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HAMPTON
C VOLUME 137, NUMBER 25
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Come join us in the parking lot of the Neighborhood Bible Church on Sunday, June 22, for a FREE hot dog dinner, 6-8 p.m.
BY NICK PEDLEY Hampton-Dumont Elementary Principal Jerry Buseman announced last week that he will resign from his position with the school effective July 3. Buseman has been with H-D for 23 years. He served as a third grade teacher from 1991-2003, and has spent the past 11 years as principal at North Side and South Side elementaries. Buseman was out of the ofÀce this week and could not be reached for comment. “I think he had a great opportunity to go back to the family farm that he just couldn·t pass up,” said H-D Superintendent Todd Lettow. “So I think that·s what he plans to do.” Buseman·s family has a farm near Belmond, Lettow said. Buseman·s wife, Wendy, teaches third grade at Hampton-Dumont, and Lettow expected her to stay at her current position with the school. Lettow said Buseman will be missed by both students and faculty members. “When I think about Jerry, I just think about how kid-oriented he is,” Lettow said. “He was always there for the kids. Every day he·d wear some goofy sort of tie just to try and get a reaction from them, and they loved it. It was just stuff like that.” H-D will most likely hire an interim principal once Buseman leaves. The search for a full-time replacement will get underway sometime in the 2014-15 school year, according to Lettow. “It·s pretty late in the year for us to Ànd anyone right now,” he said. “Most schools start hiring for these jobs in February or March.”
DEADLINES
WEDNESDAY 40% CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS
90˚70˚
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81˚64˚
83˚65˚
84˚63˚
Thunderstorms
Mostly Sunny
Partly Cloudy
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2014
H-D board comes into agreement on South Side changes
Neighborhood Bible Church hosts hot dog dinner, June 22
Buseman resigns as H-D elementary principal
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UP FRONT
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Seated from left to right: Recount board members Ken Lubkeman, Jeanne Plagge and Renee Hansen sift through ballots June 10 as county deputy audior Julie Pralle looks on. Incumbent District II Supervisor Jerry Plagge was con¿rmed the winner of the June 3 GOP primary election following a vote recount last week. NICK PEDLEY/HAMPTON CHRONICLE
RECOUNT
DISTRICT II RESULTS BY PRECINCT HAMILTON/LEE/REEVE
REAFFIRMS IT
McVicker ..............................56 Plagge .................................30
Plagge wins Supervisor District II, 206-203
McVicker ..............................65 Plagge .................................28
BY NICK PEDLEY A vote recount in the Republican primary race for Franklin County Supervisor District II conÀrmed incumbent Jerry Plagge as the winner on June 10. Gary McVicker, Plagge·s opponent, challenged the results of the June 3 GOP primary election after he was defeated by a three-vote margin. McVicker petitioned for a vote recount after the election results were canvassed on June 9, and the recount was held the following day inside the Franklin County Law Enforcement Center.
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A three-person board hand-counted each ballot and then ran them through a vote-counting machine, but the original results were upheld – Plagge was conÀrmed the winner of the primary, 206-203. “That just goes to show you that every vote counts, doesn·t it?” McVicker said after the recount. “With it being that close, I just had to do it.” Franklin County Auditor Michelle Giddings said the recount was the Àrst she had encountered in her 14 years at the position. She recalled a recount after a CAL school board
McVicker ..............................45 Plagge .................................48 MARION
McVicker ..............................37 Plagge ...............................100
election when Bob Davies was auditor, but she couldn·t remember the year. Because Giddings was relatively new to the process, she consulted the Iowa Secretary of State·s webSee RECOUNT: Page 2
SO FAR, SO GOOD FOR FRANKLIN COUNTY CROPS
BY NICK PEDLEY For many farmers throughout Franklin County, the 2014 planting season was a night and day difference compared to 2013. But then again, that·s not saying much. “A lot of people that come into the ofÀce here will say, ¶Oh, this is so much better than last year!· ” said Steve Abbas, county executive director of the Farm Service Agency. “Things were pretty bad then.” Relentless precipitation and wet Àeld conditions made the 2013 planting season one of the longest and most unpredictable on record. Some farmers couldn·t get their crops in un-
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til mid-June, while others simply didn·t plant them at all – around 17,000 acres of Franklin County Àelds went into prevented planting last year, according to Abbas. However, that gaudy number was reduced to zero this spring when an extended period of cooperative weather allowed farmers to complete Àeldwork with time to spare. “With that week and half, 10-day window we had in May, everybody was going pretty hard from sunup to sundown,” said Tanner Bohman, crop specialist at AgVantage FS. “I·d say everything is ahead of where we were last year.”
See CROPS: Page 2
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BY NICK PEDLEY After a heated debate Monday night, the Hampton-Dumont Board of Education agreed to move the South Side Elementary library into a portion of the cafeteria and a special education class into a smaller room to create space for the 201415 school year. The changes won·t become ofÀcial until the board approves the moves during a special meeting on Monday, June 23. The group was in a special work session Monday night, which disallows any board action. The changes will free up space for two extra rooms at South Side to accommodate an enrollment bubble in the kindergarten class. Monday·s workshop followed the board·s regular meeting, which was Àlled with routine business. “There·s no doubt the current sit-
uation is not ideal for our librarian, but moving it to the lunchroom is the best outcome for a situation that·s not ideal,” said Superintendent Todd Lettow. “Like Jerry [Buseman] said, We have to Ànd the best solution that·s least disruptive for the largest amount of students.” Elementary Principal Jerry Buseman suggested the library and special education room changes at the board·s workshop last week. Numerous ideas were discussed at that session and at Monday night·s workshop, but ultimately the group felt Buseman·s suggestion was the only possible solution given the narrow timeframe they had to work with. Other suggestions ranged from renting space at the Youth for Christ building in Hampton as well as See H-D BOARD: Page 3
Hampton council approves Progress Park cameras BY NICK PEDLEY Two new surveillance cameras will be installed at Hampton·s Progress Park soon with the hopes of curbing vandalism and other incidents around that area. The Hampton City Council approved funding for the cameras, surveillance software and other essential components at its meeting June 12. Jeff Christiansen of Advanced Tech Solutions, Inc., is the contractor for the camera project, which will cost $5,630. All expenses will be covered by a $5,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Franklin County and a $1,000 matching obligation from the city. One camera will be pointed towards the Progress Park entranceway and the other will record the southeasterly area near the fence line and some of the park. The council had discussed the cameras extensively over the past six months. Police Chief Bob
Schaefer said they could potentially curb some of mischief that occurs during the evening at Progress Park. In the past, Àghts have broken out and attempted break-ins at the Aquatic Center have occurred, in addition to other vandalism. The new cameras could help identify perpetrators if the incidents continue. City Manager Ron Dunt was unsure when they would get installed. See COUNCIL: Page 3