NEWS BRIEFS: City not picking up branches; Coach goes to court Sept. 8; Auction held at old Hy-Vee; more

City not picking up downed limbs

The city of Fairfield will not be picking up tree limbs downed during the June 2 storm.

?The property owner will have to take care of what few are down,? said Tom Baker, city code enforcement officer.

Baker also said the city will be serving notices to residents about brush piles in yards as they are a violation of the nuisance ordinance and cannot be construed as compost piles. Compost material must be in an approved bin.

Fairfield golf coach faces OWI charge Sept. 8

Former Fairfield school teacher and girls golf coach Susie Steinbeck is scheduled to stand trial Sept. 8 in Lee County.

Steinbeck is accused of driving while intoxicated and child endangerment.

Steinbeck was driving one of the Fairfield school district?s Chevy Suburbans the morning of May 10 taking six members of the high school girls? golf team to a conference meet in Keokuk.

An Iowa State Patrol officer came upon the Suburban and a pickup pulled onto the side of Highway 218 near the Highway 16 intersection. The pickup driver complained about how the Suburban was being driven. According to court documents, the officer conducted, and Steinbeck failed, field sobriety tests. She was transported to Lee County Jail in Montrose.

According to court documents, Steinbeck consented to a breath test at the Lee County Jail that registered her blood alcohol level as .212 ? more than 2.5 times the legal limit to operate a motorized vehicle in Iowa ? and she was arrested.

School district personnel were notified of what was happening, and another driver and chaperone were provided for the golfers.

Steinbeck has been placed on administrative leave from her extracurricular golf and swim coaching duties and her computer class teaching position at Fairfield Middle School.

Steinbeck did not have to post bond and was released on her own recognizance after her initial appearance in front of a Lee County magistrate judge May 11.

Auction held at old Hy-Vee store

 An auction was held earlier this week at the former Fairfield Hy-Vee Food Store building.

Hy-Vee Inc. media relations spokeswoman Ruth Comber explained some fixtures and items from the old grocery store, Hy-Vee DrugStore and Hy-Vee Pharmacy were relocated to the new store, but others were left behind.

An auctioneer was hired to sell those items, said Comber.

Comber said Hy-Vee owns the former food store property and has it listed for sale.

The drug store and pharmacy were in leased buildings.

IDOT sets up customer service phone line

AMES ? Due to the high volume of public inquiries about flooded roadways, the Iowa Department of Transportation has established a temporary customer service phone line: 866-452-8510.

The line should not be used to report an emergency or flooded road. Emergency calls should be made to 911.

IDOT customer service operators will be available from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, as long as there is a high demand for assistance. For road condition information outside these hours, call 511 in Iowa or 800-288-1047 from outside the state.

The phone line is specifically for assisting travelers in navigating state roadway closings. Contact local officials for information regarding county roads and city streets.

Operators will help callers understand where roads are closed and direct them to any detours or possible alternative routes using Iowa, U.S. and interstate highways. Detailed detour maps will be offered at www.511ia.org, as soon as they become available.