Unity Point sets opening Page 3 TUESDAY
November 17, 2015 OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF HARDIN COUNTY
The art of landscaping
E L D O R A, I O W A
641-939-5051
www.eldoranewspapers.com
V O L U M E 1 49
• N O. 2 •
$1.00
Eldora and Hardin County have long fruitful collaboration with a Waterloo landscape designer
By Rick Patrie News Editor ELDORA – It’s been an almosthalf-century collaboration between landscape architect Craig Ritland and Bob and Mary Lu Gunderson. Theirs became a case of people finding each other and then one thing leading to another and another, and eventually the Waterloo landscape designer was a favorite for not just the Gunderson’s, but for the city of Eldora and Hardin County too. Several projects testify – all of them about the outdoors – projects in town and out. With each undertaking, more and more scenic spots became more approachable. For instance, the courthouse square in Eldora, a Ritland & Kuiper design, re-created after the disaster of 2009. Check out the Ritland & Kuiper work at the Sac & Fox overlook, too – maybe encounter a wedding under way – and note the overlook’s new pavilion which sights down on one of the most recognizable vistas in the Greenbelt. Take a look at all the plans for a renewal of the parks here in Eldora. And last week, came one more project, unveiled to friends and supporters who gathered to make official the opening of the Gunderson Nature Park here in Eldora. The nature park is on the northeast most side of town, and its over ten acres is actually part of a chain of
properties the former Eldora couple have donated to their community and the state park system. The opening of the unique park was an opportunity for the designers and their long time clients to get together one more time. The Gundersons, who once lived in the Eastwood addition on the bluffs overlooking the Iowa River, have moved to a retirement home in Des Moines, but they held on to their several-acre outdoor retreat. A couple of years ago they offered to deed it to the city and they added a considerable dollar sum to help do the preliminary design and cleanup work for the nature park. Ritland & Kuiper was again the choice. The idea was to create something different than a standard children’s playground. Instead the Gundersons hoped for an outdoor schoolhouse and laboratory for children to visit. Kids and adults both. The architects and the Gunderson had first worked together back in 1969 – just a short walk across the prairie. The couple had engaged Craig Ritland for some landscape design on the home they were building at the time. Ritland (who had a different partner at the time) and Bob Gunderson had gotten acquainted when the Waterloo man first came (continued on page 3)
Even subdued by the early stages of winter, the Gunderson Nature Park still puts out quite an invitation, welcoming everyone in via the winding trail that takes you through about ten acres of prairie and to another ten of woodlands. The nature park is just what the name implies, a retreat from the town into an outdoor setting that promises a lot of educational amenities as well as scenic. The project got a ribbon cutting last week, bringing together the Bob and Mary Lu Gunderson family which donated the land to the city of Eldora, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation that facilitated the property transfer, and folks with the city and other support groups like Rotary that helped make the past summer the real kickoff for the project. (See photo of ribbon cutting on page 2)
The nature park was just the most recent collaboration between Bob and Mary Lu Gunderson and the Ritland & Kuiper landscape architectural firm based in Waterloo. The Gundersons engaged Craig Ritland to do some work on their home in Eldora way back in 1969, and the project would lead to a number of commission, both for the city of Eldora and Hardin County, adding much to the Iowa River Greenbelt. One signature project can be found out at the Sac & Fox Overlook. The pavilion at the overlook has become a big tourist draw and even a site for social events. Then, too, one of the more destructive events to ever visit Eldora provided a clean canvass for the design firm. The wholesale renewal of the county square would prove to be one of the firm’s more ambitious assignments here in Eldora, and an outgrowth of it was some novel ideas on how to renew the parks in the community.
Newsbriefs
Rail trail fire remains under investigation
Methodist Church Rummage Sale Nov. 21
The Eldora United Methodist Church Fall Rummage Sale will be held Saturday, Nov. 21 at the church, 1415 12th St. from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Please use the west doors and down the steps. All proceeds will go towards sending our Sunday School children to camp
Pine LakeWildlife Club Fish Fry Nov. 20
The Pine Lake Wildlife Club Fish Fry will be held on Friday, Nov. 20 (a week early because of Thanksgiving), from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Wildlife Clubhouse north of Upper Pine Lake, 32740 210th St., Eldora. Take out boxes available. Cost is $10 for adults and take out boxes, and $6 for children 12 and under (dine-in only). The next fish fry will be held January 22.
Hardin Co. Circle of Life to meet Nov. 24
Hardin County Circle of Life, an inter-agency collaboration that empowers residents of Hardin County to a higher quality of life, will meet Tuesday, November 24, 2015 at 10am at Hardin County Extension Office. The agenda for the meeting includes: discussion on outreach activities and a presentation by Hansen Family Hospital. The meeting is open to public and interested persons are encouraged to attend. For more information on call Rocky Reents at 641-939-8444 or email areents@greenbelthomecare. com. (continued on page 3)
4-H honors its own Recipients of the Award of Appreciation for their continued support of Hardin County 4-H and the generous donation of the portable sound system were Lisle & Margaret Cook. See page 6 for 4-H awards night news.
by Rick Patrie News Editor GIFFORD – Authorities are still seeking the individual or individuals responsible for a fire on the South Fork bridge north of Gifford, a crossing along the proposed corridor for the new Iowa River Trail. According to a statement by the trails committee, it caused as much as $90,000 damage in an incident October 14. The Hardin County Sheriff’s Department says it appears the fire was started deliberately, but it is not clear whether it was set with the full intention to cause the substantial damage resulting. Either way it is seeking information on the person or persons
involved and encourages the public to assist. The Hardin County Sheriff’s Department received a call the morning of October 14 from a concerned citizen who noticed smoke rising from the timber just north of Gifford. The responding officer determined that the South Fork Bridge was on fire. The Eldora Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire. The trails group said the state fire marshals office indicated the incident would fall under Iowa State Code 712.3. “Arson in the second degree a class “c” felony”. The trails group said damage to the bridge was extensive. And they
report a structural engineer told the group that a 60 foot portion of the bridge was affected by the fire. A complete field inspection will need to assess the damage and determine the extent of required repairs, they said. The construction cost estimate for complete replacement of the 60foot section lay behind the $90,000 loss estimate. Engineering studies had already been done on all of the bridges included along the trail. The South Fork Bridge is part of a larger federally-protected transportation corridor and eventual home for the Iowa River Trail, a 34mile multi-use trail that will run from Steamboat Rock to Marshalltown. (continued on page 4)
Early retirement program renewed By Rick Patrie News Editor SOUTH HARDIN – The EldoraNew Providence school board gave the first of two required approvals to a provision to once again extend an early retirement offer to teachers. Several times in the last dozen years, the district has offered the same package. The design is to encourage more senior and more highly paid instructors to opt for retirement and open up positions to younger and less expensive instructors. The practice has been credited
with helping the district better its finances during the last few years. The proposals offer early retirees a payout of unused sick leave and up to five years of health insurance coverage, or until the individual hits Medicare eligibility. Instructors have to be 55 to take part in the program and it is strictly voluntary. Instructors wanting to take part in the program as of 2016 have to notify the district by January 8, assuming the project gets final board approval.
Fire-damaged bridge north of Gifford.