CENTERVILLE – At Monday’s Centerville City Council meeting, City Clerk Kris May reported the Trails Organization has been working on a plan for safe routes for children to walk or ride bikes to and from school. Because of the rise in obesity and physical inactivity in children, health care costs are increasing. May brought some statistics to the meeting and brought out that in 1969, half of all kids walked to school; today only 15 percent do.

A grant called Safe Routes to School is available for up to $250,000 with no local matching required. The primary beneficiary would be kids from kindergarten to eighth grade. The grant application is due Oct. 1 and is administrated by the Iowa DOT.

The Appanoose County Trails, Inc. started over a year ago after the first Great Places application was submitted. People from all areas of government, organized trails groups and individuals are members and there are currently snowmobile trails at Rathbun Lake and walking/biking trails at Lelah Bradley and Sharon Bluffs. The group is currently working on three miles of multi-use trails at Rathbun Lake and walking/biking trails in Centerville.

May said the trails group is meeting with the school district concerning safe routes, which would include sidewalks for walking and safe places to ride bikes to school. They are also looking into safe places/ways to cross highways 5 and 2.

The council approved applying for the grant.

Jamie Houser and Michelle Moore appeared before the council to donate tasers to be distributed to police officers on behalf of the public. There are eight taser units to be given to uniformed officers at $814.95 each, two taser cameras that can be mounted on the tasers, 30 training cartridges and 30 duty cartridges as well as download cable for the computer. The total spent on the equipment was $8,698. Any remaining donated money will remain in an account for future purchases of taser related training, equipment or supplies.

Houser said Deputy Sheriff Chuck Carter is going to be attending school to become the training officer for the tasers.

Councilman Kris Koestner thanked Houser and Moore for their work in raising the funds for the community.

Bob Greene raised the issue of the construction trucks traveling on city streets. A letter was read from Carol O’Hair concerning damage to the streets by the weight of the trucks. Mayor Marsha Mitchell said she had approved the trucks using the streets while they were storing rock for the construction on Highway 2. She said she had spoken to Street Department Head Ron Creagan and he agreed there would be no damage involved.

“They are just about finished,” said Mitchell. “It was a short-term agreement, there is no weight limit on those streets and I see no harm in letting them use them.”

“Well, I don’t think they ought to be able to run on those streets,” said Greene.