Newton
Serving Newton & Jasper County Since 1902
Daily News
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Wednesday, March 26, 2014
www.newtondailynews.com
Supervisors approve additions to sheriff’s office
OBITUARIES Hisako Chrismore, 84 Mary DeBruyn, 88 Linda Farrington, 70 Mike Myers, 51 Grace Patterson, 79 Etola Thielman, 99
By Ty Rushing Daily News Senior Staff Writer
INSIDE TODAY
Local
Lions Club pancake breakfast Page 2A
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Iowa Speedway fans cheer on their favorite drivers ready for a restart in the later stages of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Fan Appreciation 200 last September. James Buescher (31) won the race on Lap 212 on a green-white-checkered restart.
Iowa Speedway sales tax rebate passes in Iowa Senate By Bob Eschliman Daily News Editor
Sports
Marshalltown Area Tumbling/Trampoline Page 7A
Religion
Fashion show fundraiser Page 12A
Weather
A bill to extend a $12.5 million sales tax rebate for Iowa Speedway overwhelmingly passed the Iowa Senate by a 36-9 margin Monday afternoon. A companion bill in the Iowa House is expected to go to the floor in that chamber soon. The $12.5 million incentive was originally offered in 2006 when Iowa Speedway first broke ground. Under the provisions of the incentive, Iowa Speedway receives an annual rebate of 5 percent of its state sales tax revenue — so far, that has amounted to about $3.1 million. The incentive is currently set to expire in 2016.
Senate File 2341 extends the incentive for another 10 years and allows for out-of-state ownership of the facility through NASCAR. Iowa Speedway President Jimmy Small had previously told legislators the incentive is necessary to ensure the track is able to move forward with expansion efforts. In interviews with the Daily News, he said the racetrack, which has faced enormous financial difficulties under previous Iowa-based ownership, has to prove to NASCAR leadership it can operate on its own. Iowa Speedway benefits from the incentive only if it is able to put fans in the grandstand. State Sen. Bill Dotzler of Waterloo, an avowed racing fan, echoed those
sentiments as he urged his colleagues to pass SF 2341. Some Republicans balked at the measure, saying it was “choosing winners and losers” that would be best resolved in an open-market situation. State Rep. Dan Kelley (D-Newton) said the bill would come to the House floor today. The bill has passed the Iowa House Ways and Means Committee. SF 2341 was immediately messaged to the House — where it may be considered for a floor vote at any time — after it received the Senate’s approval. Daily News Editor Bob Eschliman may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 423, or at beschliman@newtondailynews. com.
Community invited to ‘Pay It Forward For Pete’ during benefit on Friday
Thursday
High 50 Low 29
By Daily News Staff A benefit for the family of Pete Hussmann, longtime editor of the Newton Daily News and editor of the Newton Independent, is planned for 5 to 11 p.m. Friday at the Newton Elks Lodge #1270, 111 E. Second St. S. in Newton. The event — “Pay It Forward For Pete” — will include a 50/50 drawing, koozies,
Friday
High 45 Low 29 Weather Almanac
a silent auction from 5 to 8 p.m., food from 5 to 7 p.m. and a dance with Energy 106.7 and KCOB’s Jamie Grout from 7 to 11 p.m. The cost is $10 per person or $15 per couple. Anyone 18 or younger will be admitted for free. All donations will benefit Pete’s wife, Julie Bak, and their sons, BENEFIT See Page 5A
Tues., Mar. 25 High 30 Low 17 No Precipitation
Sexual Assault Awareness Month Newton Mayor Mike Hansen signed a proclamation on Monday declaring April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Newton. Fabiana Kunze, an advocate for Crisis Intervention Services of Iowa, was on hand to witness.
Also: Astrograph Page 11A Classifieds Page 9A Comics & Puzzles Page 6A Dear Abby Page 6A
Ty Rushing/ Daily News
Opinion Page 4A Obituaries Page 3A
DMACC to host career, job fair Thursday
Our 112th Year No. 217
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98213 00008
Special to Daily News
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Newton, Iowa
Newton Development Corporation, Jasper County Economic Development Corporation, Iowa State Extension and Outreach Office and DMACC will host a job and career fair from 4 to 7 p.m. on
Thursday at DMACC in room 210. The sponsors of the fair reminds participants to bring their resumes and dress in an attire appropriate for your industry. The fair has brought in many employers from the Newton and Jasper County area.
By the time April beings, the Jasper County Sheriff ’s Office will have a few additional “tools” to work with. At Tuesday’s Jasper County Board of Supervisors meeting, Sheriff John Halferty received approval from the board to allow Eric Van Zee to become a reserve deputy beginning April 1. “Eric Van Zee, he worked for the state patrol for several years and he left there just recently and began his own business,” Halferty said. “A lot of good experience. He’s a ‘homegrown boy,’ as I call it, and he expressed his desire to keep his service up and wanted to be a reserve. It’s a good smooth transition for us and we’ll always take reserves.” In addition to Van Zee’s appointment, Halferty also delivered some big news to the board with regard to his department’s motor pool. “Today, we are picking up our armored tactical and rescue vehicle from the military,” Halferty said. “We got approved within the last few days and we should have it in the next few days.” Halferty said the shipping weight for the new vehicle is 50,000 pounds. “We are looking forward to that, and it will be another tool in our toolbox if we ever need it,” Halferty said. Jasper County Maintenance Director Adam Sparks asked the board for approval for a new grasshopper mower so his department would be able to take on more duties in maintaining county properties and provide an efficient solution for handling light snow fall on county walkways. “When we bought our last mower, it was about four years ago, and it was a little residential-class John Deere mower. Mainly, because the biggest yard we mowed was the courthouse,” Sparks said. Sparks said, since then, his department has taken up the responsibility of maintaining the Jasper County Emergency Operation Command Center, which was previously the National Guard Armory adjacent to Maytag Park in Newton. SUPERVISORS See Page 5A
Also at Tuesday’s Jasper County supervisors meeting: • Jasper County Emergency Management Coordinator Jim Sparks received approval to continue to be the county’s representative for procuring funds from Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Sparks also received approval to have the county provide a local match from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Sparks is seeking $28,000 from the grant, which would require the county to provide $4,200. The county last applied for the grant in 2011. • County Engineer Russ Stutt’s 2014-15 fiscal year budget was approved for submission to the Iowa Department of Transportation. Projects that begin in the 2014-15 fiscal year, will cost an estimated $4.3 million and are being financed through a mixture of local, farm to market, special and federal aid funds. COUNTY See Page 5A