FOUR-TIME CHAMP
FIRST CHRISTMAS
Mount Ayr’s Joe Ricker becomes four-time Pride of Iowa champion and Bedford/Lenox finishes second at conference tourney. More in SPORTS, page 8A. >>
Several babies in the Creston News Advertiser coverage area are celebrating their first Chrismas this year. See photos in our holiday keepsake section on page 7A.
creston
News Advertiser
SHAW MEDIA GROUP SERVING SW IOWA SINCE 1879 BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE AT WWW.CRESTONNEWS.COM
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2014
A CHANCE TO REFUEL ■ Lower gas prices across southwest Iowa help budgets at the start of the new year By JAKE WADDINGHAM
CNA associate editor jwaddingham@crestonnews.com
C
hristmas lights, holiday decorations and music combine to boost the holiday spirit, but this year there is a new sign bringing cheer to area residents. Regular gasoline prices have dropped close to the $2 mark for the first time since a brief drop in prices in November 2008 in 30 states. Iowa’s average price of $2.22 for a gallon of gas is projected to continue to fall. In Creston this morning, prices fell to $2.04, a nine-cent drop from Monday. Prices peaked in May 2013 in Iowa, when the most expensive price at the pump in the state was $4.02 per gallon. Crude oil started the day at $56.66 per barrel. Saving dollars Union County Engineer Steve Akes said the combination of lower fuel prices and lack of snow to date has had a positive impact on his budget. “We notice a big difference between open winters and bad winters,” Akes said. “Our motor graders use a lot more fuel when they are plowing snow. It puts a lot more torque on the engine.” He added a motor grader typically burns at least an entire tank of fuel — about 75 gallons — for one day of snow removal. When county workers are not plowing snow during the winter, the typical projects like clearing brush require much less fuel. Akes said the county will have a new fuel contract starting in January 2015 to lock in the price. “Our fuel price outlook for 2015 is pretty close to what we are paying now,” Akes said. “It is good to know we won’t be paying any more than what we are paying now.” Akes said it helps saving dollars anywhere he can in the budget to help the county as it starts to look toward the next
CNA photo by BAILEY POOLMAN
Gas prices in Creston dropped to $2.04 this morning. The last time regular gasoline averaged below $2 per gallon across the state of Iowa was March 2005.
Last time gas was below $2 This is the first time fuel prices have dipped below $2 for regular gasoline since a short-lived drop in prices in 30 states in November 2008. Fuel has not averaged below $2 nationwide since March 2005. According to gasbuddy.com, Iowa’s average is $2.223 per gallon for regular gasoline. The nationwide average is slightly higher at $2.363 and the price of crude oil is $56.92 as of 7 a.m. this morning. Here is a look back at what was going on in local, state and national news in March 2005 when gas price averages were below $2: Local Billy Baudler and Eric Raasch helped lead the Nodaway Valley Wolverines to their first state bas-
fiscal year. At Southwestern Community College, Vice President of Economic Development Tom Lesan said the lower fuel prices have been a relief during their heavy travel months, especially with athletic budgets. “It will make a big difference if we get through the first
ketball tournament trip in school history. The team rallied multiple times late in the ball game to advance to the state championship game, finishing second. The Creston men’s basketball team also made a trip to the state tournament after knocking out Knoxville in the substate game. Skateboarders in Creston were fundraising to build a skate park at McKinley Lake. State Iowa legislators were working to pass a bill to make it harder to get supplies to make meth. The bill, which did pass, put restrictions on the amount of pseudoephedrine an individual could buy at one time.
Nation Steve Fossett became the first person to fly an airplane around the world solo without any stops. The journey was more than 25,000 miles and took 67 hours and 2 minutes. Israel officially handed over Jericho for Palestinian control. A magnitude 6.6 earthquake rocked Fukuoka, Japan. It was the country’s first major earthquake in more than 100 years. One person was killed, hundreds were injured and evacuated. The Sumatran earthquake rocked Indonesia with a magnitude of 8.7 on the Richter scale. It was the second strongest recorded earthquake since 1960.
quarter of the new year (with lower gas prices),” Lesan said. “We burn a lot of miles in vehicles that don’t get very good gas mileage.” The SWCC basketball teams are in the thick of their season, plus the indoor track team and shooting team start their season when the stu-
dents return in January. “The athletic budgets are already tight,” Lesan said. “They budget for buses, meals, drivers ... I don’t know a budget that doesn’t go over a little bit because of different
may suffice for now to protect citizens against the threat of misuse of drones by government and private individuals. Meanwhile, a consensus has developed that the aircraft, which can be used to shoot photos or video, will greatly benefit agriculture and other private industries, police work, and government operations, the report states.
WEDNESDAY WEATHER
CONNECT WITH US
COMPLETE WEATHER 3A
crestonnews.com | online 641-782-2141 | phone 641-782-6628 | fax Follow us on Facebook
37 31 PRICE 75¢
Creston News Advertiser 503 W. Adams Street | Box 126 Creston, IA 50801-0126
Copyright 2014
Volume 131 No. 144
2014
If you do not receive your CNA by 5 p.m. call 641-782-2141, ext. 6450. Papers will be redelivered in Creston until 6:30 p.m. Phones will be answered until 7 p.m.
•
Lawmaker seeks abortion waiting period
veillance. But many lawmakers are concerned about their privacy implications and are considering tighter restrictions. The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa is proposing legislation banning the use of weaponized drones, requiring oversight of Please see DRONES, Page 2
Please see ABORTION, Page 2
Please see GAS PRICES, Page 2
Farmers use the pilotless aircraft to check on their crops, and University of Iowa scientists are deploying them in research. The Department of Transportation would like to fly them to inspect bridges and monitor traffic outside events. And other agencies hope to use them to assess damage during disasters, search for missing people and conduct sur-
BLOOMFIELD (AP) — A Davis County man has been sentenced to jail after nearly 300 animals were seized from his property and another 60 were found dead. Prosecutors recommended the sentence after reaching a plea deal with Roger Blew, the Ottumwa Courier reported. All but 10 days of ■ Roger Blew the one-year sentence are suspended. Blew owned sugar is indefinitely prohib- gliders, mice, ited from possessing a ferret and animals as part of the raccoon. deal. He had faced up to Authorities eight years. found 60 Blew was charged in February with numer- animals dead ous counts of animal at his home. neglect after authorities found the animals in his Drakesville home. They say Blew owned a variety of animals, such as sugar gliders, mice, a ferret, a skunk and a raccoon. This is the second animal-related conviction for Blew in the past year. He was convicted in Wapello County of animal cruelty and neglect after authorities found about 20 animals in his vehicle. About 150 people attended an auction at his southeast Iowa home to bid on animal equipment and antiques.
DES MOINES (AP) — A Republican lawmaker said Monday that he plans to renew an effort to require a waiting period for abortions in Iowa, but it’s not clear that he’ll find support to pass a bill in the politically divided state Legislature. Sen. David Johnson, a Republican from Ocheyedan, said he has submitted a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would set counseling requirements followed by a 72-hour waiting period before a woman could receive an abortion. Iowa currently has no such restrictions. “There are plenty of stories of mothers changing their minds if given a chance,” Johnson said. He said the bill provides an exemption to the waiting period if the mother had a medical emergency. A total of 35 states currently require counseling before getting an abortion, with 26 of those states imposing a waiting period between the counseling and the procedure, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights think-tank. But just a handful of states impose a
Report: Wait on drone regulation IOWA CITY (AP) — Iowa should take a wait-and-see approach to regulating unmanned aerial vehicles because of their huge potential for positive uses in business and government, the Iowa Department of Public Safety advises in a new report. The report, requested by lawmakers in May, suggests that existing legal safeguards
Iowa man sentenced in animal hoarding case
Happy Holidays!
From all of us at Iowa State Savings Bank
•
Member FDIC