WEEKEND EDITION
Friday
November 8, 2013
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Spartan men feature familiar look
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SPORTS, page 1S
Two Afton Creston Police report more women dead than 300 unpaid parking tickets in Highway Snow ordinance in Creston goes into effect next week (Nov. 15) 34 collision The unpaid tickets amount to more than $7,500. Do you have an unpaid ticket? See list on page 2A. ■
AFTON — Two Afton residents died here Thursday in a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of highways 34 and 169. The accident occurred about 5 p.m. Sierra Peddycoart, 19, and Lori Anderson, 51, of Afton were both pronounced dead at the scene. According to an Iowa State Patrol crash report, Peddycoart — driving a 2003 Chrysler Sebring — was leaving Afton with her passenger Anderson. She was stopped at a posted stop sign at the intersection of highways 34 and 169. State patrol believes Peddycoart failed to see a 2010 Chevy Tahoe traveling east driven by Beth Kulow, 30, of Creston. Peddycoart pulled into the intersection and Kulow was unable to avoid the collision. Peddycoart and Anderson were transported to the state medical examiner. Kulow and her passenger 2-year-old Kinsley Knustrom were both injured and transported by ambulance to Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston. They were both treated and released. Safety belts were used by everyone involved in Thursday’s accident.
By JAKE WADDINGHAM CNA staff reporter
jwaddingham@crestonnews.com
The Creston Police Department currently has more than 300 unpaid parking tickets in Union County, totaling more than $7,500 in uncollected fees. W i t h the snow ordinance starting Ver Meer on Nov. 15, Police Chief Paul Ver Meer hopes to catch up on past due tick-
Boil advisory in Mount Ayr
ets and remind Crestonians to be aware of where they are parking. “It takes people awhile to adjust, especially if there isn’t snow on the ground,” Ver Meer said. On Tuesday, Ver Meer addressed Creston City Council about the unpaid parking tickets. He said ticket holders will have 10 days to pay at the law enforcement center after the names run in the paper (see Page 2A) before it is turned over to the Union County Treasurer. The fine will be assessed to future vehicle license fees and the total amount must be paid off before a driver’s license or tags for license plates will be issued. “This is not to embarrass anyone, it is to collect a large amount of unpaid parking tickets,” Ver Meer said. “For a city of Creston’s size, it is a considerable sum.” In the past, Ver Meer said
The snow-removal ordinance for the city of Creston goes into effect one week from today— Nov. 15. For the buildings/homes with even numbered addresses, which is the south and west sides of all streets, parking is prohibited on all odd-numbered days from 1 to 7 a.m. For the buildings/homes with odd numbered addresses, which is the
his assistant would send letters to individuals with unpaid tickets. The process took about a week to write the letters, prepare envelopes and pay for stamps. “It doesn’t make sense for me as a steward of the public’s money to spent $1,000 (sending out letters) when
north and east sides of all streets, parking is prohibited on all even-numbered days from 1 to 7 a.m. The purpose of the ordinance is to facilitate the removal of snow from the streets to keep them open and free from obstruction. The ordinance will stay in effect until March 31, 2014. Fines for the ordinance are $25 if paid within 30 days. After 30 days, the fine is $30.
I can do something that’s newsworthy and hopefully see better results,” Ver Meer said. Individuals with unpaid parking tickets from outside of Union County or the state Please see TICKETS, Page 2
creston veterans breakfast
MOUNT AYR — City residents are currently under a boil advisory after a corroded cap on a four-way joint from the main water line broke about 12:45 p.m. Thursday. The boil advisory is in effect until City Superintendent Brent Wise is notified the water is safe. Water tests take 24 hours at the lab to get results returned. “We noticed a slow leak and hired a contractor to perform repairs as our staff was tied up on other projects,” Wise said. “When they excavated, they uncovered a cross-T, a four-way connection on the pipe, but two of the ends were capped. “The ends were corroded, but the pressure from the Please see BOIL, Page 2
CNA photo by SARAH BROWN
Veteran’s breakfast: Local veterans, from left, Duane Wallace of Orient (Army), Charlie Jackson of Creston (Air Force)
and Al Gates of Creston (Army) dine on sausage, eggs, biscuits and gravy while sharing stories and shooting the breeze. More than 175 veterans attended the annual appreciation breakfast this morning at the restored Creston Depot hosted by Creston Chamber of Commerce, Wal-Mart and Iowa Workforce Development. Veterans Day festivities will continue with a program 9:45 a.m. Monday in the Creston Middle School (CMS) commons hosted by CMS students. Creston senior Maxx Walters created a veterans video for the event.
Branstad warns Iowans of utility scams
Buddies:
CNA photo by LARRY PETERSON
Camryn Somers of Creston, center, hangs out with Waukee teammates Ellie Blazenko, left, and Jenny Brown before they participated in the 400-meter freestyle relay at the regional swim meet in Johnston. Somers is in her second season as a commuting member of the Waukee High School team. For more on her story, see page 1S.
DES MOINES (MCT) — Scam artists continue to target Iowans by threatening to disconnect their electric or natural gas service. This year alone, more than 400 Iowans reported a call or encounter with a scam artist to their local utility provider. Now, as the winter heating season approaches, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and a group of Iowa utilities and utility associations are warning Iowans about common warning signs and trends in each scam at-
tempt. “ T h e people attempting to scam Iowans are using the fear of going without Branstad electric or natural gas service, and they are unscrupulous in their attempts,” said Mark Douglas, president of the Iowa Utility Association. “As an industry, we are working hard to help customers avoid getting
caught off guard and becoming the next victim.” The scam artists have used a variety of schemes and are primarily targeting customers of various ethnicities. Right now, the most common scam starts with a phone call from the scam artist claiming to represent a customer’s utility company and instructing the customer to make an immediate payment to avoid disconnection. Often, the caller requests that the customer purchase a prepaid debit card and call back with the infor-
mation from the card. In other situations, the scam artist requests personal credit card information in order to fix a piece of equipment. While these scams vary and can involve any utility provider, the ways to avoid falling victim are the same. “Trust your instincts. If you get a strange feeling from the caller, do not provide them any personal information,” said Gov. Branstad. “The Please see BRANSTAD, Page 2
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Volume 130 No. 107 Copyright 2013
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Contents
Heloise Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Community . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Deaths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1S-3S
Weekend weather High 57 Low 29 Full weather report, 3A