February 9, 2012

You are here: Home / 2010 / January / Archives for 5th

On-line registration for boarding houses moving forward

January 5, 2010 By

The state task force set up to review the way the state handles mentally retarded adults saw a demonstration of a system for registering boarding houses on-line at their meeting today in Des Moines. The on-line registration is one of several suggestions the task force developed for the legislature in the wake of the revelation that 21 mentally retarded men were living together in a run-down home in Attalisa.

Iowa Department on Aging Director, John McCalley, says the start up of the on-line registration keeps them “ahead of schedule” in implementing the changes the legislature approved. McCalley says they got they got some good feedback on the system that they will use to improve the system for those who have to use it. He says the uniform assessment the Department of Human Services will use is also in place and being used, and allows the state to coordinate services for people who’re at-risk. The on-line site will be running by the end of this month or early February.

McCalley says the coordination of services is part of the requirements that are now law, and he says they’ve also implemented new record keeping guidelines. McCalley says the were only keeping records on people for six months, and now they are keeping them for three years. McCalley says the changes address the major problems identified with the Atalisa situation.

He says the state didn’t know where the boarding homes were and now they are required to register and in a few months they will know where the homes are. McCalley says if there are interventions needed by state or local authorities, they will have information to go on, and it will allow them to provide any needed services and supports for those who are found to be at-risk. While McCalley says things are on schedule with the changes implemented to address the concerns Atalisa — the task force will continue meeting on a quarterly basis.

“We know that more work needs to be done, we know that a lot the investigations require some additional investigation and additional public input. So, the task force needs to continue to meet to bring focus to this important issue, and maintain that focus. As long as there are dependent adults at-risk in the state of Iowa, this task force has work to do,” McCalley says.

McCalley says anyone with comments or suggestions can go on-line at: www.aging.iowa.gov. The Atalisa men had been working for a turkey processing company at the time their situation was discovered.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Politics & Government Tagged With:

Ceiling falls in Anamosa classroom

January 5, 2010 By

Several classrooms are closed at Anamosa’s West Middle School after a ceiling crashed to the floor in one of the rooms on Monday. It was the first day back at school after winter break. Anamosa sixth grader Kayla Theilen was in the classroom and says she and others heard strange noises coming from the ceiling.

Teacher Jeff Vaughn asked his students to move to the other side of the room. “It started cracking…so he told us all to move over. One minute after we all moved over, it had fallen, so we all ran out of the room,” Theilen told KCRG-TV. Around 18 students and two teachers were in the room at the time. One-third of the ceiling and some fluorescent lights crashed on top of desks.

“We were all screaming,” Theilen said. “Some of us were shaking and crying. It took us two hours to stop shaking.” No one was seriously hurt, though some students did get a few bumps and bruises. The Anamosa school is more than 100 years old. Last year, voters rejected a plan to replace the aging building with a new 16 million dollar middle school. Superintendent Dale Monroe says voters could be asked to reconsider the project in April.

“There’s a reality that all of us are facing right now. We do have an old building that has some structural issues to it,” Monroe said. Structural engineer Dennis Waugh inspected the building after the ceiling fell to the ground. “(The building) is still structurally adequate in the short term, but more and more problems are going to show up. It’s about time to consider a replacement,” Waugh said. Plans are being made to repair the classroom, but for now, it remains closed – along with rooms directly above and below it, just as a precaution.

By Mark Geary, KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids

Filed Under: Education, Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Miller: “pretty clear sailing” for Iowa Caucuses in ’12

January 5, 2010 By

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says Iowa’s Caucuses fared well with a Democratic Party commission which debated how to arrange the calendar of events in the next presidential election.

“In large measure, because of the president, Iowa was in a very good situation in this commission,” says Miller, who served on the commission. “Barack (Obama) spent a lot of time here. He met a lot of Iowans. He had a great result here. He loves Iowa and he’s never going to forget us and that played into the dynamic here in a very significant way.”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Campaign Countdown, Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

Big Bopper to be inducted into Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

January 5, 2010 By

The late singer and guitarist best known as the Big Bopper will be among this year’s inductees to the Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Doris Welle of Milford, with the Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Music Association, says the Big Bopper, or J.P. Richardson, was among those killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake after a Surf Ballroom show nearly 51 years ago.

“He made a significant impact on music in Iowa,” Welle says. “His career might’ve been fairly short, due to his death in the plane crash with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, but he had really made his mark with Iowa rock ‘n’ roll fans.” While Richardson has been gone nearly five decades, Welle says his legacy lives on in Iowa.

“His music is still played, it’s still danced to, it’s still sung along with,” Welle says. “His son, Bopper Junior, comes to Iowa every year and performs because he has a huge fan base here.” Both Holly and Valens have already been inducted into the Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

 

The Hall of Fame induction weekend is September 4th and 5th at Arnolds Park. A total of 11 bands, five solo performers, three ballrooms, a disc jockey and a radio station will be honored during the ceremony. For more details, visit “www.iowarocknroll.org“.

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment

UNI looks for 12th straight win at SIU

January 5, 2010 By

U.N.I. will try to make it 12 in a row on Wednesday night with a visit to Southern Illinois. The Panthers are 3-0 in the league race while the Salukis, with former Iowa guard Tonmy Freeman, are one of a host of teams at 2-1.

U.N.I. coach Ben Jacobsen says it’s not surprising having seen Freeman when he was at Iowa and he says they have more experience overall now and have good depth. Jacobseno says the Salukis are a higher scoring team than in past years. He says they have a team that fits pushing the ball and taking shots sooner in the shot clock.

U.N.I. is 12-1 on the season and Southern coach Chris Lowery says the Panthers have been as good as expected. He says they are well coached and a mature team with great confidence and that leads to a lot of success. Lowery says while the Salukis are pushing the tempo this season they have not forgotten about defense.

He says they’ve changed some things to match up with the players they have, and says they still need to defend better.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Drake and Creighton meet in MVC

January 5, 2010 By

Two teams having disappointing seasons collide in Omaha on Wednesday night when Drake visits Creighton in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Bulldogs are 0-3 in the Valley and 5-10 overall while the Blue Jays are 1-2 in the league race and 6-8 overall.

Drake coach Mark Phelps says Creighton is much better than its record as he says they are talented and it will be a challenge for his team coming off five straight losses. He says their program has been the standard in the league for many years.

Creighton is coming off a victory against Evansville and looks to build momentum against the Bulldogs. Creighton coach Dana Altman says they are hitting free throws, but feel like they are making progress overall. He says both teams are using a lot of newcomers.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Grassley wants report on “Cash for Clunkers” cost

January 5, 2010 By

Three-billion federal dollars were spent on last year’s Cash for Clunkers program and there’s still been no official report on its aftermath. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is asking the U.S. Secretary of Transportation for a final financial report on the program, which aimed to stimulate the economy while encouraging consumers to trade in gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient new models.

“The Cash for Clunkers program was set up very quickly and there hasn’t been an accounting of the administrative costs of the program,” Grassley says. “There also hasn’t been publicly available information about how contractors were picked to process the thousands of transactions that the program generated.”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,
« Older Posts