Newton
Serving Newton & Jasper County Since 1902
Daily News
Friday, June 20, 2014
75 cents
www.newtondailynews.com
Piece by piece
OBITUARIES Ronald L. Gruver, 72
INSIDE TODAY
Ty Rushing/Daily News Employees from Mingo Products Inc. helped steady one of the walls for the upcoming Jasper County Veterans Memorial Friday morning. The new memorial is scheduled to make its debut on east lawn of the Jasper County Courthouse during a noon ceremony on the Fourth of July.
Local
Page 2A
Sports
Brisel in Knoxville Raceway HOF Page 1B
Sports
Page 1B
Weather
Saturday
High 86 Low 69
Sunday
High 85 Low 68
Weather Almanac
Thurs., June 19 High 78 Low 65 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 113th Year No. 24
7
98213 00008
School board to discuss school security Monday District looking at security after visitor David LaVera, 33, was arrested last week for enticing 14-year-old girl into his vehicle By Ty Rushing Daily News Senior Staff Writer
4
In light of the recent events involving David LaVera, who visited with students at two Newton schools before allegedly enticing a 14-year-old Baxter girl into his vehicle last week, a discussion will take place at Monday’s Newton Community School District Board of Education meeting on the district’s safety and security measures. During an interview Wednesday, Superintendent Bob Callaghan said he would be reiterating the comments he made concerning the situation involving LaVera at a June 11 press conference. Callaghan At that time, he said LaVera had signed in under his legal name and was escorted through the buildings by two district parents. “No one had any reason to believe he wasn’t anybody other than Dave LaVera,” Callaghan said at the time. “We don’t know what he was doing with students when he was signing his autographs. All I can tell you is, from the schools’ perspective, he signed in as David LaVera, he was introduced as David LaVera and everyone in the school administration and school personnel believed he was David LaVera.” While LaVera was present in the district buildings, he had contact with an unknown amount of minors. He also posed for photos and signed autographs under the name “Kiowa Gordon”— an actor from the “Twilight film franchise — and videos have been posted online of LaVera performing stunts at the Berg Middle School gym. LaVera also reportedly attended the BMS eighth grade pool party at Maytag Pool on the last day of classes for the district. LaVera — who worked on the 2000 horror film “Underground” filmed primarily in Newton at the former Maytag Plant 2 — has been charged with enticement of a minor, a Class D felony; carrying weapons, an aggravated misdemeanor; and failure to have a valid driver’s license, a simple misdemeanor. According to court documents, he engaged in inappropriate conversation of a sexual nature with the Baxter girl on Facebook while knowing she was a minor and also told her he had
Hirsch gets two years probation in Park Centre theft By Daily News Staff
Local church honors graduates
Two NHS girls earn state soccer honors
Newton, Iowa
appeared in the “Twilight” movie series. Court records state LaVera persuaded the girl to meet him on June 10 at the Baxter Community School Park, where he allegedly touched her inappropriately on the buttocks before luring her into his vehicle and driving around the Baxter area. Authorities were notified of the incident at 1:28 p.m. that day. Shortly after, a concerned citizen aware of the situation observed the girl in LaVera’s vehicle, stopped the vehicle and told her to exit the vehicle. LaVera was apprehended a short time later. During a search of his vehicle, authorities found a sword exceeding eight inches in length and four double-edged daggers within his reach. He is being held on a $50,000 bond in the Jasper County Jail. Callaghan said that by addressing the situation at the meeting, the board will have a chance to review Board Policy 1006, which details the district’s policy on visitors. The policy reads: “Anyone who is not a regular staff member or student of the school shall be termed a ‘visitor.’ Any visitor to the school must report to the office of the principal upon arrival at the school; failure to do so may lead to legal charges. Parents/guardians or citizens who wish to observe a classroom while school is in session are expected to arrange such visits in advance with the teacher, so that class disruption may be kept to a minimum. “A principal may choose to restrict visitors’ observation of classes to avoid class disruption. Teachers are expected not to take class time to discuss individual matters with visitors. A principal may choose to restrict entry to a building of an individual when necessary to ensure the safety of students.” Callaghan added that the safety of student is a top priority for the district. Another interesting discussion item occurring at Monday’s meeting is the possible transition to School Administration Managers (SAM) for both Berg and Thomas Jefferson elementary schools. According to the educational organization, School Administrators of Iowa, a SAM program would turn building principals into instructional leaders for their schools. There are several models for SAM’s, and the program has been in Iowa since BOARD See Page 5A
A former Park Centre marketing director charged with first-degree theft was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty in April. Judge Richard B. Clogg sentenced Scott Hirsch, 39, of Montezuma to two years in prison, but the judgement was deferred on the Class C felony charge, Hirsch and Hirsch was placed on probation for two years. He also was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $1,000 and a currently unknown amount of restitution. The state was given 30 days from Monday to file a statement of pecuniary damages. Hirsch’s arrest on the theft charge followed an investigation by the Newton Police Department into $11,847 taken from Park Centre. Hirsch was charged for taking 16 checks totaling that amount and depositing them into his personal checking account. When questioned about the incident by another Park Centre employee in early November, Hirsch allegedly “played it off as an honest error and promised to repay it,” according to court documents. Later that month, First Newton National Bank informed Park Centre that several checks made out to Park Centre had been deposited into Hirsch’s account at University of Iowa Credit Union through an ATM at the Newton bank. Hirsch was again confronted, at which time he delivered a letter of resignation and a signed letter confessing to depositing 12 checks totaling $9,847 into his account. On Jan. 8, Newton police investigators were given copies of 11 checks to Park Centre that were allegedly deposited into his account. Only seven of those were on the list of 12 checks Hirsch had confessed to depositing; the four additional checks, totaling $2,000, were added to the 12 he confessed to taking when charges were filed. Hirsch was previously convicted of fourth-degree theft in Poweshiek County in 2000 and of fifth-degree theft in Des Moines County in 2002. Without the documentation in his case file, Clerk of Court employees were unable to determine when he is scheduled for sentencing in this case.
Correctional Release Center damaged in Thursday’s storm By Daily News Staff The Correctional Release Center at the Newton Correctional Facility sustained significant water damage shortly after noon during Thursday’s major thunderstorm, according STORM See Page 5A
Veterans sought for Fourth of July Parade Special to Daily News All veterans in Jasper County are invited to come and march in the Newton Fourth of July Parade. The invitation is open to all veterans, and they may march or ride in one of the three trams provided during the parade. Veterans should meet 9 a.m. at West Fourth Street North. There is no dress code or any special requirements.