Volume 40 - Number 45 E-mail: starandtjeditor@butler-bremer.com Telephone: 319-267-2731 Website: www.butlercountytribune.com
Thursday, November 7, 2013
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Allison Halloween a success Petroelje wins this week’s Football Contest There were 4 entries missing 3 games on this week’s football contest - Jim Blockhus, Allison; Cindi Hoodjer, Clarksville; Dale E. Johnson, Greene; and Tim Petroelje of Byron Center, MN. Determined by the tie-breaker, Tim was the 1st place winner and will receive $35 in football bucks while Dale placed 2nd and will receive $15 in football bucks. Football bucks can be spent like cash at any of the locations listed on the football contest pages, and may be picked up at either newspaper office. Check inside for this week’s featured games and submit your picks for a chance to win!
Pork Winners announced The Clarksville Star and Butler County Tribune-Journal is announcing their “October is Pork Month” drawing for 3-4 lb. pork roasts. The winners are Don Heuer and Roberta Wiegmann, Allison; Lonnie Jans, Clarksville; and Vernon Rindels, Dumont. Winners may pick up their certificates at either newspaper office. North Butler Booster Club Meeting November 13 The North Butler Bearcat Booster Club will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, November 13, at 5:30 p.m. at the North Butler Middle School.
Harlem Ambassadors coming to town Friday Get ready for dazzling ball-handling tricks; high-flying slam dunks and hilarious family comedy. Sponsored by the Greene Jaycees, the Harlem Ambassadors will have a basketball show at the North Butler High School gym Friday, Nov. 8, versus the Aircats at 7 p.m. There will be a full concession stand available. Tickets can be purchased in advance ($5) or at the door ($7). Children 3 years old and younger are free. Tickets can be purchased at the following businesses: Lincoln Savings Bank of both Allison and Greene, T&M Foods and J&C Foods; or online at brownpapertickets.com. For more information, contact Traci Bartels at 641-330-3853. The Harlem Ambassadors…It’s not your Grandfather’s basketball show.
North Butler High School to present Veterans Day program November 11 All Veterans are Urged to Attend North Butler High School in conjunction with the Tack- Barnett American Legion Post 268 will present a Veterans Day program at North Butler High School gymnasium on Monday, November 11 at 10:30 a.m. The program will include selections by High School musicians, Veterans Day readings by high school students and the introduction of veterans in attendance. All veterans are urged to attend and be at the school by 10:15 a.m. The public is invited to share in this program that recognizes the men and women that have served in the armed forces during wars and in peace times over many years.
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Businesses to receive tax credit Businesses will soon be getting a tax credit from the Iowa Department of Revenue. In one of the components of the largest tax cut in Iowa history, Gov. Terry Branstad signed into law a Business Property Tax Credit last June. To offer commercial/industrial/ railroad property tax relief, the pool for 2013 assessment is $50 million, before it doubles to $100 million in 2014 and $125 million in 2015. The maximum credit amount for this year is $523. In order to get credit, Butler County Assessor Deb McWhirter must receive applications by Jan. 15. “We have actually had three applications sent in so far,” she said. “We just need the commercial/industrial property owners to contact us and get their form signed.” McWhirter sent out letters to qualified property owners last week.
“A unit is parcels owned by the same person that are contiguous. With that said, the exact definition of that term is not completely clear.” -Deb McWhirter, Butler County Assessor Owners must have a property unit consisting of contiguous parcels of the same classification, owned and operated by the same person for a common use and purpose. “A unit is parcels owned by the same person that are contiguous,” McWhirter said. “With that said, the exact definition of that term is still not completely clear.” Check out http://www.iowa.gov/ tax/locgov/13PTReform.html for more information.
(Top) Kids stopped for a picture while trick-or-treating for Halloween last Thursday. (Right) Trick-or-treat. Thanks for something good to eat. (Pat Racette Photos)
Look for more pictues in the paper
Auditor comes to explain budget adjustments By Pat Racette North Butler Board of Education President Eric Bixby called a work session last Wednesday to discuss the fiscal year 2012-13 budget. Certified Public Accountant Keith Oltrogge of Denver was present as well to clarify why the audit adjustments to the FY ’12-13 general fund put the district in the red. According to Superintendent Terry Kenealy, Oltrogge had to go back to fiscal year 2010-11 to find where the budget got off track. It was in a twoway whole grade sharing agreement between Allison-Bristow School District and Greene School District where the downward adjustments were made. A-B was supposed to pay Greene $270,000, while Greene was supposed to pay A-B $130,000. With the whole grade sharing costs adding up to $406,000, Oltrogge believed this was where the $403,000 difference came from for FY ’12-13. “What happened at the end of the fiscal year was instead of checks being presented, they were rolled over,” said North Butler Superin-
tendent Terry Kenealy. “Two years later, when the new auditors finished the auditing, it matched up almost identically to whole grade sharing
What happened at the end of the fiscal year was instead of checks being presented, they were rolled over. Two years later, when the new auditors finished the auditing, it matched up almost identically to whole grade sharing costs that goes back to 2011 when this particular thing happened.” -Terry Kenealy, North Butler Superintendent costs that goes back to 2011 when this particular thing happened.” Though the $406,000 was supposed to get rolled over, the following fiscal year North Butler budget
had no transaction of the whole grade sharing costs. Instead the costs went to accounts receivable where the auditors found it this year. Whole grade sharing began when the schools merged in 2004. The middle school was created in Allison, with the high school constructed in Greene. Both districts stayed separate until 2011, as the high school and middle school boards of educations combined to switch off hosting meetings. Next, the board of education will have to schedule another work session to review and approve a Corrective Action Plan to present to the School Board Review Committee on Dec. 19. After 2 ½ hours of discussion with the auditor, the BOE then went into a closed session to evaluate the professional competency of Superintendent Kenealy. Two hours later, they approved a letter of resignation turned in by Kenealy to begin after the 2013-14 school year.
Alison City Election Results Mayor: 2-year term – Vote for 1 Election Day Absentee Total Scot Henrichs 96 5 101 Jerry Platter 74 9 83 WRITE-IN 2 0 2 Scatterings 0 0 0 Overvotes 0 0 0 Undervotes 1 1 2 TOTAL VOTES 173 15 188
% 53.72 44.15 1.06 0 0 1.06 100
Council: 4-year term – Vote for 2 Ron Davis 132 7 139 Ryan Henrichs 121 7 128 WRITE-IN 32 6 38 Scatterings 0 0 0 Overvotes 0 0 0 Undervotes 61 10 71 TOTAL VOTES 346 30 376
36.97 34.04 10.11 0 0 18.88 100
Nurse Practitioner starts at B.C. Peoples Clinic By Pat Racette Wendy Chapin took her opportunity to work in a rural community, moving from Sioux City to Waverly in September. She began her duties Sept. 31 as Nurse Practitioner at Butler County Peoples Clinic in Clarksville, a satellite office of Peoples Community Health Clinic in Waterloo. “Work’s been average busy,” she said, “but not as busy as in the city.” Chapin said a lot of people travel to their office for care because they provide to anyone, insured or not. “We are one of the only places in northeast Iowa that they can come,” Chapin said. As one of the poorer counties in Iowa, Butler received grant monies several years ago to not only open up the clinic in Clarksville 2006, but
We are proud to support our area farmers! Jerry Roling Motors Hwy. 218 South, Waverly
also to eventually have a Nurse Practitioner. She is now the main healthcare provider at B.C. Peoples Clinic, with a doctor from the headquarters in Waterloo visiting two half days per week. “I was a new grad, and I had done lots of hours at the Siouxland Community Health Center in Sioux City and liked it,” she said. “But there just weren’t many jobs over there, and we wanted to move out of the city.” Chapin treats anything from chronic problems like diabetes and high blood pressure to coughs and colds. The Paulina native received her master’s degree at Clarkson College in Omaha, Neb., serving as a Registered Nurse for several years. She has a husband that works from
home out of a virtual office, while her three children attend school within the Waverly-Shell Rock Community School District.
319-352-1650 www.jerryroling.com