Thanks to the work of 10-15 Transit, United Way of Mahaska County, the City of Oskaloosa, and several local business sponsors, Oskaloosa is entering its second season of the transit bus system.

The bus is available along a designated route from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at a cost of $1 per ride. Youth under the age of 18 ride free. Monthly passes for those older than 18 are available for $15 a month or at a reduced rate of $10 a month for senior citizens, college students or people with disabilities. Tickets and passes are available at the Untied Way office, Hy-Vee, Fareway, and Walmart. (A call-schedule-ride paratransit pick up and delivery service is available for those with physical limitations who are unable to make it to the bus stop by calling dispatch, 1.800.220.6390)

Oskaloosa Ride’s fixed bus route stops along many areas within the city at places like Mahaska Health Partnership, Downtown Oskaloosa, Walmart, William Penn and your YMCA. This makes for a convenient way to get to water aerobics or other Y programs and classes offered to our members.

For more information about the transit system, contact Amy Langdon of United Way of Mahaska County, 641.673.6043.

Photo provided by Bob Ballard

From the Oskaloosa Police Department:

On Monday June 15, 2015, the Oskaloosa Police Department obtained arrest warrants for Martell Lamar Tillman-Hollinshed age 19, of Oskaloosa charging him with 1st Degree Robbery and 3rd Degree Burglary.

The charge of Robbery in the 1st Degree stems from an investigation into the reported armed robbery that took place at the Dollar General Store, located at 200 High Ave West in the Penn Central Mall, on Friday June 12, 2015, at around 5:22 P.M. It was reported that a black male in his late teens, early twenties entered the store and produced a dark colored handgun, pointed it at the clerk and demanded money. The black male then exited the store without incident and without cash. He left on foot eastbound on High Ave West. Store video was obtained and the identity of the black male has been identified as the above defendant. The bond on the Robbery 1st Degree charge is $150,000 cash only.

The charge of Burglary Third Degree stems from an investigation into a reported burglary on May 7, 2015 at the Central Reformed Church, located at 815 2nd Ave East in Oskaloosa. It was reported that someone forced entry into the church and stole property belonging to the church and staff. A video of the subject committing the burglary was obtained from the church. After examining the video from the Central Reformed Church it was discovered that the above defendant is believed to be responsible for the burglary. The bond on the charge of Burglary 3rd Degree is $10,000 cash only.

Prior to the incident of the armed robbery at the Dollar General Store there was also an arrest warrant issued for Mr. Tillman-Hollinshed from the 8th Judicial Probation Office for a violation of his release on other unrelated charges. The bond on the probation violation charge is $100,000 cash only.

Martell Lamar Tillman-Hollinshed is still at large and is to be considered armed and dangerous. Tillman-Hollinshed is currently believed to be in the Detroit Michigan area. If anyone should see or have any contact with the above individual or know of his whereabouts they are to contact the Oskaloosa Police Department at 641.672.2557.

More charges are expected pending further investigations into other incidents that Tillman-Hollinshed is believed to responsible.
Robbery in the 1st Degree is a Class “B” felony punishable by up to twenty-five years in a state penitentiary.
Burglary in the 3rd Degree is a Class “D” felony punishable by up to 5 years in a state penitentiary.

It should be noted a criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

A road vacation took center stage at an intense meeting of the Oskaloosa City Council Monday evening.

The item on the agenda in question involves the vacation and sale of 2^nd Avenue East between South 7^th Street and South 8^th Street to Central Reformed Church located at 815 2^nd Avenue East in Oskaloosa. The church has submitted plans for an expansion, which would involve adding several parking lot space in spots of land that they already own either on that block or nearby. The church has seen a boom of growth in recent years, and is hoping to capitalize on that by expanding their church to give their congregation all the proper amenities, like a functional fellowship hall, which now has to be used for the large Sunday School program every Sunday.

The public hearing on this item sparked great debate from neighbors nearby who believe closing the road is a bad idea for many reasons and produced a petition with over 35 signatures. There were also plenty of people who spoke on behalf of the church and of the neighborhood from a business standpoint, which all were in favor of having the church remain in their current location, just expanding to fit its growing population.

The risk involved for the church, is that if this plan is nixed, they would have to look at moving to a new location, likely on the edge of town, like the Church of the Nazarene when they built their new facility.

After lengthy debate on the topic, and several views shared from the City Council and from the public, council member Doug Yates suggested they wait until later to vote, since he had told people that there would be three readings of this. Council member Aaron Ver Steeg was bothered that there was not three readings. After more discussion about when to pull the trigger and vote, the council decided by a 6-1 vote to push the item back to the July 20^th meeting before making a decision so the rest of the public could have their say. Jason Van Zetten was the lone vote against that notion, saying the public deserved a vote that night.

In other business, the council unanimously approved another $50,000 going toward the Forest Cemetery Association. This helps their financial stability, on top of the $150,000 that have already been given the last couple of years.

The council also voted unanimously to pull the trigger on an agreement with RDG Planning and Design, who will complete a full design of the corridor on A Avenue and Market Street. This will cost $44,620 to complete, and then after that comes back to the council, they may start to implement parts of that design and create ordinances to keep the downtown area clean. This topic was discussed in full during an hour-long study session prior to the regular council meeting.

The next meeting of the Oskaloosa City Council is scheduled for Monday, July 6^th, at 6 PM in the City Council Chambers in City Hall in Oskaloosa.

The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday afternoon after a time adjustment, and the main topic of discussion was the results of the Recreation and Child Care Needs Assessment Report.

Beth Danowsky presented the results to the Board of Supervisors, who are the last board in the county to see the results. After the presentation, Supervisor Mike VanderMolen said he believed the county wouldn’t be putting a ton of financial support into it since it was more for Oskaloosa, and it would only affect a few close communities in the county otherwise.

Vice-Chair Willie VanWeelden said there should be a representative from the board even if they don’t see a whole lot of funding because it is a project that affects the county as a whole. Chair Mark Doland said he’d like to be the representative on this board moving forward, and that will be voted on during the July 6 meeting.

In other business in a fairly routine meeting, the board heard from Troy Bemis about the new quotes to finish the work on the courthouse roof. The board also approved a resolution to trim up the miles used on the Farm to Market adjustment for County Road G5T. This will help in state funding to fix up this particular stretch of 23.81 miles, which are mostly in Mahaska County.

As the meeting was closing, VanWeelden mentioned it would be a good idea to start thinking about what they are wanting to do with the Country Life building after the closing becomes official next month. An item was added to the agenda for the next meeting.

The next meeting of the Mahaska County Board of Supervisors is scheduled for Monday, July 6^th, at 9 AM at the Mahaska County Courthouse in Oskaloosa.