By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

Librarian Leah Becker at the Casey Public Library reminds readers that National Library Week is April 6-12. The Casey Library has events going on that week and throughout the month. Offerings include:

Wednesday, April 9 at 4 p.m.: Guthrie County ISU Outreach and Extension presents “Dirt-n-Worms: Learn about worms and their four main parts.”

Saturday, April 12, 9-11 a.m.: Join Friends of the Casey Library for coffee, cocoa and treats to celebrate the library. Shower the library with supplies and receive seed packets in return. Suggested donation items include copy paper, Clorox-type wipes, disposable cups/plates, paper towels, Clorox toilet wand refills, hand sanitizer, facial tissues and hand lotion.

Friday, April 18 at 2 p.m.: Invention Box Challenge: Build something that flies. Also, guess how many candy eggs are in the jar.

Monday, April 21, noon to 5 p.m.: Celebrate Earth Day, as well as Volunteer at the Library Day. There will also be an Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt.

Monday, April 21, 5:30 p.m.: Adult Craft Night with Judi Zimmerline.

Sunday, April 27 at 2 p.m.: Puzzle Competition. Teams of up to four adults will race to complete a 500-piece puzzle. Call 641-746-2670 or email caseylib@netins.net to register a team or individual to be placed on a team. Spaces are limited. Entry fee is $5 per person. A prize will be given to the winning team.

Wednesday, April 30 at 2 p.m.: Create your own graphic novel and flip books. Also, guess how many book pages are in the jar.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

State Fire Marshal Dan Wood announced that the open burn ban in Guthrie County has been lifted, effective 2:30 p.m. on April 2. Anyone wishing to check the county’s status regarding burn bans or other emergency information can access the county’s website, www.guthriecounty.gov and then go to the Emergency Management page under Departments.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors met on April 1 with Supervisor Mike Dickson absent. Denise Ballard (representing Iowa Governmental Health Care) discussed the county’s Fiscal Year 2026 Health Insurance Renewal. She shared options for the supervisors to consider. No action was taken at this time.

Human Resources Coordinator Jamie Lindsay updated the supervisors on possible changes to the county’s employee handbook in the areas of call out/overtime pay, bereavement pay, sick leave, and personal leave.

Lindsay explained that currently, only fulltime employees qualify for bereavement pay, and she suggested adding some bereavement leave for part-time staff.

“I’d like to table this until we have a full board. I’d like to have everybody there to discuss this; I think this is a big change,” Supervisor Brian Johnson said.

The supervisors voted to table the bereavement pay issue.

Board Chair Maggie Armstrong described the draft ordinance “Providing for Animal Protection and Control.” She suggested removing the wording about “bite” and replacing it with wording of “incident” so that non-bite incidents would also be covered by the ordinance.

Health Director Jotham Arber stressed that the county’s aim is not to take animals away but to have a system to address dangerous behavior of animals as needed. Consideration of the proposed ordinance was tabled. No formal action was taken at this time.

The supervisors voted unanimously to accept the resignation of Bill McDermott from the Guthrie County Board of Health. Andrew Knorr was unanimously approved to fill the vacancy.

The Board of Supervisors meets regularly Tuesdays at 9 a.m. The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 8. The public is welcome to attend in person or via remote technology. To join remotely, call 323-792-6123, then use meeting code 547029216#.