Newton
Serving Newton & Jasper County Since 1902
Daily News
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Thursday, January 2, 2014
www.newtondailynews.com
Newton, Iowa
Sanders facing additional federal charges
OBITUARIES Christina Marie Chapman, 7 Gary A. Hearl, 67 Jerilee Shockey, 62
Sully man in federal custody following Tuesday arrest
INSIDE TODAY
By Bob Eschliman Daily News Editor
Sports
Ergenbright discusses lessons learned on mat Page 7A
Nicole Wiegand/Daily News Among the top stories of 2013 was the final Jasper County Freedom Flight, which took place on May 21 and gave thirty-six local veterans an opportunity to visit Washington, D.C.
Looking Back at the Top Stories of 2013
Health
NASCAR buys Iowa Speedway Thursday, Dec. 12, officials with NASCAR announced Jimmy Small, 28, as the new President of Iowa Speedway. The sanctioning body had just purchased the 7/8-mile speedway in Newton from the Clement family the day before Thanksgiving. According to records associated with the sale, the purchase price was approximately $10 million. NASCAR Chairman Brian France spoke about the sale with the national
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Saladicious start to a new year Page 12A
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sports media Thursday, Dec. 5, saying he felt Iowa Speedway was an “attractive asset” in a racingcentric region of the U.S. When none of the other major players were stepping forward to buy the fi-
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High 5 Low -10 Local economy experiences ups and downs The year 2013 marked a number of positives and negatives for the local economy. On one hand, community leaders had pushed for an application to Main Street Iowa and launched a Housing Initiative aimed at attracting new, young families. But on the other hand, several long-time businesses, such as Brown’s Shoe Fit and Pappy’s — mainstays of the courthouse square — closed their doors. The Greater Newton Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 115th annual dinner, Hawkeye Stages held a grand opening for its new facility and the United Way of Jasper County moved into a new office space. The Vernon Company celebrated its 111th year in business and Newton Village broke ground on its new skilled care facility. The I-Green Center closed it doors and Cardinal Hills Golf & Swim was auctioned off after ending its season early. Madhouse Brewery, unable to get a retail space in their existing facility, moved to Des Moines. And, dozens of Marsh employees were told their jobs were being moved to Urbandale. Big economic headlines were impacting all around Jasper County, though. Facebook announced it was setting up a data center in Altoona, and MidAmerican Energy announced the largest purchase order for new wind turbines ever. Ryan’s Convenience Store closed, but reopened a few weeks later as Sharpy’s.
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High 8 Low 3 2 inches of snow Also: Astrograph Page 5B Classifieds Page 4B Comics & Puzzles Page 6A Dear Abby Page 6A Opinion Page 4A Obituaries Page 3A Police Page 3A Our 112th Year No. 158
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Callaghan named new leader of Newton schools Bob Callaghan was named the new superintendent of the Newton Community School District in May of 2013. He came to Newton after serving as superintendent of the Rogers (Texas) Independent School District. C a l l a g h a n’s first day on the job was July 1. He took over for Steve McDer mott, who announced Callaghan his resignation in March to become superintendent of the Creston Community School District. Shortly before the start of the new school year, Callaghan sat down with the Daily News to discuss his priorities. They were fairly simple: Kids First. “Our big focus is going to be presenting the student perspective,” he said. “We want every employee of Newton Community Schools to see who it is we are having an impact on every day. So we will have students in attendance, of course all of the associations and organizations that are affiliated with the school… All of those people will have an opportunity to speak.” “My focus is going to be an introduction to let people know who I am,” he continued. “There won’t be whole lot of data or anything, we are going to talk about our mission of kid’s first and doing whatever it takes to make sure that all students learn, think and succeed.”
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nancially-struggling track, he said NASCAR needed to step in. NASCAR was clear that its purchase of the speedway would not automatically result in a much-coveted Sprint Cup Series race date for the track. However, a number of elements of the sanctioning body’s Industry Action Plan will likely be tested in Newton within the next few seasons. Community leaders on hand for the Dec. 12 announcement said their new focus was on further development of the land surrounding the speedway property.
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Final Jasper County Freedom Flight takes off without a hitch The veterans who took part in Jasper County’s final Freedom TOP STORIES See Page 2A
A Sully man accused of attacking his wife Saturday, Dec. 28, is now facing a federal firearms charge in connection with the incident. William Leroy Sanders, 40, was taken into custody Tuesday morning by agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He was then transported Sanders to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, where he was arraigned on a charge of possessing firearms and ammunition after having previously been convicted of a felony. ATF Special Agent Philip Pritchett stated in his affidavit in support of arrest that in reviewing Sanders’ past criminal history, he discovered Sanders was a “multi-convicted felon from the State of Iowa for narcotics violations, as well as being convicted for assault on a police officer and domestic assault.” Pritchett stated Sanders’ wife had called her son to say she was being held against her will and had been assaulted. Her son then called 911, notifying the Jasper County Communications Center of what he had been told and that Sanders had firearms in the home, located in rural Sully. When a deputy arrived, Sanders’ wife was seen standing in the front yard. When she approached the deputy, he observed “extensive” injuries to her face. She said Sanders had inflicted the injuries. The deputy entered the home and found Sanders passed out on the floor with his pants around his ankles with an almost-empty bottle of Jack Daniels next to him. When he was placed into handcuffs, 12-gauge shotgun shells were found in Sanders’ pants pocket. As Sanders was being removed from the home, he asked for his coat, which had been lying next to him on the floor. When the coat was retrieved, 17 more shotgun shells were found inside the coat pockets. While Sanders’ wife was being transported to Pella Regional Health Center, she stated to the ambulance crew Sanders had hit her in the face SANDERS See Page 3A
Newton man arrested for domestic abuse, firearms violations By Bob Eschliman Daily News Editor A Newton man was arrested Friday evening, Dec. 27, and charged with hitting his daughter with a frying pan and brandishing a weapon while children were present in his home. According to a criminal complaint filed Monday, Terrance Anthony Dean, 83, had been drinking and arguing all day when he allegedly struck his daughter in the face and side of the head with a frying pan. The woman sustained injuries, including a bloody nose and swelling of the face and head. Dean is then alleged to have pulled out a .32-caliber handgun, threatening to do harm to his daughter. The complaint alleges several young children ARREST See Page 2A