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Scandinavian bake sale at St. John’s The public is invited to visit the “Danish church on the hill” for a Scandinavian bake sale, coffee bar and quilt raffle on Saturday, Nov. 5 from 9:30–11 a.m., at St. John’s Lutheran Church. The church is located at 1207 Indigo Ave., rural Hampton (two miles east of Coulter and 1¾ miles south on blacktop).
RIEKEN See Sheriff candidate interviews inside today’s paper: Page A13
Hampton Council reviews recommendations of planning and zoning board
Sheffield holiday shopping extravaganza
An amended ordinance addressing Intermodal Storage Containers remains under review by the council after deliberations
Everyone is welcome to Sheffield’s Holiday Shopping Extravaganza on Saturday, Nov. 5 from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. at the West Fork High School. There will be crafters and vendors. Door prizes, breakfast concessions and lunch concessions will be available. The event is sponsored by West Fork Girl Scouts.
BY ETHAN STOETZER he Hampton City Council addressed several open topISC at its regular workshop session on Oct. 24, focusing a majority of its efforts on an amended ordinance proposal from the planning and zoning board, about the city’s regulation of Intermodal Storage Containers (ISCs). ISCs are containers commonly used as shipping containers on freighters, transporting goods, as well as can be transported by trucks or trains. The planning and zoning board took up the issue due to a resident’s frustration about one small business owner’s addition of ISCs to the businesses current stock of containers.
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Zion Reformed Bizarre Bazaar Zion Reformed Church will host their “Bizarre Bazaar” on Saturday, Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., with a live auction to follow. Great tasting, homemade food will be served all day. The shops include: bakery, crafts, pantry (featuring home-canned meat), cards/napkins and Trash-n-Treasure. Zion is located at 2029 Jonquil Ave., in rural Sheffield; five miles west of Chapin and one-half mile north on Jonquil Avenue.
Public Works Director Doug Tarr represented the board before the council, and explained that this ordinance wouldn’t be too impactful to the community and “would be tucked away in the books for decades, coming out very few times.” Regardless, the discussion of ISCs sparked debate among council members and their abilities to dodge tax codes. Council at Large Richard Lukensmeyer reported to the council that county tax assessors were “frustrated” with how to handle ISCs and other structures that are used for storage, due to a provision in Iowa code that any unfixed structure of a property cannot be assessed for taxes. Meanwhile, residents who erect garages on their properties for the same purposes are taxed for square footage, because they are fixed
structures. The mayor and council openly discussed that properties that have these ISC’s could be profiting off of the storage space, and not paying the proper taxes on them. The amendment to the ordinance did not address current ISCs and how to financially handle them, leaving the council to recommend the possibility of creating a permit and licensing program for the continued use of current ISCs in Hampton. New section 18 in the amendment outlines the lengths and limitations that ISCs can be used in the city, for moving or temporary storage during a home or business remodel. See COUNCIL: Page 3
St. Paul Lutheran ham dinner Everyone is welcome to the 19th annual ham dinner at St. Paul Lutheran Church on Sunday, Nov. 6 from 4:30–7 p.m. The menu includes bone-in ham, party potatoes, rolls, salads, homemade pie and desserts and a drink. Tickets are $10 for adults, $6 for ages 12-6 and free for children ages 5 and under. Tickets are available at St. Paul Lutheran, First Bank Hampton, First Security Bank and United Bank and Trust. Take-out and drive-thru options will also be available.
Cub Cadet Daycare dinner Everyone is invited to attend the Cub Cadet Daycare’s annual pork loin dinner on Sunday, Nov. 6 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., at the Latimer Community Center. The menu includes pork loin, cheesy hash brown potatoes, green beans and rolls. Cake and ice cream will be furnished by the daycare in honor of their 10-year anniversary. The event is a free will offering with carry outs available.
CAL Budgetary Financial Workshop reports multifaceted dilemmas facing district School district must overcome 14 percent solvency ratio to stabilize; overspending not a simple issue
Boy Scout enchilada fundraiser The public is invited to support local Boy Scouts at their enchilada supper on Tuesday, Nov. 8 from 4:30-7 p.m., at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hampton. The menu includes enchiladas, rice, beans and a drink for $8. All proceeds will go toward the Boy Scouts of Hampton.
BY ETHAN STOETZER The financial difficulties facing the CAL School District can be often oversimplified: the district spends more money than it has. After reviewing past fiscal spending and revenue, Superintendent Todd Lettow informed the school board that the problem is anything but a single issue. The most glaring issue facing the board is its current debt solvency ratio of -7.19 percent. “This means basically that if the district closed its doors for good,” Lettow said, “the district would still owe money to people.” Lettow explained that a good space to be in, from a superintendent’s standpoint, is to operate with a debt solvency ratio of +7 percent. This would allow schools to never have to borrow money from other accounts.
Lions Club Election Day soup supper The public is invited to the Lions Club Election Day soup supper at First Congregational Church on Tuesday, Nov. 8 from 5-7 p.m. The menu includes chili, chicken noodle soup, or potato soup, bars and a beverage. The church is located at 22 1st Ave. SW, Hampton.
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The 2015-2016 General Fund (GF) balance (the account in which most of a school’s expenses come from for a variety of needs) for CAL is -$266,199. It’s important to note that the in the fiscal year 2016, CAL started with a balance of -$206,791 and ended with a balance of -$187,740. Though the numbers are still in the negative, the decreased over all spending is contributed to the school consolidating positions and continuing to share services, Lettow said. But for all the negative balances and over spending, Lettow pointed out that the GF looks much different than the negative balance shows. Within the GF, sits funds awarded to the district from the state that are designated or “earmarked” dollars, that can only be used for specific things. The state-wide strategy is used to guide schools into establishing programs that the state Department of Education wants implemented. Lettow said that the district currently has an abundance of money for professional development, special education, ELL programs, homeschool assistance and other programs that cannot currently be used for anything
but the programs specifically measured — a total of almost $78,558. According to a Des Moines Register report, Iowa This means School Districts have $145 million basically that if dollars tied up in the district closed funds that cannot be used. Half its doors for good, the district would of all school districts in the state still owe money have an account to people. with over $50,000 that cannot be TODD LETTOW, used. Superintendent A closer look at the GF reveals that CAL has money, but it also doesn’t, at the same time. In order to raise the solvency ratio and make up the difference for some of its overspending, the board has been steadily levying cash that it takes from property tax increases. See CAL BUDGET: Page 2
FGH approves of facility renovations BY ETHAN STOETZER The Franklin General Hospital Board of Trustees approved a hospital renovations and improvements project after a public hearing on Oct. 24, awarding the contract to Contractor Dean Snyder, with a base bid of $590,865. The project will include converting the hospital’s old records storage office into a usable space, that will remodel the entire clinic portion of the facility. The plans will do away with a counter for patients to check in. The renovation of the clinic will feature four private check-in rooms for patients to enter. Patients will then regroup with each other in the waiting room, until they are called back into exam rooms. The remaining portion of the old records space will hold an office and consulting room for the facility’s health coach and its navigator, who are currently set up in a temporary office. See FGH: Page 3
FCDA hosts informational assembly for high schoolers BY ETHAN STOETZER The Franklin County Development Association hosted its “Elevate your future,” assembly at the Franklin County Convention Center, showcasing the many manufacturing businesses in Franklin County, while encouraging high school students to reevaluate a career in manufacturing. Area businesses including: Alliant Energy, Latham Seeds, Sukup and JT Machine and Tool Company of Hampton displayed the many facets of their industry to students from Hampton, CAL and Westfork districts, illustrating how these industries aid in the quality of life in Franklin County. Susan Clark, a member of the Economic Development Core Facility at Iowa State University, and a county ambassador for the Center for Industrial Research and Services at ISU, was the keynote speaker, and explained that manufacturing jobs aren’t the jobs that involve assembly line production. Manufacturing industries are the fourth largest employer in the U.S., 11.4 percent — behind accommodations and food services, retail and health and social assistance. See FCDA: Page 2
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