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Former BCLUW and UNI pitcher Jamie (Fisher) Kruger will be inducted into the IGHSAU Hall of Fame during the state softball tournament on Friday. She led the Comets to back-to-back state championships in 2009 and 2010. (Photo courtesy of Gayle VanHooser)
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By ROB MAHARRY The Grundy Register GRUNDY CENTER- The Grundy County Board of Supervisors held a joint meeting with officials from Black Hawk County on Monday morning to discuss the possibility of paving a gravel road running south of Highway 20 along the county line. Black Hawk County Engineer Cathy Nicholas said that her department maintains the road, which stretches about five miles, and it has become quite expensive with the amount of traffic traveling on it. “We’ve spent $25,000 to $30,000 just placing aggregate on the soft spots,” she said. “It’s quite a bit of cost.” She added that the road sees almost 300 vehicles per day, so paving it would definitely be worth the cost in her view. Both boards seemed to agree that they would like to have the project finished by 2021, and Grundy County Auditor Rhonda Deters said that the county could see up to $750,000 in revenue from wind turbines by 2020 as tax abatements expire. As Grundy County has a much lower population and annual revenues than Black Hawk, supervisor Mark Schildroth noted that they try to be as conservative as possible with spending but voiced his support for the project. “This board is reluctant when it comes to acquiring debt,” he said. “But (the road is) an artery that needs to be updated between these two counties.” Supervisor Jim Ross was more apprehensive. “Why do we want to do this project? I think we struggle to keep up with bridges and other paved roads (in Grundy County),” he said. “I find it ironic that we’re going to bond for this, and we can’t keep up with our other stuff.” Maggie and Larry Burger of Speer Financial, which has worked with both counties in the past, spoke to the boards about financing options for the project, and Ms. Burger said that issuing general obligation bonds would result in the lowest interest rate and the most consistent payments over time. No official action was taken, but both boards have agreed to continue
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Supervisors discuss road paving with Black Hawk County officials
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Thursday, July 21, 2016 Volume 92 - Number 29
The Grundy Register Grundy Center, Iowa $1 Newsstand Price
Comet pitching legend to be inducted into IGHSAU Hall of Fame By ROB MAHARRY The Grundy Register CONRAD- Ask anyone around the communities that make up BCLUW about Comet softball, and three words are bound to come up: the Fisher twins. In this area, the names have become synonymous with athletic success and an unprecedented level of dominance during their high school years, and one half of that dynamic battery, pitcher Jamie (Fisher) Kruger, will be inducted into the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union Hall of Fame on Friday at the state softball tournament in Fort Dodge. “It’s a huge honor, and honestly, I can’t take all the credit for it,” she said. “I had great coaches and catchers that helped me (get to this point).” Kruger, who led the Comets to back-to-back state championships in 2009 and 2010, had a record of 15015 on the mound, including a gaudy 109-7 in her final three seasons, and posted Earned Run Averages (ERAs) of 0.40 in 2008, 0.14 in 2009 and 0.37 in 2010. She averaged over one and a half strikeouts per inning and fanned a total of 1,796 batters while wearing a Comet uniform. She wasn’t any slouch at the plate, either: in her career, Kruger
batted .374 with 167 hits, 17 home runs and 128 RBIs. She was named first team all-state in 2008, 2009 and 2010, made the elite all-state team in 2009 and was the team’s defensive MVP all five years that she played varsity (she was also the offensive MVP in 2009 and 2010). Jamie was also named the 2010 Gatorade Iowa Softball Player of the Year. Softball was in the family’s blood: the twins’ mother, Linda, pitched on the first BCL team that longtime coach Dave Lee ever took to the state tournament in 1982, and she encouraged both Jamie and twin sister Nicole, who caught for her throughout their high school years, to pursue the sport from an early age. Though they also excelled in cross-country, basketball and track and field, softball was always king. “I was probably in kindergarten when my mom first showed me the flick,” Jamie said, in reference to the pitching technique that puts movement on the ball. When Linda told Jamie that she used to be a pitcher, her mind was made up: she was going to be a pitcher too. “I showed her one little drill, and Coach Lee took over after that,” Linda said. It didn’t take Lee long to figure
out that he had a once-in-a-lifetime player on his hands. As a fifth grader, she pitched with the sixth grade traveling team, and despite some early control issues, she was throwing harder than Lee had ever seen at her age. “When (Kruger) was in seventh and eighth grade, we knew she was special back then. She was already throwing it hard because she had already worked at it,” Lee said. “We started developing spots and pitches with her a year or so earlier than I ever have with any other pitcher, just because she was strong enough, and she already had velocity and ability to make the ball spin.” She was pitching varsity by eighth grade, and by the end of the year, Kruger had become the primary starter. During her freshman and sophomore years, the Comets suffered a pair of heartbreaking regional final losses to North Polk and Turkey Valley, respectively, (the Turkey Valley loss came after BCLUW’s best single season record ever at 392) but in 2009, they broke through in a big way. This time, the Class 2A regional final matchup against Dyersville Beckman went 16 innings, but the See Hall of Fame page 3
City approves contractor to resurface tennis courts
By Michaela Kendall The Grundy Register GRUNDY CENTER - The tennis courts at Bel Pre Park are set to receive a much-needed facelift this summer, as the Grundy Center city council has approved a bid from Tennis Services of Iowa to resurface the courts. The project, which is set to begin sometime this summer and cost around $10,600, has been long overdue according to tennis enthusiast and junior at GCHS Sage Klarr. Klarr approached the council in January about resurfacing the courts, noting that they have been in poor condition for quite some time. Not only are the courts cracked and worn, but there are parts where water puddles up after a rain. He said the tennis team, which he is on, rarely has home meets because the courts at both the high school and
at Bel Pre Park are in such poor condition. He doesn't even practice on them, he said. “Me and [my friend] usually drive to Waterloo or Cedar Falls to practice because the courts here are so bad,” Klarr said. Klarr’s mother, council member Janetta Miller, said that it’s been about 10 years since the courts were last resurfaced, adding that it was something that had slipped to the wayside in recent years. “It’s nice to see this finally done, though,” Miller said, adding that there any many benefits to resurfacing the courts. Not only will taxpayers have a better court for their money, but there may hopefully be more home tennis meets to bring people in to Grundy Center, she said. She added that she hopes more local groups, like the ladies league, will start meeting up again.
“I hope there’s a resurgence of the ladies league [after the resurfacing]. That kind of stopped after the courts went to disarray. It’s no fun to play tennis on a cracked up court,” she said. After the courts are resurfaced, Miller said it will be important to maintain them. “What I hope is that we can get on a plan with [Tennis Services of Iowa] to have them come and maintain it,” she said. “Routine maintenance will hopefully be cheaper than letting it get out of hand again.” The exact date of the resurfacing isn’t solid, and the Bel Pre tennis courts are currently on the contractor’s waiting list, about three to four weeks out. Depending on weather and other variables, the hope is that the courts will be done sometime this summer.
Shown above is a local youngster playing tennis with a group of friends at Bel Pre Park. (Michaela Kendall/The Grundy Register)
Eagles’ nest disappears, questions abound By ROB MAHARRY The Grundy Register IVESTER- Last month, a bald eagles’ nest on the property of Mary Katzer in rural western Grundy County vanished after almost four years, and because of the effect that it would have had on the yet to be constructed Ivester Wind Farm, the recent news has received attention from residents and conservation authorities alike. As those involved seek to gather more information and wait for the facts to come out, speculation has been aplenty in this curious case. “I’m trying to stay calm and not jump to any conclusions,” said Mary Katzer, who owns the land in question. “More information needs to be collected.” The nest, which was located between Conrad, Wellsburg and Eldora on 280th Street, would have taken between eight and 10 turbines out of the plans for the proposed 90 megawatt Ivester Wind Farm, according to information that EDF Renewable Energy Development Director PJ Saliterman provided at the June 27 meeting of the Grundy County See nest page 2
Eagles perch from a tree on the property of Mary Katzer in the Ivester area off of 280th Street. The nest vanished last month, and the Federal Fish and Wildlife service is planning to investigate. (Photo courtesy of Everett Manship)
Grundy County Fair kicks off a week of summer fun
This year’s Grundy County Fair Week kicked off on Monday with non-livestock judging at the fairgrounds. Shown in the photo above are 4-H’er Jurane Lizer (left) and judge Mary Esther Pullin (right). Pullin judged Lizer’s baked goods, which consisted of an Irish Soda Bread, and some Chai Latte Muffins. Yum! (Michaela Kendall/The Grundy Register 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