WEEKEND EDITION
Friday
March 14, 2014
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St. Patty’S Day Party
Stewart to receive sports medicine award
Monday, March 17th
SPORTS, page 7A
$1 Green Beer Draws $5 Pitchers • Jello Shots
Elm’s Club
Karaoke by Kamikazee 8PM - 12AM
108 N. Elm • Uptown Creston • 782-2615
Spartan Court residence hall back on track By BAILEY POOLMAN
CNA staff reporter bpoolman@crestonnews.com
Spartan Court has risen. Southwestern Community College’s new residence hall Spartan Court is now a three-story building. The second floor was started Feb. 19, and the third floor was started Feb. 27. “Trusses (for the roof) were supposed to start tomorrow (today), but they’re half done,” said Tom Lesan, SWCC vice president of economic development. “They’re telling me a really big milestone is windows, and the roof will be shingled by April 3, so the building will be enclosed at that time.”
The project, which may cost less than the estimated $6.2 million, will house 92 students. Some amenities included are free cable TV and high speed internet access in each Lesan bedroom, membership to Southern Prairie YMCA, community room with vending, TV and furniture, central air conditioning and full kitchen. “They told me they didn’t want me to jinx it by saying we’re ahead of
CNA photo by BAILEY POOLMAN
The roof trusses are being installed in this photo taken Thursday of the progress done on Spartan Court, Southwestern Community College’s new residence hall. The project, which will possibly cost less than anticipated, is slightly ahead of schedule. Truss construction, which was expected to start today, is planned to be finished today.
Please see DORMS, Page 2
On the market
Iowa graduation rates rise for third year (MCT) — Iowa’s graduation rate increased in 2013, marking the third straight year of improvement, according to figures released Thursday by the Iowa Department of Education. Also, state officials report that fewer students were dropping out of high school in Iowa. The new figures indicate the 2013 statewide graduation rate was 89.68 percent. That was up from 89.26 percent in 2012, and 88.32 percent in 2011. “As a former Iowa superintendent and high school principal, I know the hard work that goes into getting every student across the finish line to complete high school,” said Iowa Department of Education Director Brad Buck. “Iowa’s increasing graduation rate is a testament to the commitment of everyone across the state, from parents to teachers to administrators to policy makers.” Graduation rates for the class of 2013 increased for all but one subgroup of students. Significant increases were noted among students whose first language is not English (1.82 percent), Hispanic students (2.02 percent), and Native Americans (10.5 percent). Though current federal rankings are not yet available, state education officials said Iowa has consistently landed at or near the top of national rankings for four-year graduation rates. The four-year graduation rate for the class of 2013 increased from the previous year in 170 school districts (54 percent) out of the 316 Iowa districts that had high schools. Thirteen school districts (4 percent) saw no change in their graduation rates from the year before, while 133 districts (42 percent) saw a decrease. Iowa’s annual dropout rate decreased in the 2012-13 school year from the year before. The 2012-13 dropout rate was 2.82 percent, a decrease of 0.37 percent from the 2011-12 dropout rate of 3.20 percent. The rate reflects the percentage of students in grades 9-12 who drop out of school during a single year. The state’s 2012-13 dropout rate represents 4,108 students. —————— ©2014 The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Distributed by MCT Information Services
This home located in west Omaha, Neb. — donated to Creston Library Board — has been listed for $120,000. All revenue from the sale of the house will go directly to the Lincoln-to-Library project. ■
By KYLE WILSON
CNA managing editor kwilson@crestonnews.com
I
n December, a house was donated to Creston Library Board to be used toward raising funds for their Lincolnto-Library project. The house — donated by Edwin and the late Virginia (Stamper) Van Surksum — is located in west Omaha. The ranch home with a one-car garage was recently listed with a real estate agent for $120,000. “It’s been on the market since early February,” said Ann Coulter, president of Creston Library Board. “There have been a couple calls about the house already. The house is in a nice residen-
tial part of west Omaha. I think it will sell fairly quickly. He (Edwin) has had other Coulter rental properties in that area sell quickly.” This house is the second large donation from the Van Surksum family. Edwin donated the house because his deceased wife both attended and taught at Lincoln School and “when she learned it may become a library she became rather excited.” Edwin said he’s trying to follow through with her wishes for Lincoln School to become a library.
All revenue from the sale of the house will go directly toward the Lincoln-to-Library project. That project — estimated to cost $1.8 million — includes moving the library from its current location on West Howard Street to the Lincoln School building on West Jefferson Street. The $1.8 million raised would go toward renovating the old school building to include space for a cultural center, social networking areas, technology training centers, conference and community rooms, children area, teen zones, quiet study and group study area. However, the board has only raised $400,000 since starting fundraising four years ago.
Who donated the house? The house was donated by Edwin and the late Virginia (Stamper) Van Surksum. Edwin donated the house because his deceased wife both attended and taught at Lincoln School and “when she learned it may become a library she became rather excited.” Edwin said he’s trying to follow through with her wishes for Lincoln School to become a library. All revenue from the sale of the house will go directly toward the Lincoln-to-Library project.
Virginia (Stamper) Van Surksum
In February, the board signed a contract with Marketing Kinetics — a strategic marketing firm from Lamoni — hired to help the board in their Lincoln-to-Library fundraising efforts. They’ve agreed to pay the firm about $2,500 per month for their services. They will pay the firm out of the $400,000 already raised. This is the second marketing firm hired by the board. However, Mandy Kolesik, president of Marketing Kinet- Kolesik ics, told the News Advertiser she’s not like the last firm. She said she will be visible, help the board develop a vision, find pockets of money for the project and also find champions in the community to help assist in the capital campaign. Kolesik said she will run an “extremely aggressive” campaign that will launch sometime in the fall.
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Volume 130 No. 194 Copyright 2014
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Contents
Classified . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Deaths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Heloise Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
Weekend weather High 61 Low 37 Full weather report, 3A