The
Graphic - Advocate WEDNESDAY
| DECEMBER 4, 2013|VOLUME 124| ISSUE 49
Rockwell City Office 712-297-7544 • advocate@iowatelecom.net - Lake City Office 712-464-3188 • lcgraphic@iowatelecom.net SCC Basketball on page 7
Capri Theatre shows free holiday movies In celebration of the holidays the Capri Theatre in Lake City feels that ‘family’ is the key ingredient, therefore the Capri is offering free admission to all shows starting Friday, Dec. 6 through Dec. 29. Movies shown at the Capri in the month of December are some of the past traditional top box office hits. There is something unique about watching a movie such as “Polar Express” from the Dolby sound and in 2D. Janelle Nesbitt, Capri Board member who orders movies says, “It is so sad for the past 5 or 6 years there have been no Christmas family movies being released by ‘Hollywood’.” So, the Capri wanted to put family movies for the holidays back up on the screen. Shows are: “Polar Express” Dec. 6-8; “Alvin and the Chipmunks”
Dec. 13-15; “All I Want for Christmas” Dec. 20-22; and “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” Dec. 27-29 with show times at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and Saturday with a matinee at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Rockwell City has tour of homes
On Sunday, Dec. 15, from 1:30 to 4 p.m., the Gardens on 4th Park Project Committee is hosting a Tour of Homes. The five Rockwell City homes to be showcased are: • Brian & Linda Heide – 146 Pleasant St. • Keith & Kathy Hiler – 2847 Norridge Ave. • Jeff & Peggy Neubaum – 2421 Ogden Ave. • Brigit Thompson – 610 Court St. • Ron & Janet Wetter – 102 Brower St. Tickets may be purchased in advance at First Community Bank, United Bank of Iowa in Rockwell City, RC City Hall, and Parkside Flowers. Tickets will also
$100
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be available for purchase at each home on the day of the tour. All proceeds from this event will be used to advance the Gardens on 4th Park project. The first three phases of the project have been completed through the support of private donations, fundraisers, contributions from the Rockwell City Revitalization Committee and grant money from the Calhoun County Community Foundation. Additional funds are needed to start the fourth phase next year and work toward completion of the project. As always, private donations are welcome and very much appreciated.
Digging out and filling in
Final work on the lot, that began with demolition of a vacant building at the southwest corner of Court and Fourth St. in Rockwell City and then expanded when a neighboring business was damaged, neared completion last week. City Clerk Kelly Smidt said there has been interest expressed in developing the lot but no business plan has been submitted yet. (Graphic-Advocate photo by Ken Ross)
Full-time attorney gets full-time designation By Ken Ross Graphic-Advocate Editor Tina Meth-Farrington says she hears chuckles whenever she tells people she is a part-time county attorney. There is a full caseload for the Calhoun County attorney and all of those who work with her regard the position as full-time. The same situation was true for her predecessor, Cindy Voorde, who worked full time in the position but never attempted to get the official designation changed for the job. It is an elected position regardless of whether it’s defined as full-time or part-time The only practical impact of the different classification is that a part-time county attorney has the option of having a private practice. However, neither Voorde nor MethFarrington has wanted a private practice. At the Nov. 26 Calhoun County Board of Supervisors meeting, Meth-Farrington requested that the position be reclassified as full-time. “I would like to have the position classified as a full-time position. I’m not asking for any additional pay, additional staff or anything like that,” she said. She noted that she is particularly busy at this time. There are 21 indictable cases pending in her office, including eight felonies. There is also a civil commitment case pending of commitment to the Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual
Offenders. Her assistant, Erik Howe, is leaving his position in June. He handles magistrate cases and most of the legal research. He also steps in for Meth-Farrington when needed. “I’m there every day, open or closed, my phone is never off. I’m on call 24 hours a day,” she said. By consensus, the supervisors directed Meth-Farrington to draft a resolution for their approval
reclassifying the county attorney position to full-time. *** The supervisors approved payment of health insurance fees for all county employees covered under the county’s health insurance plan, a reversal of a previous decision that the employees would need to pay the unexpected and unbudgeted fees. The fee resulting from the Affordable Care Act. There is a fee of
$14.25 per month per person covered under the plan, including dependents of employees. As originally decided that would mean a payment of $57 per month by the employee for a family of four but since the new decision by the supervisors, this fee will be covered by the county.
SUPERVISORS continued to page 5
Holiday activities at the Library
During a special game night at the Rockwell City Library on Nov. 26, Eric Brown, Patrick Brown, Kayla Grummon, Mariah Pagel and Faith Wagner strung popcorn strands for decorating the library while Library Director Denise Pohl operated the projector showing a holiday movie. (GraphicAdvocate photo by Ken Ross)
Vaccination article generates response By Ken Ross Graphic-Advocate Editor Calhoun County Public Health officials assert that there were factual errors made in the Nov. 27 Graphic-Advocate article, “School vaccination error repeated.” Tami Mohr, public health coordinator, said that the reference to two flu vaccination permission forms being sent to one South Central Calhoun family was inaccurate. The article referred to a situation this fall in which two students with identical names in different grades from different families each received a flu shot although only one family had given permission. “A blank vaccine administration form is sent home with every student, so when it said both forms were sent home with one student, that’s not really right,” Mohr said, “One mother got on line and printed off a second form. So she filled out the form her daughter brought home and then when she said to her kids, ‘you’re going to get your flu shots in school,’ the one little girl said, ‘well I didn’t take in a form’ and the mother said, ‘you did, I filled it out,’ and the girl said, ‘I didn’t take it in’ so the mother said, ‘so, I got on line and printed off another one and filled out a second one’ so we didn’t send two specific forms to anyone. Every student got a form and parents can access those online.” Jane Condon, public health administrator, said that the
health department did over 3,000 immunizations in a year and 548 of them were school-based flu shots. Regarding the school-based program, Condon explained that there are schools in Calhoun County in five districts (actually four school systems, but the SCC school system is still two districts for purposes of filing paperwork until Southern Cal and Rockwell City/Lytton formally merge on July 1). Other districts with a school building in Calhoun County
include Manson Northwest Webster, Prairie Valley and Pocahontas Area. “We’ve been doing this for 30 years. We’re not new at it. It’s based on sound scientific principles,” Condon said. She said that she still believes school-based immunization is a good idea but public health is not going to object if SCC no longer has this program in its schools and will not stop providing the service to other school systems in the county.
(See letter to the editor from Condon in this edition for further explanation of the school-based program and further response to recent criticism.) Mohr said that last year, after a similar incident, Supt. Jeff Kruse posed a question to other school administrators in the area at a meeting hosted by Prairie Valley and attended by Mohr.
VACCCINATION continued to page 5
Crisis Center assists those most in need
By Ken Ross Graphic-Advocate Editor Stacey is a new director at the Family Crisis Center that serves victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Calhoun and Carroll Counties. She has a complication to her objective of making the public aware of the services offered. Confidentiality is an essential part of the center’s operation. Not only do many of the clients feel humiliated by the situation they are in, seeking help could increase the danger for people still in a situation of domestic violence. Stacey personally keeps a low profile in public and requested that her last name not be included in the article. She will talk to anybody who approaches her but she will not initiate the contact with a client in public. Anyone who is a recent victim, or a victim of an ongoing situation, or is struggling with the trauma of a
past assault or abuse, can seek help at 1-800-382-5603, anytime. The Family Crisis Center provides the following: Hotline – a 24-hour service providing support, crisis intervention, general information and referrals to various agencies. Crisis Counseling – assistance to individuals in identifying safety, resources and options with advocacy regarding legal, medical and personal matters. Emergency Shelter – brief safehaven for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence and their dependents. Food and personal items are provided for shelter guests. Emergency & Transitional – housing for victims and their children who need a safe place to live for an extended period of time. Western Iowa Survivors of Homicide (WISH Unit) and Other Violent Crimes – A victim service specialist helps families through a difficult time. Services are available
24/7 – 712-899-6382. This article was motivated by Jennifer Vaughn who went to Lake City High School with the class of 1998 but leaving early because of her situation. She now lives in California. She contacted the newspaper after reading an article in the Nov. 13 Graphic-Advocate - “Keeping track of sex offenders.” She wrote that she was sexually assaulted when she was in high school and intimidated by threats to keep silent. She has subsequently learned that at least one other person had a similar experience in Lake City during this time period. She requested that anyone else having this experience in that time frame in that area contact her. She promises to keep all inquiries and information confidential. Jennifer Vaughan, Jennvaughan@ gmail.com, (310) 402-2383
Enjoying breakfast
Hallee Brumbaugh, along with her father Zach and her grandmother Kay, had breakfast at the Lohrville Community Center on Sunday. The omelet breakfast was prepared by volunteers of the Lohrville Fire Department. (Graphic-Advocate photo by Ken Ross)
Line of chefs
An omelet breakfast is a specialty of the Lohrville Fire Department, prepared at the Lohrville Community Center as a fundraiser for the department. (Graphic-Advocate photo by Ken Ross)