The Creston Fire Department is getting recognition for its rescue abilities in a national publication. Fire Chief Todd Jackson says the January issue of “Fire Rescue” magazine contains an article about the department’s efforts on September 26th last year to save a man who’d fallen into a partly-filled grain bin and was buried up to his neck.The employee of DeBruce Grain Company in Creston was rescued and he was able to go back to work the following week. Chief Jackson says “Most of those incidents like that don’t come out as favorable as that one.”
Country crime can be costly
January 23, 2004 By
Rural crime is often overlooked by Iowans who live in the state’s growing towns and cities, but a case this week highlighted the cost, when one farmer irritated at his neighbor’s wandering cows was charged with theft of as much as 10-thousand dollars. Black Hawk County sheriff’s deputy Tony Thompson helps keep track of crime in the countryside. He points out an animal at market weight can bring a dollar a pound and weigh 800 to 1200 pounds, quite a bit of money. Livestock isn’t the only costly property a farmer or rural resident may have that offers an opportunity for theft.He points out a combine is “worth a Porsche” and a lot of rural burglaries and thefts include farm implements and lawn tractors, equipment worth thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. The wide-open spaces you may drive past look peaceful, but the deputy knows rural crime is a continual problem in Iowa. Thompson says while there are advantages to living in the country, the open spaces of a rural setting can allow a criminal to operate where there’s far less chance of someone seeing them commit the crime. Thompson says the scourge of meth labs more often is found in rural areas for that reason, because it’s harder to find them and there’s less chance their strong odor and drug-dealing traffic will be noticed by neighbors.
Fire hits Hampton businesses
January 23, 2004 By
Investigators are chipping through layers of ice, looking for the cause of Thursday’s fire that gutted two businesses in downtown Hampton and damaged several others. A-Plus Tax Accounting and the Americana Antique Mall were destroyed. The cause of the fire is unknown and investigators are having to deal with a three-inch coating of ice. Hampton fire chief Jeff Ferris says the early-morning blaze was a tough one to fight. Temperatures were so cold, the spraying water was freezing before it could get to the building. Ferris says the damage was kept mostly to the two businesses and the facade was saved — but for naught.The buildings are so weak, the entire front may topple and they’ll likely have to be pushed in. The granite-front buildings were built in the 1890s and were part of Hampton’s downtown historic district.
145 Iowa schools on warning list
January 23, 2004 By
The Iowa Department of Education has given an “early warning” to 50 districts and 145 schools overall that they’re not meeting the federal standards set in the “No Child Left Behind Act.” The law requires students to meet certain minimum standards, but Governor Vilsack says Iowa schools didn’t get the federal funds they need to do the job. He says the problem is this underscores the flaw in the approach. He says Leave No Child is “focused on failure, and it’s funded for failure.” Vilsack says if the federal government were really focused on the issue, it would have fully funded this bill. An he says they would fully fund special education. Because of the underfunding, Vilsack says the state loses 300-million dollars a year. Vilsack says the federal funding would make a big difference.He says that would go a long way to addressing some of the problems the early warning system has put into play. Vilsack says they notified school districts so they weren’t caught off guard. He says they felt it was the responsible thing to do to let school districts know this is coming and they could face federal sanctions. He says they’ve also let federal officials know they believe the structure of the program is flawed. You can find out if your school is on the watch list by surfing to: www.state.ia.us.
Bill would ban bikes from some roadways
January 23, 2004 By
Bicyclists would be banned from some four-lane highways if a bill that cleared the Senate Transportation Committee becomes law. The bill would prohibit bikes from traveling on four-lane divided highways when there’s a designated bike trail or paved shoulder running parallel to the road. Senator John Putney, a Republican from Gladbrook, is pushing the bill, which he says will apply to only 17 miles of four-lane highway in the state. Putney says he constantly comes up behind cyclists on Highway 330 — which has a recreation trail nearby.Putney says he’s never been an opponent of trails, but if they’re not going to be used, then there’s no need to spend more money to build more or extend current trails. Putney says the cyclists create a hazard on a busy path like Highway 330. but Ankeny cyclist Scott Sumpter says bike trails post their own risks for serious riders. Sumpter says he rides between 20 and 25 miles an hour, and encounters with families out with the kids on bikes with training wheels are a safety concern. Sumpter says there’s no need to pick on bicyclists.Sumpter says cyclists move just as fast as a combine, and shouldn’t be discriminated against. The bill has a long ride before it becomes law. It must pass the full Senate and the House before it would go in the law books.
Iowa teacher named tops by NFL
January 23, 2004 By
An Iowa City teacher has won the National Football League’s Teacher of the Year Award. Julie Ann Busch, who teaches third, fourth and fifth grades at Mark Twain Elementary School, was nominated for the award by one of her more famous former pupils, Tim Dwight, a former Iowa Hawkeye who now plays for the San Diego Chargers. She says nothing is going to top this award, it’ll be the pride and joy of her teaching career and she feels fortunate to have been a part of Dwight’s education. Busch says she found out she had won around Christmas time. Busch’s prize comes in the form of an 11-thousand dollar grant to the school. She says a committee has been formed to figure out what to do with the money, but she hopes it will go toward one of Dwight’s favorite hobbies, reading.Busch was Dwight’s third grade teacher in Iowa City. Busch, a Mason City native, also wins a trip to the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl in Hawaii on February 8th.
House passes bill to put more state money in savings
January 23, 2004 By
The Iowa House has voted to put more money in the state’s savings account every year. Under current law, policymakers are to put one percent of state tax revenues in savings. The bill that cleared the House yesterday calls for setting two percent aside. House Speaker Christopher Rants, a republican from Sioux City, says that one percent cushion wasn’t big enough when the economy went sour — and tax revenues declined.Rants says legislators ought to learn from circumstances so they don’t face the same difficulties over and over again. Rants says you never do things like this when times are good; you make move like this when tough times are “staring you in the face.” House Democrat Leader Pat Murphy of Dubuque says saving more is a good goal, but not when times are tough.Murphy says it means the state will be spending 45 million dollars less next year, and will require cuts in education and other priority areas. The House passed the bill on a 60 to 38 vote yesterday. It now goes to the Senate.
