Official Paper of Parkersburg, Aplington, New Hartford, Aplington-Parkersburg Schools, and Butler County
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NEWS - REVIEW
Falcon Pride Club aims to keep promotional dollars local
Briefly.
AP FFA to celebrate PORKtober
The A-P FFA will be celebrating October Pork Month with a Pork Meal on Oct. 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.. The FFA is delivering to businesses and welcoming the public to stop by the Ag Classroom and enjoy lunch while talking with students and meeting the new Ag Teacher, Ms. Josie McQuillen. If you would like meals delivered to your business, or have any questions please contact Josie McQuillen at josie.mcquillen@a-pcsd.net The group appreciates all of the community support the FFA has received and would like to thank the Butler County Pork Promoters for their continued sponsorship.
Butler County Genealogical Society to meet Oct. 8
Local communities set trick-or-treat times Aplington, Parkersburg and New Hartford have set their trick or treat dates and times for later this month. • Parkersburg will trick or treat Saturday, Oct. 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. • Aplington will trick or treat Saturday, Oct. 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. • New Hartford will trick or treat Monday, Oct. 31 from 5 to 7 p.m.
AmVet Post 102 to host final 2016 cookout AmVet Post No. 102 in Aplington will host its final cookout for the year Monday, Oct. 10. You are invited to come enjoy the food.
AmVet Post 102 to meet Oct. 8 Aplington AmVets Post No. 102 will meet Saturday, Oct. 8 at 9 a.m. There are a few things going on so please try to attend this meeting.
Parkersburg to flush fire hydrants Oct. 14 The City of Parkersburg will be flushing fire hydrants Friday, Oct. 14.
AP Music Promoters to meet Oct. 17
The AP Music Promoters will hold their fall open meeting on Monday, Oct. 17 following the Fall Preview Vocal Concert. The Concert starts at 7:30. The meeting will be at the high school band room and is open to all parents of music students or anyone interested in the school music program.
More Briefs on Page 3
In this week’s issue Obituaries ....................page 3 Opinion ........................page 4 Aplington News ..........page 5 Church News...............page 9 Records ..................... page 10 Classifieds.......... pages 14-16 Sports ...................page 17-20
Todd Thomas, Scott Schrage, D.J. Ellis, Parkersburg Economic Development Director Janice Johnson, Parkersburg Mayor Perry Bernard throw the first shovels of dirt at the groundbreaking for the Legend Trail Inn and Suites on the east side of Parkersburg at the intersection of Highways 57 and 14. (John Jensen/Eclipse News-Review photo)
Local investors, officials break ground on Parkersburg hotel project By JOHN JENSEN Eclipse News-Review PARKERSBURG — Parkersburg’s long-proposed hotel project became a reality Monday as those involved in the project joined City officials in breaking ground on the Legend Trail Inn and Suites. The hotel, which is expected to have more than 30 rooms, is located on the southwest corner of the Legend Trail Development and near the intersection of Highways 57 and 14. “We’re very excited,” Mayor Perry Bernard said of the project during Monday’s groundbreaking ceremony. “I keep telling people that this town is an amazing town and it has to do with
the people in the town – the dreams that people have, they make happen here. It’s outstanding and I couldn’t be prouder to be mayor at this time with everything that’s going on and how fast we’re growing. “This hotel is going to be an outstanding addition to this area,” he said. “To bring more people in. It helps everybody in the city, it helps the schools … I want to thank you guys for having the dreams for this stuff and making it happen.” “We saw a vision, we love this town,” Investor Todd Thomas said. “The city’s been great, the city council has been great to work with and talk to and some of the local investors … we
didn’t want to see this leave and have other people come in and take money out of our city. We had the vision and a lot of local investors stepped up. We’re excited about the process and for this thing to get going.” D.J. Ellis, a member of the Legend Trail development group, said the con-
versation about building a hotel with local investment began as word came that an outside group of investors was considering building a hotel in Parkersburg. What began with a simple question of if the project was possible developed quickly into something that was going to happen.
See Hotel Page 3
Cox, Kalkwarf take reigns at local food pantry By JOHN JENSEN Eclipse News-Review PARKERSBURG — An experience hundreds of miles away led a local mother-daughter team to follow the call to help out locally. Sandy Cox and her daughter Megan Kalkwarf recently began serving as directors of the A-P Food Pantry, feeling called after working with Sandy’s sister and Megan’s aunt, Sarah Johnson, in Chicago. “We just both have a heart for serving people,” Cox said. “(Sarah) is associated with a food bank in Chicago and we’ve both worked with her there and Megan really is adamant about helping out here.” “Just the impact it made,” Kalkwarf said of the impact of volunteering at the Chicago food pantry. “Just seeing the people there waiting in line before the doors even opened, knowing that they needed that to get through for another week or so until their checks came through. That’s what did it for me and seeing everyone there and giving their time to help someone have a meal.” Kalkwarf has also seen the need closer to home while working as a crisis councilor in Waterloo. “I already work with a lot of people who use the food bank and I know how important it is,” she said. It was Megan who took the first step after seeing in their church bulletin
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The Butler County Genealogical Society will meet on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. at the Clarksville Public Library, lower level (there is an elevator.) The public is invited to come ...bring your genealogy questions. The general meeting will include Show and Tell items.
WEDNESDAY October 5, 2016 16 pages 144th Year • No. 40
that the local pantry was seeking a director to replace Margaret Schuck, who stepped down after leading the pantry for several years. “Knowing that we could lose this and knowing that up to 60 percent of our community uses it, no, it wasn’t going to be lost. We were going to take it over,” Kalkwarf said. Cox said she, too, had thought of stepping forward. “It’s sad to sad that I wanted to but I did not sign up immediately, but my daughter stepped up to be the coordinator and it was just God’s timing and we jumped in together,” she said. “In my heart somehow, some way it would have been taken care of.” Cox said the biggest change that clients will notice is that instead of receiving a food basket each month they will be able to choose what they want. “That’s going to be a transition these next three months, it’s going to take us a minute to get it the way it should be in particular cases so we know what to order for the clients,” she said. “Northeast Iowa Food Bank wants all the area food banks to go this way for less waste.” Both Cox and Kalkwarf commended the way Schuck left the pantry for them and the help she has given. “She has been so helpful,” Cox said. “She’s excited about us trying this new venture and doing it a new way. She has been wonderful, the board has
Sandy Cox (left) and Megan Kalkwarf are the new directors of the A-P Food Pantry. (John Jensen/Eclipse News-Review photo) been supportive. Margaret has kept excellent records so we just feel that we’re going to take it and build on what she did or just kind of tweak it a little bit. Definitely she laid a strong foundation.” The Aplington-Parkersburg Food Pantry is located on the lower level of the Parkersburg Civic Center. Please call 319-346-1076 from 9 to 11 a.m. on the Wednesday before the Saturday pickup date and let the pantry know that you will be using its services. Talk with Jolyn or leave a message. For
emergencies use the same number. Food pickup will be available from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Food Pantry Schedule Saturday, Oct. 15 (Call Wednesday, Oct. 12) Saturday, Nov. 19 (Call Wednesday, Nov. 16) Saturday, Dec. 17 (Call Wednesday, Dec. 14) You must call 319-346-1076 on Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m. to pick up food from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
By JOHN JENSEN Eclipse News-Review PARKERSBURG — A local group is making efforts to keep money used to promote Aplington-Parkersburg athletics local. School Board member and local business owner Dave Schneiderman told the A-P School Board recently that he was tired of seeing money go out of town or out of state to companies that produced items that promoted the school and none of it going back to the school. “Every year the cheerleaders throw stuff out at games,” he explained. “That stuff is solicited from business owners in town by out of state companies. Our school district benefits zero and frankly, looking at it from a business point of view, it’s bad advertising dollars.” Schneiderman sent 154 letters to local businesses inviting businesses to participate in a program with three different levels of activity. Those contributing $150, $250 or $350 received benefits ranging from a contribution to the cost of the footballs and basketballs that cheerleaders distribute, as well as a listing in the paper as a member of the Falcon Pride Club, to that of being a game sponsor and having the name of their business on t-shirts that are distributed at games. So far he said reaction has been positive. “We have enough businesses signed up that we’re going to have to go into wrestling and possibly get some in volleyball,” he said. “At last count I think we had 28 of them. “Every business that wasn’t in the program before that now is, they love it,” Schneiderman said, noting that the club’s fund has about $8,200 at this point. Previously Schneiderman said businesses that make items distributed by the cheerleaders would contact local businesses for their contributions and then keep the profits. Money contributed to the Falcon Pride Club by the businesses will pay for the items distributed by the cheerleaders and will also go into a fund that students involved in various school groups can access for their groups needs. Requests will go to High School Principal Aaron Thomas or Activities Director Jason Berkey, who will decide who gets how much money. “The one that I had somebody ask me about already was they want some portable mirrors that they will use for dance and use for speech and possibly for performing plays and things like that,” Schneiderman said. “Those are the kinds of things that they would have to fundraise for — it might be a little expensive — but they can go now and make this request and at the discretion of the administration and Jason they can either approve it or …” Schneiderman said he also would not be against members of the school’s fine arts groups finding something that they can distribute in the same way that cheerleaders throw out items. He emphasized that the Falcon Pride Club is not taking the place of the booster club which he said “does a fine job.” “This is replacing the stuff that used to be going out of state somewhere,” School Board President Kevin Schipper said. “There are always things that fall out of the norm, like these mirrors,” Superintendent Jon Thompson said. “We could probably buy that with regular funds if the money’s there in any given year … so I’m sure that will be one of the items that Jason and Aaron look at.” Thompson said the companies that traditionally provide the items that are distributed at games do not contact the school for permission to use its name and do not share any of the money they make. “The school’s not contacted, so you don’t really see the money in, money out portion of it,” he said.