EAGLE GROVE
2011
EAGLE
www.theeaglegroveeagle.com
Your local news media source
Volume 129
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Issue Number 44
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Cost $1.25
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Thursday, October 31, 2013
City government candidates hold public forum By ClAE GoATEr claengoater@gmail.com The Eagle Grove Chamber of Commerce held a candidate’s forum on Oct. 22, where candidates running for city offices introduced themselves to the community and answered questions. Kendall Johnson, incumbent for Ward 2, was not able to attend the forum, but did give written answers to the questions that had been prepared ahead of time. At the top of the schedule, the candidates were given time to introduce themselves and outline their goals. Kevin Cahalan, city council candidate for Ward Four, noted that he was a lifelong Eagle Grove resident. Cahalan said that his primary goal was to improve communication between the city, the school, and Kevin CahaLan the chamber of commerce. “My goals are to try and improve the communication between the city council, the school, and the chamber of commerce. I see a need for that, because my wife does work for the chamber and my kids go to school, and I know that sometimes the boards don’t work all together,” Cahalan said. “That would be my biggest area of concentration, getting all three boards working together. “ Cahalan said that there are three main questions he would ask as a city councilman are: “Is it fiscally responsible?” “Is it good for future generations?” and “Is it good for our current residents?” Mayoral candidate and AtLarge councilman Tony Axtell said that improved com munication was one of his biggest goals as well. Tony axTeLL “One of the
Halloween photo op By kiM DEMory egeagle@goldfieldaccess.net
Moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas - bring your cameras and your little ghosts goblins, princesses and vampires to 422 SE 2nd Street in Eagle Grove this Friday, Nov. 1, during Eagle Grove’s annual Beggar’s Night. John Harkema will have 20 inflatables on display and invites you to stop by and take advantage of his display for your perfect Halloween photo opportunity. Bring your own camera and take as many pictures as you like. Harkema said he adds to his display every year. He enjoys doing it for his own grandchildren, as well as all the children of Eagle Grove.
biggest things I’ve been concerned with, and what got me onto the council, is communication. We’ve got to communicate,” Axtell said. “We can’t just assume that somebody knows what somebody else is thinking.“ Axtell also said that cleaning up the town was a priority of his, because having an attractive-looking town helps bring in new industry. “We’ve got to have a nice, clean town. In order for us to achieve the goal of industry, we’ve got to make the town nicer and we’ve got to have pride in the town and what we do,” Axtell said. Axtell, a former army sergeant, has owned Axtell Construction for 17 years. He says that his background in construction and his mechanical knowledge are useful in city government. Kendall Johnson, who works at Olson’s Plumbing and Heating, said that nuisance properties were his main concern. “We need to enforce the codes that are already on the books about nuisance KendaLL johnson properties. Repeat violators will have to be held responsible and are subject to the consequences in the codebook. Penalties will have to increase in order to discourage repeat violators.” Ward Four incumbent Wally Lorenzen also pointed to nuisance properties as a main concern. “We’ve still got a lot of places out there we need to come down on … we’re pushing for harder codes on nuisance waLLy Lorenzen abatement,” Lorenzen said. Lorenzen also said that street work and cooperation between the city, the school, and the parks department were top priorities of his. Lorenzen has lived in Eagle Grove for 43 years, and he works at Lyle’s Ford in town. Lorenzen has been on the council for eight years. “I’ve still got a lot of goals I’d like to achieve, that we’ve gotten started these last four years,” Lorenzen said. “I want to keep going and working on them, to make the town better and stronger for Eagle Grove and all the residents.” Todd Swalin, a newcomer running unopposed for an At-Large seat, said that he has lived in Eagle Grove his entire life, besides the four years he spent going to college at ISU. Swalin says that he’s always been Todd swaLin interested in politics, and that’s why he’s running for the council. “I’m running for city council
because it’s always been something I wanted to do, or something that I thought I would do eventually,” Swalin said. “Well, if it’s something I’d like to do eventually, why not now? … I don’t have as much experience as some of the other people, but I do have quite a bit of background in government. I got a political science minor in college.” Mayoral incumbent Darrell Determann said that he feels that his two-year term as mayor has been successful, and that he wants to continue. Determann taught school for 37 years, and was principal darreLL deTerMann at the ClarionGoldfield High School. He says that working as principal has given him experience with negotiations, budgeting, and management. “I am not a micromanager. I don’t believe in micromanagement. I believe in hiring good people and letting them do their jobs, “ Determann said. Determann said that his first goal is fiscal management. “I don’t know if you keep up with the newspapers, but cities not too far from Eagle Grove are in big trouble. Their borrowing capacity is gone. We need to keep an eye on our finances,” Determann said. “Fiscally, we’re in pretty good shape. We’re not in the hole.” Public safety was another of Determann’s main goals, saying that he wants to have the best police department in Wright County. He also said that attracting new businesses, focusing on our infrastructure, finishing the DD94 project, and developing our downtown area were high on his list of priorities. Mayoral Candidate and Ward One representative Sandy McGrath said that one of her goals is to begin televising council meetings again. She also said that completing the DD94 project, prioritizing city spending, and using the city’s boards more often were things sandy MCgraTh she wanted to work towards. “We have appointed boards … they’re good people on those boards, and we’ve appointed people on those boards. We need to allow them to make their decisions and do the best they can,” McGrath said. McGrath is another lifelong Eagle Grove resident. McGrath has been on the council for 10 years, acting as mayor pro tem for the last two. McGrath has been a county nurse for eight years and is also the county environmental health officer and the county’s bioemergency coordinator. McGrath says that her background gives her experience with policies, procedures, emergency management, and grant writing. Continued on Page 3
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What’s InsIde Illusionist visits Eagle Grove Elementary and RBMS Page 3 Time flies when you’re having fun Page 5 2013 - 2014 Wright Warriors 4-H club officers Page 5 EGHS Musical this weekend Page 5 Talking ghosts with the Wright County Paranormal Society Page 7 Pollard Family Dentistry welcomes intern Page 8 Prepare for the worst, hope for the best - Wright County’s Bio Preparedness Team offers advice Page 9
On to State Senior Tiffany Christensen will represent Eagle Grove for the fourth year in a row, and third time individually, at this Saturday’s Class 1A State Cross Country Meet at Lakeside Golf Course just north of Fort Dodge. She went with the team her freshman year, taking 60th individually. After taking fourth in 2011, she finished third a year ago and now sets her sights on the gold medal this time around. She brings a 15:09.13 winning time from the qualifying meet at Eagle Grove, and will run at 2 p.m. with the awards ceremony set for 3 p.m. Photo by Mitch Jones
Wright County Public Health under new leadership By kiM DEMory egeagle@goldfieldaccess.net When Linda Klehm started as the administrator for Wright County Public Health Department, there were two nurses and one secretary. Now, 29 years later, they employ 48. Back then, the only services offered were public health and home health care. Today, they’ve added such programs as WIC (Women, Infants, and
Children), Hospice, immunizations, HOPES, Environmental Health, Bio Emergency Preparedness, Disaster Investigation, and Home Care Aids, serving over 200 people on any given day. “We serve a lot of people in this county,” Klehm commented, adding that in 2012 alone, they did 24,000 home visits. “(Public Health) has Continued on Page 3
Grassley internships available Page 12 EGHS students have array of activities to choose from Page 13 Boys Cross Country Salute Page 15 Colorful scarecrows Page 16
BRIEFLY Chamber Halloween Walk Friday, Nov. 1 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. EG Memorial Library and Downtown Eagle Grove _______________________ EG Beggars Night Friday, Nov. 1 5:30 p.m. start City of Eagle Grove _______________________ Holiday Extravaganza Saturday, Nov. 2 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. ICCC East Campus 2031 Quail Ave. _______________________ Daylight Saving Time Ends Sunday, Nov. 3 2 a.m.
Don’t forget to move your clock back 1 hour before bed Saturday
Tiffini Mericle (left) will be replacing Linda Klehm (right) as the new administrator at Wright County Public Health.
Photo by Kim Demory
_______________________ Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 5 Noon - 8 p.m. Memorial Hall - Eagle Grove Legion Hall - Goldfield Woostock City Hall - Woolstock _______________________ Annual Veterans’ Day Program Monday, Nov. 11 12:30 p.m. Reception 1:30 p.m. Program RBMS Auditorium Free and open to the public _______________________ Middle School Band Concert Thursday, Nov. 14 7 p.m. RBMS Auditorium Free and open to the public _______________________
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