The Wright County
Monitor
50 years as a Mason Page 7 Sports Pages 14 & 15
144th year Number 40
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Official newspaper of Wright County
Oldson’s Plumbing and Heating to expand to Clarion
By: Clae Goater Oldson’s Plumbing and Heating, of Eagle Grove, has purchased a lot at 303 3rd Ave. NW in Clarion, with the intent of building a storage building there. The lot was purchased on Aug. 15. “We plan on putting a trailer there, for now, to keep some supplies there. We’re loading a trailer up now to take over there. It’s going to be like a mobile shop, I guess,” said Kendall Johnson for Oldson’s. “Eventually, we’re going to build a building there. It will probably just be a shop with maybe an office or a bathroom. It will probably just be for us when we’re over there, so we have some inventory and a place to work. “ As of yet, Johnson doesn’t know when work on a new building will begin. “I don’t know if it will be next year or in a couple of years, but we will be building there sometime,” Johnson said. Johnson said that Oldson’s was interested in getting a building in Clarion because of the large amount of work they do in the area. “We do a lot of work in Clarion
and are over there all the time. I’d say at least 60 percent of our work is done over in Clarion,” Johnson said. “So, to better serve the people over there, instead of having to run back to Eagle Grove to do something, we can do it right there. It saves us time, and it saves the customer time, too. It will help with any work we do in Dows or Belmond or any place over there, too.” Johnson said that Oldson’s, which has been in business for 78 years, hopes to be a part of the community in both Clarion and Eagle Grove for many years to come. “We like to make sure that we’re invested in Clarion,” Johnson said. “We plan on being here (in Eagle Grove) for a long time, and we plan on being in Clarion for a long time. “ Johnson said this is not the first time Oldson’s has had a building in Clarion. “I think they actually had a store in Clarion before, back in the 70’s maybe,” Johnson said. “I don’t know if they didn’t have enough work, or what, but they ended up closing down and moving back over here. “
www.clarionnewsonline.com
City and hospital make tentative agreement on ambulance transfers By: Clae Goater After years of discussion, the City of Clarion and the Iowa Specialty Hospital are coming close to reaching an agreement regarding ambulance transfers. The City of Clarion used to handle ambulance transfers for the hospital, but they were forced to quit in the spring of this year when they could no longer cover the expense. “For 20 years, we’ve provided an ambulance for the hospital. But when finances started hurting, that’s when it came to a halt,” said Steve Hennigar, police chief and director of EMS services. “(The Public Safety Committee) said ‘We can’t keep losing money this way. ‘“ Clarion lost $128,000 in revenue last year on ambulance transfers, and $143,000 the year before. The Iowa Specialty Hospital had a total of 202 transfers out of their emergency room last year, and 196 the year before. Clarion’s Public Safety Board held two meetings last week, where city council members and representatives of Iowa Specialty Hospital discussed possible solutions to the ambulance transfer problem. On Sept. 26, the board suggested a proposal that will be submitted to the city council sometime in the near future. If the proposed system passes, the Iowa Specialty Hospital will be providing ambulance coverage in Clarion as a satellite of their
ambulance service in Belmond. The City of Clarion is going to provide Iowa Specialty Hospital with one of their old ambulances. Clarion will help with ambulance transfers as a last line of defense: if Iowa Specialty Hospital is not able to handle a transfer or get another area ambulance service to help out, Clarion will handle the transfer. Individual patients, or their insurance companies, will be required to pay the city for their ride in the
ambulance. After 60 days, if the city hasn’t been repaid, or has received a payment less than the Medicare Fee Schedule, the hospital will be required to pay the city. The city will continue to handle 911 calls. The city will also be providing space in their EMS garage to store the hospital’s new ambulance. “We’re not planning on building a garage,” said Steve Simonin, CEO of Clarion’s hospital. “From a public
Wright County Supervisors approve estimate for patching R65 By: Clae Goater At their meeting on Monday, Sept. 30, the county Board of Supervisors approved the engineer’s estimate for roadwork on R65. County Engineer Adam Clemons plans on patching the road with hot mix asphalt, from C54 to Rowan. Clemons says that the county will let (ask for bids) the project in December, then work will probably begin in the spring or summer of 2014. As of right now, the plans call for 67 patches on a roughly five-mile stretch of R65. “Depending on where the bids
$1.00 per copy
come in, we might have to subtract or add patches,” Clemons said. “There’s some long ones. There’s 129-footer, there’s a 130-footer, an 180-footer. It’s that outside wheel length that we get. We usually get the asphalt rolling off.” Clemons said that he plans on paving the R65 in about five years. He said that the paving project will probably cost between $250,000$275,000 per mile. Supervisor Karl Helgevold asked if it made financial sense to be patching the road when it is scheduled to be paved in a few
years. Clemons explained that the road needed to be patched to create a good base for the pavement project. “You’re going to spend that anyway, because you need to create that good base,” Clemons said. “That patching will create a base (for the paving). You’re going to spend that money.” “We really need to keep up on these blacktop roads. We don’t want to end up like Highway 3,” said Supervisor Rick Rasmussen. “That’s where C20 and Kanawha are going,” Clemons said. “That’s
why we need to think of these types of projects.” The county also approved spending $6,438 on a new scanner from Rapids Reproductions out of Waterloo, so they can digitize their drainage records, road records, and some of their assessor records. Many of these records are 100 years old, and need to be backed up. County Auditor Betty Ellis had concerns that certain documents were too fragile to be hand-fed through the
day a week, and hopefully two days a week. It depends on my schedule,” Brown said. “(Brown) didn’t know how this was going to work when we started out, but he’s been very busy (in Clarion) so he’s very pleased. So I think I’ll be getting him (in the office) more,” DeVries said. Brown, who has been a practicing optometrist for 22 years, says that he’s enjoying spending time in the Wright Eyes office. “It’s good. I enjoy it. I grew up the small town of Colfax, which is about the same size Clarion,” Brown said. “I like being in a small town. It’s kind of fun to see people, and to talk to some of the locals and getting
to know them a little better.” “He’s awesome. The customers have been very pleased with him,” DeVries said. “He’s very personable. He always comes out and introduces himself.” DeVries said that, above all, customer service is her main concern. “If someone’s not happy with their glasses, they can come back because I stand behind everything. If somebody gets a pair of glasses and they hate them, they can bring them back and I can get credit for them and they can pick something else out. I want to make sure that they’re happy,” DeVries said. “I’ve had phone calls at night at 10 o’clock
where the person needs something, and I’ll go to the office and get it for them. That’s the type of personal service I want to give people. I want them to know me, and for me to know them. “ DeVries also said that she’s willing to provide discounts to various local organizations, like Hagie Manufacturing, Iowa Specialty Hospital, the county, and the Ennis Corporation. Wright Eyes is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. There will be extended hours on the days when Brown in working in Clarion.
perspective, we’ve got a garage up here. “ Mayor Mike Nail agreed that using the city garage was a good idea. “As a community, we need to be conservative about what we’re doing here,” Nail said. The city has tried to bill the hospital for handling transfers in the past, but because the hospital did not have it’s own ambulance service, it did not work. “In the past, (the hospital) couldn’t pay them because they did not have an ambulance service,” said councilman Kirk Rier. “Legally, you couldn’t
invoice something that you couldn’t invoice the patient for.” The city and the hospital both hope that, somewhere down the line, the county is able to cover some of the hospital’s ambulance costs. “We’re the only county in all the contiguous areas that does not receive any funds from the county for hospital services,” said Simonin. “We don’t want them to go to hospital services, but we’d like them for the ambulance service.”
Celebrate National 4-H Week with Wright County 4-Hers By Karen Weld, Monitor Contributing Writer
continued on page 2
New optometrist office offers exclusive styles
By: Clae Goater Wright Eyes by Danny, Clarion’s new optometrist office, has only been open since Sept. 3, but owner Danny DeVries says that business is already going very strong. So strong, in fact, that she’s already had to hire on some part-time help. Overall, DeVries is happy at how her new business is going. “I’m feeling good. I’ve been doing the business for 32 years with Dr. Snively. He taught me almost everything I know,” DeVries said. “Since he retired, it seems like the right time for me to do my own thing.” DeVries said that her experience in her field and her relationship with the Clarion community have helped her transition into running her own office. “I love my job. I think people think I do a good job,” Danny said. “Adjusting and stuff, I’ve been doing it a long time. People are used to it. They know that I know what I’m doing.” Wright Eyes can supply area residents with frames and contacts, and DeVries is available to adjust and fix glasses. Wright Eyes is the only outlet in Northern Iowa to sell certain higher-end brands of frame, like Legre and Teka. “I do have a new frame salesman I found out of Kansas City who doesn’t sell to anybody (else) in Northern Iowa. So I’m the exclusive guy,” DeVries said. “I have something new, and it’s fun and it’s trendy. Anybody who’s looking for anything different, it’s here. And if I don’t have it, I’ll find it.” Dr. Todd Brown, an optometrist based out of Des Moines, will be available several times a week to give exams. “I’ll be spending at least one
Dr. Todd Brown and Danny DeVries, outside the Wright Eyes office on Hwy. 3
The county has looked into several options to help provide financial support for the hospital, but has not approved any resolutions on the matter. There are several levy options on the table to generate money for the ambulance service. If a levy were passed, it would likely be at a rate of either 27 cents or 40.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. “If that levy brought in $400,000, that would solve everybody’s problems,” said City Attorney Rich Bordwell. The hospital is working towards getting the staff together to handle the ambulance service, but is hoping that some Clarion EMS volunteers will be willing to join the hospital’s roster in the interim. “We have 26 volunteers, and they’re excellent. They do a tremendous job for the city of Clarion,” said Hennigar. “They’re committed to the City of Clarion, and we can’t say enough about our volunteer system. “ All parties concerned stressed that their first concerns were with the patients in need of ambulance transfers. “My concern is having the transfers happen as quickly as possible,” said Nail. “We don’t want to see somebody suffering out there,” said Hennigar.
Jessica Norman
“It’s National 4-H Week from October 6 - 12,” said Jessica Norman, Wright County Youth Coordinator, “and we invite everyone to celebrate with us.” October is enrollment and reenrollment in 4-H clubs. According to Norman, now would be a good time to join 4-H, as they embark on having 200 4-H members in Wright County. “We would be happy to help young people and their families to learn more about 4-H and how to enroll,” she said. “It can be done in person at the ISU extension office or people can sign up on-line.” During 4-H week, Norman, along with a handful of older 4-H members, visit fourth grade classrooms across the county to invite students to consider becoming a 4-H member. “Sometime in the fall, we have a ‘find out night’,” she said, “where families can come and check out 4-H and what our county and clubs have to offer.” Currently there are six traditional 4-H clubs and two specialty clubs in Wright County. “Our two specialty clubs are Wright County P.I.G. (Pork Interest Group) which has been organized for several years and is led by Stuart Swanson; and Safety Education & Shooting Sports (SESS) which was organized the first part of 2013, with Denise Halfpop as its coordinator.” Some 4-Hers belong to a traditional club. Others belong to specialty clubs. Some 4-Hers have dual enrollment in both a traditional club and a specialty club.
Each 4-H club and club members chooses different ways to celebrate 4-H week. “They make their own choices,” said Norman. “We also make suggestions for ways to celebrate. We encourage 4-H club members and our volunteers to wear their 4-H shirt one day during National 4-H Week.” Some may make displays to put in business windows in their communities. Others may choose to make a poster to encourage kids to join 4-H and post them in a local public library or school building. Another opportunity is a 4-H ‘green challenge’. “As a thank you, a 4-Her, family, or club might make a ‘green’ basket to give to someone to show their appreciation.” said Norman. “It might be green apples, a green plant, or maybe a basket of green items.” Members or clubs submit their efforts to the county office with recognitions given at the county Awards Day in November. “4-H is a wonderful organization to help young people grow and develop,” said Norman. “It is an opportunity for families to work together. If anyone has questions about the Wright County program or how we can help someone to enroll successfully, call the Wright County ISU Extension office at 1-515-5323453.”
Cory Abels Leaves City Council
Cory Abels is resigning from his position as city councilman. The city council will approve his resignation at their next meeting. Abels resigned so that he can pursue a new career in Minnesota. The council will consider appointing a Clarion resident to fill out the remainder of Abels’ term, which ends on December 31. Anyone looking to fill Abels’ vacancy will have to meet the same qualifications as a candidate seeking election. The council may choose not to fill the empty seat. Interested parties may contact City Administrator Shelly Pohlmann at 515-532-2847.