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#.

Video by Kerry Jacobsen | Times Vedette

This group of American white pelicans was seen taking a break in the waters of Lake Panorama on Monday. They can be found year-round in Iowa, but their numbers increase during migration from March to April and August to November.

According to birdadvisors.com, American white pelicans have several molting changes, known as eclipse. In the spring, they have a visible yellowish patch on their breast and chest. In the summer, blackish feathers appear on their heads.

Pelicans are one of the world’s largest birds and one of the most recognizable with their huge bills, throat pouch and feet. Although they are large, they are light, and they have air pockets in their skeleton and skin that help them float. Their long wings help them to soar when flying.

They use their throat pouch to catch fish and drain the water own before swallowing. The long and huge bill of the American white pelican is capable of holding three gallons of water. When it scoops up fish from the sea, it tilts its bill down to drain the water so it can then swallow the fish that’s left inside its throat sac.

From the Iowa Department of Natural Resources

The source of the dark and murky water in a stormwater drainage ditch near the North Raccoon River in Jefferson has been identified.

On March 26, the DNR Field Office in Atlantic was notified of dark colored water observed in a stormwater ditch in Daubendiek Park on the southwest side of Jefferson, which drains to the North Raccoon River.

DNR field staff responded to the incident, and upon arrival observed multiple pockets of discolored water in the ditch. City staff constructed a berm in the stormwater ditch to prevent contamination from reaching the North Raccoon River, and pumped nearly 6,000 gallons of contaminated water out of the ditch.

On March 28, DNR staff received a phone call from a resident who reported seeing a Sloan Plumbing, Heating, A/C, and Septic vehicle dumping wastewater from its truck into a manhole at the north end of Kelso Park in Jefferson.

Officials with Jefferson Public Works and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office contacted Chad Sloan, the owner of Sloan Septic, for more information. Sloan stated he directed one of his employees to dump in a manhole at that location due to the normal dumpsite being blocked by construction at the wastewater plant.

The employee unknowingly chose the storm sewer manhole instead of the wastewater collection system manhole. It is estimated that nearly 1,000 gallons of septic waste were dumped into the storm sewer system.

Special to the Times Vedette

A total of 13 players participated on March 31. Sandy Rumelhart got a 17, Dave Kading got a 20, Robert Klever got two 16s, Allen Pierce got a 17 and a 22, Sue Mozingo got a 16, Jim Carico got a 16, Dennis Betts got a 17 and an 18, and Flo Ferris got a 16.

On March 28, Sandy Rumelhart got a 16 and a 17, Dick Ellis got two 16s, Allen Pierce got a 16, Robert Klever got an 18 and a 20, and Lela Schwartz got a 22.

The Guthrie Center cribbage players generally meet at Guthrie Center Library on Mondays at 8 a.m., at the New Homestead independent living rec room at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays and at 1 p.m. on Fridays. Organizers say there is always room for more, and they will be glad to teach you how to play. They play for quarters on Wednesday and Friday.