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Cardinal girls claim victory at Westwood Golf Course / 1B
DAILY NEWS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017 • WHERE TO GO WHEN YOU NEED TO KNOW
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County adds new maintenance position By Jamee A. Pierson Newton Daily News A new part-time position will be added to the maintenance department in Jasper County. The Jasper County Board of Supervisors approved making a seasonal position permanent
at its meeting on Tuesday. “We currently have a seasonal part-time maintenance employee that was set up to run through April 30. Through communication we are going to request that we keep that part-time position on a permanent basis,” human resources director Dennis Simon said.
Jasper County Maintenance Director Adam Sparks said the employee will mainly work about four hours per day unless needed for extra shifts during snow removal. “I think it has worked out really good. I think he is there for you when you need him,” supervisor Joe Brock said.
In order to add the employee, the board first approved the new position of a parttime maintenance technician. A hiring resolution was then presented with David Berkenbosch approved at $17.93 per hour, starting on Monday. Simon said part-time employees are held to 30 hours
or less per week and are no entitled to benefits with the exception being the Iowa Public Employee’s Retirement System. “You seem to have some real value in this job,” supervisor Doug Cupples. COUNTY | 3A
Trinity Legislature passes funding flexibility, local control for schools Structural
Towers title sponsor Newton Fest Newton Daily News
AP Photo Rep. Rick Olson, D-Des Moines, left, talks with Rep. Chip Baltimore, R-Boone, on the floor of the Iowa House Friday at the Statehouse in Des Moines.
By Justin Jagler Newton Daily News The Iowa Legislature approved a 1.11 percent increase in supplemental state aid to K-12 public schools for the 2017-2018 school year. It was a historically low increase that put many school districts, Newton included, in a tight spot fiscally. During the same 2017 legislative session, Iowa’s lawmakers voiced support for more flexibility in regard to how school districts can handle their funds. Two bills that received bipartisan support at the Statehouse give more local control to public schools. House File 564 and House File 565, which were approved by the Iowa House last week and are
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awaiting Gov. Terry Branstad’s signature, add language to existing Iowa code that gives school districts more options. The bills state that professional development funds, for example, can be used to purchase text books and curriculum materials if those supplies include professional development. Preschool funds are also impacted. HF 564 says that preschool foundation aid funding may be used by
approved local prog r a m s and community providers for “any purpose determined by Sinclair the board of directors of the school district to meet standards for high-quality preschool instruction and for purposes that directly or indirectly benefit students...” HF 565 allows a school district to create a flexibility account within its general fund. Legislators on both sides of the aisle were able to get on board with these changes. Rep. Wes Breckenridge, D-Newton, said the school funding flexibility doesn’t make
up for the low school aid funding provided by Republicans, but it is helpful. Sen. Chaz Allen, D-Newton, agreed that school funding was inadequate. However, “the new laws will provide school boards and administrators with increased flexibility for use of certain funds,” Allen said. Sen. Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, said the new laws lift restrictions on school funds and give more local control to school districts. “These bills are a great step forward to give our schools more control over the dollars we send them and how they are spent in our school districts,” Sinclair said. Contact Justin Jagler at 641-792-3121 ext 6532 or jjagler@newtondailynews.com
NEWTON — Newton Fest is excited to announce Trinity Structural Towers has donated $5,000 to this year’s Newton Fest and will be a title sponsor for the community event scheduled for June 8 – 11. “Trinity Structural Towers was excited to be a part of Newton Fest in 2016. Newton Fest has been a really Lowe positive event for the community, and we are excited to once again support this event. We hope our involvement will help make the event even bigger and better for 2017,” said Dylan Ellsworth, Trinity Structural Towers’ plant manager. Trinity Structural Towers was the title sponsor for the second annual Newton Fest in 2016 and helped to expand the event through the company’s financial support. “Trinity Structural Towers is once again helping ensure that Newton Fest will be a successful community event and we couldn’t be more excited about it,” said Jessica Lowe, chair of the Newton Fest committee. “Trinity’s support of Newton Fest for the past two years has allowed the event committee to focus on growing the festival and adding great new attractions.” Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Trinity Structural Towers operates some of the largest production capacity facilities for the fabrication of tubular wind towers in North America. With more than 200 employees, they are a key employer and partner in the community. TRINITY | 3A
Phone scams continue to be a serious threat during tax season Newton Daily News Aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents remain a major threat to taxpayers again this tax season. The IRS has seen a surge of these phone scams as scam artists threaten police arrest, deportation, license revocation and other things. The IRS reminds taxpayers to guard against all sorts of con
games that arise during any filing season. There are many variations to the scam and the caller may threaten you with arrest or court action to trick you into making a payment. Some schemes may say you’re entitled to a huge refund. These all add up to trouble. Some simple tips can help protect you. Many of these con games peak during filing season as people
prepare their tax returns or hire someone to do so. Protect Yourself Scammers make unsolicited calls claiming to be IRS officials. They demand that the victim pay a bogus tax bill. They con the victim into sending cash, usually through a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. They may also leave “urgent” callback requests through phone “ro-
bo-calls,” or via a phishing email. Many phone scams use threats to intimidate and bully a victim into paying. They may even threaten to arrest, deport or revoke the license of their victim if they don’t get the money. Scammers often alter caller ID numbers to make it look like the IRS or another agency is calling. The callers use IRS titles and fake badge numbers to appear legit-
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The IRS will never: • Call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed with-
out first having mailed you a bill. • Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe. • Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card. • Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone. SCAM | 3A
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WHERE IT’S AT Astrograph......................5B Calendar..........................5A Classifieds......................4B
imate. They may use the victim’s name, address and other personal information to make the call sound official. Here are five things the scammers often do but the IRS will not do. Any one of these five things is a tell-tale sign of a scam.
Comics & Puzzles...........6A Dear Abby........................6A Local Sports......................1B
Obituaries.......................5A Opinion............................4A State News......................7A
Greatest Generation Day
Historical museum open house is Sunday / 3A
Volume No. 115 No. 238 2 sections 14 pages
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