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Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Koeneke serves as Board Chairperson 14 year old rescued from fall through thin ice WDHS vandalized during school break Sheriff’s office responded to 2,757 calls in 2006

Koeneke serves as Board Chairperson by Jamie Smith

The Delaware County Board of Supervisors held their first meeting of the year on Tuesday, Jan. 2, taking care of several annual issues. To start with, the following county elected officials were sworn in: County Recorder Deb Peyton, County Attorney John Bernau, County Treasurer Carolyn Wilson and County Supervisor Shirley Helmrichs. County Supervisor Steve Koeneke will serve as the 2007 Chairperson and supervisor Shirley Helmrichs will serve as Vice-Chairperson.

JAMIE SMITH / Press Delaware County elected officials were sworn in at the Jan. 2 board of supervisors meeting. From left: County Recorder Deb Peyton, County Attorney John Bernau, County Treasurer Carolyn Wilson and County Supervisor Shirley Helmrichs.

Several deputies and office personel were approved for 2007, including two in the recorder’s office, three in the auditor’s office, 16 in the sheriff’s department, nine in the reserves and four in the treasurer’s office. The supervisors approved the Manchester Press and the Delaware County Leader as the official newspapers for the year. Twenty-eight Delaware County residents have been appointed to the 2007 Eminent Domain Compensation Commission. The board also approved a Construction Evaluation Resolution regarding the constructions of confinement feeding operation structures, which allows the supervisors to go on site and evaluate confinements with over 2,400 animal units. County Engineer Mark Nahra has been authorized to close roads for construction, emergencies and maintenance for the year. Nahra also has the authority to certify completion of work and final acceptance of all farm-to-market construction projects. Finally, Nahra informed the board Hartwick Marina bridge, located on county road X49, was planned for closure on Wednesday and Thursday to allow crews to gain information for sub-grade work. The bridge, one of the two over Delhi Lake, is being replaced this fall.

14 year old rescued from fall through thin ice by Jamie Smith

The Manchester Police Department, along with the Manchester Fire Department, pulled a 14-year-old boy out of the barely frozen over Maquoketa River on Thursday, Dec. 28. Travis Fishel, of Manchester, was rescued after he fell through the ice behind Tirril Park. According to Manchester Police Chief Bruce Trapp, Fishel went onto the ice on his own riding his bicycle. He was about 75 yards out when he fell through. “A Manchester Police Officer walked through the ice and water to the boy’s location and rescued him,” said Trapp. The Manchester Fire Department later took a boat out to retrieve the bicycle. Two Manchester girls, Shelby Lynch and Kaci Chapman heard Fishel yelling for help and dialed 911. “This is the first incident in many years, that I recall, of someone going through the ice needing rescuing,” said Trapp. “We have very few river rescue related incidents in Manchester with the Maquoketa River.” The ice, which was only about an inch thick when Fishel fell through, was completely melted away a couple of days later. “It’s difficult to say, based on conditions, exactly when ice is safe,” said Trapp. According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, river ice is weaker than lake or pond ice. “Ice with a bluish color is safer than clear ice,” according to iowadnr.com. “Avoid slushy or honey-combed (ice) and stay away from dark spots in the ice. Don’t walk onto areas where the snow cover looks discolored.” The site also says that one inch of ice is not safe in any condition but two inches of ice, in good conditions, can support a person on foot. Three inches could support a group, either walking in single file or spread out, but there should be at least four inches for general use and five inches for snowmobiles. Fishel was transported to Regional Medical Center after the incident and was released a few hours later.

WDHS vandalized during school break

The Manchester Police Department is looking for anyone who may have information about a vandalism incident that took place at the West Delaware High School during the school’s holiday break. “The entry point was near the new construction area,” said Manchester Police Chief Bruce Trapp. The department was called to the high school during the morning of Saturday, Dec. 30 where the suspects broke windows to the main office area and the principal’s office on the main floor. There were also broken windows to three other classroom door windows. The office areas and the lockers on the second and third floors got the brunt of the vandalism, however. “The majority of the vandalism was ransacking lockers and desks,” said Trapp. According to the police report, several vending machines were also vandalized. “Only a few undisclosed items were actually stolen from the school,” said Trapp. School officials had most of the vandalism cleaned up by that Saturday afternoon and all areas around the high school and the construction area are now secure. “We do not have many incidents of break-in’s at the school,” said Trapp. The department is looking into several leads.

Sheriff’s office responded to 2,757 calls in 2006

The Delaware County Sheriff’s office responded to 2,757 calls in 2006 including five fatalities and one suicide. On June 2 Ted Althoff hit a deer while driving his motorcycle. He was air lifted to Iowa City where he later died. Also on June 2 Damian Willenbring, 16, of Peosta, and Brittany Clemen, 15, of Dyersville, were both killed when a milk truck collided with the car driven by Willenbring. On July 9 Matthew Carter, 21, of Hopkinton, was struck and killed by an unknown vehicle on the Jones-Delaware Road just east of 255th Ave. On Oct. 5 Thomas Matthew Besler, 34, was killed when his motorcycle hit a deer. Troy Uhde, 35, of Manchester, was found dead in Earlville on July 5 with a hose into his car. The department reported 122 traffic accidents with property damage including eight OWI; 39 personal injuries, including five OWI. There were 152 accidents involving deer with two fatalities on motorcycles. There was one turkey accident, one other motorcycle accident, six ATV accidents, one plane crash, two tractor incidents and two incidents that involved cows. They responded to 38 burglaries, 146 thefts, 93 vandalism, one forgery and 10 checks. There were five cases of assault on an officer. The Sheriff’s department responded to 118 family calls in 2006 with 18 domestic abuse cases, 31 assaults, six violations of no contact orders, two rapes, four cases of sexual abuse, 23 cases of disturbance, one case of going armed with intent, 15 drug cases, two weapons cases, one bomb threat, six disorderly conducts and one false imprisonment case. Alcohol related cases are as follows: 84 OWI, 42 open containers, 20 intoxications, two making available to minor cases, two .02 violations, five supplying alcohol to minors and one violation of interlock device. Other calls include: 18 hunting, one possession of tobacco, 33 cases of harassment, 106 suspicious, 19 trespass, 21 attempts to locate, 369 citizen assists, 17 house checks, nine open doors,19 alarms, one public indecent exposure, three curfew violations, three obstruction of emergency communications and three violation of sex offender registry law. There were 28 911 calls, 109 warrants served or transported, one truant call and a tobacco compliance was checked from Jan. 1 to Feb. 11 with 23 OKs. There were 46 traffic control cases; 21 fires, 172 animals, 13 hit and runs, 319 miscellaneous calls and 24 interference with official acts. Department assists included: 38 from Iowa Highway patrol, 59 from Manchester Police Department, 13 from Delhi, 15 from DHS, 19 from juveniles, 87 from mental, 13 from DNR, 16 from fire departments, four from the engineer and 58 miscellaneous. There were nine department assists with Buchanan County, 15 with Clayton County, one with Dubuque County and 10 with the Dyersville Police Department. There were 367 speed violations, one altered driver license, four stop traveled portion, 34 reckless/careless driving, two unsafe pass, four leave scene, 33 suspension, one unattended vehicle, one assured distance, five equipment, two fixtures, one debris on roadway, 11 failure to yield, 21 plates/registration violations, 66 failure to control, 26 seat belts, four elude, four emergency vehicle, eight too close violations, two litter, 35 no drivers license, 27 wrong side violators, 44 insurance, three unsafe turn or back, 26 miscellaneous, two ATV operation violations, three violations of restricted licenses, seven driving while revoked, two half of roadway and 36 stop sign violations.

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