NEWTON
GETTING THE WIN
Cardinals fight back to top Bobcats on the road / 1B
DAILY NEWS FRIDAY, DEC. 11, 2015 • WHERE TO GO WHEN YOU NEED TO KNOW
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Consulting firm returns to discuss school boundaries Second of two forums used input from November forum By Jason W. Brooks Newton Daily News
Mike Mendenhall/Daily News Jasper County Democratic Party Chairperson Taylor Van De Krol, center, and a group of fellow Democrats practice presidential preference groups during a mock caucus Thursday night at Park Centre. The Iowa Democratic Party provided the training to prepare precinct chairs for procedures for the Feb. 1 caucus.
Dems train precinct chairs, display new app in mock caucus By Mike Mendenhall Newton Daily News For a first-time Iowa caucus-goer, the experience can be a bit overwhelming. For Iowa Democrats, it’s not just casting a secret ballot and out the door. It’s an involved process of forming groups at your caucus cite, last-minute recruiting for a candidate and a tie can even be decided with a coin flip. That is why party leaders, like Jasper County Democratic Party Chairperson Taylor Van De Krol, feel it’s important to educate their precinct captains and eligible voters early in the process. “Iowa’s very fortunate to be first in the nation caucus state, and that’s why it’s ever more crucial to make sure that our leaders at the precincts are trained and trained properly,” Van De Krol said. “We have some precinct chairs that want to go to more than one training to have a better understanding. Especially me at 24, I’ve never
Mike Mendenhall/Daily News Alex Drzycimski, Iowa Democratic Party caucus to convention deputy chair, gives a presentation on how to run a caucus sight before a practice session Thursday at Park Centre.
participated in a caucus besides 2012. It’s going to be something new, I’ll enjoy it and it will be a learning curve.” Jasper County Democrats held a mock caucus Thursday night at Park Centre to help guide precinct chairpersons and voters through what a Democratic caucus looks like. The two
dozen Democrats broke into presidential preference groups — for Thursday training a vote was based on preferred vacation spots — and calculated group “viability” based on the number of precinct attendees. Just as in a real caucus, the number of delegates awarded to the county convention by each precinct is predetermined by the Iowa Democratic Party prior to caucus night. Before the caucus, Iowa Democratic Party Caucus to Convention Deputy Chair Alex Drzycimski gave an 1.5-hour session on how to run a caucus sight, teaching precinct chairs everything from set-up, viability calculation to reporting. Part of Thursday night’s training focused on IDP’s new caucus reporting smartphone app. It allows precinct chairs more accurate and timely reporting of the delegates awarded in the polling place. The app is available for Window Phone, CAUCUS | 3A
There were not as many citizens at Thursday night’s forum as there were at a similar Nov. 17 event in the Berg Middle School cafeteria. However, there was still work done in terms of exchanges of ideas and facts regarding Newton’s school district boundaries. Rob Schwarz and Dave Stoakes of consulting firm RSP & Associates brought in two draft proposal maps
In life, there are few once in a lifetime experiences and even fewer that you want to miss. Thanks to caring and concerned caretakers at Park Centre in Newton, Bob Stanley did not have to miss one of his. Stanley has only one granddaughter, Kayla, and she was getting married. The wedding was in Aplington and his family was hoping that he would be able to attend. “I was in a care conference with his son and daughter when his son, Dave, inquired if his dad could handle coming to the wedding,” director of
nursing Jennifer Flake said. “We briefly discussed options of what we could do to help his dad see his granddaughter in her wedding dress and her important day. We considered her coming to the facility for pictures prior to the wedding.” After the discussion, Flake along with Sheree Esqueda began brainstorming how they could get Stanley, 89, to the wedding. Stanley has been a longtime resident at Park Centre and during his time there the staff has developed a bond with his family. “Sheree and I developed a plan on how we could get him to the wedding with the assistance from our husbands,” Flake said.
Board’s revisit of reconfiguration one of many topics for Monday By Jason W. Brooks Newton Daily News
Submitted Photo Thanks to Park Centre employees going the extra mile, Bob Stanley was recently able to attend the wedding of his only granddaughter, Kayla, in Aplington.
They started to prepare him weeks in advance by discussing his granddaugh-
ter’s wedding.
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WEDDING | 3A
It’s always tough to gauge how long certain public board meetings will last. Judging by what’s on the agenda for Monday’s Newton Community School District Board of Education regular meeting, there’s no reason to think it will be a short one. A discussion/action item regarding possibly rescinding or modifying the district’s K-6 reconfiguration plan is the most high-profile item on the agenda for the meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. in the Emerson Hough conference room. However, there’s a long list of other action items that could eat up a lot of clock, and many of these could BOARD | 3A
FEATURE
WHERE IT’S AT Astrograph......................5B Calendar..........................5A Classifieds......................4B
FORUM | 3A
Jason W. Brooks/Daily News Fran Henderson, left, looks on as Doug Smith points to a location on a map at Thursday night’s school redistricting forum. RSP & Associates used input from a November forum to create potential elementary school boundaries for next year’s reconfiguration, and will hold another forum at 6 p.m. on Dec. 21 at Berg Middle School.
Caregivers go the extra mile to get resident to wedding By Jamee A. Pierson Newton Daily News
of the district, and how the Newton Community School District’s four K-4 elementary boundaries could look for the reconfiguration at the start of the 2016-17 school year. About 16 people showed up for Thursday’s forum — held on the same night as several other school district activities — compared to about 50 at the Nov. 17 forum. RSP used input from the Nov. 17 forum, along with demographic and district data, to create the maps presented Tuesday for a group edit and feedback. RSP will return with the same maps to hold another forum at 6 p.m. on Dec. 21 in the BMS cafeteria.
Comics & Puzzles...........6A Dear Abby........................6A Local News......................2A
Obituaries.......................5A Opinion............................4A State News......................7A
Guinness Record holder at TJ
Students learn while stacking cups / 2A
Volume No. 114 No. 147 2 sections X pages
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