EAGLE GROVE
2011
EAGLE
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Volume 130
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Issue Number 52
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Cost $1.25
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Thursday, December 24, 2015
In
this week’s Eagle
You’ll find More than 200 Faces inside this week’s Eagle as well as our special Christmas edition Our Christmas Gift to You… from the EAGLE GROVE
Eagle Grove Police Officer Garrett Quintus is the new D.A.R.E. instructor for the Robert Blue Middle School fifth graders. The program will begin in the next semester. Photo by Kim Demory
Santa on duty at Fareway If you think Santa only delivers toys, here’s proof he does more than that. On Wednesday, Dec.16, he was delivering groceries to the trunks of shopper’s cars during the annual Fareway Holiday Open House. As the people rushed out with their packages, Santa greeted them with a “HO, HO, HO,” and then offered a helping hand. Photo by Kim Demory
Lundhagebakken’s family has bonfire in woods to celebrate Christmas By les houser wrightcosports@gmail.com
Emma is from the city of Gjovik in Norway, a community that’s not too big, but a bit bigger than Eagle Grove. The 17-year old has two older sisters. “For my second year of high school, I had always wanted to come to America,” said Lundhagebakken. “I have a lot of friends back home who have been exchange students, and I guess I got jealous and wanted to go too.” It’s her first time in the country, and in Iowa as well. “There’s lots of corn fields here,” was her first impression of the state. Her host family is Cory and Sabrina Beck. Lundhagebakken stated that her family has a number of traditions in celebrating the holiday in Norway. “We open our gifts after dinner on Christmas Eve,” she said. “There are lots of family members there.
Then we go into the woods and have a huge bonfire. We also build a gingerbread house. That’s fun.” She also remembers her favorite gift as a child as being a special doll she wanted. The big family meal gathering features all homemade food. “We have chicken and pasta,” said Lundhagebakken. She admits that she does get a little homesick, but she will be exchanging presents with her family through the mail, and writing and receiving letters from her friends back home will help. She feels her favorite memory of Eagle Grove will be the high school sports. “The pep rally and homecoming, with all the school spirit, was fun,” said Lundhagebakken. “We don’t have anything like that in Norway. I’m also excited about Prom.”
Emma Lundhagebakken
D.A.R.E. program will return to Eagle Grove in 2016 by Kim demory egeagle@goldfieldaccess.net The Eagle Grove Police Department will D.A.R.E. fifth graders to make smart choices in 2016. It’s been about eight years since the Eagle Grove Area School District had a D.A.R.E. officer to talk to kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Since that time, according to Officer Garrett Quintus, the new Eagle Grove D.A.R.E. instructor, the program has evolved to address other social issues students face in today’s world as well. “It’s pretty exciting (to be bringing the program back to the students of Eagle Grove,” said Quintus, who spent two weeks this past September learning how to teach the program at the MCTC Training Center at Camp Dodge. “I think it’s a really neat program.” Quintus is no stranger to the D.A.R.E. (Decision/Access/ Respond/ Evaluate) program, having gone through it as a fifth grader himself at Robert Blue Middle School. What he was pleased to discover while at Camp Dodge training to teach the program, was that D.A.R.E. has advanced their program by teaching smart decision making in a variety of situations, rather than just saying no to drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. It now includes topics like peer pressure, bullying, being a good citizen, etc. During the once a week/10 week course held at Robert Blue Middle School, Quintus will not only talk
with fifth graders about the cause and effects of bad choices, but he will also provide them with different “tools” to help them make safe and responsible choices. There is no cost for this program to the student, the school, or the police department even though each student will receive a workbook and a t-shirt. However, Quintus said that they are hoping that local individuals and businesses will make financial contributions so that at the end of the course, they can hold a pizza party where parents are invited in for a pizza party lunch with their children during one of the school days to celebrate their “graduation.” They would also like to purchase diplomas with the official D.A.R.E. seal. “Not only is D.A.R.E. a positive program (which meets core curriculum requirements) for the students, but it’s also a positive for our police department to be involved,” said Quintus. D.A.R.E. is not unique to Iowa. In fact, Quintus said that out of the 24 students attending the training in September in Des Moines, only six of them were from Iowa. It just goes to show what a strong program this is. In fact, Quintus believes in the program so much, that he is hoping the program can expand in Eagle Grove in the future to include more advanced curriculum for a seventh or eighth grade course. Quintus has been with the Eagle Grove Police Department since Nov. 18, 2011.
EAGLE Thursday, December 24, 2015
Eagle Grove Past • Present • Future
— Christmas past — by Kim demory egeagle@goldfieldaccess.net We’ve all seen, heard, or read Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” The journey he takes us on through Christmas past, present, and future, was the inspiration for this year’s Eagle Special Christmas edition. We hope to take you on a journey of Christmas Past shared with us by several local residents who have some great stories to tell. With all the wonderful holiday festivities that took place in Eagle Grove this season, you’ll tell by the following pages that Christmas Present was enjoyed by many. There was a tree lighting, Christmas concerts, holiday crafts, Santa letters and visits, and so much more. What will Christmas Future hold? Only you can write that story, but for the tiniest of Eagle Grove residents, there is a world of wonder for them to discover. As they meet Santa for the first time, learn about
the true meaning of Christmas, and treasure family traditions they will be part of, I hope they, too, will look back one day and realize how amazing it is to be part of a small-town community who comes together like family year-after-year to celebrate the joy that can be found in Eagle Grove. As you gather with family and friends this season, may you find joy, make memories that will last a lifetime, and cherish the gift of being together - and don’t forget to snap lots of pictures. Check now to make sure you have empty memory cards, charged batteries, and most importantly, a plan to get them printed and archived, whether it be scrapbooking or in a plain old photo album for generations to enjoy. Who knows what the future holds in this age of technology - and they just might enjoy seeing what Christmas was like in 2015, just like we appreciate seeing our parents’ photos of Christmas’ past.
Christmas caroling at Rotary Senior Living Page 2 4th & 5th grade concert Page 3 EG School Baord Page 3 4-H donates to Food Pantry Page 5 Emergency Medical Services committee in the works Page 5 Christmas cards for soldiers Page 7 Holiday spirit of giving back Page 7 May the force be with you Page 8 Goldfield Christmas greetings Page 8 Gone Cold Page 9 From the Publisher’s Notebook Page 9 Jennifer’s Produce Tidbits Page 9 Early agricultural drainage in Northcentral Iowa Page 11 JV Basketball Page 13 Santa sighting Page 14 Exchange student featured throughout Section A
Briefly Eagle Grove Eagle Hours Closing at noon on Dec. 24 Closed Dec. 25
All eyes are on you New owners at Broadway Vision Clinic Dr. Brandon Hauck (left) and Dr. Pat Lenane (right) were excited to be on-hand at Broadway Vision Clinic during the Sip and Stroll held Saturday, Dec. 12. It gave them a chance to meet some of the Eagle Grove community members and introduce themselves as the new owners of Broadway Vision Clinic. Watch for their story coming in January. Pictured above with them are members of their staff: Niki Asche, Jess Feske, and Denise Reed. Photo by Kim Demory
Do you ever get the feeling you are being watched? We all know Santa is watching us during the holiday season to see if we’ve been naughty or nice, but LuAnn Mersch and Lisa Harvey, who work in the office at Robert Blue Middle School, have been watched by a bunch of Christmas trees for the past several weeks. Students and their Eagle Time teachers decorated trees throughout the school to enjoy the month of December. Watch for more of their trees in this issue. Photo by Kim Demory
Eagle Grove Memorial Library Holiday Hours Closed Thursday, December 24 Until Monday, December 28 New Year’s Closed Thursday, December 31 Until Monday, January 4