulance transported a patient from Guthrie County Hospital back to the New Homestead

3:55 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy responded to a theft report in rural Guthrie Center

4:47 p.m. Panora Ambulance responded to a medical call in Panora

5:40 p.m. Stuart Rescue and Guthrie County Deputies responded to a medical call in rural Dexter

6:40 p.m. Panora Police responded to a complaint

7:52 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy assisted a motorist on Highway 25

8:30 p.m.  Stuart Police responded to a complaint

9:52 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy conducted a traffic stop in rural Panora and arrested one individual

9:57 p.m. Panora Police responded to a driving complaint

9:59 p.m. Stuart Police performed a welfare check

10:15 p.m. Panora Ambulance responded to a medical call in Panora

10:22 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy responded to a harassment complaint in rural Panora

10:27 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy transported one individual to the Guthrie County Jail

 

6-9-24

8:25 a.m. Panora Ambulance, Panora Fire Department and Guthrie County Deputy responded to an accident in rural Panora

11:05 a.m. Panora Ambulance transported a patient from Audubon County Hospital to Des Moines

12:39 p.m. YJB Fire Departments assisted Perry with a fire in rural Perry

2:30 p.m. Stuart Police responded to a complaint

2:50 p.m. Panora Ambulance responded to a medical call in Panora

2:50 p.m. Casey Fire Department assisted Adair County with a two-vehicle accident in Casey

4:20 p.m. Panora Ambulance responded to a medical call in Panora

6:30 p.m. Guthrie Center Fire and Panora Ambulance responded to a grass fire in rural Guthrie Center

6:40 p.m. Stuart Police responded to a report of an accident

7:35 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy assisted a motorist in rural Jamaica

7:57 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy assisted Dallas County at a medical call in Dawson

8:15 p.m. Stuart Police responded to a complaint

8:25 p.m. Stuart Police assisted an individual

8:45 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy responded to a report of an assault in Casey

9:20 p.m. Guthrie County Deputy followed up on an investigation in Casey

10:09 p.m. Casey Fire responded to a semi fire on I-80