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Monday, October 7, 2013
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Newton, Iowa
Sarmento to update supervisors on Newton’s Main Street project
OBITUARIES Roxanna J. Bandy, 60 Thaddeus ‘Thad’ Hummel, 42 Keith K. McCuen, 76 INSIDE TODAY
By Ty Rushing Daily News Staff Writer Greater Newton Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Darrell Sarmento will be seeking the Jasper County Board of Supervisors permission to use the courthouse lawn for fall events during Tuesday’s meeting. Some of the proposed events on the Chambers calendar in-
clude the Downtown Newton Trick or Treat on Oct. 31, Downtown Newton Christmas Open House on Nov. 9 and 10, and the Chamber’s Lighted Christmas Parade on Nov. 29. The board is more than likely to approve Sarmento’s requests. Sarmento will also be updating the board on Newton’s progress garnering a Main Street designation. In a previ-
ous interview with the Daily News, Sarmento commented on the matter. “I think there is an enthusiastic pool of Newton citizens who would like to see downtown get a facelift and make it something to be proud of,” Sarmento said. “If we really want to say, ‘Come see our downtown,’ we’ve got to step it up.” Jasper County Hu-
man Resources Director Dennis Simon will present the board his proposal for the 2014 holiday schedule for county employees. If approved, county employees would have 10 days off next year. Another group is also seeking the board’s permission to use the courthouse lawn for an event. Multiple Jasper County 4-H Clubs want to host a “Fes-
tival of Trees” from Nov. 25 until Dec. 26. Last year’s “Festival of Trees,” was themed “The Giving Tree.” As a part of that theme, several clubs decorated their trees in support of local organizations or charities they adopted. Staff writer Ty Rushing may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 426, or at trushing@newtondailynews. com.
Local
15 years for Washer City Sams Page 2A
Sports
Cards finish fourth at Cardinal Invite Page 1B
Weather
Tuesday
High 75 Low 48
Wednesday
High 74 Low 47 Weather Almanac
Friday, Oct. 4 High 76 Low 61 1.14 inch of rain
Sat., Oct. 5
High 76 Low 46 No Precipitation
Sun., Oct. 6
High 49 Low 43 .03 inch of rain
By Daily News Staff
By Ty Rushing Daily News Staff Writer Last July, the Iowa Department of Education required all districts in the state to fully implement the Iowa Core. Locally, Berg Elementary School second-grade teacher Amy Prime has expressed concerns with the Iowa Core in a series of editorials and explained her reasoning in a recent interview. “I would say the problems aren’t so much with the actual core itself, as with the implementation of the core,” Prime said. “Which means how administrators are either being forced or choosing to implement them with teachers, which means they feel the pressure to make sure that the Iowa Core is being met.” “They are dictating to teachers exactly how they have to teach, when they have to teach, what they have to teach to make sure that every little bit of (Iowa Core) is being taught,” she continued. “It stifles teachers’ autonomy and creativity for sure.” Prime’s latest edito-
Ty Rushing/Daily News Amy Prime is a second-grade teacher at Berg Elementary School and has expressed her concerns with the Iowa Core. Prime recently wrote an editorial discussing her concerns that went viral amongst education blogs.
rial entitled “Common Core kills the dinosaurs — again” talked about how she had to eliminate a popular unit teaching her students about dinosaurs, due to it not totally aligning with the core. Prime’s story went viral amongst education blogs and social media groups and was even republished on Dr. Diane Radvitch’s, a known education advocate and author, personal website. When asked if she could bring the dinosaur
Stephanie Alexander Special to the Daily News
Comics & Puzzles Page 6A Opinion Page 4A Obituaries Page 3A Police Page 3A Our 112th Year No. 98
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Hummel was working on boom truck at Car Country
unit back into her classroom, while still meeting the core’s standards, Prime seemed open to the idea but said there are limitations. “All of the things that we taught in that (unit) would match up with the Iowa Core,” she said. “The problem is, when districts chose to bring in program that is purchased and marketed as covering the Common IOWA CORE See Page 5A
According to a press release from Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty, a Newton man was killed following a Thursday morning accident with the boom truck he was operating. The report states a 911 call was received at approximately 11:50 a.m. from Car Country Auto Salvage indicating a male had been injured and was in need of assistance. The Jasper County Sheriff ’s Office and Newton Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene. The man, later identified as Thaddeus W. Hummel, 42, of Newton, was transported to Skiff Medical Center, where he later died of his injuries. Halferty’s report states the accident remains under investigation. “Hummel was contracted to work on a hydraulic boom truck at Car Country,” he said. “It appeared that the boom was up in the air and had come down while Hummel was working on it. Hummel was trapped between the hydraulic boom. Car Country employees were able to remove him from the boom and assist with medical treatment.”
Wanted mother, son rob woman outside Walmart By Dave Hon Daily News Staff Writer Two Nebraskans who are wanted in connection with a homicide in Guide Rock, Neb., were charged with armed robbery Saturday in Newton. A story on the Des Moines Register stated officers responded to a report of an armed CASTERLINES See Page 5A
Skiff honors recipient of DAISY nursing award
Also:
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Newton man killed in work accident
Teacher expresses frustrations with Iowa Core
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Shayna Newman, registered nurse at Skiff Medical Center, was recognized for having extraordinary insight during the organization’s third 2013 DAISY award ceremony on Sept. 27. The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses was presented to Newman following a nomination by Skiff social worker Karen Kriz, who had received a lengthy letter of praise from a patient’s family member. The patient in question, already dealing with a cancer diagnosis, was in the hospital after fracturing her knee in a fall. Various health-care providers were speaking to her adult daughter about the patient’s current inability to take care of herself.
The daughter wrote that, in her distress over the situation, she believed they were suggesting she commit her mother permanently to a nursing home. “I was very upset and totally against the idea,” she wrote. Newman intervened in the situation. “Shayna was able to reach out to the daughter to help her relax and give her pertinent information about the option,” Kriz wrote in her nomination. According to the daughter, Newman “took the time to explain that, if my mother was admitted, it would be for rehabilitation and a short stay. She also explained how it would benefit my mother.” DAISY AWARD See Page 5A
Submitted Photo DAISY Award winner Shayna Newton, RN, (left) is pictured with social worker Karen Kriz, who nominated her.