Serving Cerro Gordo County and the communities of Rockwell, Swaledale, Meservey, Thornton & Dougherty
Vol. 123 No. 50 • Thursday, December 11, 2014
Hoedown has good turnout Organizers of the Old Time Country Hoedown reported another great turnout at the Windsor Theatre on Dec. 2. Nearly 100 people attended and enjoyed the 20 musicians that were on hand. The next Hoedown is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 5.
P.O Box 203, Rockwell, IOWA 50469 • www.pioneerenterprise.com
$1 per issue
Rockwell discusses city hunting policy
Members of the West Fork community gathered in Sheffield on Wednesday to learn about the school district’s plans to build a new athletic complex.
Santa, vendor showcase at Rockwell The Rockwell Chamber of Commerce will host the annual appreciation lunch on Dec. 13 at 11a.m. at the Community Center. A wide variety of vendors will be there starting at 9 a.m., along with cookies, cider and coffee for all to enjoy. Santa will make his appearance at 11:30 a.m. All are welcome.
G.A.I.N. program at LCNC Dec. 14 A G.A.I.N. (Get Active in Nature!) program will be held on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 1 p.m. at the Lime Creek Nature Center. GAIN is an ongoing nature center program of active, outdoor activities for children and their parents or guardians. Kids of all ages are invited to join a Lime Creek naturalist on a hike to learn about some of the winter strategies wildlife use to survive the cold Iowa winters. There is no cost, but please call 641-423-5309 to register. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Beyond Belief The public is invited to spend an evening Beyond Belief at First Grace Baptist Church in Sheffield on Sunday, Dec. 21, at 5 p.m. The amazing birth of Jesus Christ will be presented by the First Grace family. Come and see how God’s plan for us is beyond our own belief. Later, Mike Presby will use comedy and illusion to present a gospel message for the entire family. Joining Mike will be Hocus the Rabbit and Two Turtle Doves. He’ll even include an illusion called “The Lost Star.” Mike has served as a youth, family and associate pastor in Minnesota and Iowa. He has been performing and entertaining families for over 35 years. Everyone is invited to be refreshed at the Beyond Belief Buffet after the shows. Come and satisfy your appetite with savory foods and delicious Christmas treats. The evening is FREE and open to the public. Invite your family and friends for an evening relishing in the Christmas spirit with others.
Monday, Dec. 15 Franklin County Board of Supervisors meeting, 8:30 a.m., Franklin County Courthouse, basement level
Tuesday, Dec. 16 AA meeting, 8 p.m., Zion St. John
OBITUARIES ...................2 OPINION .........................3 PUBLIC NOTICES .........5 CLASSIFIEDS ..................7
West Fork explains athletic building plans; snag with Sheffield storm system unresolved By Travis Fischer The West Fork Community School Board held a public hearing to explain their plans to build a new athletic facility on Wednesday, December 3 in Sheffield. The primary reason for constructing a new building has grown from a need to increase space for the school’s wrestling program. “Our wrestling program has grown some. It seems to be doing real well,” said Superintendent Darrin Strike at the meeting. “However, our facility is sub-par for our needs.” Currently, the wrestling team practices in a converted classroom in the Rockwell campus. With so many wrestlers of various sizes practicing in such close quarters, the wrestling program is out of compliance with state regulations. The need for larger wrestling space also ties into a need for a better weight room. Because the current weight room building is in such a state that it would cost less to build a new structure than it would to fix the old one, it was decided that the existing weight room building be demolished in favor of increased parking space. “If some of you have come to a ballgame here on a Friday night and parked in Chapin, you understand the parking situation,” said Strike. With these points in mind, the
school board put together a committee tasked with designing an athletic facility for the district. School board members Roger Witte and Jim Tuttle were on the committee, along with Superintendent Strike. Jerry Donnenworth, Tim Christianson, Mike Kuhlemeier, Brad Shupe, and Jared and Jena Arbegast represented the community on the committee while West Fork coaches Lance Thompson, Abbee Dickman, Ashley Sears, Eric Burt, Eric Gabe, Frank Schones, and Mark Twedt offered their own insight as the people most likely to be using the building. The committee eventually settled on building a new athletic facility on the old high school lot. The two story building would include a weight room, a walking track, two basketball courts, aerobics and cardio space, a wrestling room, and ample space for additional storage. With the additional space for practice in the new facility, the project would also allow greater flexibility for fine arts programs, particularly in the Sheffield campus’ north gym. “We see benefits for our district dance team, our cheerleaders, our marching band, and our various youth groups throughout our school district,” said Strike. “Many of those groups get pushed to the side because the gyms are occupied by high school athletics and middle school
athletics.” Designed by Martin Gardner Architecture, the athletic facility itself is nearly identical to the facility they built for the Nashua School District. The West Fork school board visited Nashua during their initial search for ideas and decided that was the design they liked best. “The difference between the Nashua facility and this one comes down to about 3,500 square feet,” said Strike. “We have increased in size some areas we saw they were maybe constricted with.” The total cost of the project, including the demolition and paving of the existing weight room, is estimated at $3.5 million. Superintendent Strike began the public meeting with a quick lesson on school finance, to explain which funds would be used to pay for the proposed building. “With school finance, there are six different funds. Four of them do not intermingle,” said Strike. The four segregated funds include the General Fund, which pays for teacher salaries, books, and vehicle maintenance; the Nutrition Account, which pays for food, the Management Account, which pays for insurance, leases, and early retirement, and the Activity Accounts, which funds the athletic and fine arts programs.
“Those four accounts do not intermingle,” explained Strike. The remaining two accounts, which can be used for the same purposes, are the Physical Plant Equipment Levy (PPEL) and one cent sales tax funds (SILO). These funds can be used to purchase busses, buildings, and technology. It is with these two funds that the district plans to pay for the new athletic complex. “The funds that we are talking about tonight are exclusively in the PPEL and one cent sales tax money,” said Strike. “These funds cannot be used to fund a teacher. They cannot be used for text books. They cannot be used for fuel in a bus.” The school board plans to pay for the building using a combination of on-hand savings and money borrowed against their PPEL funds. “We could build this structure and pay for it, but if we do that it would leave us very vulnerable financially,” said Strike. The current plan is to use $2.2 million of the district’s funds while borrowing the remaining $1.3 million from future PPEL revenue over the next four years. Spending $2.2 million of their on-hand funds would drop their excess cash to a low point of $574,000 in August of 2016. That amount WEST FORK to page 2
USDA Extends application deadline for Dairy Margin Protection Program to Dec. 19 U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the application deadline for the dairy Margin Protection Program (MPP) will be extended until Dec. 19, 2014. The program, established by the 2014 Farm Bill, protects participating dairy producers when the margin – the difference between the price of milk and feed costs – falls below levels of protection selected by the applicant. “The 2014 Farm Bill created these safety net programs to provide safeguards against the uncertainty of weather and markets, but this safety net is not automatic. Producers must visit their local Farm Service Agency office to enroll before December 19,” said Vilsack. “Despite the best forecasts, weather and markets can change, so a modest investment today can protect against unexpected losses tomorrow.” “For just $100, a farmer can cover 90 percent of production at $4 margin swings, and with affordable incremental premiums, dairy farmers can cover up to $8 margin swings,” said Vilsack. “Those who apply this year will receive a slight increase in
production protection that will not be available in the future. Farmers who do not sign up for the Margin Protection Program for 2015 will forfeit the 1 percent base production increase. For a 400 cow operation, this would equate to an additional 80,000 pounds of milk that are eligible for coverage. It’s a small step to take to ensure your business is covered.” Vilsack encourages producers to use the online Web resource at www.fsa.usda.gov/mpptool to calculate the best levels of coverage for their dairy operation. They can type in specific operation data and explore price projections and market scenarios to determine what level of coverage is best for them. They can also compare the data to see how the program would have helped in previous years, such as 2008, when margins dropped from $8 to $3 in just three months. The online resource is on a secure website that can be accessed from computers, mobile phones or tablets, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Farmers also have a chance to share comments and help shape the Margin Protection Program for
USPS No. 505-640
the future. Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the extension of the opportunity for public comments on both the Margin Protection Program and the Dairy Product Donation Program until Dec. 15, 2014. Comments can be submitted to USDA via the regulations.gov website at http://go.usa.gov/GJSA or send them by mail to: Danielle Cooke, Special Programs Manager, Price Support Division, FSA, USDA, STOP 0512, 1400 Independence
Ave. SW, Washington, D.C., 202500512. Today’s announcement was made possible through the 2014 Farm Bill, which builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for the taxpayer. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this DAIRY MARGIN to page 3
The Rockwell City Council held their regular meeting on Wednesday, December 3. At the meeting, Justin Ries approached the council about gaining permissions to hunt deer on his property within the city limits. The council discussed the matter with Police Chief Rick Whitney, who said that it would be okay so long as Ries abided by DNR rules. A motion to grant Ries permission to hunt on his property failed when the council determined it would be best for Ries to first collect signed permission from his neighbors. They invited Ries to return to the next meeting once he had his neighbor’s approval. In other business, the council approved the purchase of a $450 fuel tank and pump in order to avoid the need to drive the city’s tractor to Carterville for fuel. The council also approved a $5,000 in repairs to the city’s dump truck. Finally, the council was happy to note that the light cover on the offtinted light on the Madison Street Bridge has been fixed.
Iowa pesticide applicator training program undergoes name change The Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP), formerly known as the Pest Management and the Environment Program (PME) at Iowa State University recently updated its moniker. The name change reflects the program’s emphasis on pesticide safety education to various audiences in Iowa, including certified commercial, public, and private applicators as well as pesticide safety awareness for the general public. “Our focus has always been on pesticide safety education in addition to applicator certification,” said Kristine Schaefer, program manager at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. “This name change better describes the programs we offer and the audiences we serve. We offer much more than applicator training.” Schaefer noted that in a recent press release, the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA), American Phytopathological Society (APS), and the Entomology Society of America (ESA) stated that everyone benefits from a strong national Pesticide Safety Education Program – the general public, the registrants whose products’ availability depends on safe use, the applicators who must be competent in the safe use of pesticides, the expanded network of trainers educated by PSEP, and the regulatory agencies that enforce the law. The recognition this program deserves is often muted, due to the increasing number of organizations and initiatives that erroneously equate pesticide safety education with promoting pesticide use. On its 50th anniversary, the WSSA, APS and ESA salute the Pesticide Safety Education Program in the LandGrant Universities and in the territories for its many efforts to protect human health and the environment, as society continues its ongoing battle against pests. During 2013, Iowa State University PSEP staff provided Continuing Instructional Course (CIC) training to nearly 26,000 certified applicators who control weeds, insects, diseasecausing organisms, rodents and other pests in agricultural cropping systems, forests, structures, turf, ornamentals, rights-of-way, aquatic areas and other important sites. In addition to in-person and distance pesticide safety education training, over 22,000 PSEP Extension publications were distributed in 2013. To learn more about PSEP and its programs, go to http://www.extension.iastate.edu/psep. To access PSEP extension publications, visit the ISU Extension and Outreach Online Store at http://store.extension. iastate.edu/.