Cardinal teachers visit homes, businesses today; One-way traffic starts Wednesday near schools; more

Cardinal teachers visit homes, businesses today

ELDON ? Teams of Cardinal Community School District teachers were out visiting homes and businesses this afternoon throughout the school district.

Cardinal superintendent Joel Pedersen said the visits are to strengthen the schools? and the community?s partnerships for learning.

?We are starting at 11:30 today going through the afternoon in Cardinal school cars, with Cardinal attire,? said Pedersen. ?It should be awesome to see the smiles and surprises.?

Pedersen said the teachers and administrators will be taking pictures and building their own relationships during the visits, also.

?We are going to our community and families this year. We can?t wait for them to come to us,? said Pedersen.

The staff members will be extending invitations to Cardinal?s ?meet and greet? set for 5-7 p.m. Wednesday.

Cardinal students return to classes Thursday.

For information, visit the district?s web site at www.cardinalcomets.com.

One-way traffic starts Wednesday near schools

With school starting Wednesday, the Fairfield Community School District is reminding drivers of the one-way traffic patterns near schools.

Fred McElwee, the district?s auxiliary services director, especially wanted to remind parents, students, drivers and residents of the newer one-way traffic on Broadway Avenue in front of the Fairfield High School during school bus loading times.

The schedule for one-way traffic from east to west on Broadway will be from 7:45-8:15 a.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 9:15-9:45 a.m. Wednesday; and 3:15-4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The one-way traffic only will be in affect during school days.

The first three days of school will have an early start and and early dismissal: 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

The district is responsible for posting the signs each day, the same as it is responsible for the signs indicating temporary one-way streets near Washington and Pence elementary schools, McElwee said.

The one-way traffic in front of the high school began in February.

Des Moines hospital delivers baby boomlet

DES MOINES (AP) ? A Des Moines hospital underwent its own baby boom last week.

An official says 42 babies were born at Iowa Methodist Medical Center downtown from midnight Tuesday to midnight Thursday.

That averages to 21 babies a day, more than double the hospital average of eight to 10 a day.

Hospital spokeswoman Amy Varcoe told The Des Moines Register that doctors told women who had scheduled elective procedures such as inducements or C-sections that they could wait until the hospital calmed down. Varcoe says most of the women decided to go ahead with the deliveries anyway.

Varcoe says extra doctors and nurses were brought in.

Iowa Guard rescues children

COUNCIL BLUFFS (AP) ? An Iowa National Guard transport truck has been deployed to rescue around 30 children from their stranded school bus in Council Bluffs.

Heavy rain overnight and Monday morning flooded some streets and basements in far western Iowa and eastern Nebraska.

Station KETV says the bus had stalled in about 4 feet of water south of downtown Council Bluffs, near 30th and Atlantic Avenue.

The heavy truck made it slowly through the water to reach the bus. The children soon were loaded into the truck and taken to safety. No injuries were reported.

Across the Missouri River, in Omaha, Neb., some streets just north of downtown were closed.

Power outages were reported in Fremont, which is northwest of Omaha.

FAA shutdown delays money for Burlington airport

BURLINGTON (AP) ? Upgrades at the Southeast Iowa Regional Airport in Burlington are on hold pending a delay in federal funding.

The Hawk Eye reports that nearly $1 million in projects were scheduled to begin this month at the airport but they?ve been delayed as the facility waits for the Federal Aviation Administration to release its grant money.

The FAA was partially shut down for almost two weeks this this summer, delaying the funding. Congress has restored its operating authority through Sept. 16.

With the delay, airport manager Mary Beaird says the projects may not be started before winter.

Among the projects are repairs to the runway and replacement of part of a taxiway.