Author: Theresa Rose

Sunday, December 26, just before 11 am, Washington County authorities and emergency responders were dispatched to a single vehicle crash near 300th Street and Hwy 1 in rural Washington County.  Stanley Knipfer was driving and Donna Knipfer was a front seat passenger.  Both were taken by Washington County ambulance to University Hospitals in Iowa City.  According to the crash report Stanley apparently suffered some sort of medical problem that caused him to lose control of the vehicle.  It left the roadway entering the ditch where it struck a fence then entered a field.  The vehicle hit another fence and then went airborne, striking an embankment before coming to rest on another fence.

Henry County Public Health has free COVID-19 at-home test kits from Test Iowa available for individual pick-up. These test kits are NOT rapid tests but are saliva sample PCR tests that you can do at home and send directly to the State Hygienic Lab. You must have internet access and an email address where you will receive your results within 24-72 hours.

To request a test you can stop by Public Health (106 N. Jackson St., Mt. Pleasant) Monday – Friday 8am-4pm, or call 319-385-0779 and someone will meet you outside at your vehicle. Please do not come inside our office if you are sick or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. The test kit will contain instructions and samples can be returned using a UPS drop-off box (at U.S. Bank, Pilot, and Kempkers True Value in Mt. Pleasant). Visit testiowa.com for more information or to request a kit be mailed to your house, or contact their call center at 833-286-8378.

The best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including new variants, is to get vaccinated, get a booster if you are eligible, and to wear a mask in indoor public settings or in a crowded environment. Find more information about vaccine clinic options, what to do if you have been exposed, and steps to protect yourself and others at HealthyHenryCounty.org/covid.

On December 19th at approximately 6:40AM, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office was notified of damage to property in the 2100-Grid of Franklin Avenue Street. Equipment damaged was a posted speed trailer along the roadway shoulder. This incident had occurred during the overnight hours that evening. The Sheriff’s Office request contact from involved parties and/or assistance from the public with any information relating to this incident.

On December 25th at approximately 12:09AM, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office was notified of and responded to the location of a single motor vehicle accident with injury near the Franklin Avenue/Oakland Mills Road intersection.

Upon arrival, emergency services provided aid to multiple vehicle occupants. During a subsequent investigation, the vehicle was determined to have entered the ditch area from driver related factors causing them to loss control and leave the roadway. The driver was identified as Billy Kerr, 42, of Mt Pleasant. Standardized field sobriety test were additionally conducted during this time.

From this incident and investigation Billy Kerr was taken into custody and charged with Operating while Intoxicated (OWI), Failure to Obey Stop Sign, and Failure to Maintain Control

So many times in the past the beginning of January brings a snow storm.  Not in 2021.  That happened at the beginning of February.  We’ll get to that.

Possibly, the biggest announcement came mid-month. January 12 Iowa Wesleyan University and Southeastern Community College Announced Formation of Southeast Iowa Higher Education Alliance. While both institutions will continue to operate separately, this unique partnership between a four-year private liberal arts university and a community college will serve as an innovative model for the future of higher education securing the future of both as well as offering a smooth, affordable academic pathways between IW and SCC, broadening the educational opportunities for students and increasing the talent pipeline for the regional workforce. Through this model, a student could take college-level courses in high school and go on to complete an associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degree all within the SIHEA system.

At about 9:40 the morning of February 4 the Mount Pleasant Fire Department was paged out to a fire at 2818 Kentucky Avenue.  Upon arrival at the Batey Sawmill crews encountered heavy smoke coming from a large structure. Salem and New London Departments were immediately called for manpower and tanker trucks. Crews remained on the scene for four and half hours. Mount Pleasant Fire Chief Drew Schumacher said the fire started when dust and debris caught fire while mechanics were using a cutting torch to cut bolts as they were removing equipment. They tried to put out the fire with several fire extinguishers but the fire spread too quickly. Six firefighters from Salem brought an engine, a tanker, a brush truck and a rescue unit. New London sent five firefighters and one engine.

And now for the snow storm…..at about the same time the fire department was wrapping up at the scene of the saw mill fire Henry County Engineer, Jake Hotchkiss, had to temporarily halt county plow trucks.  Trucks were stopped out on the roads to wait and see if winter storm conditions would improve.  Motorgraders continued to work on the gravel roads so school buses could operate since school let out early. At about 2:30 the plow trucks were back on the roads but Hotchkiss said at that time that he may have to pull them off again. White out conditions were being reported especially north of Mount Pleasant from the Trenton/Mt. Union black top going north. Travel on 218 was reported to be difficult and one lane only with icy conditions. By 3 pm the snow fall had let up but strong winds continued to blow and drift the snow creating poor visibility and treacherous road conditions. There were also reports of jack knifed semis, cars in the ditch and a crash on 218 just north of Mt. Pleasant near 185^th Street. Access Energy cooperative reported several outages across its’ service area. One outage caused KILJ AM to off the air for a time.

The first quarter of 2021 saw the completion of the campaign to convince Henry County voters that Henry County Health Center should enter into a lease agreement with Great River Health Systems. On March 2 a majority of Henry County voters said, “Yes” to the public measure asking if the HCHC Board of Trustees should be authorized to pursue leasing the public hospital facilities and related assets to Great River Health System. This agreement between a public hospital and a private hospital calls for HCHC employees to remain HCHC employees and retain their benefits.

Henry County Jail

In the interest of keeping Henry County residents informed, the Henry County Sheriff’s office has requested KILJ post the daily jail count. During the jail referendum campaign it was publicized that the jail would be able to house additional inmates from surrounding counties and this would generate revenue for Henry County.

Date:   _12-27-2021________

JAIL COUNT

  _23_      Henry County Inmates

  _34_      Out of County Contract Inmates              

 _57_     TOTAL