News
V-S to delay the first day of school due to storm damage/Facemasks required
The first day of school will be August 31st. This is due to the storm damage throughout the district.We will utilize the built-in snow days on January 18th, February 15th, April 6th, and Friday, May 28th. The calendar has additional hours already built in to cover the 5th day. We will operate with the plan of any inclement weather days will be continuous learning days.
Benton County Disaster Coalition Seeking Funds to Help Disaster Impacted Familie
The Benton County Disaster Recovery Coalition is seeking monetary donations to assist families impacted by the August 10th storm. The Coalition responds to multi-dwelling disasters to assist families in the county who have unmet needs after all other sources of funds have been exhausted. Individual insurance, federal and state assistance would be utilized first and if a family still had unmet needs existing that creates a hardship for the family, then the Coalition will do what they can to provide financial support.
Mediacom reports fiber cuts, service down but iVinton passes "stress test"
At Tuesday evening's VMCU (Vinton Municipal Communications Utilities) meeting, Dave Fridley of Farr Technologies gave an [upd] on the condition of the iVinton project. During the building of iVinton the design of iVinton was created for situations like we experienced this week. The network is connected to two major veins of communication out of Vinton.
Burn ban in place for Shellsburg
From the city of Shellsburg: Please share as much of our posts as possible. Not everyone has access to Facebook, if you can relay the messages to your neighbors, family and friends. Current burn ban until further notice. Majority of fallen brush is very green and will smoke heavily. There is also too much brush through the town yet. We do have trash bins/ Yardies wandering around town.
Storm Damage continues to affect Benton County Residents (Video Link)
Wednesday evening, I took a trip to Van Horne, Keystone and Newhall to capture the damage to those areas. Devastating. Disastrous.Catastrophic. Any of these words sum up the destruction in the southern parts of Benton County. For the most part the roads are clear enough to drive on throughout the county with powerlines down across the road in some areas.
Derecho Storm Impacts Eastern Iowa and Northern Illinois Communities
The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) has deployed to
more than 30 counties throughout the Heartland Division due to the recent Derecho
storm. This storm produced hurricane-like conditions in the Midwest with 100 mph
winds and intense weather which impacted thousands within our communities across
Central Illinois and Eastern Iowa.
Frentress' boat overturned due to storm
Just south of Vinton, at the Jim and Wendy Frentress residence, they were amazed to find their boat, well, like this...feel free to share photos of your property if you'd like on the Vinton Today Facebook page, just add your photo in the comments and tell us where you are if you'd like! Information for those who have lost their homes
Families who lost their homes in the August 10th storm and are needing shelter are now asked to call the State 211 Helpline Center. People can call 211 or their toll free number: 1-800-244-7431.211 is a free, comprehensive information and referral system linking Iowa and Nebraska residents to health and human service programs, community services, disaster services and governmental programs.
Avoid Scams After Natural Disaster
With all the storm damage this week, local citizens are reminded to avoid scams when finding someone to conduct repairs. The first step is to contact your insurance agent. Finding a contractor could be a challenge with the extensive damage in our area. Watch out for contractors who offer to do post-disaster work on the spot and expects payment in advance.
Benton County Health Department Reminds Residents to Play it Safe During Cleanup
Many parts of Iowa were affected by a severe storm that swept through the state Monday, causing power outages for hundreds of thousands of people. As utility crews work around the clock to restore power, and Iowans continue cleaning away storm debris, the Benton County Health Department reminds everyone to take safety precautions to avoid injury and protect their health.