Archive for: September 2010

The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks opened the football season Friday night with a loss against Class 3A Washington Demons at home, 21-13.
Washington’s Tyler Jaspering scored the first touchdown of the game just five minutes into the first quarter on a one-yard …

For the third consecutive year, Washington County received $14,809 of a phased refund from the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool.  The refund is from the reserved funds of the group which provides liability and property insurance.  The award came at the …

[caption id="attachment_2039" align="alignnone" width="300" caption=" (Photo by Ranee Fladung)"][/caption]
In a joint All-Staff meeting Monday between Keota and Mid-Prairie School Districts, approximately 260 staff members converged on Wellman’s Parkside Activites …

By Mary Zielinski
The Wellman City Council Friday, in an early morning work session, learned that about five years ago, it had 33 buildings that were either unoccupied or in need of substantial repairs. Today, the total stands at seven, and City Administrator Dave Ross said the city is running out of downtown buildings. What made the turn around for a town that had become a poster child for decline were two projects: the Wellman Emporium and the Parkside Activities Center. The former now houses the senior dining site, a medical clinic, a pharmacy and financial offices and the latter offers everything from recreational and preschool services to physical therapy. As Mayor Ryan Miller said of the Emporium, “It kicked started a lot,” and Ross said of Parkside, “It has had a very positive impact on everything.”
Friday, the council members explored ways for the city to create a more positive economic impact by seriously considering if it should obtain land, possibly as much as ten acres, to aid with either housing or commercial development. Ross and Miller stressed it is merely in the mentioning stage (and may go no further), but the idea falls well into future development for the town that also at this time does not have a single new house for sale, Ross said. What also falls into economic development is repairing, replacing and possibly extending the city’s infrastructure in terms of streets and sewer work.

By Mary Zielinski
Wellman Elementary School will, in about two weeks, have an additional second grade. Monday, the Mid-Prairie Board, meeting in joint session with the Keota board, learned that about $260,000 is coming to Mid-Prairie from the recently enacted federal legislation to aid schools nationwide. The federal money is to help districts retain teachers.
Wellman has 32 second graders and initially was to have two sections meeting in the morning and all students in the afternoon session. However, with the new funding the board approve creating a new position and hiring an additional second grade teacher.
Superintendent Mark Schneider said that the district already has applicants, that the federal funding was anticipated. As a result, the second class should be in operation within two weeks.

Regardless of whether you are a child or an adult who’s a kid at heart, the Wellman Parkside Y will provide plenty for you to do this fall.
“We have a strong family-driven community with an emphasis on developing our youth,” said Angie Boyse, Branch Director for the Y. “The people in this community are interested in bettering themselves – both physically and mentally – and they get their kids involved too.”

“The people in this community are interested in bettering themselves – both physically and mentally – and they get their kids involved too.”

“We’ve had quite a bit of participation from both children and adults since we opened our doors in January, and part of that success has come as a result of our great relationship with the Mid-Prairie School District.”
Upcoming sports programs include:

The new banner, currently on display in the Visitors Center of the Kalona Historical Village is the work of three women and celebrates the town’s cultural and ethnic heritage. The design is by Grace Schumann of Stitch ‘n Sew Cottage, …

By Mary Zielinski
Three-year-old Cobin Thompson misses his dinosaurs; they burned in the fire that destroyed his home and everything in it August 25.
“Nothing was salvaged,” said his mother, April Thompson. “We did not have much, but what we had meant a lot.”
Exceedingly grateful that neither she nor her son were at home when fire fully engulfed their home at 1365 230th Street, rural Keota, the loss of personal photos and mementoes “is a huge loss. It is nearly like a death.”
What has hurt her the most is losing her high school and college diplomas, awards (especially the Presidential Education award) and all the photos.
Thompson, who graduated from Kirkwood Community College’s Administrative Assistant program in December, has been employed in the Otholarynoogy Department at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics since April.
“Things were just starting to go well,” she said, referring to both the job and finances.
Currently staying with family, Thompson is trying to find another home and start over. She rented the house from owners Angie and John Greiner “who also lost a lot of memories. It had been a family home for more than 100 years.”
“There is insurance,” she said, but nothing has been settled or adjusted yet. Although how much can be adjusted when the only thing remaining of the house are four pillars, she does not know.
What makes it worse is “we went through it twice,” since the fire had initially broken out and believed to have been extinguished the day before.
“There was lot of smoke damage, but it “it was better than I expected and it could have been cleared and cleaned, and we still had everything,” she said. So, August 24 she and her son gathered just a few belongings (a change of clothes, some toiletries) and “went to my mother’s until we could clean things up and go back.”

1922-2010
Florence M. Day, 88, died at Adair County Memorial Hospital Tuesday, August 31, 2010.? Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, September 3, 2010, at the Penn Center Methodist Church, rural Earlham.? Burial and military rites will be in …

November 7, 1924 – August 25, 2010
Lloyd Bender, 85, of Kalona, Iowa, died Wednesday morning, August 25, 2010, at Pleasantview Home in Kalona following a lengthy illness.
Memorial services were held Friday, August 27, 2010, in the Kalona Mennonite Church, …

by Ranee Fladung
All three bids for the Wellman Golf Course sewer relining project were below estimate, with the lowest one coming in 24 percent less. As a result, the Wellman council Monday awarded the contract to Municipal Pipe and Tool in Hudson, Iowa, with the low bid of $45,086. The other two bids were $51,500 and $54,000. The project should be completed by December 15, 2010.
Following a public hearing about the plans, specifications and contract for the city wide reverse osmosis water treatment project, the council set September 2 for the bid opening for the estimated $3.5 million project. The council hopes to award a contract at its September 7 meeting.
The council passed a second reading to amend the city zoning on Madison Ave. between 14th and 15th Streets by a 3-2 vote. Voting yes were Marc Pennington, Johnny Schwartz and Doug Powell. Opposed were Steve Slaubaugh and Fern Bontrager. The rezoning would change the area from R-1 (low density single family residential) to C1-B (peripheral business district commerical). Sandra Helmholtz, who lives directly across from the property that would be used for commercial storage units, raised objections to the rezoning, citing concerns about property values, possible increases in noise and traffic. Council member Marc Pennington said he had talked with numerous people in the area and wants to talk to everybody.

By Mary Zielinski
By a 4-0 vote Monday, the Kalona City Council approved the third reading and passage of the ordinance establishing a Storm Water Drainage Utility that has a monthly $3 per household fee.
Resident Gregory Van Egdon raised objections about the flat fee, which he referred to as regressive taxation, and again asked the council to look into assessing on actual usage, as is done with sewer and water rates in the city.
“It’s not a user fee if all pay the same amount,” he said, noting that different size properties will not run the same amount of water into the system.
The council instituted the fee, which will go into a separate fund, to build and maintain the storm sewer system, a segment of which is part of the city’s downtown revitalization project now underway.
Van Egdon also asked if the city had consulted with its attorney before deciding on how the fee would be instituted. City Clerk Karen Christner said the attorney had reviewed the issue, and told them the actual fee had to be in the ordinace itself.
Council member Steve Lafuarie, calling it “fair” moved to approve the ordinance.
Council member Dave Bentley, who seconded the motion, said “It is a good starting point” and as for the fees, “We can revisit it later.”