Newton
Serving Newton & Jasper County Since 1902
Daily News
75 cents
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
www.newtondailynews.com
Supervisors approve grant for county sheriff’s office
INSIDE TODAY
By Ty Rushing Daily News Staff Writer
Local News
NHS Cheer Clinic participants Page 5A
Submitted Photo Uncommons, a new business in New York City owed by Newton native Greg May, is housed in what used to be a chess shop. The chess shop was open for 40 years and was open 24 hours every day for seven days a week.
Religion
Church to show ‘Bully’ at Capitol II Page 9A
Newton native who moved to Big Apple opens business By Dave Hon Daily News Staff Writer
Sports
Coen sets winning pace at Westwood Page 1B
WEATHER
Thursday
High 83 Low 60
Jenny Thompson, RD, LD, CDE Diabetes Education, Outpatient Dietitian, Skiff Medical Center
WEATHER ALMANAC
Tues., Sept. 24 High 76 Low 51 No Precipitation ALSO: Astrograph Page 5B Calendar Page 3A Classifieds Page 4B Comics & Puzzles Page 6A
erything more expensive but transporting the items to the final location can be difficult. He said he’s circled the block several times looking for a close parking space just to get tools into the building. Looking for the right location was no easy task either. May said he spent months looking for an affordable space and finally found one. The current space used to be the village’s chess club, which was open for 40 years and was open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Uncommons, which will have chess boards, plans on having hundreds of other board games as well. UNCOMMONS See Page 5A
Newton residents are invited to join thousands of other Iowans in a one-kilometer Healthiest State Walk at between noon and 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9. Local walkers will meet at the Newton Hy-Vee. State organizers hope to continue the momentum of Iowa’s rise from 19th to 16th and now to the ninth healthiest state in the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. A kilometer is about 7.5 city blocks, a 12-minute stroll for the average walker. Walkers can sign up for the event at www. iowahealthieststate.com. “Iowans have demonstrated their extraordinary support of the Healthiest State Initiative with the first two Healthiest State walks, which attracted nearly 600,000 participants,”
said Jenny Thompson, local coordinator. “By itself, of course, a one-kilometer walk is not enough to change the health of the state, but we’re encouraging even more residents of the Newton area to join in this year’s event and maintain our momentum toward becoming the healthiest state.” In 2011, Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds announced the plan to make Iowa the healthiest state in the nation within five years as measured by the GallupHealthways Well-Being Index. In 2011, Iowa ranked 16th compared to all other states, up from the 19th position in 2010. The state moved up to ninth in 2012. While progress has been made, there’s still work to do. Working with a team of experts, the Healthiest State Initiative has identified HEALTH WALK See Page 5A
Sheriff John Halferty received approval for two items from the Jasper County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. The first of which was a grant from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau for $12,990. “That’s a grant program that we have been involved in for probably 15 years,” Halferty said. “That money is for equipment and overtime hours for extra traffic enforcement during holidays or times of heavy traffic or certain programs that the state puts on.” Halferty told the board the program had been really good to them and has allowed his office to purchase extra equipment over the years. The grant money will be divided up as follows: $7,160 toward direct overtime for officers and $430 toward overtime for educational presentations. The remaining $5,400 would go toward purchasing two preliminary breath test devices and one in-car video camera. The other item was a 28E agreement between his office and Iowa’s Alcoholic Beverages Division to provide tobacco enforcement in the county. IABD regulates and controls all alcohol in the state. They also regulate the sale and distribution of alcohol and tobacco in Iowa. Halferty said the contract outsources the regulation of tobacco to his office in Jasper County. County Engineer Russ Stutt received approval for two right-of-way contracts. The first contract is with Vermeer Farms for $2,009. The second contract is for $2,121 with Norman and Mary Van Zante. The contracts will allow the county to use parts of both parties’ land for use as a public highway and a bridge project. Stutt informed the board that a third right-of-way deal was in the works and it would be larger than the deals that were approved Tuesday. Jasper County Recorder Nancy Parrott’s August report was approved. Her office collected $21,185.21. Staff writer Ty Rushing may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 426, or at trushing@newtondailynews.com.
Bison Day on Saturday at Neal Smith NWR
Dear Abby Page 6A Opinion Page 4A
By Daily News Staff
Obituaries Page 3A Police Page 3A Sports Page 1B
Our 112th Year No. 90
98213 00008
Greg May, a Newton native, is taking a tiny bite out of the Big Apple. May is opening a board game cafe called Uncommons in New York City which is, according to him, one of the first businesses of this type in the nation. Uncommons will offer more than 100 different types of board games to play and people’s favorite caffeinated beverages while they play. Games May said they will offer chess and Monopoly but also new games like Apples to Apples and Settlers of Catan. May’s location is close to New York University and he said he wants to draw in the college crowd
since they’re sandwiched between two dorms. “Throughout the day, and especially in the evening, we hope to attract the students from NYU and other colleges to play board games in a setting they couldn’t easily replicate in their tiny apartments in New York City,” May said. Opening a business in New York has been no easy task, May said, mostly because of bureaucratic hurdles. One portion requires a constant and cumbersome grading system from the department of health. He also said, unlike in Newton, it’s not easy to go to a Home Depot, make purchases and then take your purchases into the building. In New York, not only is ev-
Area Healthiest State Walk set for Oct. 9
Friday
High 83 Low 61
7
Newton, Iowa
4
The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge invites the public to a day of education and fun in celebration of Bison Day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the refuge. Activities include guided bus tours through the bison enclosure, archeological and Native American displays, a weaver’s guild demonstration, arts and crafts, games, a rope-making demonstration and a book signing by area authors. In addition, at 2 p.m., an Iowa State University bison researcher, Peter Eyheralde, will present some of the interesting things he has learned about the bison at Neal Smith NWR. A bison chip throwing contest will complete the day’s activities with prizes for the winners. All of the activities are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Megan Wandag at (515) 994-3400 or megan_wandag@fws.gov.
Submitted Photo