Sigourney News-Review
LEA EADER
THE
The Leader
Village Vine
Valentines What Cheer Paper at Westview page 2
Former kid
Area sports
page 3
pages 12-14
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News at a Glance
Correction
KLEMME - The Feb.11 Leader incorrectly reported the Monday, March 2 Klemme City budget hearing will begin 7 p.m. The scheduled time for the hearing is 6:30 p.m. Copies of the proposed budget are on file with the city clerk only. Also, regularly scheduled Klemme City Council meetings begin 6:30 p.m., not 7 p.m. as stated in the story. The Leader regrets the errors.
Color the Wind Festival
CLEAR LAKE – The Color the Wind Kite festival will be held Saturday, Feb. 21 at Clear Lake. The sky will be filled with brilliant kites in all colors of the rainbow from 11 a.m. 4 p.m., wind and weather conditions permitting. The flying field is on the frozen lake at the downtown seawall at the West end of Main Street near the city park.
NIACC Offers Parent’s Night
Parents are invited to a special evening at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) to learn more about the opportunities available for their children as they consider their college options. Planning ahead is helpful to families, so this evening is designed for families who have children in grades 9-12, however everyone is welcome. “We invite parents to come, with or without their high school student, so they can meet our staff and see what NIACC has to offer while your son or daughter is still in high school as well as after graduation,” said NIACC Enrollment Services Director Rachel McGuire.
Community Calendar
Wednesday, February 18 Britt Community Blood Drive will be held from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m., at Britt Municipal Building, 170 Main Avenue South. Thursday, February 19 Winnebago County Conservation Board is sponsoring a Stargazing program at 7 pm. at Thorpe Park. Contact Lisa Ralls at lralls@ winnebagoccb.com or call 641565-3390 for more information. CWL School Board meets. Monday, February 23 Hancock County Board of Supervisors meets at 9 a.m. in Board Chamber, Garner. Tuesday, February 24 Garner Council meets at 7 p.m. in Council Chamber, City Hall. Wednesday, February 25 ISU Human Services Extension and Outreach is offering “How to Improve my Credit Score.” This log on and learn course offers suggestions on how to use credit wisely and solutions to credit issues. To register by mail, send $5 check to ISU Extension and Outreach, 2023 S. Federal Ave., Mason City, IA, 50401, Attn: Brenda Schmitt. Include your name, address, phone number and email address. After you register, you will receive an email with the web address and class materials along with instructions on how to log in. Thursday, February 26 Commission of Veteran Affairs will meet at 9:30 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors’ room. Friday, February 27 Annual blood drive will be at the West Hancock High School parking lot from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Walk ins are welcome or call Holly Lang at 641-843-3863 to schedule an appointment.
Feb. 20 -Feb. 26 American Sniper
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2015
Coming Feb. 27
| VOL. 143, NO. 7 | $1 PER COPY/86¢ DELIVERED
Garner City Council Okay Fun and Crazy Days Schedule
GARNER – The Garner City Council approved the dates and street closures for 2015 “Fun and Crazy Days” events this summer. The Garner Merchant’s Association organizes fun and Crazy Days. Heath Heimer and Tammy Lenox, representing the Association, presented the request on Feb.10. Fun and Crazy Days will be held Friday evenings on May 29, June 26, and Aug. 7. The 200 block of State Street will be blocked on May 29 and August 7. The 200 and 300 Blocks of State Street will be cordoned off on June 26. Special attractions include a Memorial dove release in May. A salute to EMS, fire and volunteer appreciation is scheduled for June. A fund-raiser for the Children’s Miracle Network is planned for August 7. “The compliments can’t be good enough about your emergency [salute] last year,” said Deb Schmidt, council member, stated. The Association decided not to schedule one during July due to the number of other community events during that month, Heath Heimer explained. They also moved Fun and Crazy Days to Friday evenings to avoid competing with Clear Lake’s “Thursday’s on Main” during the summer. In other matters, city officials welcomed Andrew Eisenman, the new director for the Garner Chamber of
Commerce. Eisenman is also the clubhouse manger at the Garner Golf Course. Following a discussion with Mark Waddingham, public works supervisor, the council approved the purchase of a hot water pressure washer from Hotsy Equipment of Humboldt for $4,439. Budget hearing The public hearing on the proposed city budget for fiscal year 2015-16 will be held 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 10. Discussion items at the meeting included the procedure for snow removal at the library and other city properties during the day. Mayor Ken Mick would like to discuss the possibility of restricting parking vehicles on lawns. “I think it’s something we need to take a hard look at,” he said. “Once you start seeing it [happen] it only gets worse.” The next Garner City Council will be held on Monday, Feb. 23 instead of Tuesday. This will allow city officials to meet with state legislators in Des Moines during the annual Legislative Day. Finally, the city council went into closed session to discuss the purchase of property for the next Habitat for Humanity home in Garner. Upon returning to open session, Randy Lansing, city administrator, was instructed to make an offer for the property.
Love Bugs
Stacy Schmidt’s preschool class at Garner-Hayfield Elementary, entertained residents at Concord Care Center in Garner with special songs for Valentine’s Day.
GHVEA presents initial contract proposal
GARNER - Representatives from the Garner-Hayfield-Ventura school board received the initial teacher contract proposal from
Garner police consider body cams
GARNER – Garner police officers will soon be wearing a new piece of technological equipment – body worn cameras. Chief Tom Kozisek thinks the new technology is a good idea. The cameras provide protection for both the officer and the person the individual the officer comes in contact. Incidents between officers and individuals, such as occurred in Ferguson, Mo. in 2014, is spurring interest by law enforcement in the technology. “[Body worn cameras] were starting to come out in some larger departments before Ferguson, but Ferguson really brought it out,” Kozisek remarked.
The funding for the equipment has been included in police budget, starting July 1, “but we’d like to apply for some grants to lessen the cost,” he said. The cameras range in price from $450 to $900 apiece. “It’s like any other piece of equipment. You have to be smart in how you use it,” he stated. “This is one of those things where you will have a policy that dictates when and how it’s used. That policy will be in place before the cameras are issued to the officers.” Depending on the model, body worn cameras can record from 3 to 8 hours. Storing what has been recorded can be an issue. “Once you work a 10-hour shift,
then you need to download all of the recording you’ve done. If you’ve done 5 or 6 hours of recording that can take up room on your hard drive. “ “A lot the departments are running into storage issues, so that’s another thing that needs to be put into place before these are issued as well.” Feedback from the public has been positive. On the department’s Facebook page, Kozisek asked if the public agreed or disagreed with the purchase. “I put that out on January 9,” he said. “It reached 1,546 people. Twenty-nine comments were made and all 29 were positive. That was good to see.”
Valentine Buddies
Rebecca Peter | The Leader
Valentine exchanges and parties among the lower elementary grades wrapped up the day at Garner-Hayfield Elementary on Friday. Above: McKenzie Ginther, Brycen Andersen and Kallie Thimijan, first graders in Julie Jass’ class, sort through the valentines from their classmates.
The Spongebob Movie
SHOW TIMES Mon.-Sat 7 pm Sunday 4 pm & 7 pm Adults $4 Children $3 (under 12) 3D + $2
Visa, Mastercard & Discover accepted
Avery Theatre 495 State Street, GARNER, Iowa www.averytheater.org 641-925-AVRY (2879)
Volume 143 Number 7
USPS214-160
Rebecca Peter | The Leader
the newly formed Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Education Association (GHVEA) on Feb. 11. “This is the Garner contract with the Ventura contract rolled in,” said Jason Heitland, a member of the GHVEA contract negotiations team. GHVEA is asking for a total package increase of 4.5 percent. The base salary for teachers would increase by $1,378. This is a second step in a collaborative effort to reach a beginning salary of $33,500 by the 2015-16 school year, according to the proposal presented at the meeting. The figure may need to be modified depending on the final total Teacher Salary Supplement (TSS) money received by the district. Currently the salary base for beginning teachers with a bachelor’s degree is $32,263 GHVEA requests adoption of the former Garner-Hayfield Education Association contract to be used for the new GHV Education Association with the following changes: •No school on Labor Day, Christmas Day, Good Friday, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, the Monday after Easter and January 2. The Monday after Easter and January 2 are currently in the contract at Ventura as unpaid days off. •Employees have the option to be paid on the 5th and 20th of each month. •The addition of a third personal leave day. •Per diem pay for teachers who supervise student activities on non-contract days. •The proposed contract is based on 191 contract days (same number as the current year without the one additional day paid by the state). Any additional days will be paid at a per diem rate. •Faculty who will be required to commute between Garner and Ventura during the school day, be allowed one period for travel time between campuses that is not part of their required preparation period. •The addition of an 8-day extended contract and two planning days per person per school year for individuals in charge of organizing and coordinating international trips. The GHV board of Education will present their initial counter proposal at a later date.
Bill Schrader
Long-time business owner dies Sunday
Bill Schrader, former owner of the Garner Leader died Sunday at the Good Samaritan Society in Forest City. Schrader, along with his wife Liz, owned the Garner Leader for nearly 25 years before selling the business to Mid-America Publishing Corporation in 2007. Funeral services are slated for 11 a.m. on Saturday at the United Methodist Church in Garner with the Rev. Paul Evans officiating. A visitation is slated for 5-7 p.m. on Friday at the Cataldo Funeral Chapel in Garner with a Mason Service by the Bethel Masonic Lodge #319 beginning at 7 p.m. The visitation will also continue one hour prior to the service. A native of Audubon, Bill and Elizabeth Petersen were married on September 2, 1955, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. Bill graduated from Midland Linotype School in Charles City and worked at newspapers in Williamsburg and Ames before purchasing the Wall Lake Blade in 1961. He also owned The Observer, Breda News and Charter Oak Times. In 1982, he purchased the Garner Leader and later the Southern County News and Corwith Wesley LuVerne Times. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Elizabeth Schrader, of Garner; four sons: Bill, Jr. (Desiree) Schrader, of Alamo, CA; Gregg (Julie) Schrader, of Wall Lake; Mark (Teresa) Schrader, of Arlington, Texas; and Tracy Schrader of Dallas, Texas; seven grandchildren: Austin (Brilynn) Schrader, Jessica (Matt) Brozio, Kaitlin (Mike) DeSoe, Kelly Schrader, Collin Schrader, Lauren Schrader, and Kyle Schrader; a great granddaughter, Logan; many extended family; and friends. Please see full obituary on page 6.
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