Motor Vehicle Accident on Wednesday Evening in Hillsboro

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, May 30th, 2024 at 8:47 am CDT

The Henry County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a single vehicle accident on Wednesday evening. An investigation revealed that the vehicle was traveling westbound in the 1200-grid of Salem Road when the driver swerved from hitting a deer. They then ran off into an unoccupied house.

The driver of the vehicle and sole occupant was identified as Trevor Schneider of Bonaparte. He refused medical attention and was charged with Operating While Under the Influence 3rd Offense, a class D felony, along with a citation for failure to maintain control.

 

**Below is the preliminary report

**There was a motor vehicle accident on Wednesday evening in the 1200 block of Salem Road in Hillsboro, around 8:30pm. A sizable amount of emergency responders helped at the scene, including the Henry County Sheriff’s Office, Henry County Health Center, Salem Fire, Hillsboro Fire, Hillsboro Police, and the Iowa State Patrol.

Emergency Management Unveils New Disaster Recovery Website for Severe Weather

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, May 30th, 2024 at 8:46 am CDT

Iowa has already experienced a large amount of tornadoes this year, with emergency management departments across the state working over time in 2024. The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management has now launched a disaster recovery website, which they believe will help Iowans find much-needed resources and information. This is in response to the recent severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding.

The website, disasterrecovery.iowa.gov, has multiple resources, such as; assistance for those affected by severe weather including information about the current state and federal programs available, volunteer and donation information, and links for addition assistance or information. This includes mental health resources, how to clean up, insurance questions, and more.

Iowans seeking more information can visit  disasterrecovery.iowa.gov.  Resources on the website cover a wide range of topics, including:

CenturyLink Experiencing Outage Across Iowa

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, May 30th, 2024 at 8:44 am CDT

*Lumen has announced that the majority of services have been restored*

An interruption of landline phone service has affected residents, businesses, and emergency services providers resulting in phone and/or internet issues throughout Iowa due to an issue with service provider Lumen Technologies. This interruption may affect the ability to reach 911 by landline phone.

Recommended Actions:

  • If you have an emergency, dial 9-1-1 from a mobile phone.
  • Texting 911 is also an available option in all 99 Iowa counties.
  • Follow local media, and official social media pages for updates on impacted or restored services. The outages may vary by location.

There are a few things that people should be aware of in the event of an outage of 911 communications:

  • Never call 911 unless you’re in a true emergency.
  • Tune in to local media, and social media from official sources for additional information and guidance.
  • Depending on the nature of the outage there may be alternative ways to reach 911.

When 911 outages occur in our state, responsible parties will conduct a thorough investigation to understand what happened and why it happened so those involved can review if changes are needed to reduce future outages.

 

*Lumen (CenturyLink) is experiencing an outage across the entire state of Iowa which is preventing most agencies from receiving VoIP calls and in some cases 911 calls. If you are trying to reach us on the administrative numbers, you will get a busy signal most likely. If it is something that needs taken care of right away, please call 911. If it can wait, please be patient and follow updates on the outage.

 

Janice Crabill

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 at 2:43 pm CDT

Janice (Jan) Elaine Oberman Crabill, 87, of Scottsdale, AZ and formerly of Mt. Union, New London, and Mt. Pleasant died on May 22, 2024 at Hospice of the Valley – Eckstein Center.

Jan was born on November 5, 1936 in Burlington, IA, the daughter of Howard and Edith (Spencer) Oberman.  She graduated from Mount Union High School and attended the University of Iowa for three years majoring in Business.

On June 1, 1957, she married James (Jim) Edward Crabill in Mt. Union; he died November 4, 2008. While Jim was in the Navy, she worked as a secretary in various Civil Service jobs.  After moving back to Iowa, she was an assistant to James D. Marshall who taught Dale Carnegie Courses; a bookkeeper for Hodson-McKim Motors; a teller at Iowa State Bank; and finally worked for Van Syoc Auction and Realty.

Jan was a member of the Mt. Union Booster Club, Henry County A.R.C., and Chapter U of T.T.T. of Mt. Union.  She looked forward to volunteering every year at Midwest Old Threshers.  She enjoyed reading and attending Bible classes.  While Jim was stationed in Naples, Italy, their love for travel began when they took trips throughout Europe.  Later in life, they traveled much of the U.S. in their motorhome and spent many winters in Arizona where they enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

Jan is survived by her daughters, Joyce Niemiec of Scottsdale, AZ and Joni (Brad) Fulton of Fort Madison, IA; three grandchildren, Michael (Ashley) Niemiec, Katelyn (Adam) Hofmann and Sara (Marshall) Niemiec; four great-grandchildren, Cruz and Holland Niemiec and Owen and Calvin Hofmann. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, infant son Jeffrey, and brothers Royce and Eldon.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may go to Hope Haven Area Development Center in Burlington, IA.

A celebration of life for Jan will be held at a later date.  Elliott Chapel, New London, is assisting the family with arrangements and online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com

Georgia Mathews

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 at 2:41 pm CDT

Georgia Ann Mathews, 83, of Danville, died Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice House, West Burlington.  She was born September 14, 1940 in Mt. Pleasant to Daniel Joseph, Sr and Mary “Mary Jo”  Schroeder Cash.  On December 27, 1958 she married Dwayne C. Mathews at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Mt. Pleasant; he died November 11, 2023.

She was a 1958 graduate of Mt. Pleasant High School.  She grew up attending St. Alphonsus Catholic Church and later served on the Parish Council for Saints Mary and Patrick Catholic Church in West Burlington.

Georgia was a rural mail carrier for New London and Danville for many years.  She was a member of the Danville Athletic Boosters and filled several roles for Danville Schools including working in the kitchen, eighteen years driving a school bus along with the pep bus and team bus, announcing softball games, and keeping score books for baseball and softball games.  She enjoyed attending her children’s and grandchildren’s sporting events.

She assisted alongside her husband as owners of Mathews Angus Farm and was a member of the Des Moines County Cattle Women’s Association and American Angus Auxiliary.  Her favorite pastimes included ceramics, macrame, jewelry making, and shopping every Saturday. She and Dwayne enjoyed taking country dance lessons and riding motorcycles with friends.

Survivors include her children, Debbie Mathews of Danville, Steve (Sandra) Mathews of Charles Town, West Virginia, and Monica Myers of Burlington; eight grandchildren; ten great-grandchildren; two brothers, Daniel J. (Marge) Cash, Jr of Bernalillo, New Mexico and Bill (Judy) Cash of Mt. Pleasant; brother-in-law Dave Carrick of Mt. Pleasant; and numerous nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, sister Margaret Carrick, brother John Cash and son-in-law Jim Myers.

A funeral mass for Mrs. Mathews will be held at 11:00 am, June 24, 2024 at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Mt. Pleasant, with Father Jacob Greiner officiating.  Inurnment of her cremains will follow at Jaggar Cemetery, rural Danville.  The family will greet friends at the church beginning at 10:00 until the time of the service.  A memorial has been established for Danville Athletic Booster Club.  Elliott Chapel, New London is assisting the family and online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com.

DMC Hwy 99 Hawkeye Creek Bridge Closure

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 at 2:39 pm CDT

The following is a message from the Des Moines County Engineer:

The following route will be closed starting Thursday, May 30th for bridge replacement. Weather permitting, we anticipate the project to last 4 months.

DMC Hwy 99
(immediately south of Hawkeye Road intersection.)
• 250th Street intersection will remain open.
• Huron Road intersection will remain open.

We are sorry for any inconvenience that this causes and we appreciate your patience while we improve our roads in Des Moines County.

One Subject Suffers Gunshot Wound in Washington County

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 at 11:25 am CDT

At approximately 12:45 AM on May 29th, the Washington County Communications Center received a report of a disturbance at 2705 Airport Rd., Washington.

It was determined that one subject had suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The subject was transported to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City by Washington County Ambulance personnel and is in stable condition.

Personnel from Washington EMS, the Washington Police Department, Washington County Conservation, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation also assisted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at the scene.

The incident is under investigation and anyone with any information concerning the incident is urged to contact the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 319-653-2107.

Polishville Welcoming Consul General Dr. Pawel Zyzak on Sunday

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 at 8:46 am CDT

The Consul General of the Polish Consulate in Chicago, Dr. Pawel Zyzak, will visit Polishville on Sunday, June 2, from 3:00-4:30 pm. Please join us at the Polishville Community Center to celebrate this very special and unique visit. The center is 10 miles northeast of Fairfield and 5 miles south of Brighton on the graveled 136th Street. Look for signs on Pleasant Plain Road or Germanville Road.

The Consul General will be in southeastern Iowa as part of a tour of Polish heritage communities in Nebraska and Iowa, in order to meet descendants of Poles whose ancestors came to Iowa and Nebraska in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as more recent immigrants from Poland.

The Polish American descendants of the Poles who settled in the Polishville area and Jefferson County are honored that the Polish Consul General has chosen to visit Polishville.

The first Polish settlers in what would later become Polishville arrived in the mid-1850s. Other Poles followed and a Roman Catholic church, St. Mary’s, was built in 1882/83 to accommodate these Polish immigrants, with some Czechs joining them.

From the available data, Polishville was the sole Polish rural settlement in all of Iowa, though Sioux City saw an urban Polish community develop after 1905.

Please join us at the Polishville Community Center on June 2 at 3:00 pm to welcome the Polish Consul General in Chicago, as well as to honor Polishville’s past and to welcome Polishville into a new post-COVID era.

Light refreshments will be served.

Schedule of Events:

3:00-3:15 pm: Opening remarks.

3:15-3:35 pm: Guided tour of Polishville grounds.

3:35-4:15 pm: Comments from Consul Zyzak, questions, discussion/conversation.

4:15-4:30 pm: Photos.

There will be no cost for this event. For any additional information, please  reach out to Konrad Sadkowski, at 319-273-2765.