Newton
Serving Newton & Jasper County Since 1902
Daily News
Friday, October 11, 2013
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www.newtondailynews.com
School board to hear from department heads, discuss enrollment
OBITUARIES Lester H. Evans, 78 Doris Lou Speir, 89 Ernest W. Wallace, 71
By Ty Rushing Daily News Staff Writer
INSIDE TODAY
Local
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News The Newton Cardinal Regiment performs recently during a home football game. The Cardinal Regiment will perform Saturday at ValleyFest in West Des Moines.
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NHS Cardinal Regiment wrapping up contest season
Review of JCCA’s season opener
By Bob Eschliman Daily News Editor
Education
Student of the Month celebration Page 8A
Sports
Aquagirls dominate on Senior Night Page 1B
Weather
Saturday
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sic Association assigned Newton to the Pella site for state competition. “We will be marching at the State Marching Festival in Waukee this year instead of at Pella,” Beerends said. “We requested the change because we also march at the Waukee Marching Invitational that same evening and it saves us some travel time.” The Cardinal Regiment marches at 2:20 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at Waukee Stadium for its state competition appearance. Its marching time for the Waukee Marching Invitational in the evening has not yet been announced. Daily News Editor Bob Eschliman may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 423, or at beschliman@newtondailynews.com.
Dave Hon/Daily News Mark Thayer of the Newton Clinic speaks about the past, present and future of the Newton Clinic at the Newton Development Corporation’s Salute to Business and Industry. Other presentations were given by employees of the Vernon Company and Hawkeye Stages.
Sunday
Weather Almanac
Thurs., Oct. 10 High ?? Low ?? No Precipitation Also:
Classifieds Page 4B Comics & Puzzles Page 6A Dear Abby Page 6A Opinion Page 4A Obituaries Page 3A Police Page 3A Our 112th Year No. 102
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Monday’s meeting of the Newton Community School District’s Board of Education will provide the board with updates from the district’s non-education related department heads, an update on enrollment and several action items. NCSD Maintenance Supervisor Jack Suttek, NCSD Technology Supervisor Chris Bieghler, and NCSD Transportation Supervisor Curt Roorda will each give a report. According to the agenda, Suttek will discuss the district’s facilities, Beighler will discuss technology within the district, and Roorda will provide an update on bus driver training. In his report, Superintendent Bob Callaghan will discuss the district’s enrollment count, which was done on Oct. 1. During the Sept. 23 meeting, Callaghan said student enrollment sat at 3,073. Last year’s figure was 3,051 according to the Iowa Department of Education. SCHOOL BOARD See Page 5A
Miss Iowa, Miss Iowa Teen USA pageants return to Newton By Ty Rushing Daily News Staff Writer This Saturday and Sunday, Newton will once again host the Miss Iowa USA and Miss Iowa Teen USA pageants. Libby Watkins, assistant state director for Future Productions, is excited to bring this event back to Newton. “The Miss Iowa USA and Miss Iowa Teen USA pageants are thrilled to be back in Newton for the third year,” Watkins said. It is wonderful to bring such a high profile and internationally recognized event back to the community of Newton. Thanks to Newton High School, local hotels, local restaurants, and the support of the Newton Convention and Visitors Bureau, we are happy to have found a home for our state pageant.” The show will be held in Newton Senior High School’s Center for Performance and tickets will be available for purchase at the door. Saturday’s preliminary round start at 8 p.m. and the final round takes place at 4 p.m. on Sunday. Watkins gave some insight as to what Newtonians can expect from the show. PAGEANTS See Page 5A
Craig Thorson has two military families By Ty Rushing Daily News Staff Writer
Astrograph Page 5B
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The Newton Senior High School marching band will conclude one of its most successful seasons ever next weekend at State Marching Band Competition and the Waukee Marching Invitational, both to be held at Waukee Stadium. “The kids continue to put forth a good effort every rehearsal and we’re hoping for good weather and great performances to finish out the year,” second-year director Jim Beerends said. The Cardinal Regiment will perform Saturday at the prestigious ValleyFest/Showdown event at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. The band performs at
1:30 p.m. as part of ValleyFest XXXIV. They return to the field at 7:15 p.m. to perform in Showdown XXXIV. The band is coming off a fifth-place finish in its class — 10th place overall — at Urbandale last weekend. It opened competition season Sept. 28 with an impressive showing in Pella. “We really have had some exciting moments this year including our second place finish at Pella the weekend of the 28th,” Beerends said. “According to the kids, that is the highest they have ever placed at that festival.” Typically, the Cardinal Regiment makes a return trip to Pella to complete its marching competition season. And, once again, the Iowa High School Mu-
Salute to Business and Industry
High 67 Low 42
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Newton, Iowa
Craig Thorson is unique in that he has two military families. The first military family he belongs to was started by his father, who is a U.S. Navy World War II veteran and continued by his son who currently serves in the Navy. His other family was the airmen who served at the Des Moines Air National Guard Base. “That unit was different than active duty; it’s like a big family. People don’t come and go. They stay there,” Craig said. “Unlike the Air Force, where everybody plays musical chairs every three years where you get a new assignment and everybody leaves and you never really have a chance to have longterm relationships. Ev-
erybody stays for their 20-year retirement. I got four or five guys I flew with whose sons became pilots.” When the Des Moines Air National Guard Base announced it was discontinuing the F-16 program, it hit Craig hard. “That was a sad day, I didn’t really expect that it would ever happen,” Craig said. “With the budget cuts and the economy the way it is, it didn’t come as a to-
tal shock, but it’s pretty sad.” What made the departure of the F-16s even more significant for Craig was that he was one of the few Newton natives to actually fly the F-16s. “I’ve done flybys for the Fourth of July Parade, (when they added) the new part of the airport at the dedication and I flew over a football game when Newton was in the finals,” Craig said. Craig absolutely loved flying and serving his country, which he did for a 38 combined years in the Iowa Air National Guard and the U.S. Air Force, and he described what flying a fighter jet was like. “It’s not anything at all like the airlines where you go from point A to point B,” Craig said. “It’s a totally awesome expe-
Submitted Photo Craig Thorson sits in his F-16 fighter jet back when he was stationed at the Des Moines Air Base. Thorson served 38 years total in the military between two branches.
rience. In the F-16, they used to call it the ‘Magic Carpet Ride,’ because the canopy rails are very low and you have that bubble canopy, you feel like you’re sitting out on the end of a pencil.” Craig said while piloting the F-16s, you couldn’t see much due to the seat being titled back and the control stick not being in the traditional
position between your legs, but on an adjacent console. “You can’t see and you feel like you’re on a magic carpet. That thing had so much power,” he said. While working at the base, he flew multiple planes and took part in a number of missions. THORSON See Page 5A