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Thursday, December 5, 2013
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Newton, Iowa
Chamber hosting Christmas party, awards ceremony By Zach Johnson Daily News Staff Writer The Greater Newton Area Chamber of Commerce is preparing for the end of the year with its annual Christmas party and second-annual
Business Awards ceremony. The party and ceremony will be held tonight at the Innovation Center inside the former Maytag headquarters. “It’s a complementary party with a cash bar. Just a way to celebrate the holiday
season,” Executive Director Darrell Sarmento said. “Chamber ambassadors and other sponsors pay for the food and its just a fun night to get together and celebrate the season at the end of the year.” The awards have eight
categories, which include curb appeal, non-profit, social media, marketing, retail-small, retail-large, staff development and community champion. Last year’s winners include Newton Village for the Curb Appeal award;
Centre for Arts & Artists for the Non-Profit award; Jasper County Museum for the Social Media award; Just Fabulous Darling for the Small Business Retail award; and Hy-Vee for the Large Business award. “We have not had an
awards ceremony where we recognize different businesses for different areas of achievement,” Sarmento said “We have eight different categories that reflected things that we thought were important to our business community.”
School district seeks community members for new committee
OBITUARIES Lacey Rachelle Bucklin, 35 Barbara Jean (Hall) Summey, 83
By Ty Rushing Daily News Staff Writer
INSIDE TODAY
“Updates coming soon.” If you visit the Newton Community School District’s website and look under the committee tab under the school board heading, this is the message you will find. In recent meetings, the NCSD School Board and Superintendent Bob Callaghan have discussed ways to reestablish committees within the district. With the Technology Committee off and running, the next committee getting a makeover is tasked with improving Newton’s schools.
Sports
Iowan Annett talks about big move to Sprint Cup Series Page 7A
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Friday
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Submitted Photo In the upcoming Newton Community Theatre production of “A Christmas Carol,” Matt Moran will play young Scrooge, Lonnie Appleby will be Scrooge, and Cheyenne Schaeffer will play Belle. The first show is Friday.
Prepare for a surprise ending
NCT production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ set to debut
Saturday
By Bob Eschliman Daily News Editor
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If you think you know how “A Christmas Carol” is supposed to end, think again. The Newton Community Theatre will present its final production of the 2013 season beginning this weekend. “A Christmas Carol,” directed by Sue Beukema and Pam Ratliff, will tell the classic Charles Dickens Christmas tale from a new perspective. But first, the ending. Without providing any spoilers, audiences will get a surprise in the end of the production. “The play ends with a heartwarming surprise for us all as we learn who Thomas’ grandfather really is,” Beukema said. A young boy (Clay Lamb) cannot understand why his grandfather (Scott Schaeffer)
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Also: Astrograph Page 11A Births Page 3A Classifieds Page 9A Comics & Puzzles Page 6A Dear Abby Page 6A Opinion Page 4A
By Daily News Staff
Public Notices Page 9A
Our 112th Year No. 139
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brother Fred (Steve Barnett), sister Fan (Aliza Blair) and Scrooge’s long-lost love Belle (Cheyenne Schaeffer). “Kudos to the cast and crew of ‘A Christmas Carol’. You did a fantastic job and Newton should be very proud of the talent that this community has,” Beukema said. “[To the community,] come, sit back, relax and enjoy this holiday production of ‘A Christmas Carol.’” The curtain will rise on the first of six performances 7:30 p.m. Friday. Additional performances are planned for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, as well as 7:30 p.m. next Friday through Sunday, Dec. 12 through 14. A 2 p.m. matinee is planned for Sunday. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for youth. The NCT box office is open 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6:30 to 8 p.m. weekdays, and one hour before each performance.
Blair to perform in IDT production of ‘Nutcracker’ By Annabelle Blair Special to the Daily News Amelia Blair, 16, of Newton has long been a fan of the annual ballet performances of “The Nutcracker” put on by Iowa Dance Theatre. But this year’s performance at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines will hold a twist for her — she will be dancing in it. Blair recalls her audition back in August: “There were a lot of people there! It was scary because it was the first big audition I had been to. I got the part I wanted, so I was really pleased with that.” As a Russian character dancer, Blair will be partnered with two other dancers in a larger scene of eight people. Her Russian dance corps performs NUTCRACKER See Page 5A
Social media Lunch and Learn planned for community businesses
Obituaries Page 3A
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gives his hard-earned money to the poor. His confusion provides an opportunity for his grandfather to tell the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, as he recalls it, and a traditional retelling of A Christmas Carol comes to life onstage as a play within a play. The story unfolds on Christmas Eve with Scrooge (Lonnie Appleby) visited by his former partner Jacob Marley (Larry Hurto), who tells him that he will be visited by the spirits Christmas Past (Kristine Perkins), Christmas Present (Stephanie Bantell) and Christmas Future (Larry Daft). During each of their visits they persuade Scrooge to turn his life around. In this beautifully written adaptation, you will find all of the classic Charles Dickens characters: Bob Cratchit ( John Dougan), Tiny Tim (Reed Klingensmith),
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The City of Newton, along with partner organizations the Newton Greater Area Chamber of Commerce, the Newton Development Corporation, the Newton Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, Newton Waterworks, Skiff Medical Center, the Newton Housing Development Corporation, and Newton Community Schools, is
hosting a series of Social Media Lunch and Learn sessions, with the first session being this Friday, December 6, at noon, at the Chamber of Commerce meeting room. As a new and exciting form of communication, social media such as Facebook and Twitter has changed the way that we build brands and raise awareness for issues. During these monthly training sessions, con-
sultants from Brand Driven Digital will provide programs on getting started with social media, growing your efforts, and measuring success. Participants will also get plenty of time for questions and best practices tailored specifically to our Newton businesses. The first lunch and learn will focus on social media’s impact on business and getting started at your organization.
This session will be led by Nick Westergaard and Macy Koch of Brand Driven Digital. The Social Media Lunch and Learn is free to attend and local business owners and leaders of organizations are encouraged to attend. Lunch will be available for $5. RSVP Natalie Umsted at natalieu@newtongov.org or (641) 791-0859 if you plan on attending the Lunch and Learn.