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Holiday Food Fair
The women of Zion St. John Lutheran Church of Sheffield will be having their annual Holiday Food Fair on Saturday, Dec.14 from 9 to 11 a.m., in the church basement. Coffee, juice, and cinnamon rolls will be served. A freewill offering will be taken. After coffee you can shop for Christmas cookies by the dozen, Christmas candies, cards, napkins, Rada Cutlery, jar mixes, Fair Trade coffee, tea, chocolate,cocoa, olive oil, homemade horseradish, and homemade apple butter. Proceeds from the fair will be divided between Mary’s Place in Mpls, the Franklin County Food Pantry, and a project within our church. Come join the fun and let Zion St. John help with some of your holiday preparations!
FFA Community Dinner
The West Fork FFA will be holding a Free Will Community Dinner on the 18th of December at the Sheffield Inn from 6 to 8 p.m. Proceeds of the evening will go towards the Spirit of West Fork Program. Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy a good meal while helping a great cause. Questions should be directed to Mr. Spurgin at 641-892-4461 ext. 1147.
Christmas Carol at First Grace
First Grace Baptist Church in Sheffield will present the Christmas Musical, “Christmas Carol� by Ron and Shelly Hamilton on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. Join the Bailey family as they invite an orphan named Jamie to spend Christmas with them this year. Your heart will be warmed as you see God reveal Himself to Jamie and melt away Carol Bailey’s painful memories, creating in them a special bond of love and acceptance. Cast includes: Mrs. Johnson - Meta Lage, Jamie Aunna Lau, John Bailey - Rick Jensen, Carol Bailey - Mary Mollenbeck, Nick Bailey - Samuel Mollenbeck, Leslie Bailey - Macy Rust, Samantha Bailey - Cassie Mueth. Approximately 20 staff and children of Morningside Children’s Home will present the music. In addition, 11 children ages 3 years old through 2nd grades will present the welcome and manger scene. A special thank you goes out to all who are helping make this production a reality.
Special Christmas Services
Zion Reformed Church, Sheffield Dec. 22: 7 p.m. Sunday School Program Dec. 24: 7 p.m. Candlelight Service First United Methodist Church, Sheffield Dec. 22: 5 p.m. “Candles and Carols� Dec. 24: 5 p.m. Christmas Eve Service West Fork United Methodist Church, Sheffield Dec. 24: 6:30 p.m. Christmas Eve Service
Community Calendar
Thursday, Dec. 5 Foot Clinic, 9-11 am, Franklin Co. Public Health, 641-456-5820 Immunization Clinic, 2:30-4 pm, Franklin Co. Public Health, 641-456-5820 Friday, Dec. 6 Retired Sukup Employee Coffee, 7-9 a.m. at Sheffield Inn Foot Clinic, 8:30-10 am, St. Mary’s Church, Ackley, 641-456-5820 Healthy Holidays, 10 am-2 pm, United Bank & Trust, Hampton Blood Pressure Clinic, 8:30-9:30 pm, Franklin Co. Public Health, walk-in More on page 10.
In this issue: ue: Courthouse ......................... pages 4 Public Notices ......................page 4 Area Sports .........................page 10 Classifieds ..............................page 8
King talks Farm Bill during visit to area last week By Pat Racette Butler Co. Tribune-Journal & Clarksville Star U.S. Congressman Steve King stopped by three area counties during a visit to the most eastern reaches of his district Nov. 25. King swung through Butler, Franklin and Floyd counties during his trip last week. News about ongoing negotiations over the embattled Farm Bill topped discussion at his visit in Allison, which was likely one of his first stops to Butler County since 2012 congressional redistricting. “This part of the state is not foreign to me,â€? he said. “I spent my grade school years in Hancock County, and I’ve traveled through all of Iowa on construction and business‌a lot of people would sacrifice a great deal to raise their families in the kind of environment you have here.â€? King, who lives in northwest Iowa in Kiron, started a construction business in 1975 before getting elected to the U.S. House 11 years ago. He sold the business to his eldest son, and
they will celebrate 40 years as an establishment in 2014. “Small business teaches you that the sole proprietor that starts out has to know something about everything,� he said. “My concern is regulations keep mounting and are making it harder for small businesses [to exist]. “A common denominator in small communities especially has something to do with leadership that emerges; and when you go into a small robust community on the cutting edge, you think about the leadership that emerges to make the community prosper.� Serving on the U.S. Agriculture Committee as one of the top senior members, King is trying to work with Democrats to have the House of Representatives pass the new Farm Bill that he helped script. “The Democrats write into it and other chairmen weigh-in in similar fashion,� he said. “We came together and [it was] contentious. We have had to fight together for the last two and a half years to get the five-year farm bill passed. If all goes well,
we’ll get it in by Christmas.� The biggest challenge to pass the farm bill is agreeing on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, where a $36 billion disagreement exists between the House and Senate. The House wants to cut $40 billion, while the Senate sits at $4 billion. “We’re quite a ways apart, but I sense that is has narrowed some,� he said. “That piece is going to have to come at the conference report [to make the deadline].� During his visit, King also met with area business leaders in a round table meeting and visited local economic development areas. He started the day in Franklin County, and eventually made his way to Floyd and Butler counties.. “We want to feel the rhythm that’s going on in each of the communities,� King said. “When we can help, and it isn’t always that we can, I find that if you’ve built those relationships and you have networks in place, then you can help.� King’s network includes five offices in his district, with each
Congressman Steve King passed through the area last week during a trip through his congressional district. King visited Franklin, Butler and Floyd counties. (Photo by Pat Racette, Butler Co. Tribune-Journal & Clarksville Star) serving seven counties. Merlin Bartz is the district representa-
Emergency Management Commission reviews next year’s budget By Nick Pedley Budget planning topped the majority of discussion during the Franklin County Emergency Management Commission’s (FCEMC) regular meeting on Nov. 26. Emergency Management Coordinator Thomas Craighton handed out a tentative budget he compiled for the 2014-15 fiscal year. Because 2013 was the FCEMC’s year of existence following the county’s split from their parntership with Cerro Gordo County, Craighton said he was uncertain on some of the estimated figures. However, he felt this year’s numbers were on par. “The numbers we’re operating off this year were strictly a guess,� he explained. “Hopefully next year well be better because we have more infor-
mation to show for each line item.� The majority of Craighton’s proposed budget included standard operational costs and expenses for equipment upgrades. Certain categories from last year went completely unfunded because they were unneccessary, while others saw slight boost. Craighton pointed out that he’s only requesting $500 for legal and court services, down from the $4,082 already used so far this year. “We just don’t know that we’ll need to maintain that amount,� he said. The commission unanimously approved the budget, which needs to be turned in by February. The next step in the process will be a budget hearing. “The numbers you approve
are the numbers we work with,� said Franklin County Sheriff Larry Richtsmeier. The group also heard an update on negotiations between the Franklin County and the City of Hampton regarding the situation of the emergency 911 dispatchers. The two entities are trying to come to terms on a contract that would transfer the dispatchers from city employees to county county employees. Eventually, they’d move from their current location at the Hampton Police Department to the Franklin County Law Enforcement Center. Hampton City Manager Ron Dunt was in attendance and relayed information he received from the board of supervisors, who are reviewing the dispatchers’ contracts and hashing out the details of the
employees’ benefit packages. “The county supervisors just don’t have the wording down,� Dunt said. “The feeling that I got from Corey (Eberling) was that they’re OK with it, they just want to tweak the wording.� Richtsmeier had originally thought the city was delaying progress on contract negotiations, and was somewhat surprised by Dunt’s news. “So the supervisors are the ones holding it up? I’d like that reflected in the minutes,� said Richtsmeier. Dunt said he felt a deal was near, and reiterated that only small details stand in the way of both parties coming to terms on a final contract. “We got put on the backburner until the supervisors get it figured out,� he said.
tive for our area. His office is located in Mason City.
Illness cancels supervisors meeting Monday
Supervisors Corey Eberling and Mike Nolte both called in sick prior to the Franklin County Board of Supervisors meeting Monday morning, consequently cancelling the session due to a lack of a quorum. The supervisors were scheduled to tackle a host of regular business like department updates, funding requests and manure management plan renewals. The appointment of a member to the compensation board and review of the memorandum of understanding for the 911 emergency dispatchers topped old business on the agenda. “The meeting was cancelled, not postponed,� said Franklin County Auditor Michelle Giddings. “They’ll just have to reschedule everything from today for another meeting.�
West Fork FFA sees busy two months By Bret Spurgin, West Fork FFA Advisor The West Fork FFA Advanced Animal science class went to the North Iowa Boar Stud in Riceville where they were able to see the facilities and observe the process of every day life for these animals. They learned about the care given to animals, how to collect semen from the boars and some of the basics that a person getting into the business would need to know. Everyone on the trip had a lot of fun and learned a lot about collecting semen for artificial insemination. The West Fork FFA introduced a new community project this year called Feed a Farmer. Some of the FFA members went to the Rockwell and Chapin co-op to serve a meal to farmers or anyone else that came. The meal included hamburgers, chips, water and bars
that were donated by the other FFA members. For the first time, there was a good turnout and many people learned more about the West Fork FFA. “It was a great way to give back to our farmers,� said Zach Greimann, an FFA member that helped out. The West Fork FFA plans to continue this project and in the future hopefully expand it to other co-ops in the district. This year the 86th annual FFA National Convention was held in Louisville, Ky. The West Fork FFA left on Tuesday, Oct. 29. During their drive there they went to Kinzie factory in Williamsburg, Iowa. They toured the museum and learned the history and background of how Kinzie grew. Wednesday morning they woke up and toured the St. Louis Arch and the museum. After that they drove all the way to Kentucky that day.
On Thursday morning they got up bright and early and got into official dress to head to the first open session of the convention. FFA members then sat and listened to guest speakers like the University of Louisville’s basketball coach. They then went to the career show and talked to colleges from all over America. They also went to a workshop were they had speakers talk to us about setting goals in life and not being afraid to be ourselves – they were actually pretty fun and interesting. That night they went back to the convention for another session. After that session they went to Louisville slugger where they toured the factory and museum. They finally got settled down that night, all worn out and their feet hurting. Friday was their last day at the convention, so they packed
up that morning, got into official dress, went to another session at the convention and got to go shopping at the FFA mall. There they bought souvenirs and mingled with people from all over the country. After that they headed home back to Iowa. They stopped at the I-80 truck stop, ate supper and then
it was only around three hours until they got back home! “Overall, it was a great experience and am so thankful I got the opportunity to go. I learned how to be a better leader and set goals and am ready to share it all with my FFA chapter,� said Madison Steenhard.
Enjoy our
Winter Sports Preview in this issue!
3<IO< #G<PN DN >JHDIB OJ OJRI The Sheffield Community Club would like to invite all the children to come and visit Santa on Saturday, Dec. 14, at the Sheffield EMS Building from 12 noon to 2 p.m. Pictures will be taken by Sanders Photography and cookies and drink will be available for all the children and their parents. Santa is excited to visit with all the children of Sheffield! Sheffield Merchants will hold their annual Christmas Party at 2:30 p.m. in the Sheffield Inn. Coffee, hot cider and cookies will be served. Drawing for Sheffield Bucks and Gift Certificates. All welcome to attend.