Adair County hires new deputy; Stop sign changes southeast of Orient

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater has one of his two deputies picked to fill vacancies he has on his force.

Late last month, Vandewater reported to the Adair County Board of Supervisors that Deputy James Paup resigned after accepting a position with West Des Moines Police. With Chief Deputy Ron Hrubetz retiring in July, that left two positions open.

Vandewater brought Michael Stofer’s name to the table to be approved by the supervisors at their meeting last Wednesday.

Stofer has most recently served as a police officer for the City of Story City and will relocate to Greenfield.

Vandewater said a few snags have hindered the hiring of a second deputy but he hopes that process can move forward soon so the sheriff’s office is full force again.

The sheriff’s office currently has a deputy attending the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy as well, Joshua Armstrong. Armstrong is a replacement for Will Wedemeyer, who left the force last December.

Vandewater also shared with the Supervisors the latest on the radio upgrade project. A logger, which records 911 calls, will be shared among a group of counties rather than only be used by Adair County, so an adjustment was made for that.

Secondary Roads

Upon County Engineer Nick Kauffman’s recommendation, the supervisors passed a stop sign resolution for 320th St. and Quebec Ave., near the wind farm substation southeast of Orient.

Previously, eastbound traffic on 320th St. and northbound traffic on Quebec Ave. were required to stop. Now, it will be required that all east and westbound traffic stop. North and southbound traffic will not have to stop.