Archive for March, 2009

One of the most important parts of playing sports is staying healthy. Eric Turner with Jet Physical Therapy says Chuck Miller is a therapist that goes to IMS to help with the sports department. Miller is an IMS Graduate and enjoys helping the teams out. Turner says the post season is very important to athletes and that they put a lot of pressure on themselves and that can cause unwanted injuries. Miller says he is hopeful for the IMS boys basketball team in the post season and hopes to see them go to the finals of the state tournament.

Kalona Elementary School has a program in place to help kids learn to become the best they can be. Principle Jim Cayton says its called the Super Kid program. He says it is a reward system for good behavior and good academics. Cayton says they have many prizes available from pizza slices to an iPod. He says the kids have been having fun with the program and are enjoying wearing the t-shirts that are black in color and have a big superman logo on the front. The program runs all year.

The Winfield Mt. Union Community School Board will be meeting on Monday. On the agenda the board will be employee conduct and appearance and what is expected. The School Board will also be discussing the senior class trips and a shared wrestling program with New London. The School Board will be meeting on Monday at 6:30pm in the media center.

Washington County Supervisors are off to Des Moines for a statewide convention. The Iowa State Association of Counties is putting it on. Washington Supervisor Chair Jim Miksch says there are various workshops and it's an opportunity to interact with other supervisors in the state, which sometimes can be as good as some of the workshops. Miksch says a couple of the workshops he feels will hit close to Washington will be one talking about alternative ways to fund county secondary road repairs and managing times when revenues are lower.

Some federal dollars coming from the stimulus package has Washington County doing a paving project on old 218 a little sooner than planned. Jacob Thorius with the County Engineer's Office says they anticipate receiving around $750,000 from the stimulus package. He says they will overlay old 218 or Vine Avenue with concrete from Highway 22 south to 160th Street which is about 4.5 miles. Thorius says originally the project was four years out but with this federal money they'll be able to do it this year.

This is Gambling Awareness Week, and MECA of Iowa City is working to get information out about their services. Todd Morris works in the Gambling Treatment Division and he says Riverside Casino and Golf Resort has let them set up at their entrance this week to let people know what they offer. He says more often it's a loved one of a compulsive gambler seeking help than the actual person having the problem. Morris says you can find out what they offer by visiting their website www.mecaservices.com.

President Obama's proposed budget for the USDA would phase out direct farm payments for operations generating more that half million dollars in revenue annually. Regional Manager of the Iowa Farm Bureau Jerry Anderson says direct farm payments are payments farmers received based on their production history for their crops. Anderson says while half a million in annual sales sound like a huge operation, last year with beans in the teens and higher prices it wouldn't take a huge operations to trigger that limitation. He says in years where prices are lower such as this year direct payments can help farmers not lose money. The savings from the cut would go to a child nutrition program.

There will be a Wind Energy Conference on Friday, March 20 at the Fairfield Fine Arts and Convention Center in Fairfield. Gary Bickmeier, Keokuk County Extension Education Director says in 2008, Iowa surpassed California to become the nations second largest in wind power generating capacity. Iowa State University Extension is presenting the 2009 Wind Energy Conference on Friday, March 20 at the Fairfield Fine Arts and Convention Center in Fairfield. To register for the 2009 Wind Energy Conference, contact the Jefferson County Extension office at (641) 472-4166. The cost is $20 per person and will be limited to the first 200 registrants.

Kalona Elementary School wants to get the word out about the importance of children literacy. Kalona elementary held their Literacy night on Monday, march 2nd. Second Grade Teacher Kerri Bell says they had over 70 people attend and felt everyone had a great time. Bell says she had children coming up to her all night asking when they were doing it again because they had so much fun reading. Bell says it makes her proud to know the children still enjoy reading books.

Iowa Mennonite School's Alumni Association, along with the Optimist Club of Washington Township, will prepare and serve a turkey steak meal on Saturday, March 14. Jane Miller with IMS says this is an annual event that both groups work together on. She says Proceeds from the meal will benefit the many programs of both groups. Miller says they will be serving Grilled Turkey Steak, baked potato, toss salad, dinner roll, homemade desserts and water or coffee. Tickets are available from members of both organizations, as well as from IMS 9th-grade students. Adults are $7.50; students are $5.00 and preschool and under are free.