Local Traffic Accident

On Wednesday just before 3 pm Mount Pleasant Police were dispatched to a motor vehicle collision on Commerce Drive near Iris Road.

It was determined that a vehicle operated by Jacob Payne of Burlington was westbound on Commerce. A vehicle operated by Scottie Dunn of Mt Pleasant, was traveling eastbound on Commerce. Dunn attempted to enter a parking lot and turned left in front of Payne. Payne then struck Dunn broadside. The total damage was estimated at $16,498. There were no injuries.Payne was cited for No Insurance and Dunn was cited for Failure to yield on a left turn.

CHAMBER AWARDS CHECK TO IJAG PROGRAM

MOUNT PLEASANT, IA – On Monday, October 4 at 10:00 am, the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance will be visiting the iJAG classroom at Mount Pleasant High School to award a $2,000 check to kick off a week of activities in honor of Manufacturing Week.

 

Held annually on the first week in October, MFG Week helps show the reality of modern manufacturing careers by encouraging thousands of companies and educational institutions around the nation to open their doors to students, parents, teachers and community leaders. As manufacturers seek to fill 4 million high-skill, high-tech and high-paying jobs over the next decade, MFG Week empowers manufacturers to come together to address their collective challenges so they can help their communities and future generations thrive.

 

The Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance has a week of activities planned with the annual check presentation being one of the most popular. Each year, the sponsors of MFG week choose a worthwhile organization to support. This year, the committee chose the iJAG program at Mount Pleasant High School. iJAG is the premier non-profit organization connecting business and education to provide the most cost-effective dropout prevention and school to career solutions in Iowa. Students in the iJAG program have trouble making it in a conventional classroom because of the distractions and barriers at home, outside the classroom or even inside the classroom. Relying on real-world, project-based instructional methods and an unconventional approach to personal connections with students, the iJAG teaching specialists work within conventional learning environments to help remove barriers and show students how to achieve the next step of their career or education.

 

In addition to the check presentation on Monday, the Chamber will participate in a Regional Manufacturers’ Appreciation Golf Outing on Tuesday. All Chamber members are invited to attend the monthly Alive After Five at Kinney and Sons Excavating on Wednesday. They will offer a Regional Human Resources Covid Do’s and Don’ts webinar on Thursday. The week’s activities will wrap up with a chamber members participating in a College and Career Fair at the High School on Friday.

 

The Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance exists to improve the quality of life for Henry County residents through economic growth. The Chamber consists of 348 businesses, organizations, and individual members. The Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance encompasses the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce, Mount Pleasant Area Development Commission and Henry County Tourism.

9-29-21 Henry County COVID-19 update

14-day positivity rate for individuals: 14.7%

14-day positivity rate for tests taken (includes duplicate tests): 9.6%

# of cases last 3 days: 24

# of cases last 7 days: 51

# of cases last 14 days: 158

% of residents 12+ years of age fully vaccinated: 55.2%

% of all residents fully vaccinated: 47%

Think about who you interact with each day and if they are at a higher risk due to age or health concerns, please consider getting vaccinated to help protect them. This virus is continuing to spread throughout our communities. Public Health does not have the Pfizer vaccine, but continues to hold walk-in vaccine clinics for Moderna or J&J at 106 N. Jackson St. Monday – Friday 8am-3:30pm UNTIL those boosters are approved. Then we will change to all off-site appointment clinics. We will post updates here.

**We are sharing these regular updates to hopefully provide the most helpful information to keep you informed. There is a lot of data out there so we are reporting data from our local public health portal, with the exception of the vaccinated % which comes from the CDC Data Tracker since they break it out by eligible residents instead of just all residents.**

New Art Exhibit at Public Library

Mount Pleasant Arts IMPACT sponsors a mini art gallery in the Mount Pleasant Public Library. Local artists are featured on a rotating basis to showcase the work of area artists and to introduce new artists to the community. A new exhibit on display now during October and November is the photography of Kirsten Heerdt in which she features dramatic silhouettes and striking close-up photography.

Looking for a little getaway right here in Henry County and Mount Pleasant?

The new photography exhibit at the Mount Pleasant Community Public Library features the work of Kirsten Heerdt in a photographic journey around Southeast Iowa and also points beyond.

A Mount Pleasant resident, Kirsten is originally from Centennial, Colorado. Her background is in Electronic Reporting from Colorado State University.

Although she works at the Henry County Health Center as Public Information Assistant and Volunteer Services Coordinator, she is also passionate about Special Projects at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion.

As a frequent photograph contributor to Facebook, she often features dramatic landscapes and silhouettes from around Southeast Iowa. Her portfolio also showcases scenic landscapes from the Rocky Mountains as well as stunning macro photos of nature elements.

Kirsten uses her photography to encourage spending time in the beauty of the outdoors. She illustrates these values expressed in a quote from Jack Kerouac: “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing the lawn.”

Kirsten’s free exhibit is on display through Thanksgiving in the Arts IMPACT mini-gallery in the Public Library during regular library hours. The public may contact her through e-mail at kirsten.heerdt@gmail.com to comment about her display or to inquire about purchases.

Donald Pieper,

Donald Pieper, 68, of Lexington Square in Keokuk, formerly of Houghton, Iowa, passed away at 8:44 a.m. Tuesday, September 28, 2021, at Blessing Health in Keokuk, Iowa.

He was born on May 30, 1953, in Fort Madison, Iowa, the son of James and Renelda (Holtkamp) Pieper.

He is survived by his mother: Renelda of the Kensington, Fort Madison, Iowa; four brothers: David Pieper (his twin) of Donnellson, Iowa, Ken (Donna) Pieper of Donnellson, Iowa, Frank (Rhonda) Pieper of Donnellson, Iowa, Jay (Rhonda) Pieper of Ely, Iowa; two sisters: Elaine (Mark) Hammer of Baxter, Iowa and Rita (Alan) Beers of Ainsworth, Iowa. He is also survived by several nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his father: Jim; sister-in-law: Rosalie and nephew: Matthew.

Don was graduate of Fort Madison Community High School. He was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and the Holy Name Society.

Friends may call from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m. Thursday, September 30, 2021, at Schmitz Funeral Home in West Point.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, October 1, 2021, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Houghton with Father Dan Dorau as celebrant.

Burial will be at St. John’s Cemetery, Houghton, Iowa

A memorial has been established in his memory for St. John’s Catholic Church.

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.schmitzfuneralhomes.com. Schmitz Funeral Home of West Point is assisting the family with arrangements.

Henry County Supervisors Meeting Agenda

AGENDA

 

September 30, 2021

 

Approve Agenda

 

Approve Minutes

 

Approve Claims

 

9:00  Sarah Berndt, CDS Monthly Meeting

 

9:45 Approve Reserve Officer Matthew Borders

 

10:00  Joe Buffington Second Reading to Adopt Henry County

Flood Plain Management Ordinance

 

Other County Business as time allows

 

Supervisors Sub-Committee Updates

 

Daily Jail Count

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.

Henry County Jail

 

Date:   ____9-29-2021_____

 

JAIL COUNT

 

  30_    Henry County Inmates

 

 39_    Out of County Contract Inmates              

 

 69   TOTAL

 

William “Bill” Robert Sickels

William “Bill” Robert Sickels 61 of Birmingham passed away on Monday September 27, 2021 at Van Buren County Hospital.  Graveside service will be at 11:00 AM Friday October 1, 2021 at Maple Hill Cemetery East of Birmingham with Leon Surbaugh officiating.  Lunch will follow the service at Birmingham City Park, guests are invited to bring a dish if they would like.  Memorials to EveryStep Hospice may be left at the graveside service or mailed to the family at P.O. Box 143, Birmingham, IA 52535. 

Bill was born on December 22, 1959 in Ottumwa to John William Sr. and Barbara Jean Thompson Sickels.  He spent his childhood on the family farm south of Douds and attended Douds Elementary and graduated from Van Buren High School in the class of 1978.  Shortly after graduation he met Lorie Ann Crafton and they were married on September 26, 1981 at the Birmingham Methodist Church.  Bill and Lorie lived in the Birmingham and Stockport areas. He loved working on cars and was a mechanic for much of his life.  He started his career at Hervey Implement in Keosauqua where he worked for 16 years.  He later was a mechanic at Smithburg Automotive and then at RPM Automotive both in Fairfield.  He then went into the manufacturing business and worked at Barker Wire in Keosauqua and then at Dexter in Fairfield until he was diagnosed with cancer and was forced to stop working.  Bill enjoyed fishing with family and friends, hunting morel mushrooms, hunting, jigsaw puzzles, old cars were his passion, most of all he loved spending time with family and friends especially his granddaughter, Teagan.

Left to cherish his memory are his mother, Barbara of Eldon and wife Lorie of Birmingham, a son, Dustin of Birmingham, three brothers, John Sickels Jr (Rhonda) of Muscatine, David Sickels (Trudy) of Stuart, Iowa and Murl Sickels (Jennifer) of Gentry, Arkansas, three sisters, Deborah Surbaugh (Leon) of Krum, Texas, Linda Bates of Des Moines and Kaye Gilbert (Stuart)of Stockport and a granddaughter, Teagan Sickels of Birmingham.  He was preceded in death by his father, John Sickels Sr., father-in-law, Leonard Crafton and mother-in-law, Shirley Crafton.