Newton
Serving Newton & Jasper County Since 1902
Daily News
Thursday, July 17, 2014
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Newton, Iowa
Memorial Rock coming along
OBITUARIES Ruth Radke, 95 INSIDE TODAY
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use reportedly low amongst surveyed NHS students By Ty Rushing Daily News Senior Staff Writer
Local
Armstrong new Rotary president Page 2A
Ty Rushing/Daily News Penny Christensen was commissioned to paint the Memorial Rock portion of the new Jasper County Veterans Memorial, located on the east lawn of the Jasper County Courthouse. Penny began painting on Tuesday and her husband, Russell, holds up a sample of what the final product will look like.
Health
General surgeon to join Skiff
National Ice Cream Month Page 7A
By Stephanie Alexander Special to the Daily News
Sports
Cards let lead slip away in regularseason finale Page 1B
Weather
Friday
High 79 Low 58
Saturday
High 80 Low 62 Weather Almanac
Wed., July 16 High 76 Low 54 No Precipitation Also: Astrograph Page 5B Classifieds Page 4B Comics & Puzzles Page 6A Dear Abby Page 6A
General surgeon Rachel Knudson, D.O., will be joining Skiff Medical Center on Friday, Aug. 1. Dr. Knudson recently finished her fifth and final year of general surgery internship and residency at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Iowa and attended medical school at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. Brett Altman, Skiff ’s President and CEO, said that Dr. Knudson will be a remarkable addition to the Skiff family. “In addition to being a highly skilled surgeon, she also has fantastic people Knudson skills. She is warm and personable, which will be a great comfort to patients in need.” “I knew from a young age that I wanted a career in medicine,” said Dr. Knudson, who grew up as an only child in a rural home near Marshalltown. “I liked the combination of helping people while also tackling the challenge of problem solving and thinking through each unique situation.” During her high school years and her undergraduate schooling, in which she majored in biology and minored in psychology, Dr. Knudson worked at a veterans’ home in Marshalltown. Due to that experience, she thought she would pursue an internal medicine residency and ultimately specialize in geriatrics. That changed during an impression-making surgical rotation. “I just fell in love with surgery,” she said. “I rotated with a lot of really good physicians and was blown away by the relationships they formed with their patients. They were so comforting to those they took care of. Their patients trusted them fully.” The immediacy of surgery also appeals to her. “Medication can absolutely help someone, but it can also take time. If I have
a patient with a gallbladder problem and I go in and remove the gallbladder, once they’re awake, they’re better. The incision needs to heal, but the gallbladder problem is resolved. When you give a patient fast relief like that, you forge a really intense relationship right away.” Another influential encounter during the latter portion of Dr. Knudson’s medical school was meeting Dr. Dominic Formaro, who is now Skiff ’s general surgeon, when they were both training in Des Moines. “I met Dr. Formaro when I was a fourth-year medical student and he was a fourth-year resident,” Dr. Knudson said. “He took me under his wing and I was impressed with what a good teacher he was.” Dr. Knudson cites Mercy as a wonderful place to receive surgical training. “It’s the best combination of giving you access to complex cases but also a large volume of standard cases, since it’s a community hospital. The attendings want to teach, and the residents are given valuable amounts of autonomy.” It’s not uncommon for people to refer to a surgeon’s journey as “difficult” and “long” when they realize Dr. Knudson and her peers have four years of college, four years of medical school and five years of residency. Dr. Knudson said she never thought of it that way, because it was her calling. “This is my passion,” she said. “I like learning. I wouldn’t have picked anything else.” The first step in Dr. Knudson’s eventually choosing to build her career at Skiff came in August 2012, when she joined Dr. Formaro for a month-long rotation in Newton. “I wanted to see what a general surgeon did day in and day out,” she said. “I loved working here. I loved the community and the hospital. Everyone was so nice. And it happened to coincide with the time they were beginning to look for an additional general surgeon. Dr. Formaro asked me what I thought of Skiff and if I’d be interested in working here. I definitely was, so I’ve been coming and doing cases with him ever since.”
Drugs In the last six months, 14.49 percent of students surveyed said they had used marijuana which amounted to only 30 of the 209 participants. When asked how much harm do you think using marijuana once a week causes, 42.03 percent felt it was very harmful, 20.77 percent felt it was harmful, 16.43 percent felt it did little harm, 8.7 percent felt it did very little harm and 12.08 percent felt there was no harm. When asked if students had taken prescription medication that was not prescribed to them in them in the last six months, 92.82 percent of participants said they hadn’t. According to the proctors, the way the question was designed was so that it didn’t just limit SCHOOL See Page 5A
Sharpy’s Quick Shop closing due to lack of traffic
Obituaries Page 3A
By Jamee A. Pierson Daily News Staff Writer
Police Page 3A
Our 113th Year No. 42
98213 00008
Alcohol One questions that pertained to alcohol use showed that in the last six months, 23.44 percent of participants said they had consumed at least one drink of alcohol. Under the scope of the survey, if you consumed more than five alcoholic beverages in one day, it would be considered binge drinking. Only 16.27 percent of participants said they had ever done that, which amounted to only 34 of the 209 surveyed. More than half of the students felt that if people consumed more than three alcoholic beverages in a day they would be doing harm to themselves. Thirty-three percent of participants that they have been to an underage drinking party.
KNUDSON See Page 5A
Opinion Page 4A
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Representatives from Employee & Family Resources and the American Lung Association collaborated to create a survey on drug, alcohol and tobacco use amongst teenagers. On April 25, 209 students at Newton Senior High School participated. Monday, EFR representative Amy Blasius and ALA Tobacco Control Program Coordinator Emily Smid presented the results of the survey during a meeting of the Newton Community School District Board of Education. “We came to the conclusion that we would start a survey that would, hopefully, expand and engage more of the community as well,” Blasius said. Blasius said this survey was created to help better understand the mentality of high school students as it pertained to substance use. She added that it was conducted completely anonymously and electronically. According to the results of the survey, students ranged from 14 to 19 years old, 61 percent of participants were female, 82 percent said they were involved with extracurricular activities and more than 80 percent of participants had a 3.0 GPA or above.
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Jamee A. Pierson/Daily News Sharpy’s Quick Shop will be closing at the end of the week or early next week. All merchandise is up to 50 percent off, and the kitchen will close in the next few days.
After an eight month run, Sharpy’s Quick Shop, owned by Tom Sharp, will be closing its doors at the end of the week or early next week. “There was just not enough income to keep it going, not enough customers, not enough flow,” said Chris Sharp, manager at Sharpy’s.
Located at 702 First Ave. E., Sharpy’s carried all of the basic convenience store products such as candy, chips and drinks as well as kitchen food and scrubs clothing. Sharpy’s started slow in the winter months but had a gradual increase in sales with the summer months producing its best numbers. SHARPY’S See Page 5A