THE NEWSPAPER THAT SERVES ALL DECATUR COUNTY
10 PAGES
USPS 310-140
LEON, IOWA 50144, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2017
P.O. Box 580, 110 N. Main, Leon, IA 50144
E-mail: jrnews@grm.net
Voting Public Calls for Special Election to Fill Supervisor Seat The voting public of Decatur County has raised their voice. Enough signatures have been gathered by petition calling for a special election to fill the County Supervisor vacancy. Decatur County Auditor Stephanie Daughton received the valid petition on January 17. On January 3, outgoing Supervisor JR Cornett, was officially appointed to fill the vacancy on the board created by the resignation of Supervisor Gary Boswell that was effective on January 2. Now, due to the petition filed, a special election will be held to determine who will fill the seat. In addition, according to Auditor Daughton, the special election also forces the seat of the County Treasurer to appear on the ballot, because the current Treasurer, Kathy Martin, was appointed by the Board of Supervisors following the resignation of Beth Andrew. “Iowa law states that an in-
dividual appointed to fill a vacancy only serves until the next pending election,” stated Auditor Daughton. Iowa law also allows for county party conventions to reconvene for the purpose of nominating a person to run as the party’s candidate. In this case, says County Auditor Daughton, the party may reconvene for the purpose of nominating someone to run as the party’s candidate for Supervisor and someone to run as the party’s candidate for Treasurer. The Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday morning January 23 to discuss when to hold the special election. The Board has selected March 21, 2017 as the date for the special election. This also means that the candidate filing period begins immediately and ends at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 24. Papers will need to be filed in the County Auditor’s Office. According to Auditor (continued on page 10)
County Conservation: Savanna Hills Sweethearts Dinner/Dance February 11 The Decatur County Conservation Board is planning a dinner and dance fundraiser on Saturday, February 11 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the Leon Country Club. The Savanna Hills Sweethearts Dinner and Dance will be an event for those 21 and over and will be a major fundraiser for the Savanna Hills nature center project. Tickets are $50 per person which includes Friends of Decatur County Conservation membership. Those attending will enjoy food, drinks, music and more. Social hour is planned to begin at 6:00 p.m. and dinner will follow at 7:00 p.m. A silent auction will end at 9:30 p.m. The Board is asking for RSVPs and they need to be turned in by February 6. The Savanna Hills Learning
Center, which when it comes to fruition, will be located on the west side of Little River Lake. “The center will benefit Decatur County tremendously by creating an area for people to learn about nature and the environment in a hands-on way,” stated Kayla Stalder, Naturalist for Decatur County Conservation. “It will also provide rooms for community meetings and classrooms for school field trips.” For more information on the event contact Kayla at stalder.deccb@grm.net. In addition to the dinner and dance, the Conservation Board is also selling Cedar Wood Strip Canoe raffle tickets. The tickets are $20 each or 6 for $100 and can be purchased at (continued on page 10)
The bowling alley is in the process of being revitalized. A new exterior has been completed on the building. Dakota and Amber Hill are the new owners. (photo by Mary Lindsey)
Bowling Alley is Being Revived By Keegan Bethards The bowling alley located at 309 SW Lorraine Street in Leon (former Leon Lanes), has been revived by a local Leon couple and renamed ‘The Cave.’ So
grab your bowling bag from the back of your closet, shine your shoes and start the countdown until the reopening. Dakota and Amber Hill are the new owners of the bowling
alley and cafe. The couple has plans to rejuvenate this facility and make it a welcoming place for the young and the old. They are in the process of small renovations before their opening.
Are CD Schools Making the Grade? The Iowa State Department of Education (DOE) recently released its second annual Iowa School ‘Report Card’ for each school district in the state of Iowa. The North Elementary improved their scores from 57.6 points in 2015 to 60.9 points in 2016 (maintaining Needs Improvement Rank), the South Elementary is still considered Unable to Rate which is the same as last year’s rank, but unfortunately the Middle School/ Senior High School dropped their scores from 62.1 points which was ‘Acceptable’ in 2015 to 57.7 points which is ranked ‘Needs Improvement’ for 2016. The good news, the ‘Needs Improvement’ rank for the Elementary falls in the (55.0 - 60.9 points) range which puts the North Elementary just below the ‘Acceptable’ rank which is (61.0 - 66.9 points). The bad news, the ‘Needs Improvement’ rank for the MS/Senior High School is next to the bottom for performance categories ranking at 57.7 points for high school (56.0 - 59.9 points), which is just above the Priority ranking of (0-55.9 points). “Data is useful as a predictive tool and helps us work with focus and coherency. We assess student learning, monitor performance and provide interventions based on data on a daily basis,” stated Superintendent
Knights of Columbus Free Throw Winners The local Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest was held Sunday, January 22, 2017 at Central Decatur High School. The winners will advance to the second round to be held in Osceola on February 5. Pictured, at the right, with the groups is Kyle Sheetz, Grand Knight of Council 12216.
Chris Coffelt. “Our data demonstrates we are systemically helping students realize a year’s worth of growth. This has been validated by an independent analytics agency. In fact, South Elementary for two of the last three years has helped students realize more than a year’s growth as measured by Education Analytics. The challenge is to carry this success forward across our entire system.” Overview The Iowa’s School Report Card (SRC) is comprised of multiple measures which are combined to determine an overall performance rating. Iowa Schools are categorized into one of six performance categories: Exceptional, High Performing, Commendable, Acceptable, Needs Improvement and Priority. The SRC includes eight measures: Academic Proficiency, Closing the Achievement Gap, Annual Growth, College and Career Ready Growth, On-Track for College Readiness, Graduation Rate, Average Daily Attendance and Staff Retention. Each of the measures has a value between 0 and 100 and is then multiplied by a weight amount, producing a score for each measure. The weighting is a value assigned to each indicator. The score for each measure is determined and then all measures are added together to create an overall score. Of the eight measures included in the SRC, all but one is a percentage which ranges from 0 to 100. Performance Categories of all Iowa Schools At the elementary level, the lowest performing 5% of schools with rating scores of 0-54.9 points are identified as
“priority” schools. ● The next 15% of schools with rating scores between 55.060.9 points are ranked “needs improvement” schools. ● The next 32% of schools with the rating scores between 61.0-66.9 points are “acceptable” schools. ● The next 34% of schools with rating scores between 67.0-72.9 points are “commendable” schools. ● The next 12% of schools with rating scores between 73.0-78.9 points are “high-performing” schools. ● The top performing 2% of schools with rating scores 79 and above are identified as “exceptional”. At the MS/Senior High level, the lowest performing 6% of schools with rating scores of 0-55.9 points are identified as
VOLUME 85 - NUMBER 52 A bar and grill is set to serve lunch and dinner, to provide an additional meal choice for the Leon community. The lanes will open and will offer glow bowling as well. Performing bands and karaoke are just a couple ideas that the new owners plan to have available from time to time. “[The opening of this facility] will be a great thing for Leon with dinner and an activity to do for our community,” shared Amber Hill. The couple shared that if everything goes as planned and smoothly, you can count on them for your lunch, dinner, birthday party, and bowling needs come the end of February or beginning of March. “priority” schools. ● The next 11% of schools with rating scores between 56.059.9 points are ranked “needs improvement” schools. ● The next 45% of schools with the rating scores between 60.0-65.3 points are “acceptable” schools. ● The next 29% of schools with rating scores between 65.4-69.9 points are “commendable” schools. ● The next 8% of schools with rating scores between 70.0-74.9 points are “high-performing” schools. ● The top performing 1% of schools with rating scores 75 and above are identified as “exceptional”. The below breakdown shows the final weight for each measure at each school level: Measures - Elementary Proficiency measures for 28.6%, Closing Achievement Gap 28.6%, College and Career (continued on page 4)
DCH Hopes to have New CEO by Spring or Early Summer The Decatur County Hospital Trustees met on December 27 for the purpose of approving a plan of action to fill the CEO position that was left vacant following the resignation of former CEO Suzanne Cooner. Here are the details from that meeting and the direction the hospital will take as released by the DCH. Mercy Health Network has begun a search for a full-time CEO. Finalists will likely interview in Leon in March, and it is anticipated a new CEO will begin in late spring or early summer. Until such time a CEO is hired, Mercy Health Network will provide interim leadership. Initially Mike Trachta, Mercy Health Network’s Vice President will be involved in sup-
porting DCH. It was noted that additional interim coverage will likely come from another Mercy Health Network CEO during the search process and that Amber Badolato, Mercy Health Network Administrative Fellow will also provide supplemental support to the DCH Senior Leadership Team during this transition. Mercy Health Network and the Decatur County Board of Trustees share confidence in the current DCH Senior Team. According to the Board of Trustees, it is expected this team, along with the Interim CEO, will continue business as usual and that the Trustees does not anticipate major strategic changes to occur during the interim period.
Leon Hardware & Appliances New Name Same Familiar Faces
(from left) Sam Boothe, age 10 of Central Decatur; Rayce Snyder, age 11 of Wayne; Brayden Olson, age 12 of Lamoni; Matthew Boothe, age 13 of Central Decatur; and Landon Gilliland, age 14 of Lamoni.
(from left): Lauren Olson, age 10 of Lamoni; Mya Applegate, age 12 of Central Decatur; Eily Hall, age 13 of Central Decatur; and Alaina Applegate, age 14 of Central Decatur.
By Keegan Bethards Dave and Susan Horney of Leon have partnered with Eric and Tracey Dale to operate the Hardware Hank store. The name of the business is now Leon Hardware & Appliances LLC, and is still located at 300 W. 1st Street in Leon with the same friendly employees. Dave Horney has been employed by Eric Dale for the past twenty-three years and is very familiar with the operation of the business. Five years ago, the Hardware Hank portion of the business, along with the new store location became a part of the Leon business community. “We continue to offer a wide variety of hardware and plumbing supplies along with appliances in addition to our Serta mattresses,” stated Dave Horney. The Leon Hardware & Appliances operating hours are as followed: Monday - Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. and Saturday: 8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Dave and Susan say if you have questions, give ‘em a ring at 641-446-4123.