Summer planning in Union Page 3
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UNITED WE STAND
Friday
Jan. 30, 2015 OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF HARDIN COUNTY
E L D O R A, I O W A
641-939-5051
www.eldoranewspapers.com
V O L U M E 84
• N O. 7 •
RAGBRAI project is up and cycling
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The city to expect well over 10,000 visitors overnight July 21-22 for Des Moines Register annual event
By Michaela Kendall Staff writer ELDORA - Local businesses can prepare for a surge this summer, as Eldora has been announced as one of eight overnight stops for RAGBRAI riders this year, something that hasn’t happened in 16 years. The news came on Saturday night at the Des Moines Hy-Vee Hall, much to the delight of Eldora’s executive director of economic development, Deb Crosser. Crosser said she has been submitting Eldora’s name to the RAGBRAI organization for the past 10 years, in hopes that our town would be chosen as a stop for riders. It looks like the dedication has finally paid off. The 462-mile trek across the state is set to last from July 19 to July 25, with riders coming into Eldora on July 21, a Tuesday. Local hotels, campgrounds, restaurants and bars can expect larger crowds than usual during RAGBRAI this summer. The predicted number of riders is between 10,000 and 15,000 people, and that’s not including support crews and family
Newsbriefs CCC/Prisoner of War Rec Hall & Museum’s Spaghetti Supper The Civilian Conservation Corps/Prisoner of War Rec Hall & Museum’s Annual Spaghetti Supper Fundraiser will be held Thursday, Feb. 5 at the American Legion, 1215 Washington St., Eldora. Carry-outs at 5:30 p.m.; serving 6 to 8 p.m. Free will donation. Last day to enroll in Health Insurance Marketplace is Feb. 15 The last day to enroll in the Health Insurance Marketplace for 2015 coverage is February 15th. Marketplace assistors are available at Hansen Family Hospital in Iowa Falls to answer questions and provide help with enrollment. To schedule an appointment for this free service, please call 641-6487188.
members. Overnight, Eldora could very well see the number of people in town triple from the usual count. “The economic impact will be huge,” Crosser said, “businesses will benefit, as well as local nonprofit organizations.” Crosser said that preparations for the event are to begin immediately. She stressed the need for many volunteers in the planning, coordinating and implementing process, and said that a clear communication channel for volunteers to reach out would be established soon, either through phone or online. Crosser and city administrator, Bruce Bierma, are teaming up to tackle RAGBRAI this summer. Although Bierma is relatively new to town, this isn’t his first rodeo in regards to RAGBRAI. During his past work in towns such as Cherokee and Clarion, Bierma has been involved with the planning and coordinating of RAGBRAI. Bierma said that although it’s a lot of work, it’s also a lot of fun. Although the official route has not
yet been released, Crosser said the event’s advisory committee will be meeting on Thursday to discuss the route and figure out how the riders will be coming into town, which could pose an obstacle for motorists entering Eldora that day. Although it will take a lot of work to plan and coordinate the event, the overall positive impact will certainly be rewarding. The significance of Eldora being chosen as an overnight stop is huge. The last time RAGBRAI went through Eldora was in 2004, and the last time Eldora hosted riders overnight was in 1998. This year, we were fortunate enough to be chosen as one of eight overnight stops. The other overnight stops include: Sioux City, Storm Lake, Fort Dodge, Cedar Falls, Hiawatha, Coralville and Davenport. Eldora, being the smallest of the overnight stops, is a twist from the other towns, which are largely collegiate and suburban communities. And that’s not the only change RAGBRAI has made (continued on page 2)
Organizers have stressed they can’t start marshalling volunteers until after a February 3 meeting with RAGBRAI officials when plans will be firmed up. In the meantime they appreciate the outpouring of response and offers of help. City manager Bruce Bierma and economic development director Deb Crosser say they will need all the help they can get.
New police chief comes on board
By Rick Patrie News Editor ELDORA – Eldora has its new police chief in the person of a long time corrections and law enforcement officer from Fayette. Brad Gardner looks to start on the job next week. He replaces Ted Paxton, also a veteran officer, who left the Eldora post a few months ago to become police chief of Vinton. Gardner currently lives in Fayette but grew up in Ottumwa. He graduated from high school in Ottumwa in 1987, and spent seven years in the U.S. Navy as a corpsman, (medic). When he left the service he went
back to school, and while living in Cedar Falls attended the University of Northern Iowa, studying business administration, and subsequently got into law enforcement. He also worked as a police officer in three Iowa communities, and oversaw a force. In all, he served 16 years with the Iowa Department of Corrections at the Anamosa Men’s Reformatory. He and his wife Cristy have sons, AJ, two months, and Devon, 14, and also a daughter, Bella, 14. Speaking Wednesday right after his appointment the night prior, he said he and his wife visited Eldora extensively, talking to a lot of people in the community, and were
much impressed with the town, the atmosphere and hospitality. They made note of the wealth of historic features they found, and they said their study of the local schools gave them a great deal of confidence in the decision to come here. His appointment came after a lengthy search by the mayor and city council. Finding a new chief had been one of the big orders of business for the city council and mayor. The city also hired a new city manager a short time ago, making for some major changes in the administration of two important city departments.
CADEN Edge technology lowers farm operating costs by Rick Patrie News Editor ELDORA – The price of corn is down, and the news is full of farm equipment manufacturers cutting back in response. But regardless of what happens in the markets for tractors, combines, and field equipment, one three-decade-old, close-to-home manufacturer says farmers will still be taking to the fields this spring. And particularly, with the tighter farm economy, they will want to maximize the return on that share
of input costs going into all those cutting attachments which go on big tillage pieces. That puts a premium on shoring up field sweeps and other metal ‘edges’ that bear the brunt of cutting the soil. USM Wear Technologies, LLC, has spent 22 years learning how to extend the life of metal attachments on farm equipment, construction, earth moving equipment, and heavy equipment used in the industrial industry. USM Wear Tech says, now with (continued on page 3)
Carrying the torch for Special Olympics Hubbard girl bears the movement message
By Rick Patrie News Editor HUBBARD – She has become a familiar figure at the Special Olympics games around Iowa. McKenzie Ackerman, 17 of Hubbard, competed again this month in the 2015 Special Olympics Winter Games in Dubuque Jan 12-14. She has become that fixture playing as a member of the of River Hills Special Olympics school team where she attends in Cedar Falls. This month she took another first place, receiving gold medals in both of her events, 100M and 200M snowshoeing. But this past year has been particularly significant for the young Hubbard woman, in that she’s now joined a very select group of special Olympians – the movement’s Global Messengers – whose job it is to go out and tell the world the story of the Olympics. She receives her ‘messenger’ certification in November.
That means she’s one of just 90 Special Olympics competitors in Iowa who hold the designation of spokesman for the games. She and her mom spent a lot of time preparing and then two days in Des Moines going through the process of qualifying. McKenzie, with mom Trish helping as coach, completed a course of instruction and then a final examination where the young special Olympians are called upon to write, and deliver an oral presentation on the movement. They get schooled in everything from delivery to proper dress, to proper voice and comportment. After the two days of training they undergo a critique and exam, and then if successful, stand for certification. They have become the voice for Special Olympics movement, and go out speaking to countless groups of potential supporters around the state. The kids make appearances before civic groups and service
organizations in Iowa schools and a whole host of other public venues. The project is officially named the Sargent Shriver Global Messengers program. If you are old enough, you may remember the name of the Mr. Shriver associated with New Frontier and Great Society programs of the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. The Shriver name would associated with the Global Messenger effort some time later. Originally called Athletes for Outreach, the project took on the name Shriver in honor of the man who made a wide range of contributions to the to the causes of the disabled. Sargent Shriver was that key figure in the Lyndon Johnson Presidency War on Poverty initiative, but he would also come to play a big role in several initiatives championed by his wife Eunice Kennedy Shriver. She is now looked back on as the
single person most instrumental in bringing about a nation-wide change in attitudes toward the disabled – changes which began back in the 1960’s. The shift was still in its infancy back in the 1950s and 60’s when she took up the cause, the Kennedy’s having a disabled family member themselves. Mrs. Shriver inaugurated summer day camps for young people with intellectual disabilities, holding the early ones in her own backyard. The goal was to learn what these children could do in the way of sports and other activities – and not dwell on what they could not do. Throughout the 1960s, she continued her pioneering work -both as the driving force behind President John F. Kennedy’s White House panel on people with intellectual disabilities and as the director of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation. Her vision and drive (continued on page 3)
McKenzie Ackerman