Medical examiner receives high international certification

By STEPH TAHTINEN

Mt. Pleasant News

Medical Examiner Rick Sywassink has been certified as a Diplomate of the American Board Medicolegal Death Investigators ? an internationally-recognized certification.

?I?m only one of 20 in the state of Iowa,? said Sywassink, who also noted that the others are mostly in larger counties.

Sywassink works as a medical examiner for a few different counties, including Henry County. He and his fellow Henry County Medical Examiner, Kent Metcalf, met with the board of supervisors on Tuesday morning for one of their regular updates to the board.

Metcalf said part of the reason he wanted to meet with the board was to make his colleague?s accomplishment known.

?It just adds credence to the investigations we do,? said Sywassink.

Henry County had paid for Sywassink to take the test, which he said he passed on the first try.

Sywassink and Metcalf said they are also still working on a manual that would include contact information for all of the emergency departments in the county and also create a procedure for when they are doing their job.

?It?s just a Betty Crocker manual,? said Metcalf, noting it would improve standardization.

In other business, which Supervisor Chairman Kent White commented was one of the more pleasurable jobs parts of his job, the supervisors recognized Donald Rich and Betty Inglebright for 12 years of service to the Henry County Pioneer Cemetery Commission.

?Thank you for all the work you do. You?ve done a lot of great work for the county,? said Supervisor Chairmen Kent White.

The two were presented with certificates of appreciation for the services they?ve provided the county from 1999 to 2011.

The Henry County Pioneer Cemetery Commission meets the first Monday of every month at 1 p.m. in the board of supervisors? office in the courthouse. Those who are interested in pioneer cemeteries in Henry County are welcome to attend the meetings.

The supervisors also:

? Awarded a bid to Service Master of Burlington to repair the courthouse floor for $5,325. The work will include fixing cracks in tiles, re-tiling holes, re-grouting the floor and cleaning and sealing the floor.

? Approved the first reading of an amendment to the rural solid waste/trash ordinance. This amendment updates the list of accepted materials, brings fees for penalties in line with Iowa Code, allows users to dispose of up to six tires no bigger than 20 inches per week, sets a limit of six bags per week and updates the ordinance to reflect the languages on the new signs at the county sites.

? Received a weekly update from County Engineer Bill Belzer.