HARLAN -- Verl Arentson, 92, Harlan, died August 14 at his home.    Services were held Monday, Aug. 17 at 11 a.m.

    Avoca- Lavonne P.

    PORTSMOUTH -- Richard Heller of Portsmouth will mark his 90th birthday on August 19. His family is planning a card shower in his honor. Cards will reach him if sent to PO Box 92, Portsmouth, IA 51565.    His family includes Gary and Deb Heller, Omaha; Bob and Sue Heller, Lenexa, KS; Joann Miller, Harlan; Paul and Valerie Heller, Ellicott City, MD; six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

    HARLAN - Using new state guidance, the Harlan Community School Board weighed in  on the side of caution and voted on Monday, August 10 to proceed with a Hybrid Plan for grades 6-12 and a fully open, Face-to-Face classroom model for grades K - 5 for at least the first two weeks of the school year -- which starts Monday, August 24.     A key decision component was to give parents, guardians, students and teachers ample time to prepare for th

    CARROLL - Gary R. Brown, 76 died on Sunday, August 9 at St. Anthony Regional Hospital, Carroll.    Brown had worked for Super Value (later purchased by HyVee) in Harlan.    A visitation will be held from 5 - 7 P.M. on Friday, August 14 at the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home , Carroll.    Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 15 at the Carroll Football Stadium.    A graveside service will held at 3:30 p.m.

 HARLAN (Aug. 6) -- With a hopeful eye toward playing full seasons this fall, the Harlan Community football and volleyball teams held preseason camps this week in preparation for the start of practices on Monday, Aug. 10. The annual Cyclone Football Camp of Champions is taking place Monday-Friday.

 HARLAN - High winds moved through the area the morning of Monday, August 10th causing downed tree limbs and flying debris.
In several locations, a tarp and large tree branches were blown into the 69kv transmission line that encompasses our community.  The circuit breakers in three substations did their job and were tripped around 9:30 a.m.

    COUNTY -- Non-profit agencies within Shelby County will have until the end of August to complete applications for funding from Shelby County Community Chest (SCCC). Funds from SCCC are made possible by the generosity of local donors to the SCCC annual fund drive which will be taking place this fall.    Shelby County Community Chest accumulates and then disburses the funds from this campaign to local non-profits for a single year.

    REGIONAL -- AHSTW Community School District, Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton and IKM-Manning School Districts have all released Return to Learn plans on their respective school websites. AHSTW has set Thursday, August 20 as the first day of school for the 2020-2021 school year.         Both Exira-EHK and IKM-Manning have set Friday, August 14 as the first day of school for their districts.