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Tuesday, March 18, 2014
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Newton, Iowa
Council amends Planning and Zoning Commission ordinances
OBITUARIES Stephen Minenga, 58 Duane H. Stout, 69
By Zach Johnson Daily News Staff Writer The Newton City Council amended two ordinances brought forth by the Planning and Zoning Commission during itsmeeting on Monday. The first was amended during the second consideration of an ordinance amending city code for residential ac-
INSIDE TODAY
cessory buildings. Based on the new language, Zoning Board of Adjustment could require such things as landscape buffering or articulation along long wall planes as necessary to protect the look and feel of a neighborhood. Councilor Jeff Price added the concern of a citizen with regard to the new ordinance. “He said he was on a
fixed income and wanted to know the reasoning behind an additional $100 to build on his own property,” Price said. The council had Planning and Zoning Director Erin Chambers clear up some of the language of the ordinance. “We’re not changing the zoning codes on accessory buildings that are less than 1,000 square feet,” Chambers
said. “At that point, we’re talking about an oversized garage. Typically, when we see an oversized detached garage, 30-by-30 would be a rather large size for a detached garage. “There are a number of citizens in the community who do have a desire to build even larger, but those oftentimes propose conflicts with what neighbors
see or have expectations of. In recognizing this as a potential issue, the Planning and Zoning Commission, over the course of four meetings, came to the conclusion once you get over the 1,000-square-foot mark, a neighborhood input process is desired, and the conditional-use COUNCIL See Page 5A
Local
Local librarians visit Capitol Page 2A
Newton native helps lead largest DNA sequencing project in history
Sports
NHS, C-M girls at ISU Classic
Portion of research took place in Jasper County
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By Ty Rushing Daily News Senior Staff Writer
Agriculture
Iowa’s ag production on rise
Jasper County will now have a permanent place in the scientific community thanks to its native prairie.
A native prairie is a parcel of land still in its original state and that has never been cultivated or developed upon. Dr. James Tiedje, and a group of other researchers, recently published their research paper “Tackling soil diversity with the assembly of large, complex metagenomes,” in the March
issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a scientific serial publication. At the time the project began, it was the largest DNA sequencing project in history. According to a report by Live Sciences, “DNA sequencing PRAIRIE See Page 5A
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Weather
Two arrested following drug task force search
Wednesday
High 48 Low 28
By Daily News Staff
Thursday
High 57 Low 36 Weather Almanac
Mon., Mar. 17 High 45 Low 19 No Precipitation 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. 211
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At approximately 10 p.m. Sunday, members of the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, with the assistance of the Newton Police Department, executed a drug search warrant at 524 W. Third St. S., where illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia were seized. As a result of the search warrant, two individuals were taken to the Jasper County Jail on drug charges awaiting initial appearances. Julie Burr, 47, of that address was charged with possession of marijuana, a serious misdemeanor; possession with intent to deliver less than five grams of methamphetamine, a class C felony; introducing contraband into a jail facility, a class D felony; possession of a schedule IV drug without a prescription, a serious misdemeanor; unlawful possession of RX, a serious misdemeanor; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a simple misdemeanor. David Wall, 58, of that address charged with possession of methamphetamine, third offense, a class D felony; introducing contraband into a jail facility, a class D felony; possession of marijuana, third offense, an aggravated misdemeanor; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a simple misdemeanor. Burr is currently being held with no bond, and Walls’ bond has been set at $15,300. The Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force is based in Des Moines and currently has 16 central Iowa agencies participating in the task force including the Jasper and Marion County Sheriff ’s Offices, Knoxville, Newton and Pella police departments.
Submitted Photo Everything Fitz, a Canadian-based family band, will conclude the Jasper County Concert Association’s 2013-14 season. The show begins at 7 p.m. April 3 in the Newton Senior High School Center for Performance.
JCCA getting a jump on membership drive By Ty Rushing Daily News Senior Staff Writer While the Jasper County Concert Association hasn’t quite wrapped up its 2013-14 season, JCCA is ready to begin recruiting members for the 2014-15 concert season. By joining JCCA next season, members can see up to 18 shows, thanks to JCCA’s partnership agreements with the Marshalltown Community Concert Association and the Indianola Community Concert Association. The 2014-15 JCCA lineup begins with the Limeliters on Sept. 23. The Limeliters is a group that has been together for 50 years, through various lineups, and mixes humor with their musical style to provide an entertaining show in all aspects. Newton’s own JJ Express will perform on Oct. 23 and will be a “bonus” fifth show. JJ Express is made up of John Mattingly, Jimmy Robinson and a third guest
musician, and they play a variety of musical styles. Two on Tap will be the featured performers on Dec. 12 and will feature the singing and dancing duo of Ron DeStefano and Melissa Giattino. Both DeStefano and Giattino are featured Broadway performers and are known just as much for their vocals as their dance moves. They will give a performance centered around Christmas carols. The first show of 2015 will take place on Feb. 23 and feature another duo, Rebecca and Kuba. This duo is made up of singer Rebecca Lowe and instrumentalist Jakub “Kuba” Kunik. According to their website, they seldom perform the same show twice and are constantly adding new material to their act. Next season closes on April 18 with a performance by Alliance Brass Quintet. The quintet calls Chicago home and JCCA See Page 3A