The Wright County Honor Flight pg. 14
Monitor
147th year Number 39
Official newspaper of Wright County
Closed bridge moved up construction timeline Kacey Ginn, editor wrightcomonitor@gmail.com Though flooding last week prompted some voluntary evacuations southeast of Belmond, County Engineer Adam Clemons was able to report on Monday that waters were decreasing to the point where some closed roads could be opened again. With little chance of rain for the rest of the week, Clemons said his crew was moving to fix gravel roads that had been damaged. “We probably have some locations where the material did wash off the road, and if it’s in the road ditch we’re going to try to reclaim some of it,” he said. Board Chairman Stan Watne had concerns for the farmers who will be eager to get back into the fields. “Do you think we’ll have the roads in fairly good shape by the time things dry out at the end of the week?” he asked. Clemons didn’t know for sure, but assured Watne that his men would be out working. Still, drivers and farmers might have to be patient— it’s hard to predict how quickly roads will return to normal, since the road crew isn’t used to flooding in the fall. “This is the first time it’s happened in September,” Clemons said. Sandy McGrath, environmental health director, wanted to let landowners know she has grant funds for testing wells if any
wellheads have flooded over. She also commented, “Mosquitos are going to be an issue. West Nile is kind of peaking now.” With wet ground, mosquitos will be hard to prevent, but individuals should take precautions against bites when possible. The supervisors then took action on three motions related to a bridge recently set to be closed due to advanced pile decay. Bridge 188, located on Keokuk Ave between sections 34 and 35 of Norway Township, had been originally set for improvements in 2019, but Clemons said he hoped to have bid letting on the project in March and begin construction next summer. First, the supervisors had to approve Resolution 2016-28 to revise the 5-year road program, which was duly passed. Next, they had to approve the change to the secondary roads budget. The bridge is budgeted for $400,000, and $320,000 of that will be added to this years’ budget, which was increased from $655,000 to $975,000. Amendment #1 for the secondary roads budget was approved. To help accommodate the cost of the bridge, Clemons said he planned on completing a smaller construction project, a bridge on 230th Street, with Wright County’s own crew. Last, the supervisors approved the submittal of a Federal
Aid Agreement, which would give an 80 percent reimbursement for the project. Courtney Stewart, Wright County transit coordinator, presented the supervisors with the 28E agreement already approved by the City of Clarion which will govern the county’s transit services in the city. She added that Eagle Grove will have the same agreement, but she was waiting on a notarized and signed copy. The supervisors approved the agreement. She then described some of the challenges that have come up with adding the Eagle Grove and Clarion transit services back to the county, and the paperwork that’s now part of reimbursement for Medicaid users through the state MCOs. “It is very time-consuming to put all this information together, and each one of them wants different information,” she said. She requested hiring a parttime assistant to take over the work. The supervisors were not necessarily opposed, but due to all the changes in transit and services needed, Watne wanted to consider all the options. “Is this the time to maybe restructure that office?” he asked. Stewart also added that Medicaid reimbursements would provide a significant increase in transit revenue once all the billing goes through.
State of emergency declared for Wright County Governor signs formal disaster proclamation Kacey Ginn, editor wrightcomonitor@gmail.com In a special meeting September 23, the board of supervisors unanimously voted to declare a state of emergency for Wright County due to a high accumulation of rainfall and flooded rural roads. The same day, Governor Branstad also signed a proclamation naming Wright and 12 other counties affected by disaster to be eligible for state assistance. Initial flooding most strongly
affected the northern half of the county, prompting BelmondKlemme Community Schools to dismiss class at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. Dozens of roads were closed, and county government assisted with voluntary evacuation, especially southeast of Belmond near the Grove area. As of Monday, some of the roads that had initially been covered were dry enough for use and road crews
Thursday, September 29, 2016
were beginning work to repair gravel routes. The emergency declaration will allow state assistance and for county emergency funds to be used for road repair and barricading, if needed. State grants are also available to families to mitigate flood damage, subject to financial criteria. For more information, see dhs.iowa. gov/disaster-assistance-programs.
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Student leaders take action at elementary school
Pictured are Shanda Staples, Lynzie Sturgeon, Elizabeth Hodson, Diego Gonzales, Noah Ramos, and Nick Sisson. Ella Tew not pictured. In the background is a poster describing the Seven Habits, which are to be the inspiration guiding students’ leadership efforts. Kacey Ginn, editor wrightcomonitor@gmail.com Students at Clarion-GoldfieldDows Elementary School are already starting to work on the Seven Habits that are the foundation for the school’s new Leader in Me initiative. The first habit is “be proactive”—something students on the Announcements Action Team are doing by working together to make the school’s morning announcements more useful and interesting for everybody. For the last few years, all fourth and fifth grade students have had the chance to take a turn reading the announcements over the loudspeaker at the beginning of the day. Though the students enjoy that, other elements made the announcements less interesting. “It started to get old,” student Diego Gonzales said. “We just thought it needed a change,” agreed Nick Sisson. The Announcements Action Team is made up of six fifth grade students: Gonzales, Sisson, Elizabeth Hodson, Noah Ramos, Lynzie Sturgeon, and Ella Tew. Para-educator Shanda Staples had the idea to have students work on the announcements, but she said the students were doing a good job of taking it into their own hands and making the project their own.
“We needed their input, they’re the ones listening,” she said. “They’re the driving force.” The team met Tuesday and Thursday mornings during September to come up with ideas and poll teachers on what they need from the announcements, then came up with a format for what they think needs to be announced and in what order. The students also had to take responsibility and make up work they missed while they were meeting to work on the announcements. “I think it gives a new level of responsibility for us,” Hodson said.
Ideas included cutting the announcements to make them less wordy, having the announcements be entirely student-led except for very important additions, and possibly moving the Pledge of Allegiance to the end of the announcements to make sure all students are in their classrooms and won’t miss it. Part of the work might mean making sure the ideas stay relevant over time. “I think we’re going to check back throughout the year,” Gonzales said. The new announcements will start in a few weeks.
The Announcements Action Team after a brainstorming session. (Photo courtesy of Shanda Staples.)
This bridge on 69 on the south side of Belmond cleared the water, but a few more miles south, the highway was closed. (Photo courtesy of the Belmond Independent.)
Flooding on Highway 69 North of Belmond. (Photo courtesy of the Belmond Independent.)
River park in Belmond. (Photo courtesy of the Belmond Independent.)
Parts of Taylor Ave, which winds south and east of the Iowa river on the East side of Highway 69, were completely under water. (Photo courtesy of the Belmond Independent.)