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By ROB MAHARRY The Grundy Register CONRAD- It was an issue that could’ve been extremely contentious a n d emotional, but the BCLUW school board’s unanimous decision to compete as the Comets in all grades and discontinue the use of the “Cobra” mascot at the middle school was met with little resistance during Wednesday night’s regular meeting. And now, the transition period begins: Superintendent Ben Petty and board members warned, however, that it won’t all happen right away. After the board met in May, an online survey was sent out to residents of the BCLUW districts in all five communities, and the consensus was quite clear: almost 87 percent of the 275 respondents wished to see a unified, K-12 Comets mascot, while 10 percent wanted to keep the middle school teams as the Cobras and 5 percent responded with something other than the two primary options. There no public comments on either side of the issue during the meeting on Wednesday. Since BCL and U-W began whole-grade sharing 30 years ago, athletes at the middle school, which is located in Union, have worn green and black and competed as the Cobras (the former U-W mascot), and those at the elementary and high school, which are both located in Conrad, have worn black and gold and been known as the Comets (the BCL mascot). One potential hold-up to the transition is the fact that new green and black Cobra uniforms were ordered this year for some sports, and Petty indicated in a follow-up e-mail that there is no definitive timeline for the transition. “The transition may take several years to fully implement. As new sets of uniforms are purchased in different sports, it is very possible that some junior high teams will start using Comet uniforms and colors over the next couple years, while other sports may still be using Cobra uniforms and colors for a while longer,” he said. “I'm hesitant to predict what year all BCLUW teams district-wide will be wearing Comet uniforms… It's important to make this change in a fiscally responsible way, which likely requires phasing it in over time.” A motion from board member Shannan Callaway to move forward with the change was approved by a 7-0 vote. High school cross-country coach Donna Fiscus attended the
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Chamber of Commerce appoints new director By Michaela Kendall The Grundy Register GRUNDY CENTER – Recently, the Grundy Center Chamber of Commerce announced the selection of a new Chamber Director – La Rae Randall – who fills the position left vacant for several months now. Randall enters the position with a wealth of knowledge in the marketing side of business, which she brings with her from a previous position as the marketing director for Parker Place Retirement Community, as well as experience in small business management, which she has gained from owning her own photography business. Randall found herself interested in working for the Chamber after becoming involved as a volunteer last year, and working closely with the events committee. After the position opened up, she knew taking the job was the right thing for her. Now in her second week at the Chamber office, Randall said she is ready to jump right in, and she
already has several projects in mind. “I’m really enjoying it so far,” she said. “I have a lot of ideas, so I’m really excited to get going with that and get the chamber going in the right direction.” One of the biggest things she hopes to accomplish as director is working to provide support for the local businesses here in Grundy Center. “I’m really wanting to focus on serving the businesses versus doing events,” Randall said. “I want to focus on what the businesses need – not just to survive, but to thrive – and to stay in the community for a very long time.” She also hopes to bring new benefits to the membership program, specifically in the area of social media. “A lot of business owners might be afraid of using Facebook or Instagram [for their business] so what I want to offer is in-house training, where I will come to you and help you figure those things out,” Randall said.
She also plans to offer free headshot photos for businesses that are a part of the Chamber, as well as promotional photography for the more tourism-focused businesses. These photos could be used for promotion on social media, or to build a profile on Google. “Online presence is everything in this day and age and I really want to help our businesses move towards being successful in that,” she said. Randall said she wants businesses and community members to know that they can always come to her with any questions, concerns, suggestions or ideas for what she can do for them. “I’m excited to get down to the nitty-gritty about what our business owners need from us, and I’m excited to come up with new and unique ways to do that,” she said. “I look forward to working with everyone in town, whether it’s a large industry or a home based business, we want you to know that we’re here for you.”
La Rae Randall, shown above, has recently been named the Chamber Director for the Grundy Center Chamber of Commerce. Randall has a background in marketing, social media and photography that she plans to utilize in her new position. (Michaela Kendall/The Grundy Register photo)
Vandal spray paints over middle school mural By Michaela Kendall The Grundy Register GRUNDY CENTER – Last week, the school was forced to clean up a mess after it was discovered that the “I Am Syria” mural painted onto the side of the utility shed at the east parking lot had been vandalized. The unknown vandal used a can of red spray paint to write “Americans No Refugees” across the mural. The mural, which was created by Todd Zinkula’s seventh and eighth grade social studies students, was not about refugees and was in no way political, Zinkula said, but simply about basic human rights. The mural was part of the “I Am Syria” Green Hand movement, which according to the “I Am Syria” website, is aimed at bringing awareness to the suffering going on in Syria while showing support to the people as they fight against a dictator to instill democracy. The green hand is a symbol of revolution, and supporters share the hand in hopes of educating others and raising awareness of the issue. “This organization is about showing compassion to people living in this war torn area and trying to spread democracy,” Zinkula said. “It’s the concept of
human rights; it’s about standing up to dictators, it’s not about bringing in refugees or anything like that.” Zinkula said his students had been learning about dictators this past semester, and decided that they wanted to create this mural as a way to raise awareness about tyranny and dictatorships going on in today’s society. From the start he was a little nervous about how people would react to the mural, seeing as the big hot-button issue in the U.S. right now is about whether or not the country should accept 25,000 Syrian refugees – even though refugees have nothing to do with the Green Hand movement, he said. He added that one student was so passionate about the cause that she took to chalking some sidewalks on Main Street, which prompted several community members to become upset. Zinkula said that many people, including the vandal, have probably missed the message about what the “I Am Syria” movement is. “I believe it was a misunderstanding or a lack of education [on the vandal’s part],” he said. “This is a very non-political message, it’s just about bringing awareness to these people suffering and living in this war torn country,
Shown above are Mr. Zinkula’s eighth grade students with the mural they helped create. Shown at right is the mural after it was vandalized last week. (Courtesy photos) and showing support for them as they stand up to a dictator.” He added that in all actuality, the students took a poll and 70 percent of them were against bringing Syrian refugees into America – but they still wanted to show support for the See vandalism page 2
Deters hits the five-year mark as county auditor By ROB MAHARRY The Grundy Register GRUNDY CENTER- Working in county government runs in the family for Grundy County Auditor
Rhonda Deters—her mother is a former deputy auditor, her uncle was a supervisor and her great uncle, Wilbur Rust, served as county auditor, all in Grundy
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County. After 34 years of working at a law firm in Eldora as a certified legal assistant specialist, she was approached about taking over for retiring auditor Mary Schmidt in the summer of 2011 and jumped at the opportunity. As she recently celebrated her five-year anniversary of working for the county, The Grundy Register caught up with Deters to discuss what her job entails, the joys and challenges that come with it and what it’s like to run for re-election. “This is a continual learning process, and the laws change all of the time,” she said. “There are always new things to be implementing.” The offer to work for the county came at a perfect time for Deters, a lifelong Grundy County resident: she was looking to find a job in Grundy Center, where her See Deters page 3
Grundy County Auditor Rhonda R. Deters receives her five-year service award from Barb Smith, Chairperson of the Board of Supervisors, at a recent meeting. (Courtesy photo)
The Grundy Register, P.O. Box 245, Grundy Center, IA 50638 Phone: (319) 824-6958 • Fax: (319) 824-6288 • E-mail: grundypublisher@midamericapub.com, grundyoffice@midamericapub.com, grundyeditor@midamericapub.com