Newton
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Friday, Aug. 29, 2014
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Newton, Iowa
PCM insurers settled 2013 bullying case out of court
OBITUARIES Grace M. Sears, 91 INSIDE TODAY
By Mike Mendenhall Daily News Staff Writer
not see a need for any other large militarized vehicles or weapons. The sheriff ’s office does not have machine guns, grenade launchers, bazookas or a number of other weapons, which are offered through the program. “At this time, I believe we have what we need,” Halferty said. The Jasper County Sheriff ’s Office has been a member of the 1033 Program for at least 20 years Halferty said. An easy to use website is available for members to search for anything they might need from rifles to filing cabinets. Members can access the items on a first-come, first-serve basis, or if there is no item available at the time, they can be put on a wait list.
MONROE — New information in a civil case filed last year against the Prairie CityMonroe School District and district Superintendent Jane Babcock shows district insurers agreed to a financial settlement with a former PCM family in exchange for dropping their complaint — a case which claimed PCM officials refused to take action when the plaintiffs’ 12-year-old son was allegedly bullied in a sexual manner by a fellow student. Documents provided by the office of PCM’s attorney Patrick Smith show the district’s insurer agreed to a settlement in the amount of $100,000. In exchange for the financial settlement, the document dictates that the plaintiffs would agree to file a dismissal with prejudice and drop their demand for a jury trial. The motion was filed in Jasper County Civic Court in July. The plaintiffs remained Jane/John Does and Son Doe in the civil suit but were named in the settlement document. The Newton Daily News is withholding the identities of the plantiffs to maintain privacy for the alleged minor victim. In an interview Monday, Babcock said it was the district insurance company’s decision to settle the case out of court and reiterated that the settlement is not an admission of guilt or liability. “At no time did the district believe we had any liabilities in this case,” Babcock said. “The insurance company decided to negotiate for the settlement published. There were no district funds involved in the settlement, and the district was not involved in the negotiations for the settlement. We believe we handled the alleged incident properly.” In their original civil complaint filed in June 2013, the plaintiffs claim the PCM School District and Babcock took no action to protect their son from bullying and harassment during incidents which allegedly occurred while he was a student at PCM Middle School. The plaintiffs claimed their then 12-year-old, seventh grade son was sexually harassed by a ninth grade student during and after wrestling practice
MRAP See Page 5A
SETTLEMENT See Page 5A
News
Monarch Madness Sept. 6 at NSNWR Page 2A
Ty Rushing/Daily News Above: Duane Rozendaal, chief deputy of the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, examines the department’s Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle after first acquiring it in March. Rozendaal and Sheriff John Halferty said the vehicle would be used for rescue missions in the county.
Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle has first use
Education
Newton DMACC offering clubs Page 9A
Sheriff commends government surplus program Sports
NHS cross country teams run strong in season opener Page 1B
Weather
Saturday
High 81 Low 64
Sunday
High 85 Low 69 Weather Almanac
Thurs., Aug. 28 High 75 Low 65 .51 inch of rain Also: Astrograph Page 5B Classifieds Page 4B
Dear Abby Page 6A
By Ty Rushing Daily News Senior Staff Writer
Opinion Page 4A Obituaries Page 3A Police Page 3A Our 113th Year No. 73
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Recently, the Jasper County Sheriff ’s Office deployed its tactical rescue unit, which includes a 25-ton armored vehicle. The Aug. 14 incident occurred near Baxter, where officers believed a victim was trapped on a property where there was a suspect armed with a gun. The victim was able to get away from the home, but the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle was used to communicate safely with the suspect until he was apprehended, said Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty. That was the first time the MRAP was used since the sheriff ’s office received it in late March. The vehicle was acquired through the 1033 Program, which allows the Secretary of Defense to transfer, without charge, excess U.S. Department of Defense personal property to state and local law enforcement agencies. The only cost to the agencies is the transfer of the equipment. Since this program began, there has been a sentiment that it may over militarize local law enforcement agen-
Jamee A. Pierson/Daily News A wide variety of fitness equipment has been acquired using the 1033 Program for sheriff’s office employees and their families.
cies. However, Halferty said the MRAP will mainly be used in emergency situations such as storms, flooding and blizzards as well as with the tactical rescue unit. Additional items that the sheriff ’s office have received, besides the MRAP are two sets of three M-14 rifles and M-16 rifles, ballistic helmets, BDUs, shields and padding/ riot gear for the jail, scopes for rifles, telescopes, gas masks and filters, computers and office equipment, a carry-all utility van, a 4x4 Blazer and fitness equipment. “Early on, in the late ’90s when we had a rash of meth labs, we were able to get protective equipment, gloves, boots, that type of thing,” Halferty said. The M-14 and M-16 rifles are currently being stored and as of now, Halferty does
Salvation Army food pantry nearly empty
Comics & Puzzles Page 6A
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By Jamee A. Pierson Daily News Staff Writer
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A number of the white shelves that are normally stocked with canned foods and dry goods at the Newton Salvation Army food pantry are looking bare. Pantry organizers are worried they might not be refilled anytime soon, which could become a serious issue. Salvation Army case manger Kelly Zach said in July, the office served 899 clients and 368 fam-
ilies. As of Thursday, she said they’ve served 665 clients and 247 families all over Jasper County. “It’s usually higher in the summer time. It’s normal to see spikes of requests for services in the summer time. But it’s not necessarily normal for our shelves to be that bare,” said Major Mikey Carter, of the Salvation Army. Carter attributes a number of factors as to PANTRY See Page 5A
Ty Rushing/Daily News Since July, the Salvation Army food pantry in Newton has served more than 1,500 Jasper County residents. Serving that number of people in such a short time span has left the pantry’s shelves nearly bare.