Jeremy Goodale has been sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole after a minimum 25 years behind bars.

Goodale plead guilty in April for the murder of Fairfield High School Spanish teacher, Nohema Graber, in November of 2021. Goodale and his friend, Willard Miller, decided to kill the Spanish teacher due to a bad grade given to Miller, who was attempting to spend a semester in Spain. Due to the bad grade, he was deemed ineligible. Miller was sentenced in July to life in prison and 35 years before the chance of parole.

Due to their age, neither of the two convicted of first degree murder were subject to mandatory life in prison without parole.

Two days of court proceedings led to the ultimate decision, that Goodale would spend his life in a cell. Revealed through trial, Goodale did agree to participate in the murder. He and Miller were lifelong friends, and he did not want to “disappoint” Miller by not helping him out. They were both just 16 years old at the time of the murder, in November of 2021.

It was argued that Goodale, although young, fully knew the difference between right and wrong. Several members of Nohema’s family believed that Goodale could have prevented the murder. There were many avenues to do that, such as alerting authorities, yet he chose not only to allow it to happen but participated in it. He was the last face that Nohema Graber saw, as he walked past her and said “hi”, the last words she would hear. Miller snuck up behind her during this interaction and struck her multiple times with a baseball bat.

Judge, Shawn Showers, believes that Goodale still has the chance to turn his life around. He believes that he showed remorse and regrets his actions. “Unlike your codefendant [Willard Miller] it is clear to me that you have regretted this role in the murder, and you’ve been remorseful.” The judge mentioned how Miller was much more “sinister” in his planning and execution. Others in the courtroom told Goodale that they will be praying for him.

Jeremy Goodale spoke in front of the courtroom, sobbing and at one point, bleeding so much through his nose that they had to put the hearing on pause. “Everyday I wish I could go back and stop myself, prevent this loss. Today as a young man, I can begin to pay for that.”

The son of Nohema Graber, Christian, told Goodale that he forgives him, and believes that his mother still loves and wants the best for his former student.

The Mt. Pleasant City Council met for a work session on Wednesday, November 15^th, where solid waste collection in the city was the topic on the table.

The City Council believes that the current system of trash pickup, with trash stickers, is a waste and is hurting more than it is helping. It was revealed that only 1/3^rd of residents in Mt. Pleasant use trash stickers, with the majority seeking the services of private companies. Due to this, the City Administrator has spoken with WEMIGA Waste and Lance Refuse to explore a route that would benefit the citizens of the city.

The City Administrator mentioned “we can’t continue to operate the way we operate.” The city is losing precious taxpayer dollars due to the current system, and the council believes that the private sector could better serve the people.

WEMIGA Waste and Lance Refuse were in attendance, able to answer any questions that came their way. The proposed plan is that both companies will work in conjunction, with WEMIGA servicing the north side of town and Lance Refuse servicing the south side. As part of this proposed contract, two containers would be offered to every household: a 65 gallon and a 95 gallon. The price would be $16 and $19.75 a month respectively. There would still be a utility fee as well.

A concerned citizen in the crowd charged the council with the question “why is garbage pickup [price] not based on usage?” Explaining that he believes it is unfair to charge the same price for a 65-gallon garbage can to a family of four versus a person who lives by themselves and doesn’t fill it up as often or as much. The city administrator battled back, commenting that there are over 4,000 households and switching to a system like that would require manpower that the city simply doesn’t have.

A proposed contract has been drawn up, yet both parties believe there is more discussion to have before moving forward.

It seems that they would like to resolve this issue by January 1^st and have answers for the public. Again, the discussion on Wednesday was regarding a proposed contract and is in no means final.

There have been multiple meetings over this issue, and there will be more. These are meetings that are open to the public. Please direct all questions to the Mt. Pleasant City Council.

The Southeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force has been working tirelessly for the past several months on an investigation involving the trafficking of narcotics at 1404 Lucas Ave in Burlington. On November 15^th, the hard work paid off, as a search warrant was obtained and executed at the residence. Once inside, officers found evidence of narcotic trafficking.

Two men were arrested as a result of the search warrant and investigation. Marcus Steele was placed under arrest and charged with Possession of Controlled Substance 1st Offense, a serious misdemeanor.

Emmanuel Davis was placed under arrest for Possession of Controlled Substance 3rd Offense a D Felony, as well as an Illinois Warrant for Delivery of Controlled Substance – Cocaine.

The Southeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force was assisted by the Burlington Police Department, Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office, West Burlington Police Department, Lee County Narcotics Task Force and the Henry County Sheriff’s Office.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Jeremy Goodale, 18, who plead guilty in April for the murder of Fairfield High School Spanish teacher, Nohema Graber, was sentenced to life in prison. The jury found him guilty on November 15th, 2o23. Goodale has the chance of parole after 25 years behind bars.

Both Goodale and Miller have now been sentenced to life in prison.

Motor Fuels

As of Wednesday, the price of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $3.03 across Iowa according to AAA, which is an 8 cent decline from last week. Even better, Iowans currently pay 47 cents less for the same gallon of unleaded gasoline than a year ago. The national average on Wednesday was $3.35, down 6 cents from last week’s price.

Retail diesel prices in Iowa fell 13 cents this week with a statewide average of $4.24.

The current Iowa diesel price of $4.24 is 10 cents lower than the national average $4.34. These prices have dropped 13 cents from one week ago, and over 3 quarters of a dollar from last year’s price ($5.06)

Wholesale ethanol held steady and is currently priced at $2.16.

The current Des Moines Terminal/Rack Prices are $2.10 for U87-E10, $2.35 for Unleaded 87 (clear), $2.81 for ULSD#2, $3.24 for ULSD#1, and $2.10 per gallon for E-70 prices.

Heating Fuels

• Propane prices held steady with a statewide average of $1.54 per gallon.
• Home heating oil prices fell 9 cents, with a statewide average of $3.49 per gallon
• Natural gas prices rose 10 cents at the Henry Hub reporting site and are currently priced at $3.19/MMbtu

Crude Oil Summary

The price of global crude oil rose this week on the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) by $1.20 per barrel over last week, currently priced at $77.15. Brent crude oil rose $1.43 and is currently priced at $81.67. One year ago, WTI crude sold for $86.92 and Brent crude was at $94.30.

Tips for saving energy on the road or at home are available at energy.gov and fueleconomy.gov.

Many residents of Mt. Pleasant have been questioning the future of solid waste collection in our town. Will the city continue to provide a service, or will the community need to hire private pickup?

The Mount Pleasant City Council is meeting tonight at 5:30pm to discuss solid waste collection. There is a public forum scheduled as well, so if you have any thoughts or concerns, you can voice them at 307 E Monroe Steet in the second-floor meeting room.

The Holidays are a time for families to gather and enjoy a great meal. Unfortunately, not everyone can always count on food, as many go without it for days on end. Thankfully, Henry County has plenty of food pantries for those who need to utilize their services. Two food pantries in Mt. Pleasant, and then one in each Winfield, Wayland, Crawfordsville, and New London, ensure that everyone is granted the opportunity to enjoy a meal this Thanksgiving.

These food pantries need your help! Love thy neighbor by donating extra canned goods to these pantries. Consider giving fresh or frozen meat, or even fresh produce. They currently are in search of a variety of food, such as instant rice, oatmeal, and potatoes, as well as tortillas, bread, pancake mix/syrup, and packaged meals like mac and cheese or hamburger helper. Of course, pasta and spaghetti sauce is helpful, and they always appreciate donations of milk, eggs, and cheese.

Food Pantry Information:

Wayland Food Pantry: 104 W 2^nd St, Wayland

319 591 0961

2^nd, 4^th Thurs 4-6pm

Community Action of Southeast Iowa: 1303 W Washington St, Mt. Pleasant

319 385 2310

M-F 8:30-4:30

The Fellowship Cup: 203 N Jefferson St, Mt. Pleasant

319 385 3242

Thursday 10a-4p

Tiger Food Pantry: 106 W Wilson St, New London

319 367 0512

Thurs 3:30-6p, Sat 9-11a

WACO Community Food Pantry: 105 N Chestnut St, Crawfordsville

319 461 0532

1^st, 3^rd Thurs 2-5:30p

MOPS-Winfield Food Pantry: Winfield Methodist Church (current)

Moving to 107 E Elm St

319 217 2655 W

Wednesday 12-5p