Terri Schiavo died this morning. The case of the brain-damaged Florida woman has pushed many Iowans into action. Paul Sodders, spokesman for the Iowa Donor Network, says in the past few weeks, they’ve seen a healthy uptick in the number of Iowans signing up to be organ and tissue donors. Sodders says the network’s hotline has also been flooded with inquiries from Iowans who want to know the legal differences and definitions of brain death, vegetative state and coma. He says people are educating themselves about the issue, thanks to the publicity of the Schiavo case. Sodders says “It is such a sad case…it’s got a huge national impact. We know that people are just very interested in making sure that this type of incident never happens to them or anyone in their families. We have been encouraging people to make sure they’re filling out their living wills and that they’re signing on to the Iowa Donor Registry so their wishes can be carried out upon death.” For more information, call 800 831-4131 or surf to “www.iowadonorregistry.org”.
Tests show no C-W-D in Iowa deer
The test results are in and show that Iowa’s deer population remains free of the deadly Chronic Wasting Disease. Alan Foster of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources says it’s good to hear that none of the 45-hundred whitetail deer tested had C-W-D. He says they’ve been testing for a couple of years now and didn’t expect to find anything, but were really excited by the news. Foster says one of the concerns is they don’t really know much about C-W-D. He says what they do know is the disease is always fatal and theoretically could be spread by one-to-one contact. Foster says a spread of the disease could decimate the herd and cause the state to lose some of the millions of dollars spent on deer hunting. The disease has been found in Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois — but Foster says it apparently hasn’t spread. He says Iowa has natural barriers in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers that help stop the transmission of the disease. And he says Iowa doesn’t allow hunters to put out bait to lure deer, and there’s not a large number of people that feed deer like there is in Michigan. Foster says feeding deer gets them to group into a small area, and that makes it easier for diseases to spread. Deer samples were collected from all 99 counties in Iowa — with the majority taken in the seven Mississippi River border counties stretching from Allamakee County south to Scott County. Foster says they’ll test again this year. He says they’ll probably test the same amount of deer, and if they find anything, they would intensify the testing. Iowa hunters and lockers voluntarily contributed samples to the D-N-R to test for C-W-D.
Uninsured losses may be deducted from your taxes
If it’s been a bad year, you may be able to salvage something when you finish your income taxes over the next couple weeks. As the deadline approaches, Caroline Gorman at the Insurance Information Institute says there are some losses you can deduct. It’s called a “casualty loss,” if you had damage from a fire, tornado, or some other incident that damaged your home and you didn’t have enough insurance to cover it all, you can deduct some of your loss. It won’t make up for your loss, but she says every bit you can deduct at least helps. Gorman says it must have been an unexpected event, like a windstorm, fire, flood or vandalism. She adds you should talk with your tax preparer to make sure you qualify to deduct some of your loss. She says many people are finding they now have a larger share to pay before their insurance kicks in. For example, you may have a deductible as high as a thousand dollars on your car or house. Taking a deduction could recap some of that deductible you’ve paid, which would be a help. Doctor bills sometimes can be deducted, especially if they qualify as “catastrophic medical expenses.” The Insurance Information Institute offers news for consumers and a referral to insurance companies in your state. www.iii.org
Double Olympic gold winner to run at Drake
Track and Field’s newest star will compete at the 96th Drake Relays. Jeremy Wariner burst onto the scene last year by leading an American sweep in the 400 meters at the Olympic games in Athens and added a second gold medal in the four by 400 relay as just a 20-year-old. He will compete in the special invitational 400 at Drake and says he is running better than at the same point last season. He says his turnover is a lot faster than what it was and he says his footspeed is faster.Wariner is still enrolled at Baylor but gave up his college career after the Olympics and Relays director Mark Kostek is thrilled to have him back. Kostek says having a current double Olympic gold medalist puts the stamp of approval on the Drake Relays. He says Wariner is the caliber of Michael Johnson, Carl Lewis and Jesse Owens.This is Kostek’s last Drake Relays as the director. He become an associate athletic director at the school.The Drake Relays are April 28th through the 30th.
Coach leaves Coe for Cornell, men for women
Brent Brase says his job change will allow him to be a better father and husband. After 11-seasons as the men’s basketball coach at Coe College Brase will take over the womens program at Cornell. Brase lives in Mount Vernon and with kids age three and two and another on the way the move will allow him to see his family more often. He says it won’t change the number of hours he puts in, but he says it will increase the quality of time he spends with his wife and kids. Brase says he is not concerned about the transition from the men’s to the women’s game. He says both want to be coached with respect and compassion. He takes over a Cornell program that was 0-24 a year ago and says they need immediate success on the recruiting trail.Brase was Coe’s all time winningest coach with 146 victories.
Two die in Western Iowa fire, father’s rescue attempt fails
Two people died during an early morning house fire in western Iowa’s Cass County. Firefighters in Griswold were called to a home at Third and Main Streets at 1:10 a.m. When they arrived, they discovered flames were shooting out of most of the windows on the home’s West side. Five members of a family were living in the rental house. All but two, a six-year old boy and a 13-year old girl, were able to escape. The families’ distraught father says they went to bed late and were awakened by the smoke alarm. He says “I could see flames coming underneath my bedroom door so I ran out into the dining room and could see flames going along the wall and I ran out into the living room where my daughter was and I started to put it out with a pillow but there was too much fire.” Three of the family members were able to escape, but two others remained trapped in the home, including a six-year old boy who recently celebrated his birthday. The father says he tried to rescue the boy. He says “I already tried to get him out when I broke out the bedroom window. I kept screaming but I couldn’t see anything…all the smoke. I kept yelling ‘where you at’ and he kept saying he was on his bed. He was like three or four feet from me and I couldn’t reach him. I kept trying to get him to come closer but he wouldn’t come off the bed.” The family’s other daughter, a 17-year old, was not injured. The father suffered burns and bruises to his face, while the mother suffered from severe smoke inhalation. The couple was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic for treatment. The names of the family are being withheld pending notification of relatives. The distraught father says they moved into the rental home in tiny Griswold less than five-months ago, after having lived in Omaha, Nebraska. He says “It’s a small town. It thought this’d be a better environment for the kids…safer.” In addition to the loss of their children, the family lost all of their possessions, and one of two family pets was missing. Representatives from the State Fire Marshal’s office in Council Bluffs and the Cass County Medical Examiner were on the scene early this morning. There’s no official word on how the fire may have started.
Expert says being prepared is key in Severe Weather
Emergency management officials say the old Boy Scout motto of “Be Prepared” is a good one when talking about how severe weather can affect us. As part of Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa, National Weather Service meteorologist Jeff Johnson says Iowans should talk over with their families where they’d take refuge if a tornado warning is issued. If you set a place ahead of time where you’d go in your home, then there won’t be a panic when the sirens sound and everyone will know where they’ll meet. Johnson says you need to find a place in your home that will best survive a tornado. He says get to the lowest level and into a small room in the center of the structure with no external exposure. For folks in mobile homes, Johnson says to find someplace else for shelter to ride out the storm. Johnson says a number of people last year also learned the need to prepare for the possibility of flooding. A statewide tornado drill is planned for this morning (Thursday). The drill had been planned for Wednesday but the possibility of -actual- severe weather forced its postponement. For more information about Severe Weather Awareness Week, surf to “www.nws.noaa.gov”.
