Newton
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Daily News
Thursday, January 16, 2014
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Newton, Iowa
OBITUARIES Ty Rushing/Daily News Jeremy Mulford and Joe Polson, inmates at the Newton Correctional Facility’s Release Center, show their dogs’, Mr. Weber and Shadow, to Newton Lions Club member Terri Ayers at Thursday’s Lions Club meeting. Mulford and Polson are raising the dogs as a part of the Iowa Prison Puppy Program, which trains dogs to eventually serve as service dogs.
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“It’s good training for the guys and the dogs. We have people that will transfer into these programs and these facilities just to raise dogs. They come from all over Iowa — just to raise dogs.”
— Randy Kirkbride, co-coordinator of Prison Puppy Program
who are blind and visually impaired for free. After hearing the suggestion, the warden requested 10 puppies for his inmates to train from LDB, which was initially thought to be a joke. A little more than a decade later, Iowa’s correctional facilities have supplied between 150 and 200 trained dogs to LDB. The Newton Correctional Facility became involved four years ago. “Even the biggest, meanest guys cry when their puppy leaves,” Joe Polson, an inmate at the Newton Correctional Release Center said. Polson and another inmate, Jeremy Mulford, are dog trainers as part of the Prison Puppy Program and were present with their dogs, 4-month-old Shadow
and 7-month-old Mr. Weber, respectively, at Thursday’s Newton Lions Club meeting. The Prison Puppy Program is run by Kirkbride and his wife, Carol, and is completely reliant on donations. Thanks to the $500 from Newton’s Lions, they will be able to sponsor another dog at the Newton Correctional facility, and the Lions get to name it. “It’s almost like getting to be a parent again,” Lions Club member Terri Ayers jokingly said. Krikebride talked about how the program is not only beneficial to the visually impaired, but how much of an impact it’s made on prisoners’ lives at all three of Iowa’s correctional facilities that partici-
pate. “For these guys, part of the deal is when they get the dog, they have to learn to make good choices for themselves and for that little critter,” Kirkbride said. “They have strict rules they have to follow by, and they get a nice thick manual that they have to read. They need to know it, because my wife is a stickler on it.” “There are plenty don’ts and a few dos,” he continued. “It’s good training for the guys and the dogs. We have people that will transfer into these programs and these facilities just to raise dogs. They come from all over Iowa — just to raise dogs.” Both Polson and Mulford agreed this program is helping them out a lot. The dogs
live with them 24 hours a day from the time they are seven weeks old until they reach the one year mark, where they are then sent off to the Leader Dog Academy for advanced training. “It’s like having a kid and you’re responsible for it every day,” Mulford said. Kirkbride said this program has had about a 92 percent success rate for training dogs. Just this past November it received national recognition when it was awarded Mutual of America’s 2013 Governor Hugh L. Carey Award, which is presented annually as a part of MA’s Community Partnership competition. “I like that when I’m done with him, he will help someone live (a better life). When I get out, I want to continue to volunteer,” Polson said as he stroked Shadow’s head. “Everyone in prison should raise a dog.” Staff writer Ty Rushing may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 426, or at trushing@newtondailynews. com.
Newton Christian School First Lego League team to compete at state
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By Ty Rushing Daily News Staff Writer Improving the lives of people with visual limitations has been the primary mission of Lions Clubs all over the nation, and Newton’s branch of the organization has found a unique way to do just that. Last year, the Lions raised $500 during their annual “Fall Pancake Breakfast,” and they did something special with the funds — they bought a dog. “The Prison Puppy Program in Iowa started about 13 years ago in Rockwell City (North Central Correctional Facility),” the program’s co-coordinator Randy Kirkbride said. “The warden there tasked his staff with bringing in a program that would help the guys learn to make better choices and would also help the community.” One of the employees at that facility was a Lions member, and he suggested they contact Leader Dogs for the Blind, a charitable program that provides guide dogs to people
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Lions Club donation is aiding blind, puppies and prisoners
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Newton Christian School’s First Lego League team, Tornado Techs, will be competing in the First Lego League state competition at Iowa State University on Saturday. The school’s team participated in a regional competition in
Maxwell on Dec. 14 and earned recognition as the most well-rounded team and qualified for the state competition. The Tornado Techs programmed an autonomous robot to complete missions and completed a project that accompanied this year’s theme, “Nature’s Fury.” They were judged on three
elements during the competition: the Robot Game, Project and FLL Core Values. Their project centered on learning about tornados and ensuring that the school was appropriately prepared in case of a tornado. During their LEGO See Page 5A
Submitted Photo The Newton Christian School’s First Lego League team includes Abby Ambroson, TJ Barwegen, Jonathan Breckenridge, Tanner Garton, Brayden Koon, Peter Larson, Mason Lee, Parker Schnell, Tate Osborn and Logan Zylstra. The team is coached by Kim Didier and Steve Larson.