Newton
Serving Newton & Jasper County Since 1902
Daily News
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
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Newton, Iowa
OBITUARIES Catheryne Koder, 94
INSIDE TODAY
Local
Franchise fee hike could pave way for street improvements
Teachers become students at REG
By Jamee A. Pierson Daily News Staff Writer
Page 5A
The Newton city administrator is proposing a 5 percent increase on gas and electric bills as a possible revenue source for infrastructure and maintenance needs. Bob Knabel gave a detailed presentation on all of the options the city has to fulfill the annual needs for streets, equipment and extra projects during Monday’s council meeting and proposed his recommendation. “I recommends that a 5 percent fran-
Sports
L-S drops state opener, goes after fifth Page 7A
chise fee be enacted on both gas and electric utilities to support the longterm infrastructure needs of the city,” Knabel said. Knabel presented the franchise fee as one of five options but said he threw his support behind the fee because it’s more equitable. Further, residents, businesses and nonprofit agencies all share the cost, and it doesn’t rely on property tax. Knabel said the fee would cover the entire cost of a maintenance program and is the least expensive option for residents at an annual cost of $97.69 per average household.
A Fair Time Religion
Thorpe leaving St. Stephen’s Page 12A
Local attorney irked by county’s hold music By Ty Rushing Senior Staff Writer
Wednesday
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Kate Malott/Daily News Above: Demi and Dakota Osborn of Newton tend to their animals after feeding them Tuesday afternoon at the Jasper County Fairgrounds. The sisters are members of the Jolly Workers 4-H Club. Right: Dalton Shanks of Newton helps his friends Chad and Colby Elrod clean up their stall. The boys are members of the Hominy Ridge 4-H Club. Below: Bernard Van Wyk of Sully, Chadwick Ver Ploeg of Pella and Dick “Junior” Ver Ploeg of Sully relax at a county fair picnic table. The Ver Ploeg brothers were charter members of the Lynn Grove Hustlers 4-H Club out of Lynnville in 1941. They recalled showing their hogs and beef at the Jasper County Fair throughout the ’40s.
Thursday
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Tues., July 22 High 90 Low 72 No Precipitation Also: Astrograph Page 11A Classifieds Page 9A Comics & Puzzles Page 6A Dear Abby Page 6A Opinion Page 4A Obituaries Page 3A Police Page 3A Our 113th Year No. 46
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STREETS See Page 5A
Phelps claims phone system plays ‘most obnoxious noise possible’
Weather
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To complete all city projects, the city needs $1,050,000 annually. The breakdown of spending includes $590,000 for streets, which includes surface transportation programs, road use tax and a local road program; $350,000 for equipment for street, fire, police and parks; and $110,000 for extra projects, including sidewalks, bike trails and facilities. Currently, there is not designated funding for major needs for the streets, Knabel said. For the past 20 years, the
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The Jasper County Board of Supervisors has dealt with a range of issues recently from road conditions to problems around waterways. Now, Mingo attorney Richard Phelps has brought a new issue to light — the hold music on the county’s phone system. “I’m here to complain,” Phelps said during a board meeting Tuesday. “There’s probably not a day when I’m not on the phone with some county office and when you are put on hold, you get the most obnoxious noise possible. It’s not even good music. I don’t even know why you have to listen to music to begin with, but this stuff is just blaring. It’s clanging.” Jasper County IT Director Celia Robertson and Jasper County Information Systems Network Administrator Ryan Eaton defended the county’s use of hold music and provided statistics to back them. Eaton read results from a survey conducted by USA Business Telephone Today where it placed 30,000 people — broken into three groups with various conditions — on hold for one minute. In one group, 10,000 callers were put on hold listening to just one minute of music. Fifty-six percent of those participants estimated their hold time was less than one minute and only 13 percent hung up. “Most places you call have music,” Robertson said. Eaton suggested that Phelps lower the volume on his phone to avoid hearing the music and said they have had no other complaints. Board Chair Joe Brock said the board would look into the matter with the county’s IT department. In other business, after two weeks of deliberation, the board has agreed to join the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance. Brock said after meeting with the county’s other elected officials and department heads they all agreed the program was beneficial. Some reasons they felt program was a good choice was that there was no cost for joining, and UCGPA said it finds the best prices from reputable vendors. By becoming members, the county also has the option not to issue Request for Pricing or RFPs — which is the process governing bodies perform when soliciting bids for purchases. Board member Dennis Stevenson said several citizens expressed concern to him about joining UCGPA, and whether it would prevent the county from buying locally. He addressed the matter during the meeting. “We belonged to another buying group for a long time and this gives us the best way to find out prices and save us money. I think its the board’s intention — we’ll buy locally any time we can,” Stevenson SUPERVISORS See Page 5A