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ALL-STATE:
• Osceola Farmers’ Market
The farmers’ market is planned 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Osceola Senior Center.
Murray’s Barber named to all-state third team
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1000 Jeffreys Drive, Osceola, Iowa (641) 342-2175 101 North Main, Osceola, Iowa (641) 342-2191 801 East Main, Lamoni, Iowa (641) 784-3120 113 South John Wayne Drive, Winterset, Iowa (515) 462-5090 Toll Free: 888-342-3738 • www.americanstatebank.com
154 YEARS • NO. 50
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013
OSCEOLA, IOWA 50213
SINGLE COPY PRICE: 75¢
Public health won’t provide services reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid By AMY HANSEN
OST news editor ahansen@osceolaiowa.com
As of Jan. 1, Clarke County Public Health will not provide skilled home-care services reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance. The decision was made by Clarke County Board of Health in
late October. According to Sandy Eddy, administrator at Clarke County Public Health, there are already 10 Medicare-certified agencies with a service area that includes Clarke County. Clarke County Public Health was one of those 10 agencies. Another reason is Unity Point Health (formerly Iowa Health
System) is opening an office in Clarke County Jan. 1. “This is a small county,” Eddy said. “It’s not a gap-filling service that we need to put public funds into. We need to work on other things that nobody else is really doing.” ‘Smooth transition’ Clarke County Public Health sent out a letter to its patients in
early November with a list of other agencies that serve the county so they could pick a new provider. “Per their guidelines, we need to make sure they have a smooth transition — the current clients we have,” Eddy said. A public notice regarding Please see PUBLIC HEALTH, Page 4
Any questions? To contact Clarke County Public Health, call 641-342-3724 or email clarkeph@ mediacombb.net.
School board debates allowing Crossroads services on campuses By AMY HANSEN
OST news editor • ahansen@osceolaiowa.com
Should mental-health services be provided on campus at Clarke Community School District? That was the topic debated during a Nov. 26 Clarke Community School Board meeting. Clarke Superintendent Benita Gonzales said Joyce Westphal with Crossroads Behavioral Health Services talked to her about providing behavioral-health services at Clarke Community School District. Westphal was not at the school board meeting. “It would also provide an opportunity for Crossroads to work with our teachers
— with our faculty and staff — in regards to talking to our teachers a b o u t Gonzales mentalhealth issues, talking about ways to work with kids that have some of these issues,” Gonzales said. What is Crossroads? Crossroads serves Adams, Clarke, Taylor, Madison, Adair and Union counties. Its main office is based in Creston, but it also has many satellite offices within its service-provider area. Crossroads was established to provide support,
counseling and therapeutic services to individuals, children, couples and families. The satellite office in Osceola is located at 820 N. Main St. Providing space Gonzales said the school district would have to provide the building space on the school campuses, and services could be provided one day a week. “I don’t have any other schools to even compare this to because this is new,” she said. Gonzales said the service would be free to the school district, but the space provided needs to be “uninterrupted” and “confidential”
Contributed photo
This is the film poster for “CoPay,” which was shot in Clarke County by Butter Cow Films.
Time for your CoPay
Please see CROSSROADS, Page 4
Butter Cow Films debuts ‘CoPay,’ which was shot in Clarke County
Does property-tax reform affect you?
By AMY HANSEN
OST news editor • ahansen@osceolaiowa.com
Iowa Department of Revenue’s Julie Roisen explains business property tax credit By AMY HANSEN
OST news editor • ahansen@osceolaiowa.com
Property-tax reform is coming to Iowa, and one of the main components of the reform is the business property tax credit.
“For your purposes, it’s a credit. It’s a rollback. It’s a local payment for that rollback,” said Julie Roisen, property-tax division administrator with Iowa Department of Revenue during a commercial property tax reform luncheon Nov.
OST photo by AMY HANSEN
Julie Roisen, property-tax division administrator with Iowa Department of Revenue, speaks during Clarke County Development Corporation’s commercial property-tax reform luncheon Nov. 21 at Lakeside Casino’s ballroom. SINGLE COPY PRICE: 75¢
Copyright 2013
21 at Lakeside Casino’s ballroom. “It is (a) reduction in taxable value growth for certain classes — ag(ricultural) and res(idential). It is an exemption for telecom, and it’s a new classification at a very high level.” The event was hosted by Clarke County Development Corporation. The credit According to Iowa Department of Revenue, the business property-tax credit is part of the overall 2013 property-tax reform bill that was enacted by the Iowa Legislature and signed by Gov. Terry Branstad. The credit is applied toward property taxes due on the 2013 property assessment and payable fall 2014 and spring 2015. The credit is available for certain commercial, industrial and railroad properties. The credit is applicable to individual parcels, as well as “property units.” One credit is available for each qualified parcel or property unit. According to the department of revenue, a property unit is a new concept Please see PROPERTY TAX, Page 4
Index Obituary .......................3 Editorial ........................4 Church Directory .........9 Classifieds .................13
Have you ever been frustrated when you have to make an emergency stop at the doctor’s office? That’s what happens in the film “CoPay” by Paul Berge of Butter Cow Films in Indianola. “CoPay” focuses on a middle-aged man named Bosworth who discovers he has kidney stones and has to deal with inept hospital doctors and medical staff. The scenes were shot in Clarke County. “Essentially, (it’s) a sitcom, where each week p o o r B o s worth sets out for a normal day and somet h i n g Berge gets in his way. It won’t be medical each time, don’t worry about that,” said Berge during a private screening of the film Nov. 19 at the Lyric Theater. During the private screening, three short films and a theatrical trailer were shown. What was shown Berge said the first film was a public-service announcement commis-
Health ...........................6 Public Notices ..... 11-12 Record .........................2 Sports....................... 7-8
sioned by the Iowa Aviation Promotion Group to get people interested in aviation. It was shot in Boone. More information is available at the website www.abovetheordinary. org. The second film was a short film on Iowa Aviation Museum and Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame in Greenfield. Next shown was a theatrical trailer for a short film by Brad Smyser of Des Moines called “The Wake-Up Call.” Smyser coproduces Berge’s films. “The Wake-Up Call” stars Liz Klinge, a morning anchor for KCCI Channel 8 news of Des Moines. The finale of the private screening was “CoPay.” Berge said part of the purpose of making the film was educational. The film was also shot in association with Infinipix. It is a pilot for a web series titled “Bosworth.” Meet Bosworth The actor Greg Anderson starred in the film in the title role. After the film was shown, Anderson was asked if he’d ever had a kidney stone. His answer was no. “I had several people say, ‘Have you had a kidney stone?’ I said, ‘No.’ They said, ‘Well, oh no, you won’t be able to do this,’” he said.
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Please see COPAY, Page 4
Don’t Forget
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Anderson added, he was nervous about the project because he wanted to “nail it.” The next episode for “Bosworth” will be shot in the spring, and the third will be shot in the summer. Berge said “CoPay” will be put on Vimeo, which is similar to YouTube. YouTube is a video-sharing website. Wild Rose “CoPay” was shown in the Wild Rose Independent Film Festival in Des Moines. The film received the Best Iowa Short Film award. It also received awards for Anderson’s performance and screenplay. “The main thing about Wild Rose is, you get it up there on the screen, people see it, you meet other filmmakers,” Berge said. The next film festival for “CoPay” will be in the spring at the Snake Alley Film Festival in Burlington. “Our main thrust with ‘Co-Pay’ is to get it on Vimeo, get the package together and get out raising money through whatever sources we can,” Berge said. Butter Cow Films is always looking for help when making films, Berge said.
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Holiday Brilliance
The event hosted by Osceola Chamber/Main Streets starts 5 p.m. tonight on the courthouse square.
20s and lows in the upupper teens and lows in the upper teens and lows CHECK OUT OSCEOLAIOWA.COM FOR DAILY UPDATED NEWS, DEATH NOTICES AND SPORTS. per single digits. the mid single digits. in the low teens.