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January 28, 2014
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Supervisors approve comp board’s proposal Union County attorney and sheriff receive 5.5 percent pay increase, all other elected officials earn 5 percent ■
By JAKE WADDINGHAM
CNA staff reporter jwaddingham@crestonnews.com
The Union County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the 2014 compensation board’s recommendation for the upcoming fiscal budget. “It is the board of supervisor’s
responsibility to the other elected officials to make sure, within reason, that they are provided with adequate resources to fullfill their responsibilities with the interest of Union County, as a whole, being everyone’s first priority,” said chairman Dennis Brown. The compensation board proposed and supervisors approved a
3.5 percent wage adjustment for Union County Attorney Tim Kenyon and Sheriff Rick Piel, as well as a 3 percent wage adjustment for Brown Auditor Sandy Hysell, Recorder Paula White, Treasurer Kelly Busch and the board of supervisors. Supervisors also approved an additional 2 percent cost-of-living increase. The raises only impact nonunion employees and elected
officials. “A good rule of thumb is that Iowa’s elected county officials’ pay should mirror the population ranking of their county,” Brown said. “Union County does not.” Union County is 61st in Iowa’s population ranking, but ranks 79th in elected official pay. The supervisors, recorder, auditor, sheriff and treasurer all fall below 61st for pay compared to other Iowa counties. Kenyon is ranked 47th. The compensation board is limited by Iowa Code 331.907. It can only review the compensation of
other elected officials across Iowa or similar taxing entities such as high schools, colleges, hospital or city government. “If I have any credibility in regards to this, I will tell anyone that they are getting their money’s worth and then some from these folks,” Brown said. “One doesn’t have to reach back too far in Iowa history to show how important it is to have good, quality people holding elected positions.” Please see RAISES, Page 2
county supervisors
Gopher bounty in full effect By BAILEY POOLMAN
CNA staff reporter bpoolman@crestonnews.com
CNA photo by BAILEY POOLMAN
Musical endeavor: Little All State choir tenors, from left, Jeremy Stoll of Creston, Sam Ripley of Clarinda, David Qualseth of Creston, Noah Heckman of Osceola and Noah McBride of Bedford sing “I Have Longed for Thy Saving Health” during the choral festival Monday at Creston High School. The festival, made up of students from Bedford, Mount Ayr, Clarinda, Clarke and Creston high schools, was guest-directed by Allen Chapman, chairperson of Iowa All-State Chorus.
Study shows divorces rise as United States economy recovers (MCT) — Married couples promise to stick together for better or worse. But as the U.S. economy started to rebound, so did the divorce rate. Divorces plunged when the recession struck and slowly started to rise as the recovery began, according to a study to be published in Population Research and
Policy Review. From 2009 to 2011, about 150,000 fewer divorces occurred than would otherwise have been expected, University of Maryland sociologist Philip N. Cohen estimated. Across the country, the divorce rate among married women dropped from 2.09 percent to 1.95 percent from 2008 to 2009, then crept back
up to 1.98 percent in both 2010 and 2011. The National Marriage Project earlier dubbed the drop in divorce “a silver lining” to the Great Recession, arguing that tough times were pulling many husbands and wives closer together. But some couples may have simply put off divorce until they could afford to part, re-
searchers say. The economic uptick may have finally given them the freedom to split. “This is exactly what happened in the 1930s,” said Johns Hopkins University sociologist Andrew Cherlin. “The divorce rate dropped during the Great Depression Please see STUDY, Page 2
New moon makes rare second appearance twice this year OTTUMWA (MCT) — Is there a name for the inverse of the Blue Moon, a month in which there are two new moons? It’s a good question to be asking because it will happen not just once, but twice in 2014. Dr. Steven Spangler, an astronomy professor at the University of Iowa, says no. But it is unusual.
“This year, what’s happening is we had a new moon on the first of January, New Year’s Day, and then on January 30,” he said. “Then again on March 1 and March 30. That’s really rare.” So rare, in fact, that when first asked about it Spangler thought, “this can’t happen at all.” The lunar calendar and the
one we use to mark the year are related, but not precisely. Calendar months have 30 or 31 days most of the time. February is the odd one with 28 or 29 days, depending on the year. The lunar cycle, called the synodic period, takes 29.5 days, so it’s offset just a bit from the monthly calendar. “Pick any one phase of the
moon and the period of time between one phase and the next time is shorter than the calendar month,” Spangler said. The result is that phases of the moon meander through the year. The first full moon of 2014 was Jan. 16. By the Please see MOON, Page 2
Bounty hunters will have a chance at earning money this year with the renewed bounty on gopher feet. “We’ve had this bounty since I’ve been here,” said Sandy Hysell, Union County auditor. “I started in 1989, so it’s even been before me.” The bounty may have some historical significance. Gophers are small tunnelling animals and considered pests in North America. The tunnels disrupt commercial agriculture, garden plots, underground cables and landscaping. “I think it used to be more popular than it actually is now,” said Union County Supervisor Ron Riley. “In alfalfa fields and hay fields in this area, they got to be such a problem that quite a few years ago, they put a bounty on them to alleviate the pest. ... I know there’s not near the issue as there used to be, but we continue to keep the bounty on them for those who continue to trap Hysell them.” The bounty consists of $1 for one pair of front feet per gopher. Hysell counts the pairs brought in, and gives the customer a receipt for the amount of money based on the number of pairs. “We don’t get them hardly ever,” Hysell said. “I mean, when Riley I started, it seemed like at least one or two people would bring in a huge coffee can full.” Hysell said she recommends freezing the feet before taking them to the Union County Auditor’s office to avoid the smell. After counting them, the feet are destroyed. “I get my paper towel out, and we dump them out. I’m counting, trying not to barf on the counter,” Hysell said. “And then, I wad them up and put them back in the can, and I call Paul, our custodian, and say, ‘Do something with this.’ We disinfect the counter and give him (the customer) a receipt, he goes to the treasurer’s office and he gets his money.” Hysell said she hasn’t received gopher feet in several years, and the last receipt she gave to a customer added up to more than $10. She also said there are no other animal bounties in Union County. However, according to Riley, there isn’t much use for the bounty anymore. “Best I can answer is we’ve had one as long as I can remember,” Riley said. “We did discuss that (the use). It’s something we could discuss discontinuing.”
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Volume 130 No. 161 Copyright 2014
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Contents
Classified . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Deaths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Heloise Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Know Your Business. . . . . . 7 Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10
Wednesday weather High 37 Low 27 Full weather report, 3A