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Thursday, April 10, 2014 OBITUARIES Michael G. Petroff, 53 Robert Walker, 70
INSIDE TODAY
Local
Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition
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Newton, Iowa
State audit report for Jasper County released By Ty Rushing Daily News Senior Staff Writer Last week, Iowa State Auditor Mary Mosiman released an audit report that broke down Jasper County’s 201213 fiscal year. During FY 2013, Jasper County trimmed its operational expenses by 9 percent, $23,183,296, from FY 2012. The county also collected 4 percent less in tax revenue, $13 million, in FY 2013 than it had in the previous fiscal year.
The total tax revenue the county collected was $48.7 million, which was the amount the county collected on behalf of the county’s townships, school districts, cities and other taxing bodies. After retaining its portion, the county disbursed around $35.6 million. Mosiman explained in her report some of the measures the county did during the last fiscal year to actually come in $776,363 less than it projected in its projected budget. “Over the course of the year, Jasper County amended
its budget three times,” Mosiman wrote. “The first amendment was made in Dec. 2012 and resulted in an increase in budgeted disbursements for the capital projects function for anticipated FEMA project disbursements. The second amendment was made in April 2013. “This amendment resulted in a decrease in budgeted disbursements for the mental health function and increased disbursements for the capital projects function. The third amendment was made in June
2013 and resulted in increases in budgeted receipts for additional local option sales tax and FEMA receipts. The third amendment also increased budgeted disbursements for FEMA repairs, county road maintenance, maintenance of buildings and grounds and to reflect pass-through grants.” Jasper County finished with a fund balance of $4,453,333. Senior staff writer Ty Rushing may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 426, or at trushing@newtondailynews.com.
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Iowa Job Honors Awards dreams of new kind of hero Special to the Daily News
Health
Older Adult Wellness: Be safe in Spring Page 7A
Sports
Cards start season strong
Submitted Photo In celebration of Earth Day, volunteers are invited to help collect, remove and pile up brush and logs from an oak savanna restoration site from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 19, at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge.
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Neal Smith NWR to mark Earth Day with service project
Weather
Special to the Daily News
Friday
Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge is planning a service project on Saturday, April 19, to celebrate Earth Day. Attendees will join millions of Americans across the country in taking a day to focus on our environment. Volunteers of all ages and experience are needed from 9 a.m. to noon to help collect, remove and pile up brush and logs from an oak savanna restoration site. The morning will begin with a ranger-led welcome and instructions and will conclude with a free lunch provided by the Friends of Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Advance registration is
High 71 Low 46
Saturday
High 77 Low 49 Weather Almanac
Wed., April 9 High 56 Low 35 No Precipitation Also: Astrograph Page 5B Classifieds Page 4B Comics & Puzzles Page 6A
By Ty Rushing Daily News Senior Staff Writer
Opinion Page 4A Obituaries Page 3A Police Page 3A Our 112th Year No. 228
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Oak savannas are fire-dependent ecosystems. In the process of cutting and removing the trees, a lot of logs, sticks, branches and debris fell off and are now blanketing the floor of the oak savanna. This accumulation could prevent future plant growth in the habitat, thus preventing fire to be carried. Therefore, volunteers are needed to pick up the debris and stack them it into burn piles. All work will take place outdoors and participants should dress for the weather with long pants, a long sleeved shirt, hat and boots or sturdy shoes. Please also bring leather work gloves and a reusable water bottle, if possible.
IJHA See Page 5A
Events relating to Jasper County’s veterans planned
Dear Abby Page 6A
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required; sign up in advance by contacting Megan Wandag at (515) 994-3400 or Megan_Wandag@fws.gov. Volunteers will meet at the Prairie Learning and Visitor Center at 9 a.m. to check in. Volunteers will then head to the oak savanna restoration site to help with stewardship activities. This past winter, Refuge staff cut and removed trees in the oak savanna to open up the canopy in the habitat and to remove tree species that are not native to the habitat. The goal of this work was to set up conditions where an understory of fine grasses and flowers would grow and eventually allow fire to be carried through the ecosystem.
The Iowa Job Honor Awards is the dream of Shenandoah native Kyle Horn. The goal of the awards is to inspire more unemployed and underemployed Iowans to utilize available resources, acquiring the skills that can transform their lives, and to encourage companies to hire the Iowans who complete these programs. The mission of IJHA is to rekindle hope and energize the work ethic across Iowa, through the celebration of a new kind of hero. Iowa Job Honor awards is accepting nominations for its first annual awards event, to be conducted June 10 in Cedar Rapids. Launched earlier this month, the awards will celebrate Iowans who have overcome significant barriers to employment and the employers who hire them. “In a society that celebrates lottery winners, celebrities and professional athletes,”Horn said. “Yet, if these are the only paths to self-sufficiency, then most Iowans will never escape poverty. We rarely hear inspiring stories of individuals who have lifted themselves from poverty through the hard work and perseverance that leads to meaningful employment. It’s time for a new kind of hero.” The First Annual Iowa Job Honor Awards will be presented in front of more than 500 influential Iowa business leaders at the annual Iowa Association of Business and Industry conference June 9-11 in Cedar Rapids. Top employee honorees will bring home $500 each, and winners in both the employee and employer categories will receive engraved awards. Biographical videos will be presented for all honorees. Expect some deeply moving personal stories, says Horn. Nominations are invited through the organization’s website, www.JobHonor.org. Those who wish to nominate candidates are encouraged to act quickly, before the April 10 deadline. In our launch year, we’re forced to compress our nominating period, select honorees and produce videos in time for the June event, says Horn. Next year, we’ll allow much more time for nominations. “My motivation to launch the Iowa Job Honor Awards developed through my work
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The Jasper County Veteran’s Affairs Office wants to make the community aware of several events taking place to aid and support veterans. Currently, the office is collecting adult clothing and non-perishable food items in conjunction with Newton American Legion Post 111 to help clothe and feed homeless veterans. The collected items will be placed in
a “ruck” and will be carried by local volunteers; Jasper County Veteran’s Affairs Director Chris Chartier, Army veteran Kaylor Supinya Dake, Army veteran Jason McCaughye and Navy veteran Brock Walaska. The volunteers will carry the items during the In My Boots 5K Run, Walk, Ruck at McHose Park in Boone on April 19. All proceeds of the event will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, and donations will be given to
homeless veterans. Donations may be dropped off at the Jasper County Veteran’s Affairs Office located at 115 N. Second Ave. E. in Newton. You may contact the office at (641) 792-7993. On Saturday, the Legion will play host to the “Second Chance Prom” fundraiser to the support the upcoming Jasper County Veteran’s Memorial Complex on the courthouse lawn. There will be a social hour from 6 to 7 p.m., and afterwards the
dance floor will open up with as a collection of hits from the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s will be played. The cost is $20 per couple and it is an all ages affair. For more information, you may contact (641) 792-0396. Iowa’s Department of Veteran’s Affairs will be holding a Veterans Career Fair on April 24, at the Freedom Center in Fort Dodge. Although the event is being held outside of Jasper County, Chartier highly recommended local veter-
ans seeking employment or interested in changing professions attend. More than 30 vendors will be present at the fair and it is being done in conjunction with Home Base Iowa, a program launched by the state to help veterans find jobs and to attract unemployed veterans to seek career opportunities in Iowa. Senior staff writer Ty Rushing may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 426, or at trushing@newtondailynews.com.