Jail issues were at the top of the work done by the Ringgold county board of supervisors at their regular meetings this past week.

Jail matters

At the meeting Tuesday, sheriff Mike Sobotka showed the board proposed floor plans for the facility and some of the changes that he was suggesting be included in the plans.

The new facility will have a 12-bed capacity or 22 beds for double bunking. With other possible holding areas, a maximum of 26 prisoners could be held at one time.

“We want the floor plan to have as much flexibility as possible so that we can meet any needs as they arise in the future,” sheriff Mike Sobotka said.

The jail plan includes cells for holding prisoners from maximum security to those who only need to be held for a few hours.

Sobotka is asking that the floor in the observation area be raised, some doors and windows changed and some spaces rearranged to provide the most efficient staffing of the facility.

A revised floor plan will be brought back to the supervisors once it is prepared.

At the January 21 meeting, a conference call was held  with the board of supervisors, Kelly Richards, Todd Paxson, Jon Moberg, sheriff Mike Sobotka, Joe Murphy, county attorney Clint Spurrier, auditor Laurie Greenman and, by phone, Bob Josten and Jim Anderson. The group discussed a procedure for moving forward with the lease-purchase for the jail facility.

Other agenda items

The board had a full agenda of other items at its Tuesday, Jan. 26 meeting as well.

Custodian Spencer Lumbard brought a list of repairs that are needed for the courthouse to the board as they work on the budget for the coming year. It includestuckpointing of another corner of the building as part of on going maintenance.

Dick Elliott brought a budget request from the Ringgold County Development Corp., which is seeking the same budget as last year.

The board worked on getting a 28E agreement for the county engineer position with Decatur county finalized at the meeting as well.

In other action Tuesday the board visited with master gardeners about landscaping of the courthouse and set a meeting next month to continue the discussion.

The board also signed a letter of concern to send to the governor and legislators in response to Governor Chet Culver’s suggestion that money for the Iowa State Patrol be taken from road use tax funds. This would cost the county well over $100,000 in road funds if approved by the legislature.

In other action from the Thursday, Jan. 21, meeting, the board had a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster review and talked about insurance matters.

Teresa Jackson, Emergency Management coordinator, attended the session to discuss the disaster review. Also present were Chuck Waske, Rod Shields, Steve Trullinger, Steve Sobotka, Lizzie Hanawalt, Dan Greenland, Donna Greenland, Tim Hubbard, Jill Sawin, Gene Wood and Maurice Walters.

Lois Ibbotson from Tyler Insurance and Kristen Lowe, GBL representative, met with the board to discuss insurance concerns regarding claims processing. It was suggested that a letter be sent to all county employees outlining necessary contact information.

Frank DeMarco and Diane England, representing American Administrators, were also present.

A former Ringgold county resident will be part of a medical mission trip headed to help in Haiti later this spring.

Ashley Adams, R.N., who now lives in Des Moines, plans to take the trip to Haiti with “God’s Chosen One Ministry,” a non-denominational ministry that includes doctors and nurses willing to donate time.

The group will be gone March 27-April 4 and will be on a clinic team helping to treat Haitian people.

Adams, who is an obstetrical nurse at Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines and on a surgical team at West Lake Surgical Center in West Des Moines, will be taking the trip with two other nurses from Iowa Methodist Hospital.

The medical team will be going to the Port Au Prince area and will be doing things like setting broken bones, treating illnesses and the like.

They have rounded up help from some baby formula companies and participants can take two big check-in bags with them in which they will carry medical supplies.

Anyone with old arm slings, splints, ace bandages and other items that might be of help to the medical team are encouraged to donate them to the mission.

They can be brought to Brenda Adams, Ashley’s mother, at the Family Resource Center in Mount Ayr.

Adams is also raising money donations as the medical team pays their own way for the trip. Donations can also be dropped off at the Family Resource Center.

Adams is a 2000 graduate of Mount Ayr Community high school.

Editor’s note: If there are other Ringgold county people working on Haiti relief projects, please let the Mount Ayr Record-News know so information on those efforts can also be shared.

  An update on the jail project with Joe Murphy, secondary roads issues, setting the value for road right of way purchases, a drug task force contract, using grant funds and several other topics were part of the work of the Ringgold county board of supervisors at their regular meetings last week.

The meeting Tuesday focused on a visit with Joe Murphy about the progress on the jail project.

The supervisors had been asking for a floor plan to look at and Murphy told them that the timeline for having the plan completed was February 1 but he hoped to have a preliminary plan for the board to look at at their January 21 meeting.

“Our architect is not only working on developing the floor plan but making the plan work on the lot that the county has available,” Murphy said.

Murphy said that he has received a tentative timeline for the project from the experts he is working with and would provide the board a copy of it.

“While work is being done on the building design I would like to get the rest of the ducks in order,” Murphy said.

There has been some question about what type of financing the building is to have.

Board of supervisors members said that they were certain they wanted a lease-purchase plan.

Murphy asked the board to meet at 10 a.m. today (Thursday) to discuss with bonding attorney, Murphy, his financing experts Municipal Capital, the supervisors and county attorney Clint Spurrier so that a decision  can be made once and for all on how the building will be financed.

“We need to get the paperwork in order for the financing and for the lease-purchase contract so that once we have a plan approved we can move forward,” Murphy said. “If we don’t have the business side ready we will have to wait on it to get construction started.”

Larry Ford said the board of supervisors were anxious to see the plans for the building because how they are developed will determine staffing issues, which will make a big difference in operating costs.

Murphy noted that there were a number of hurdles to jump to get the whole package put together and he and the board needed to be working at the project from several angles.

Board members suggested  periodic updates on the progress of the plan, which Murphy will provide.

Details on the resolution the board passed when it decided to work with Murphy on the project were explained to some of the people attending the meeting. The board chose between two proposals presented.

Secondary roads matters were one of the focuses for the board’s meeting Tuesday, Jan. 14.

County engineer Dan Coulson and foremen Steve Trullinger, Bob Johnson and Steve Sobotka spent time visiting with the board about issues.

Supervisors explained that they had an agreement with the Decatur county engineer to help with duties for 90 days after Dan Coulson retires later this month. A search for an engineer will be conducted during this time.

Reports on equipment problems, salt and sand supplies, the need to use the One Call system when doing any digging and other matters were discussed.

Steve Sobotka said he felt the board needed to make clear the policy on use of the county shop or tools for personal use. “If the rules are that the equipment cannot be use for personal use then everyone needs to follow the rule and it should probably be posted at the shop,” Sobotka said.

Supervisors noted that if any tools are taken for personal use there should be a system for signing them in and out.

Supervisors told the roads department personnel that they had received a number of compliments on the road clearing work.

County engineer Dan Coulson noted that a lot of overtime had been used for snow removal so far and someone needs to be watching to make sure how much overtime is used.

Supervisors noted that an incident where it is charged that a county employee used a motor grader for personal snow removal use was being investigated.

Coulson noted that the rule on use of county equipment is not a county policy but has been set by the state of Iowa and personal use is prohibited.

Board president Kurt Shaha said he had done some investigation of the incident and felt more questions needed to be asked.

Dan Coulson noted that Shaha’s investigation had not included any conversation with him and he felt he should have been visited with about the incident.

The board voted 2-1 to investigate the incident themselves before any disciplinary action was taken and have a report by February 11 on the issue.

Larry Ford, who voted against the motion, said he thought the investigation was fine but felt that it could be completed in a more timely manner.

Neil Morgan met with the board and county roads department staff to discuss the value that is set for road right of way purchases each year.

Morgan noted that the median price of land using sales over the past year would be in the range of $1,700 to $1,753, well below the Iowa State University projected farmland value.

After running the values through and equation, he said that the factor for developing the price to be paid for land sought for road right of way for the year would be in the neighborhood of 3.48 times the assessed valuation of the land.

The supervisors passed a resolution setting the figure for the year.

Other action

In other action the supervisors:

-- approved a 28E contract for the Drug Task Force that allows investigations to cross county lines into 10 counties in the area instead of just being limited to the three counties who have been sharing costs for a drug investigation program.

-- approved using $1,000 in funds to purchase a machine to be used to clean out overflow pipes for ponds. Conservation staff would use the machine to do renovation work on ponds in the county that are part of watersheds.

-- approved a tax abatement to correct the taxation issue with a small portion of land in Mount Ayr.

A Lenox man was killed in a car accident on the Ringgold-Taylor county line Monday morning.

Joe Alvin Goldner of Lenox, a teacher in the Central Decatur and Mormon Trail school districts, was headed for school Monday morning, driving a 1994 Chevrolet Blazer.

A little after 7 a.m. near mile marker 12 on Highway 25, the vehicle, which was south bound, lost control on the ice on the highway.

The vehicle entered the ditch and rolled three times. Goldner was wearing his seatbelt, so was not thrown from the vehicle.

He was freed from the vehicle without having to use the Jaws of Life and transported by ambulance to Ringgold County Hospital in Mount Ayr, where he was pronounced dead.

The accident is still under investigation by the Iowa Highway Patrol. 

Because the accident occured on the west side of the road  which splits Ringgold and Taylor counties, the fatality will be counted as occurring in Taylor county.

Many respond to accident

First Responders from Clearfield, ambulances from the Ringgold County Emergency Medical Service, the Clearfield fire department and the Mount Ayr volunteer fire department responded to the scene of the accident along with other law enforcement officials from Ringgold and Taylor counties.

Goldner is survived by his wife and two children, all of Lenox.

Something seems to have brought out the scam artists trying to entice especially elderly residents to send money or give information that could lead to money being taken fraudulently from them.

According to sheriff Mike Sobotka, several phone scammers have been ringing up residences in Ringgold county recently.

One of the scams is from a person claiming to be a close relative who is on a trip and has been arrested and needs money for bail.

Often the scammers have gathered quite a bit of information to try to convince the person being called that the request is legitimate.

The person is asked to wire money to the supposed family member to help them out. Once the money is wired, however, the money disappears.

Sobotka asks people to be aware of the scam and not give out information to people over the phone or provide information where they may be able to gather funds.

Sobotka said that in cases like this, people can check with the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office, which could then check to see if the call is really coming from someone in the family who is in need.

Another scam being used for county residents has to do with “winning a lottery.”

One local resident was called saying that they had won $1 million in a lottery. Several follow up calls were made, with the amount of the lottery winnings increasing each time until it was $3.5 million at the last call.

Those making the calls say that some money is needed to be able to release the winnings or to pay taxes on them. Again any money sent or information about bank accounts sent will be used fraudulently.

No legitimate lottery makes winners pay up front to receive the winnings, Sobotka points out.

Scammers who keep calling back may be trying to pick up just one piece of information at each call that can then be put together to steal an identity and a person’s money, Sobotka noted.

Sobotka said that his office is always willing to look into any supposed lottery winning scheme to check it out.

People can just say that they have someone who handles their financial issues and give the sheriff’s number of 464-3921 for the scammers to call.

Sobotka said Tuesday that the scammer did call the sheriff’s office when given the number and he had quite an interesting conversation with the scammer.

Scams also on internet

The same kinds of scams can also be found over the internet where people posing as a bank, credit card company or utility seek passwords and bank information. People need to be aware of these attempts to trick people into giving information like their Social Security number, bank account number or other information, Sobotka said.

“We are giving a warning because Ringgold county people seem to be being targeted at the present time with some of these schemes,” Sobotka noted.

  It’s homecoming week again at Diagonal with activities leading up to the homecoming basketball games and dance Friday night.

The homecoming activities were postponed from Friday, Jan.8, by the weather.

There will be a pep rally at the end of the school day Thursday, Jan. 14  in preparation for the activities of Friday.

The homecoming girls basketball game with Melcher-Dallas is set to be played at 6:15 p.m. Friday night with the boys game with Melcher-Dalls following. This is a conference matchup.

The scheduled  recognition ceremony for Bob Ricker, Diagonal basketball standout, who will be inducted to the Hall of Fame at the boys state basketball tournament in Des Moines in March, was postpone until Friday, Jan. 29.

Following the boys game, the homecoming king and queen will be announced.

Junior homecoming queen candidates include Ravin Auten, daugher of Kevin Buchanan and Sandra Buchanan of Clearfield and Brittany Parrott, daughter of Johnny and Teena Parrott of Diagonal.

Senior homecoming candidates include Janelle Wortman, daughter of Robert and Carol Wortman of Shannon City and Kendra Ruby, daughter of Doug and Melanie Ruby and Rena Harrison, all of Diagonal.

Junior homecoming king candidates include Lusekelo Lwesya, exchange student staying with Bruce and Nora Giese of Diagonal, and Tyler Becker, son of Joe and Susan Becker of Diagonal.

Senior homecoming king candidates include Chad Starlin, son of Nikki Sobotka and Monte Starlin of Diagonal and C. J. Steinbach, son of Clarence and Cindy Steinbach of Diagonal.

Sophomore attendants include Jordan Richman, son of Dale and Marlene Tull of Diagonal, and Jenna Berger, daughter of John and Debra Berger of Diagonal.

Freshmen attendants include Shad Haidsiak, son of Josh and Jessie Haidsiak of Diagonal, and Sky Hoffman, daughter of David and Bobbie Hoffman of Diagonal.

Serving as the crown prince for the ceremony will be Skyler Stamps, son of Shuana and Jason Stamps of Diagonal. Crown princess will be Jessica Hays, daughter of Craig and Becky Hays of Diagonal.

Following the coronation of the royalty, there will be a homecoming dance in the north gymnasium at the high school to finish off the celebration.

 Accepting the retirement notice from county engineer Dan Coulson and looking for a replacement, naming Kurt Shaha as board chairman for the year and passing resolutions for the new year were the focus for much of the activity for the Ringgold county board of supervisors in their meetings this past week.

Retirement accepted

The board began the week Thursday, Dec. 31, by regretfully accepting the resignation of Coulson, who has been the county’s engineer since November 2001.

Coulson had presented the letter at an earlier meeting. The resignation is effective January 28 after a 30-day notice to the board.

The board wished Coulson good luck in his retirement and future endeavors.

In other action at the Thursday meeting, the board visited with secondary roads foreman Rod Shields about road conditions.

Also visiting with the board was sheriff Mike Sobotka, who talked about inclement weather conditions and plans for the new jail. New floor plans for the facility are being designed to provide the best use of staff.

The board also talked with county auditor Laurie Greenman about preparation for the 2010 calendar year.

New year resolutions passed

The board met Monday, Jan. 4, to handle the whole list of items that are passed at the beginning of each new calendar year and to talk about other options for a county engineer.

Among actions taken by the board was naming Kurt Shaha as chairman of the group for the coming year.

The board set its regular meetings for Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon as it has in the past.

The board set eight federal holidays to be observed at the courthouse and added the Friday following Thanksgiving and the afternoon of Christmas Eve as holidays. When a holiday falls on Saturday, the courthouse will be closed the Friday before and when a holiday falls on Sunday, the courthouse will be closed the following Monday.

The treasurer’s and auditor’s offices will close at 1 p.m. on June 30, 2010 for fiscal year end balancing. The treasurer’s office will also close at 3 p.m. on December 31, 2010 for calendar year end balancing.

Named as the official newspapers of the county for the year were the Mount Ayr Record-News and the Diagonal Progress.

Banks were named depositories for county funds by the board as well. The county treasurer will use US Bank of Mount Ayr with a maximum deposit of $4,500,000 and Great Western Bank of Mount Ayr with a maximum deposit of $4,500,000. The county recorder will use US Bank with a maximum deposit of $100,000 and Great Western Bank with a maximum deposit of $100,000. The Ringgold county sheriff will use US Bank with a maximum deposit of $300,000 and Great Western Bank with a maximum deposit of $300,000.

The allowable mileage rate for county employees using their own vehicles will be 10 cents per mile less than the federal rate. Reimbursement for parking fees while away will not exceed $10 a day and reimbursement for meals will not exceed $30 a day.

The board authorized auditor Laurie Greenman to issue checks when the board is not in session for some fixed charges, authorized county officials and deputies to attend school of instruction of the Iowa State Association of Counties, allowed secondary roads personnel to be authorized to take vehicles, communications and other equipment to their home during times other than normal working hours under certain circumstances and noted that expenditures of $1,000 or more for any item or service must have prior discussion with the board of supervisors.

The board approved Debbie Cannon’s naming the Mount Ayr Record-News as the official newspaper of the treasurer’s office for publication of delinquent tax notices, allowed any member of the board of supervisors to be named public bidder at the tax sale, and approved the designation of Ellen Powell as the employee to attend the tax sale if treasurer Debbie Cannon cannot attend.

The board also passed a non-discrimination policy and adopted a construction evaluation resolution in regard to construction of confinement feeding operation structures in the county. Committee, other appointments

A whole list of committee appointments were also made.

Larry Ford will be the Workforce Development representative, Innovative Industries representative, Area XIV Agency on Aging representative, Southern Iowa Residential Facility alternate, Ringgold County Group Home alternate, Ringgold County Supportive Services alternate, MATURA Action Agency representative, Fifth Judicial Youth Services alternate, Fifth Judicial District Correctional Services alternate, Public Health alternate, Wayne-Ringgold-Decatur Landfill alternate, DECAT alternate, Southeast Iowa Response Group representative, Interagency representative and Sevice Area Advisory Board (DHS) representative.

Dale Walters will be the Workforce Development alternate, ATURA alternate, Emergency Management Commission alternate, Pioneer Cemetery alternate, Southern Iowa Residential Facility representative, Ringgold County Group Home representative, Fifth Judicial District Correctional Services representative, Ringgold County Development Corporation representative, Wayne-Ringgold-Decatur Landfill representative, Transit Advisory Council representative, E-911 alternative and Interagency alternate.

Kurt Shaha will be the ATURA representative, Emergency Management Commission representative, Pioneer  Cemetery representative; Innovative Industries alternate, Area XIV Agency on Aging alternate, Ringgold County Supportive Services representative, MATURA alternate, Fifth Judicial Youth Services representative, Public Health representative, Ringgold County Development Corporation alternate, Transit Advisory Council alternate, DECAT representative, Southern Iowa Council of Governments project board representative, E-911 representative and Clarinda Treatment Facility representative.

Several other appointments were also made. Gary Smith was named director of veterans affairs, Larry Brown director of general relief, Brenda Sue Adams weed commissioner, Dr. Dane Johnson county medical examiner and Dr. Bruce Ricker and Dr. Mike Magers deputy medical examiners.

Named to the Ringgold County Supportive Services board were Chandra Drake, Judy Hensley, Jim Routh and Becky Caldwell.

Named to the Ringgold County Public Health board were Max Mekus and RayDean Derscheid.

Named to the county compenstation commission for the calendar 2010 year were:

Representing agriculture -- Monte Akers, Dick Jackson, Richard A. Taylor, Dale Walkup, Mark Triggs, Kyle Shaha, Justin Akers and Craig Willis.

Representing homeowners -- Leroy Blessman, Tom Kellym, Sam Merrill, Joe Routh, Lowell Johnson, Larry Jarred and Marilyn Johnson.

Representing real estate brokers -- Douglas Campbell, Dan Cunning, William French, Deborah Creveling, Doris Klejch, Norma Sickels, Ted Smith, Douglas Bullock and Phyllis Lauritsen.

Representing bankers, auctioneers, etc. -- Marlene Tull, David Green, Kim Greenland, Tracy Barnes, James Smith, Stephen Taylor and Kelly James. 

Engineer coverage efforts

The board met with Trevor Wolf about the engineer’s opening Monday morning. Wolf, a Diagonal native, has completed classwork but needs to work under a practicing engineer for four or five years to become fully certified.

The board also traveled to Leon to discuss the possibility of sharing engineering services with the Decatur county engineer Richard McKnight.

An arrangement has been worked out with the Decatur county engineer to hire him part-time for a 90-day period while the supervisors search for a new county engineer.

A call had also been placed with the Union county engineer to see about possible help during the hiring process if needed.

New officers sworn in

At the board’s meeting Tuesday, Jan. 5, new county officers were sworn in by magistrate Jim Pedersen.

New officers include treasurer Debbie Cannon, deputy auditor Amanda Waske and deputy treasurer Tammy Paxson