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FRIDAY, FEB. 5, 2016 • WHERE TO GO WHEN YOU NEED TO KNOW
City conducting community attitude survey Survey available online or at city hall By Jamee A. Pierson Newton Daily News In order to gain knowledge of the community’s feeling on the livability of Newton, the city is conducting a Community Attitude S u r v e y, availUmstead able now through Feb. 28. The survey also serves to update Newton’s Future: A Comprehensive Plan and help the city better understand the needs and desires of its citizens. The survey is anonymous and is reported in a group form. It is available at www.surveyshare.com/t/Newton, on the city’s website www.
newtongov.org, the Get to Know Newton website www.gettoknownewton.com and on the city’s Facebook page as well as in paper form in the Get to Know Newton magazine available at city hall. “This is the first step in looking to update our comprehensive plan for 2016. We encourage all citizens to go Online and take the survey,” senior analyst Natalie Umsted said. The survey covers several topics including the safety, mobility, natural environment, built environment, economy, recreation and wellness, education and enrichment and community engagement of the city. It also touches on several areas of Newton, including the downtown, parks, shopping opportunities and employment districts. In a separate section, the survey asks participants to rate the level of importance the participant feels the city should dedicate resources to during the next five years. A few of those SURVEY | 3A
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‘Blue Roof’ blues concert series starts Monday Newton Public Library series features four events By Jason W. Brooks Newton Daily News If you want to find live music in Newton on the next four Monday nights, just look for the blues. Beginning with Monday’s performance by JJ Express, an annual four-show series called “Blues Under the Blue Roof ” will feature some Iowa blues artists, with other blues-related items on display as well. The multimedia experience is also set to include projections of great blues artists. The series is presented by the South Skunk Blues Society, the Newton Public Library Foundation and Friends of the Newton Public Library. Performances are in the library’s meeting room and are free and open to the public. All four are set for 6:30 p.m. Mondays, beginning next week with JJ Express and continuing on Feb. 15, 22 and 29. JJ Express is a band well-known in Newton and throughout Jasper County. Johnny “Juke” Mattingly and Jimmy “Sticks” Robinson of Newton, established the bluesy band five years ago, with both playing multiple instruments. Additional vocals, harmonies and multi-media elements are provided by Elaine Mattingly. The band also plays in a fullband configuration (adding guitar
Submitted photo Justin Appel, a blind keyboardist, is one of the bands slated to perform at the Newton Public Library’s annual “Blues Under the Blue Roof” concert series. The series begins with a performance by the band JJ Express at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the library meeting room.
and bass to the trio). Learn more about the band on its website or its Facebook page. The Feb. 15 duo, Cindy Grill and Alan Smith, met in 2006, recorded and released the album “Hot Off The Grill” and have played
the central Iowa blues circuit as “Hot Tamale and The Red Hots.” There promotional material says they have a “blues and boogie feel-good sound.” BLUES | 3A
Policy readings, committee Plea expected reports slated for NCSD in child
endangerment case
By Jason W. Brooks Newton Daily News The Newton Community School District Board of Education will have a few items on Monday’s regular meeting agenda that were bumped from the Jan. 25 meeting. Also, some of the topics that were addressed on Jan. 25 are slated to be on the agenda again. Monday’s meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Emerson Hough conference room. One of the few action items on the agenda involves readings of proposed updates to the 200 series of board policies. Another is to approve construction documents for remodeling the interior of the Emerson Hough building. The building will have kindergarten and grades 1 through 4 next year, and will receive some upgrades as well as some modifications to student-use space this summer. The board is also set to hear a timeline update about the administration building and de-
1-year-old boy tested positive for meth By Abigail Pelzer Newton Daily News
Jason W. Brooks/Daily News Members of the Berg Complex Bond Committee recently look over a proposal at a recent meeting. A report from the committee to the Newton Community School District board of education is one of the items on the agenda for Monday’s regular meeting.
velopment of an APEX curriculum. APEX is a program that matches students with career-specific employers for work experience, offered by Waukee Schools that was recently toured by Newton-area officials to potentially be a model for similar arrangements in Newton. Newton High School Principal Bill Peters, Berg Middle
School Principal Lisa Sharp and Thomas Jefferson Elementary Principal Tom Bartello will make presentations about professional development sessions. The Berg Complex Bond Committee and the district’s budget committee will both report to the board about their recent meetings. The board is set to consider hosting an Iowa Association of
School Boards Spring Regional Workshop April 5. The 2016 IASB “Day on the Hill” is set for Monday during the day, so administrators and/or school board members might have informal reports Monday evening on interactions with state government leaders and others at the state capitol. SCHOOL | 3A
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A Newton mother who was charged after her 1-year-old son tested positive for methamphetamine is expected to enter a plea on Monday. Vanessa L. Trotter, 23, and her boyfriend Cody Sanders, 27, were charged with child endangerment in April 2015. The boy tested five times higher for meth than Trotter, according to court documents. Trotter’s plea hearing is scheduled for Monday at the Jasper County Courthouse. Sanders, who pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a speedy trial, is also
scheduled to appear in court M o n day for a pretrial conference. T h e Trotter Newton Police Depar tment issued a warrant for the pair after the Iowa Department of Human Services notified police of the drug screening conducted on the child. Trotter and Sanders were also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia when they were arrested during a traffic stop. While searching the vehicle, officers found a makeshift pipe used to inhale controlled substances in Trotter’s purse. The two were taken to the Jasper County Jail, where they each posted a $2,300 bond and were released.
Comics & Puzzles...........6A Dear Abby........................6A Local News......................2A
Obituaries.......................5A Opinion............................4A State News......................7A
Literacy night at Berg
Event promotes readings at home / 2A
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Volume No. 114 No. 185 2 sections 16 pages
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