November 13, 2013

Page 1

The

Graphic - Advocate Wednesday

| NOVEMBER 13, 2013|Volume 124| Issue 46

Rockwell City Office 712-297-7544 • advocate@iowatelecom.net - Lake City Office 712-464-3188 • lcgraphic@iowatelecom.net 4-H Awards Program on page 15

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Keeping track of sex offenders

Featured auction item

A dollhouse built by residents of the North Central Correctional Facility was the featured silent auction item at the fundraiser for Kid’s Spot in Lake City held Nov. 5 at the Lake City Library. (Graphic-Advocate photo by Ken Ross)

Union asked to make concession By Ken Ross Graphic-Advocate Editor Secondary roads workers under a collective bargain agreement will be asked to make a concession regarding health insurance fees that are created as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Sue Hammen of Calhoun County Public Health gave details to the Calhoun County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 5 regarding the supplemental health insurance fee to employees that will begin with the premiums paid for the month of January, actually deducted starting with the first paycheck in December. Twice each month, pretax payroll deductions are taken as employee contributions toward health insurance. Currently, this amounts to a total monthly cost of $60 for a single plan and $165 for a family plan (divided into two payments each month). The employer contribution is more than $600 per month for single coverage and over $1,400 per month for family coverage. An additional cost of $14.25 per person per month ($14.25 for single coverage, $28.50 for two people, $42.75 for a family of three, etc.) will be charged. (This charge is not related to the highly publicized insurance exchanges for people without group health plans). The situation for county workers was not anticipated when setting salaries and benefits for the fiscal year, which ends on July 1, 2014. The compensation board meets annually under state law to present a wage increase proposal for elected officials to begin at the start of the next fiscal year. By law, the supervisors can approve anything from 0 to 100 percent of the proposal as presented, not going over the proposal and not approving a different percentage of the proposal for one elected official than for another. The supervisors have traditionally based wages for other county employees on what is approved for the elected officials. The total wage and benefit package is affected by the health insurance rates that change at the start of the fiscal year. The rates for the next fiscal year are expected to be known in the third week of January. This could include a potentially large increase in health insurance rates, as well as the new special fees.

The secondary roads workers and EMTs have collective bargaining agreements. Ron Haden, county engineer, noted that the contract for secondary roads calls for the employee to contribute $60 per month for single coverage and $165 for family coverage, with no mention of added fees. The language of the contract for ambulance workers calls for them to pay whatever other county employees pay. Haden speculated that the CWA, the national organization representing the county road crew, would likely recommend that the county be held to its contract but he can still request that the members of the local agree to an adjustment for the remainder of the fiscal year. Negotiations will start soon on a two-year contract to go into effect on July 1. Regarding the possibility of the county picking up the added cost of the special fees for all employees, Judy Howrey, auditor, said, “We don’t have the money to pay for the extra cost.” Haden said that the extra fees for secondary roads worker health insurance would have to come out of the secondary roads budget if union local members don’t agree to an adjustment. “If they don’t go along, the union will need to make up for it in the next contract,” Supervisor Dean Hoag said Supervisor Scott Jacobs said that if some county employees have to pay for something that others do not, there could be hard feelings. The situation that needs decided this month is how the county will deal with the six months before the start of the next fiscal year, at which time new wage and benefit schedules will be in place. Regarding the monthly special fee, that will be incorporated into the regular premium at the start of the fiscal year on July 1. Hammen noted that rather than a per family member amount, the number of family members will be averaged out as of July 1 and charged to everyone on the family plan. That is the way coverage is done now, with the same rate for family coverage whether that includes two people or 10.

Annual Kids Spot fundraiser

A meal and a silent auction at the Lake City Library raised funds for the Kid’s Spot Day Care center in Lake City on election day, Nov. 5. (Graphic-Advocate photo by Ken Ross)

By Ken Ross Graphic-Advocate Editor The sex offender registry for the state of Iowa lists 16 names of Calhoun County residents as convicted sex offenders. “The public should know who the sex offenders are in their community,” Tina Meth-Farrington, county attorney, said. She cites, as an example of the need for awareness, the time one of her sons was signed up for t-ball and the person who agreed to coach the team was a convicted sex offender. Meth-Farrington brought this fact to the attention of the person responsible for supervising the t-ball program and the situation was resolved. The registry can be accessed online at www.iowasexoffender. com. Listings for a specific county can be accessed in advanced search by simply listing the county wanted and leaving all other search criteria unfilled and pressing enter. By clicking on an individual offender, a person can view the offender’s photo, physical description, address and information about any convictions such as the what, when and where of the offense. Under the law, the sex offender must report to the sheriff’s office to be fingerprinted, photographed and have personal information updated. This occurs any time the offender moves or has a change in status, such as a new job. If a move involves going to a new county, the sheriffs of both the county where the person has resided and the county where the person is moving must be notified. There is a federal law requiring each state to maintain a sex offender registry so a person on a registry in one state must register in whatever state he moves to. The Iowa Code section regarding sex offender registry is 692A. The sex offender must also make regular visits to the sheriff’s office to update information on the registry, with the frequency depending on the tier of the sex offender designation. There are three tiers, with tier 3 being the most serious designation, requiring quarterly updating of information with the sheriff’s office. Of the 16 people registered in Calhoun County, seven are tier 3 offenders.

S.A.L.T. meeting slated

On Thursday, Nov. 21, area senior citizens are invited to attend the Calhoun County S.A.L.T. meeting, co-sponsored by Calhoun County law enforcement departments and agencies, and Calhoun County Public Health. “S.A.L.T.” meetings are regularly scheduled gatherings of seniors, law enforcement officials, and human service agencies that provide services and programs for older adults. The meetings are both educational and social, and provide an opportunity for seniors to learn about issues and topics which have an impact on their lives. The site for the meeting on the 21st will be at Pomeroy Community Center in Pomeroy. A Public Health nurse from Calhoun County Public Health will be available starting at 9 a.m. to provide free blood pressure checks for anyone interested, and the meeting/program will begin promptly at 9:30 a.m. Refreshments will be served. The meeting typically adjourns by 11 a.m. The educational component of the meeting will feature Nancy Bruns. Nancy will be speak about her experience as a nurse/guardian on the May, 2013 Brushy Creek Honor Flight for Korean and WW II Veterans. She will share the privilege, joy and the emotions of sharing that day one on one with one veteran and with the whole group of veterans. Nancy is also a SMP (Senior Medicare Patrol) volunteer for Elderbridge. Her job is to Empower Seniors to Prevent Healthcare Fraud. All S.A.L.T. meetings are free of charge and open to any interested senior citizen. No reservations are required. For additional information contact Tami Mohr or Sue Hammen at Calhoun County Public Health, 712-297-8323.

Meth-Farrington said that there are aggravating circumstances in the more serious designations, with one possible aggravating circumstance being that the victim is under age 14. The level of crime also determines whether the person is placed on the registry for a period of 10 years or for life. There are two sex offense cases pending in Calhoun County and one October sex offense conviction that have not yet resulted in placement on the registry. The October conviction of Lane Bachman of Lake City resulted from a prosecution that began before Meth-Farrington became the county attorney and involved a plea bargain arranged by the state attorney general’s office. The plea agreement was to an amended charge of lascivious acts with a child under the condition that the state would recommend probation. Those on the registry live under certain restrictions, such as a requirement that the offender cannot live within 2,000 feet of a school or registered day care (a requirement

that is waived for people who have stayed in the same residence since before the residency requirement was established). A registered sex offender must have permission from an administrator before going onto school or day care property or to a place where children regularly go such as a library or swimming pool. An exception is that the offender does not need to have permission to attend a school activity in which the offender’s child is a participant. In the case of a sex offender who is under the age of 18 when the offense occurred, the juvenile can request removal from the registry before turning 18 and it is at the discretion of the judge whether to grant that request. Recently there have been court rulings favoring the view that juveniles cannot be held accountable for life or for an unreasonable number of years for crimes committed as a juvenile. Meth-Farrington said that it is unknown how exactly those cases will affect future designations of juveniles as sex offenders.

$100

Highly dangerous sex offenders can be committed to a Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders upon determination that the offender continues to pose a threat to society, but that can only be done after a prison sentence is completed. Meth-Farrington noted that such activities as mooning a crowd or getting caught urinating outside are technically considered sex offenses but are not the kind of activities that will get someone put on the sex offender registry. Meth-Farrington explained that sex crimes, especially those involving children as victims, pose a difficult challenge for law enforcement. “Unless the victim is killed or badly injured, there’s often not a report of that for a long time. The victim can be re-abused and reabused. A lot of the cases that we have are delayed-report cases with no physical evidence. It is a very emotional process for the victim and an uphill battle for the prosecutor,” she said.

Gardens on 4th

Masonry work was completed in Rockwell City at the Gardens on 4th on Friday. The lettering on the arch was a surprise addition to the project by contractor Tim Lange on behalf of he and his wife, Elaine, as a contribution to the community. (Graphic-Advocate photo by Ken Ross)

Incumbents win most city elections By Ken Ross Graphic-Advocate Editor In the few city elections in Calhoun County on Nov. 5 in which there were more candidates than positions, the incumbents won reelection when the incumbents were on the ballot, with the exception of Pomeroy where the incumbent mayor lost to a challenger. In both Rockwell City and Manson, a challenger unsuccessfully tried to unseat a sitting city council member. In Somers, even an incumbent who was not on the ballot got more votes for mayor in Somers than a new candidate whose name was on the ballot. In Rockwell City, the vote for city council for the two at-large positions was David Dawson (incumbent) – 175; John Hepp (incumbent) – 171; Ryan Hildreth – 120. Phil Heinlen was unopposed for reelection as Mayor of Rockwell City and received 228 votes. In Manson, the council vote for the three at-large positions was Jeff Bohn (incumbent) – 82; Steve Smothers (incumbent) – 80; Daniel Poppinga (incumbent) – 79 and Marvin Nimke – 48. Incumbent Manson Mayor David George won reelection in Manson unopposed. In Somers, Tom Lawman did not get on the ballot for reelection for mayor but won the election with 19 write-in votes, while Rod Scott, who was on the ballot for that position got 8 votes. There were five names on the ballot for the five Somers city council position and they all won. Four were incumbents – Tom Beacom, Daniel Goodwin, Jerry Lawman and Lance Peed. One non-incumbent won election to the Somers City Council – Helen Schroeder. Brian Meyer got 64 votes to for mayor of Pomeroy, unseating incumbent mayor Gene Becker, who received 26 votes. There were only two names on the ballot for the two Pomeroy city council seats up for election, neither of them identified

as incumbents. Daniel Devore and Dennis Ehn won election to the Pomeroy City Council. In Jolley, there were six names on the ballot for the five council seats up for election, none of them identified as an incumbent. There was tie for fifth place so that position will be decided by drawing the name from the two fifth place candidates. The top four names with their vote totals were Marvin Ashbrook – 10; Rod Johnson – 8; Don Eldridge – 8 and Doug Aden – 8. Those tying for fifth place with 4 votes each were Phil Rastetter and Lori Schaffeer. In lake City, there were three names on the ballot for the three city council seats up for election. Tamela Green was the only incumbent on the ballot. She was reelected and two newly elected council members are Branden Blair and Doug Filmer. In Lohrville there were two council

seats up for election, with two names on the ballot. The mayor’s position was not up this year. Tam Mohr (incumbent) won reelection and new candidate Leonard Moran won election in Lohrville. In Farnhamville, the number of names on the ballot matched the number of positions. Incumbent mayor Frank Morgan won reelection as did incumbent council members Barbara Gregg and Jeff Kicklighter. Clint VanKley will be a new council member. In Rinard, the only candidates for the mayor position and for the three council seats were unchallenged. None of them were identified as incumbents. They are mayor – Steve Miller; council members – Ken Sibbit, Kevin Mosher and Linda Barmasse. In Yetter, Knierim and Lytton, all the incumbents ran unopposed.

Audience participation

A young audience member at the Friday night Village Square Theatre production of BINGO won “some real nice fake money” during the audience participation portion of the play. The performance took place Friday and Saturday at the high school auditorium in Lake City. (Graphic-Advocate photo by Ken Ross)


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