Archive for: May 2009

The Highland girls’ track and field team placed third in the Mid-Prairie track meet April 21 at Wellman.
In the field events, Anna Sweeting finished in fifth place in the discus with a throw of 83′ 1″. Katie Seaton had …

The Highland boys’ track team participated in the Mid-Prairie track and field meet at Wellman April 21.
Two events placed for the Highland boys. Jacob Seaton placed fourth in the shot put with a throw of 44′, 10.5″.
The team of …

The Highland girls’ track team participated in the Chad Gates meet at West Branch April 24.
In the field events, Anna Sweeting placed third in the discus event with a throw of 80′ 2″. Katie Seaton had a throw of …

1924 - 2009
Arthur James “Art” Schreiber, 84, of Wapello, Iowa, formerly of Lone Tree, Iowa, and Muscatine, Iowa, died Saturday, April 18, 2009, in the Great River Hospice House at West Burlington, Iowa.
Following cremation, a funeral was held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, 2009, in the Dudgeon-McCulley Funeral Home in Wapello. Carol Kaalberg, Parish Life Coordinator, Church of St. Mary’s of Lone Tree and Nichols, officiated. The family greeted friends at the funeral home from 2 to 4 p.m. prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund for the Great River Hospice House and the Wapello Community Ambulance Service has been established.

Members of the Ladies Auxiliary to Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 6414 will be distributing Buddy Poppies Saturday, May 9 from 9 to 11 a.m. at various locations throughout Riverside.  The Poppies are given to people in remembrance of …

By Mary Zielinski
Based at the eastern edge of Riverside is an “elite fleet” that is the ultimate in luxury transportation.
Owned and operated by Bruce Tracy, Classic Thunder Limousine Company offers everything from executive buses and stretch limousines to a rocking chair fitted Clampett car. Of the latter, which derives its name from the famous vehicle of the Beverly Hillbillies, Tracy said, “When I first saw it, I knew I had to have it.”

We believe that every client should be made a promise and then provided the dream

An open air novelty, the Clampett car is part of a lineup that includes two rare red stretch limousines, one of exactly five in the entire country, the Midwest’s largest 28 and 30 passenger SUV limousines, party buses, coaches and H2 Hummers. But what really makes the difference for the ten-year old company is its emphasis on customer satisfaction.
“We believe that every client should be made a promise and then provided the dream,” says Tracy.
That translates into providing appropriate transportation and professional, courteous and discreet service which applies to the largest wedding or executive party to the smallest anniversary event.
Making dreams come true, even for just a night, is something Tracy, raised on a farm in Aledo, Illinois, learned first hand after his family “lost everything” in the 1983 farm crisis. And he means everything, for Tracey found himself at age 23 virtually homeless, “broke and cold.” As he put it, though, he and the family “Knew how to work,” and bit by bit “I bought it all back, the land, the house.”
Then ten years ago, he started Classic Thunder Limousines, based in Alexis, Illinois, aimed at serving the eastern half of Iowa and the northern half of Illinois and beyond. The beyond includes Iowa all the way down to Keokuk and up to the Minnesota border.

Riverside resident Mike Slagel representing his wife and sister-in-law who own a Scandinavian Furniture Store in Iowa City, asked the Riverside council Monday about a possible site in the city-owned commercial tract along Highway 22.
He explained that the owners would like to move the business to Riverside, where they live, but would like to purchase less than an acre. To date, Riverside has sold only acre parcels in the site.
Slagel said plans would call for a 6,000 to 7,000 square foot building and asked if the council would consider selling perhaps a half acre. His request came during citizen time and the council asked him to return at another meeting with a proposal.
In a related matter, city engineer Mike Hart said that site preparation is underway for the road into the commercial site to provide access to where the new University of Iowa Community Medical services clinic will be built. Hart said that the street site plan is “okay”. The council approved the clinic site review plan from Shive-Hattery.

The Highland coed soccer team lost to Notre Dame in double overtime Thursday, April 16. They lost to IMS 0-8 Tuesday, April 14.

The Highland girls’ track team placed fourth at the West Branch meet Thursday, April 16.
The girls had two first place finishes, a second place, and a third in the relay races. Brittany Gerot, Kayla Schneider, Brittany Stewart, and Mollie Kleopfer placed first in the 4 x 200 in 1:51.66. The team of Gerot, Lexy Rozmus, Schneider, and Kleopfer was first in the sprint medley, finishing in 1:57.96.
Schneider, Stewart, Cheyenne Flory, and Kleopfer were second in the 4 x 400 with a time of 4:28.65.
In the distance medley race, Mekenzie Bean-Scarff, renee Megchelsen, Alison Sojka, and Flory teamed up for a third place finish with time of 4:52.50.
Gerot placed second in the 100 yard dash in a time of :13.53. Sojka finished in fourth place in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:39.71. Stewart was third in the 200 meter dash with a time of :28.05.
In the field events, Anna Sweeting placed third in the discus with a 79′ 10″ throw.
Bean-Scarff placed third in the long jump with a jump of 14′ 8.25″.

By Mary Zielinski
“We are very happy,” Mike Roberts, Highland School Board president said Thursday, April 16, of bids for the district’s major school improvements project and the bond sale to finance it.
The project bids, opened at 2 p.m. Tuesday, came in well below estimate with the low bid for middle/high school additions at $2,803,871 from Bi-State Construction of Burlington, $716,606 below the $3,520,477 estimate. The bid includes the alternate for the middle school lockers rooms, estimated at $230,000.
Low bid for the remodeling of the stage in the Ainsworth Elementary School gym into classrooms was $102,000 from SG Construction, also of Burlington. Original estimate for that project was $75,105. However, it is more than off set by the electric utility upgrade low bid of $88,030 from Mohrfeld of Fort Madison, just slightly more than half of the $167,250 estimate.
The district’s roll continued Thursday when bids were taken for the sale of revenue bonds at noon. Low bid was Northland Securities of Minneapolis, Minnesota with a 5.17 rate. Just a week prior low rate was 5.75.

by Ranee Fladung
Monday the Highland School Board moved one step closer toward its $4 million construction project by approving the plans, specifications and estimates for additions to the high school and middle school, utility upgrades to the high school and remodeling the stage at Ainsworth.

We don’t need any large surprises

Board member Bruce Temple was the only dissenting vote noting he had concerns about having the same problems as an adjoining district. Board secretary Bev Colbert explained there are safe guards in place. “The public hearing is a formality, if bids come in under or over the estimates then they would have to adjust and recalculate finances. We never know until we get the final bill what the cost is going to be,” she said. “We don’t need any large surprises.” The architect and ICAP team will be checking to make sure things are getting done before contractors are paid and the board will approve each payment.
A breakdown of the estimated costs are $167,250 for the utility upgrades, $75,105 to remodel the Ainsworth Elementary stage, $3,520,477 for the high school and middle school additions and $230,000 for an middle school locker rooms which was an alternate.