Author: Theresa Rose

Early Saturday morning Mount Pleasant Police attempted a traffic stop in the 1100 block of East Washington Street. The driver of the passenger van, Dewayne Lenoir Junior of Mount Pleasant, failed to stop and instead tried to elude the officer. The pursuit continued east on Washington for several blocks. The driver did finally stop in the 2200 block of East Washington but after getting out of the van failed to follow police directions. He was eventually taken into custody and charged with eluding, interference with official acts and driving under suspension. Mount Pleasant Police were assisted with the incident by Henry Count Sheriff’s Deputies.

Friday night the Mount Pleasant Fire Department responded to a call at 1201 East Monroe Street just before 7 pm.  There was a fire outside a garage walk-in door. Two engines and ten firefighters were on the scene for less than 30 minutes.  The fire remains under investigation.

Congratulations to recently named award recipients of the 2023 Access Energy Cooperative Lineworker Scholarship program! Receiving $2000 toward a line worker educational program are Payton Stevens and Vegas Watson. Payton will graduate from Central Lee High School. His plans are to attend the Powerline program at Northwest Community College. Vegas will graduate from New London High School, and also will be attending the Powerline program at Northwest Community College. In addition to the $9000 in scholarship money awarded to students whose parents or guardians of the applicant are members of Access Energy Cooperative, up to two $2000 line worker scholarships can be awarded to students planning to pursue a career as a line worker. Winners are chosen based on their academics, achievements, community involvement, and a personal interview. They must be enrolled or planning to enroll in a lineworker educational program. Access Energy Cooperative is a rural distribution electric cooperative, providing power to homes, farms, business and industry in 10 southeast Iowa counties.

Gov. Kim Reynolds has ordered flags in Iowa to half staff today (Friday) for the Iowa Peace Officer Memorial Ceremony as the state honors law enforcement who died in the line of duty over the past year. Two officers will be honored during the 2023 ceremony: Fremont County Deputy Austin “Melvin” Richardson and Coralville Police Sergeant John Karl Williams. Richardson was returning from a call for service on June 14, 2022, and collided with a combine on Highway 275 near Hamburg. On July 3, 2022, Williams died of cardiac arrest after responding to a fatal shooting involving a three-year-old child. Reynolds says, “These officers lost their lives defending and protecting their communities. The community of Coralville, the state of Iowa, and their brothers and sisters in law enforcement will never forget their service. While their families and our state continue to grieve, lowering flags across the state serves as a small memory of their sacrifice and is a reminder to every Iowan the importance of law enforcement to our communities.” Flags will be at half-staff on the State Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex from sunrise to sunset today (Friday), May 5. Flags will also be at half-staff on all public buildings, grounds, and facilities throughout the state. Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties, and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

On May 4^th at approximately 7:45AM, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a single vehicle accident in the 3100 grid of Lexington Avenue.  An investigation into this report determined that Jennifer Dorothy, 69, of Mt. Pleasant, was driving southbound when she lost control of her vehicle while negotiating a curve.  No injuries were reported.  The vehicle was considered totaled.