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Tuesday, October 1, 2013
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Ardyth Pollard recalls her time as a flight attendant
OBITUARIES Bruce K. Fullmer Nondas M. Sports
INSIDE TODAY
By Ty Rushing Daily News Staff Writer
Newton Rotary Students of the Month Page 2A
Ty Rushing/Daily News Teachers at Woodrow Wilson Elementary practice the “swarm” technique during Monday’s ALICE training session held in the building’s library. ALICE is being implemented in all of schools in the Newton Community School District. Additionally, NCSD Director of Business Affairs Gayle Isaac will speak about initiatives to enhance school safety at the Aurora Heights PTA meeting from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. tonight in the AH gymnasium. The public is invited to attend.
Iowa Lottery
Newton man wins lottery prize Page 5A
Schools preparing to deal with threats By Ty Rushing Daily News Staff Writer
“It is eye-opening. It is empowering, and it will help you look at our safety procedures in a different light,” were the words Woodrow Wilson Elementary School Principal Nancy Van Wyk used to prepare her staff for ALICE training on Monday. ALICE is an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate, which is a program that teaches schools officials how to properly prepare for an active shooter in a building. On Monday, all four elementary buildings in the Newton
Sports
Tigerhawks, Raiders at invite Page 1B
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Community School District underwent this training, and there are plans to provide this training at both the middle and high school as well. Monday’s session at Woodrow Wilson was led by Newton Police Department Detective Rob Burdess, Baxter Police Chief Steve Wright, Jasper County Sheriff ’s Office Lt. Aaron Groves and Newton Fire Marshall Mike Knoll. “Part of our goal here is to develop that mindset with you that it’s not a matter of if it’s going to happen but when it’s going to happen,” Groves told the WW staff. “You are going to get
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ALICE See Page 5A
WASHINGTON (AP) — As much of the federal government grinds to a halt, President Barack Obama is telling the U.S. military he’ll push Congress to reopen the government as soon as possible. In his sole response early Tuesday to Congress’ failure to avert the first shutdown in nearly two decades, Obama addressed his comments in a video to American troops, rather than the lawmakers he’s been scolding for weeks. There was no reference in the threeminute video message to Republicans, whose insistence that Obama’s health care law be scaled back has been at the
center of a grueling back-and-forth between the GOP-controlled House and the Democratic-led Senate. “Unfortunately, Congress has not fulfilled its responsibility,” Obama said. “It has failed to pass a budget and, as a result, much of our government must now shut down until Congress funds it again.” Troops in uniform in Afghanistan and elsewhere will stay on duty, Obama said, noting he’d signed a law Monday to ensure they get their paychecks on time. SHUTDOWN See Page 5A
Ardyth Pollard spends most of her time relaxing in her room at Park Centre these days, but the 95-yearold can still recall the times when she flew the “friendly skies” as a flight attendant for United Airlines. “In the beginning it was lots of awesome fun,” Ardyth said. “Then, as time went on, more people were flying and it became kind of a hard job. But it had many nice rewards.” “Awesome fun” is a pretty strong way to describe any job; however, Ardyth explained why she felt working for United lived up to that billing. “You meet a lot of interesting Pollard people. And you help people, they are at your mercy,” she said jokingly. During her time as a flight attendant, Ardyth traveled the world and lived in different parts of the country. She said she domiciled out of Chicago, New York and Denver and that Hawaii was her favorite place to travel. “About 29 times,” Ardyth said on how many times she visited Hawaii. “The temperature was always right. The people are always happy, the hula dancing and the partying. I’ve been to Europe twice, England mostly.” Ardyth spent more of her time growing up in Colfax and Newton and found out about the opportunity to become a flight attendant from some of her friends who worked for United. “I just sent in my application and I was doing some shopping in Newton and I called home,” she said. “My mother said, ‘You better get home, ‘cause you have to go to Chicago.’ It was hard to break from home.” Once she arrived in Chicago, Ardyth recalled how things went a bit awry during the medical physical portion of her interview. POLLARD See Page 5A
NPD warns of trailer thefts Over the past several weeks, the Newton Police Department has received numerous reports of stolen utility and flatbed trailers within the city. Trailer owners are encouraged to lock up or secure their trailers to prevent further incidents and ensure the license plate and serial number is known to assist in recovering your unit if stolen. Anyone with knowledge of the missing trailers’ whereabouts or regarding suspects is encouraged to contact the Newton Police Department at (641) 791-0850.
Bertha the biker dog becomes official Thunder Nites mascot
Dear Abby Page 6A Opinion Page 4A
By Dave Hon Daily News Staff Writer
Obituaries Page 3A
Those who have attended Thunder Nites in Newton are probably familiar with Bertha, the big, brown, friendly mascot. Beverly and Gene West have had Bertha since she was just a few weeks old and the Brindle Mastiff is now four years old. Bertha, now the mascot of Thunder Nites, is making waves on the Internet. “She was born on my husband’s birthday,” Beverly said. On her husbands birthday,
Police Page 3A Our 112th Year No. 94
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the tools today to respond to an incident if a shooter or active gunman comes into this building.” The training session was incredibly intense and began with security footage of a school shooting. Groves didn’t inform the participants the video was a reenactment until after he posed a Q&A about the footage. Groves and the other law enforcement officials also pointed out the mistakes the participants in the video and most people make in cases of an active shooter.
Obama focuses on military as government shuts down
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as Bertha’s mother was giving birth to her, Beverly and Gene received a call. They were looking for a breeder that was selling Brindle Mastiffs. Since then, Bertha has come to be known as the Biker Dog. Bertha, who has her own Facebook page, can be seen around Newton and the Des Moines donning biker garb and riding in the sidecar of a motorcycle. Beverly said they never have a problem getting Bertha in the motorcycle. BERTHA See Page 5A
Submitted Photo Bertha sits in the side car of a motorcycle at a bike rally. Bertha’s owner, Beverly West, said the problem isn’t getting Bertha into the side car, but getting her out.