As 2016 officially begins, it’s important to remember and reflect the events of the previous year. It’s a blueprint to see where the next 12 months will take us.
The biggest news stories in Clarke County in 2015 dealt mainly with legal judgment and criminal issues, as well as some weather phenomena thrown in between.
Here is a list of the top news stories run in chronological order.
• Jan. 29: Osceola homicides
An Osceola man charged with double homicide is claiming self-defense.
Richard Ryan Lamb Carson has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Erick Reyna, 22, and Noe Flores Rascon, 27, both of Osceola.
On Saturday, Jan. 24, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Osceola Police Department received a report that Reyna and Rascon had gone missing during the evening hours on Friday, Jan. 23.
After further investigation, the two men were located Sunday, Jan. 25, in a vehicle at 1305 255th Ave., Osceola, in rural northern Clarke County. They were deceased. It appears both victims died of gunshot wounds.
A press conference was held 11 a.m Monday, Jan. 26, at Clarke County Law Enforcement Center. It was led by Osceola Police Chief Marty Duffus, Clarke County Sheriff Bill Kerns and Michael Motsinger, a special agent in charge of Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation.
Osceola Police Department is being assisted by Clarke County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
Three other Osceola residents were charged in connection to the double homicide:
• Lynn Ranean Sutton — one count of accessory after the fact.
• Tracy Kay Johnson — one count of accessory after the fact.
• Christopher Martin Elben — one count of accessory after the fact.
Accessory after the fact is a result of the suspects helping the perpetrator after the crime had occurred.
A jury trial for Carson has been scheduled Feb. 9, 2016.
• April 16: Iowa Supreme Court favors landowners
The highest court in the state of Iowa has issued their verdict in the case of the Clarke County Reservoir Commission’s (CCRC) reservoir project.
The Iowa Supreme Court sided in the favor of the appeal from the local landowners and not the CCRC. The judgment was issued Friday, April 10, 2015.
On April 8, 2014, Judge Sherman W. Phipps of the Fifth Judicial District of Iowa ruled CCRC’s ongoing Squaw Creek Watershed project is for a public use, public purpose or public improvement as defined in the Iowa Code.
The district court said CCRC may use the power of declaratory judgment and eminent domain in the reservoir project. Eminent domain is the government’s power to take private property for public use by a state.
Declaratory judgment is a court review for acquiring land for a public project. It authorizes CCRC to purchase land from voluntary sellers and exercise eminent domain for involuntary sellers within the area of the watershed project.
An appeal from local landowners was filed May 6, 2014, in Clarke County Courthouse on the judge’s ruling in the CCRC court case.
The appeal was about if CCRC has the right to the power of eminent domain with its ongoing reservoir/watershed project.
Documents from Iowa Supreme Court state, “We strictly construe statutes delegating the power of eminent domain and note the absence of a clear legislative authorization for a joint public-private entity to condemn private property.”
According to court records, in an attempt to correct this potential error, CCRC showed that Clarke County Conservation Board, Clarke County Development Corporation and Clarke County Soil and Water Conservation District had withdrawn as members of the commission.
• May 7: New Hy-Vee
Osceola Hy-Vee has been upgraded.
After many months of construction at the store, a ribbon cutting was held Friday, May 1, to showcase the business’ new amenities.
It was a long winter for both customers and employees with constant construction going on throughout the business.
This is a list of Osceola Hy-Vee’s new amenities
• In-store pharmacy
• Market Café with full-service restaurant and bar
• Chinese Express
• Expanded produce, wine and spirits
• Expanded selections in meat and dairy
• Huge bulk foods section
• Health market section
• May 21: Train cars blown off tracks
An early morning thunderstorm had enough force to blow off approximately 80 Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train cars in Clarke County.
“It was here one minute and gone the next,” said Osceola Police Chief Marty Duffus.
What was thought to be a potential tornado touchdown was actually shown to be straight-line winds.
According to Allan Mathias with Clarke County Emergency Management, an update from the National Weather Service showed a storm with straight-line winds of 65-70 miles per hour. The winds could have reached 75 miles per hour at one point.
The storm caused the damage between 3 and 3:30 a.m. Sunday, May 17. Most of the damage is in the rural parts of the county, west of Osceola.
The empty train cars blew off the tracks near Lacelle Road.
According to BNSF officials, there were no reported injuries and no major financial losses in the accident.
The severe thunderstorm appeared to take many people by surprise, and Duffus did say there was no weather warning issued.
It was confirmed there was no advanced notice from the National Weather Service for the Clarke County area.
That is one reason why the sirens didn’t go off.
“It was just here and gone,” Duffus said. “The meteorologist talked about how nobody saw this.”
• July 2015: New state law targets CCRC
CCRC was dealt a blow with a change in Iowa law on eminent domain, which created language that changed the law on use of eminent domain for the creation of public water supply surface water reservoirs throughout the state.
However, this doesn’t stop the CCRC from purchasing land from willing sellers in the project area, which is currently going on.
• Aug. 13: Train depot plaza named in honor of Diehls
It was the surprise of the evening, and it left Mayor Fred Diehl and his wife Ann almost speechless. Almost.
During the end of the Osceola City Council meeting Tuesday, Aug. 4, the council unanimously passed a resolution to dedicate the train depot park as Fred and Ann Diehl Depot Plaza.
Indeed, the goal of the night was to make sure the Diehls didn’t hear any word of the plaque and dedication in their honor before it happened.
Ty Wheeler, city administrator/clerk, and Bill Trickey, Clarke County Development Corporation executive director, discussed the enormous amount of work that went into restoring the train depot, and the Diehls have spearheaded the effort.
The naming of the plaza was just one way the city showed appreciation to the Diehls, who have served the Osceola community for many years.
• Nov. 5: Election results name Osceola’s new mayor
In a contested race to become Osceola’s new mayor, Clarke Community School District teacher Thomas Kedley topped his other two opponents with the most votes after an election Tuesday, Nov. 3. Longtime mayor Fred Diehl did not seek re-election.
For Osceola City Council Ward 1 seat, Douglas P. Gay beat opponent Byron Jimmerson with 105 votes to 61 votes. Osceola City Councilman Chris Dorsey did not seek re-election.
Osceola City Councilman David Walkup ran unopposed in the election for Osceola City Council Ward 3 seat. He received 229 votes.
Incumbent Osceola City Councilman Dr. George Fotiadis beat opponent Jon Ryan Sullivan for the at-large seat with 382 votes to 217 votes.
There were 2,892 registered voters in the Osceola City Council, mayoral elections and the number for total voters in the election was 614. This was a total of 21 percent of the voting population.
• Nov. 12: Human trafficking sting conducted
Six people were charged in a human trafficking sting in Osceola Tuesday, Nov. 3.
The sting was conducted at a local Osceola business, according to an Osceola Police Department press release. Osceola Police Chief Marty Duffus said the owner of the business has asked not to disclose its name.
“We set up in that business and did the sting from there,” he said.
Those charged in the sting are:
• Eugene Burnell Garrett Jr., 43, of Afton, male — one count of prostitution
• Daveta Diane Williams, 41, of Des Moines, female — one count of driving while barred and one count of possession of paraphernalia
• Mya Aung Kyaw, 46, of Des Moines, male — one count of prostitution
• Matt Micheal Conner, 21, of West Des Moines, male — one count of prostitution
• Belladonna Melissa Guirgis, 35, address unknown, female — one count of prostitution
• Sharree Laray Austin, 27, of Des Moines, female — one count of prostitution
No children were involved in the sting.
Duffus said this human trafficking sting was conducted because of Osceola’s proximity in location to Des Moines, Kansas City and Omaha, as well as how easy travel can be on Interstate 35.
Duffus pointed out those charged in the sting were mostly from the Des Moines area.
Another factor in the sting was the police department had seen a few postings on various social media sites, including Craigslist. Duffus said the light social media traffic is not all of what drew law enforcement to doing the sting, but it certainly added to it.
Law enforcement agencies involved in the sting were Osceola Police Department, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Iowa Division of Intelligence and Clarke County Sheriff’s Office.
Additional key support in the investigation was provided by Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Buena Vista County Sheriff’s Office, Manchester Police Department and Iowa State Patrol.
• Nov. 19: New Osceola Farm and Home opens after last year's fire
Like a phoenix, Osceola Farm and Home is rising from the ashes.
After a fire destroyed the longstanding business last fall, which had been located on West McLane Street in the center of town, a new building is opening in a new location.
The street address for the new store is 2550 College Drive. It’s west of Walmart and Southwestern Community College’s Osceola Center.
A soft opening was planned for Monday, Nov. 16. The plan is to have an official grand opening after the first of the new year.
For the past year, temporary offices for Osceola Farm and Home were located at Salford, which is situated between Subway and McDonald’s.
The new place has many of the same products customers have come to expect Osceola Farm and Home to have, as well as a broader selection and deeper inventory to help them find what they want and have more of it on hand.
The sales floor is approximately twice the size of the old store. The new building is just a little less than twice the size of the old building.
As for the old store’s location, Osceola Farm and Home still owns the land. However, it is considered “for sale,” but nothing is official on what will be done with it yet.
• Dec. 10: Clarke teacher wins prestigious Golden Apple award
During a surprise ceremony Tuesday, Dec. 1, Lee received the Golden Apple award from WHO-TV 13 and Nationwide Insurance in Clarke’s auditorium.
“This is totally unexpected, because I’m going home because I’m sick today. Thank you for this honor. I don’t even know what to say. It’s … thank you. I don’t know what else to say,” Lee said upon receiving the award.
Lee was visibly choked up, emotional and, most likely, in a state of shock during her speech.
“You guys are all so special to me and, sometimes, you just don’t think you make a difference, and this just means the world to me. So, thank you, all of you. I love you all,” she said.
WHO-TV 13 and Nationwide’s Golden Apple award is a special recognition given to one teacher each month during the school year. It was a recognition program started 22 years ago.
Throughout the school year, students in the news station’s coverage area write letters and emails to the station stating why their favorite teacher is so special. Thousands of letters are received each year and each one is read and judged by officials from WHO-TV 13 and Nationwide.