Graphic-Advocate (Sept. 18, 2013)

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The

Graphic - Advocate Wednesday

| September 18, 2013|Volume 124| Issue 38

Rockwell City Office 712-297-7544 • advocate@iowatelecom.net - Lake City Office 712-464-3188 • lcgraphic@iowatelecom.net SCC Volleyball on page 11

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Rockwell City Police Officer killed in shooting Rockwell City Police Officer Jamie Buenting, 37, was shot at approximately 1:40 a.m. Friday

morning, Sept. 13, during an attempt to arrest a man sought on charges of felonious assault, according to DCI

Special Agent Michael Motsinger, who was brought in to help the Rockwell City Police Department

DCI Special Agent Michael Motsinger addressed members of the press at the Rockwell City Fire Department on Friday, Sept. 13 regarding the fatal shooting of RCPD Officer Jamie Buenting.

Attorney General Miller issues statement on death of Officer Jamie Buenting

(DES MOINES) Attorney General Tom Miller released the following statement regarding the death of Rockwell City Police Officer Jamie Buenting, who was killed early today in the line of duty: “I extend my heartfelt condolences to Officer Buenting’s family, his law enforcement family, and his friends. Iowans are grateful for his service, his selfless bravery and his willingness to put his life on the line to protect his fellow officers and the public. “This senseless tragedy reinforces that we must support our law enforcement community, and we are thankful for their daily sacrifice and commitment to protect and serve us all. Officer Buenting made the ultimate sacrifice.” Calhoun County Attorney Tina Meth-Farrington has referred the criminal prosecution to the Office of the Attorney General’s Area Prosecutions Division.

Land donation starts trail process A potential trail connecting the Rockwell City Walking Trail to the Twin Lakes Trail got a start recently with a donation of 9.6 acres at the north end of the Rockwell City trail, Calhoun County Conservation Director Keith Roos, informed the county board of supervisors on Sept. 10. The donation was made by Bill and Tom Anderson, a father and son. The property is 2.5 miles from South Twin Lake. A big obstacle to

completing the trail connection will be Highway 20. Roos noted that if plans for the connection had been completed some years back, the state would have provided underground access from one side to the other, but it is too late for that now. The announcement to the supervisors was for information purposes only. The Calhoun County Conservation Board has already accepted the donated land.

Ann Gemberling won a seat on the Sothern Cal School Board and Jo Grodahl won a seat on the Rockwell City/Lytton School Board during the last school board elections in either of those districts. The winners were both write-in candidates, and both were at-large positions for which no one appeared on the ballot. The terms on the boards will end when the RCL and SCal districts merge into the South Central Calhoun District on July 1, 2014. Two incumbents won unopposed in director districts in each school district – Bradley Assman and Roscoe Simpson in the RCL district and Jim Brown and Larry Irwin in the SCal district. Voting was light in both school districts.

Identical measures in the districts passed easily which will allow the South Central Calhoun District to have the same flexibility in using the revenue from the one cent local option sales tax funds for school districts that each of the consolidating districts no have. The public measure passed 63 to 15 in the RCL District and passed 92 to 15 in the SCal District. Grodahl was the only person receiving votes for the at-large seat for RCL, receiving 25 votes. The incumbent, Kyle Welander, did not submit a petition to be on the ballot nor did anyone else. Gemberling received 21 votes. The incumbent, Alan Wedemeyer, did not appear on the ballot, but received 8 write-in votes.

Last election held in two districts

Fall Fest coming to Lake City

One of Calhoun County’s major annual events takes place in Lake City on Sunday, Sept. 22. The Fall Fest and Del Blair Memorial Chili Cook-Off takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors will have an opportunity to sample various competing chilis, with winners selected in both the official judging and people’s choice categories. Creative scarecrows have been constructed around the square with judging to take place on Sunday. There will be a Kiddie Carnival & Bounce House. There will also be a vendor fair. An Antique Tractor Ride and Display will take place.

and the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department to investigate the shooting. Buenting was taken to Stewart Memorial Hospital in Lake City where he subsequently died of his wounds. Corey Trott, 32, of Rockwell City, subsequently surrendered to law enforcement and is charged with first degree murder. Motsinger addressed members of the press at 11 a.m. on Friday morning. According to Motsinger, a witness called in at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday evening and reported that Trott had been seen inside the residence at 502 Pleasant St. in Rockwell City. He was being

investigated regarding an alleged assault on Trott’s mother in which a rib had allegedly been broken. When no one answered at that residence, a regional tactical team set up a perimeter around the house because movement had been seen inside the house. At approximately 1:15 a.m., negotiators made contact with Trott. At approximately 1:40 a.m. officers approached the residence and one shot was fired from within the residence. Officer Jamie Buenting was struck by that round. At approximately 5:32 a.m., Trott surrendered to an Iowa State Patrol tactical team. He was transported to Sac County Jail, Bond had not been set at the time of the press conference. Buenting served 12 years in law enforcement, 8 years with the Rockwell City Police Department. He is survived by a wife and two small children. The community has set up a family donation through the First Community Bank. Donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 268, Rockwell City, IA 50579. The branch offices in Newell, Fonda, Pomeroy and Rockwell City will also accept donations. The most recent shooting death of a law enforcement officer in Iowa occurred in April of 2011 when Keokuk County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Stein, 38, was shot and killed when Stein was on his way to question Jeff Krier, 53, about an earlier incident. Krier was later shot and killed by members of the Iowa State Patrol Tactical Unit. Prior to that, it had been 25 years since an Iowa law enforcement officer was shot and killed while on duty, according to the April 5, 2011 Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Officer Jamie Buenting

End of Watch: September 13, 2013 Rest in Peace

County to help with Twin Lakes project

By Ken Ross Graphic-Advocate Editor A two-year study planned by Twin Lakes Restoration Association in partnership with the Iowa DNR is the first step in what could be major improvement of the water quality at the Twin Lakes. Gary Dudley president of Twin Lake Restoration Association, other members of the association and officials of the DNR and USDA NRCS appeared at the Sept. 10 Calhoun County Board of Supervisors meeting to discuss the study to be undertaken by the state through Iowa State University. The estimated cost of the study is $180,000 to $200,000 and a quarter of the cost would be paid for with local matching funds. The association members were requesting that the county assist the association in paying the local match portion of the study’s cost. Dudley said that improvement of water quality at the lakes would have a positive impact on people throughout the county. He said the association is committed to going forward with the project and it will proceed regardless of what the county supervisors decide. Part of the process in going forward would be the formation of a local steering committee that would represent the various stakeholders regarding water quality issue at the lakes. There are a number of potential ways for water improvement to be carried out – dredging, improving watershed buffering, eliminating the rough fish population and other strategies. The study will identify the source of water quality problems and, in conjunction with the steering committee, identify practical ways to make improvements. Rick Peters, association member, said, “If we don’t go through the study we won’t be able to get any state or federal funding for a cleanup.” He added, “We want everybody in the county to have a stake in improving water quality at the Lakes.” Iowa DNR Fisheries Biologist Ben Wallace said that the Twin Lakes are on the impaired waters

list. He said there are issues with turbidity, algae and bacteria. The DNR conducts regular beach monitoring at recreational lake sites. The bacteria problem is particularly problematic on the north end of North Twin Lake and has resulted in a ‘swim at your own risk’ advisory, but not an outright ban on swimming, a potential step that the DNR has the authority to take when a situation warrants it. Wallace explained that an ISU graduate student is assigned to oversee the study through the two years until completion under the supervision of Professor John Downing. Numerous water samples are sent in for a variety of tests. This study will also include core samples to show the history of the lakes. The cost of the tests plus some of ISU’s overhead and some equipment expenses go into the cost of the project. Wallace said the study at Black Hawk Lake cost $160,000 but the Twin Lakes project involves a two-lake system and some costs have likely increased since the Black Hawk Lake study. That study resulted in water improvement projects at the lake that increased water clarity dramatically earlier this year but might have resulted in an unwelcome algae bloom later in the summer. Both County Auditor Judy Howrey and Supervisor Scott Jacobs commented that the quality of the water at Black Hawk Lake has been poor recently. “The filamentous algae growth this year has been high at Black Hawk Lake,” Wallace aknowledged. “It’s unsightly, but it says to me that we’re on the right track. We’re far from being done. We’re in a transition phase.“ Wallace said that last year, Black Hawk Lake experienced blooms of toxic blue green algae in May. This year, sunlight penetrated down as much as six feet causing unsightly but non-toxic filamentous algae to rise to the surface in midAugust. “When it gets cold the algae will die back and hopefully next year there will be more rooted vegetation and less algae. We took a system that hasn’t had plants in it for 50 to 75 years. We gave it the right conditions to grow and it grew. We didn’t

plant any of that stuff. It’s all in the seed bed. As you get more rooted plants they’re drawing in nutrients and competing with the algae.” Wallace said. He noted that there are other measures for controlling algae other than letting nature take its course and the goal is to eliminate blue green algae altogether, but it is not possible to eliminate all algae. He said this year has been particularly problematic in lakes across much of the country for the growth of filamentous algae, due to high heat and low rainfall. There are some advantages that the Twin Lakes have over other lakes. They are deeper than Black Hawk Lake which could discourage algae blooms except close to shore. Any watershed problems would be limited by the small watershed to lake surface ratio – about 4 to 1, compared to 14 to 1 at Black Hawk Lake. Much of the Twin Lakes water comes from ground water, which is naturally filtered. The watershed area is relatively flat which reduces soil erosion potential. Dudley pointed out that all the residences by the lake are on a closed loop sanitary sewer system rather than having individual septic systems. “There’s a lot of potential for making improvements at the Twin Lakes,” Wallace said “I’ve worked on two of these projects - one is Black Hawk and one is at Brushy Creek,” said Jeremy Viles of the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, “Each of those projects brought in over a million dollars to the county when they were completed.” Gary Nicholson, supervisors chairman, told the association members, “I think you’re headed in the right direction.” Dean Hoag, supervisor, said, “I think water quality is essential for North and South Twin Lakes.” Jacobs said, “I believe all three of us are wanting to help out with this.” The supervisors voted to commit $20,000 toward the study to be paid after the start of the next fiscal year, July 1, 2014.


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