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Centerville Rubbermaid plant to close, 500 jobs eliminated

June 15, 2006 By

After 21 years in operation, the Rubbermaid plant in the south-central Iowa town of Centerville is being shut down, eliminating hundreds of jobs. The production side will close its doors September 15th with distribution continuing through mid-October.

The manufacturing will be shifted to another Rubbermaid facility in Winfield, Kansas. The Centerville plant employs nearly 500 workers. They’ll each get one week of severance pay for each year at Rubbermaid with a two-week minimum. They were also offered transfers to Kansas.

Filed Under: Business Tagged With:

Harkin talks about education, Iraq

June 15, 2006 By

Iowa’s Congressional delegation is speaking out against the U.S. Department of Education for placing Iowa on a list of states that have failed to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act.

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin says he’s not happy. Harkin says it’s a “slap in the face” to Iowa, as he says the state has worked hard to comply. He says, “If the Department of Education had concerns, they should have made these concerns known in the past. They’ve had numerous visits, but nothing was made known.”

The Education Department has an issue with the assessment plan Iowa wants to use for elementary teachers. Harkin, a Democrat, says the action contradicts the Education Department’s praise of Iowa’s efforts to comply with No Child Left Behind.

Harkin says Iowa has a long tradition of producing “competent caring and effective teachers” and he says he hopes the Department will be more forthright in the future. Harkin says, It’s not the failure of Iowa, it’s the failure of No Child Left Behind.”

On another topic, Harkin disagrees with President Bush’s actions on Iraq. Harkin says the message the president put out in Baghdad “is totally the wrong message.” Harkin says by telling the Iraqis U.S. troops will be there are long as needed, Harkin says that helps the insurgents recruit.

Harkin says the U.S. needs to send the message that it wants the Iraqis to take over for themselves. Harkin says the U.S. needs to tell the Iraqi government they need to start agreeing amongst themselves, “You got your government, you’ve got your constitution, you’ve got your police now, and your military and we’re outta hear. And we’re going to start getting out by the end of this year, and you’d better start making the necessary compromises and agreements that (the country) needs to run your government.”

Harkin says keeping U.S. troops in Iraq will only help the insurgency get stronger.

Filed Under: Education, Military, Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Former Iowa Senate leader to head New York Governor’s PAC

June 15, 2006 By

A long-time Republican state legislative leader is taking a new job in a familiar field. Senator Stewart Iverson of Clarion, who was replaced as Senate Co-Leader after an internal power struggle this spring, is going to become the Iowa chairman of a political action committee headed by New York’s governor called the 21st Century Freedom PAC.

Iverson calls it an opportunity that came about in recent weeks through which he’ll “continue to work with Republican candidates and get them elected in Iowa for the 2006 election. It’s going to be doing a lot of the same things that I’ve done in the past.”

Iverson praises Governor George Pataki who chairs the national PAC. Iverson applauds Pataki’s personal and professional policies, calling him an impressive leader and down-to-earth. Pataki will be in Iowa this weekend, appearing at the state G-O-P convention in Des Moines on Saturday.

Iverson was the Iowa legislature’s Senate Majority Leader for eight years and Co-Leader for the past two years. He left as the longest-serving Majority Leader in the state senate’s history. There’s more information at “www.freedompac.com”.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Vilsack gets good response to New Hampshire speech

June 15, 2006 By

Governor Tom Vilsack earned cheers and brought some in the crowd to tears last (Wednesday) night at a banquet in New Hampshire, but a few folks are openly critical of Iowa’s governor for failing to fully back New Hampshire’s First-in-the-Nation primary. Vilsack was the closer at a Flag Day event in Manchester, New Hampshire that attracted about 250 Democratic party regulars. He delivered a speech that called Democrats to action and railed against the Bush presidency.

“As Christie and I travel across this country and across the world in far away places, I grow deeply concerned about the fact that our country today is no longer the country that inspires, but is a country that many fear and George Bush is responsible for that,” Vilsack said. Vilsack closed by talking about his conversation with an Iowa woman whose husband, a soldier, was killed in Iraq and the crowd sat in hushed silence. He ended with a call to service in the party, as well as a call for change.

“I’ve listened to all of you the past couple of days and I leave this stage tonight inspired and extraordinarily proud to say ‘I’m Tom Vilsack. I’m from Iowa and I’m a Democrat,” Vilsack said in closing. Long-time New Hampshire Democrat Ray Buckley, the event’s emcee, cried during Vilsack’s speech. “I do not recall in my years ever starting to cry in the middle of a speech of a candidate running for president,” Buckley said.

“The last time I cried was when Al Gore decided to let George Bush become president and I at that time said that was the last time I was ever going to cry, but I was sitting over there with tears in my eyes because (Vilsack) has that ability to really resonate and that’s something that is very important for anyone who wants to consider running for president.”

Earlier in the speech, Vilsack drew the crowd to its feet with this declaration about the timing of New Hampshire’s Primary. “I want to tell you how impressed I am with the energy and the concern that you all have about this nation and the role that you play and I want to assure you that you do have a partner with the state of Iowa,” Vilsack said. “We’re going to keep New Hampshire and Iowa first in the nation.”

But Vilsack’s statements to reporters indicate he is not against having the national party place another state’s caucuses immediately after Iowa’s and before New Hampshire’s primary. That irks George Bruno of Manchester, New Hampshire, who believes Iowa abandoned New Hampshire when national party leaders last met to discuss the positioning of the events in the next presidential campaign.

“I would hope that the traditional alliance and cooperation that has existed between our two states would be once again restored,” Bruno says. Bruno was a member of the Democratic National Committee for 12 years. Emcee Ray Buckley, a key Democratic leader in New Hampshire politics, puts it more diplomatically, saying he hopes Vilsack “grows” into a greater appreciation of the New Hampshire primary.

“We would very much appreciate and we think that America would appreciate his joining with us in making sure that the historic relationship between the two states remains strong,” Buckley says.

Fifty-nine-year-old Bill Keough was standing outside the event hall, criticizing Vilsack for failing to clearly back New Hampshire’s first primary. “Obviously, it sends up a red flag,” Keough says. “You question what they’re going to say when they get a thousand miles away from us.”

Vilsack is only about 45 miles from Manchester, New Hampshire this (Thursday) morning and he plans to meet with some of the Democrats who he addressed by telephone last Labor Day when he canceled a trip to New Hampshire’s Sea Coast to stay in Iowa to prepare for hurricane evacuees.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

Conference in Sioux City focuses on mental illness

June 15, 2006 By

A two-day conference going on in Sioux City is presenting new information and some off-the-wall topics, like humor, in dealing with mental illness. Kim Fischer-Culver is director of community services for Siouxland Mental Health Center, which is sponsoring “The Many Faces of Mental Illness and Mental Retardation.” It’s for providers, nurses and doctors, and even consumers of mental-health care services are at the conference.

Twin sisters, Caroline and Pamela Spiro, gave the keynote address Wednesday morning, telling how schizophrenia affected their family and their lives. One sister suffered from the disease, the other did not. Caroline grew up to become a psychiatrist while her sister Pamela was in and out of hospitals with hallucinations, though recently with anti-psychotic medications she’s into recovery. One of the presentations deals with the transition from “patient-hood to person-hood.”

“Their mental illness is separate from who they are as a person,” she says, and there are lots of new medications and programs that help people live on their own, be more productive and empower themselves without having to rely on doctors and hospitals.

Fischer-Culver says changes in public attitudes about mental illness and in the ways it’s handled have improved things for clients and their families. Programs offered for outpatients have helped a lot of clients to live in the community instead of relying on hospitals where they’re isolated. The conference continues today (Thursday) at the Sioux City Convention Center.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

Hot weather brings out the bugs

June 15, 2006 By

The hot weather’s hatching lots of bugs, including mosquitoes. It’s time now to start using repellents to keep yourself and the kids from being bitten, the only way to fend off West Nile Virus carried by some of the biting bugs.

Experts say the most effective repellents contain an ingredient called DEET. Beverly Powers is a registered public-health nurse says mosquitoes are attracted to us by the carbon dioxide we breathe out, and she says DEET confuses the mosquitoes.

Powers says a study found DEET’s one of the best repellents because it lasts up to ten times longer than other chemicals. She cites a test in which volunteers tried a DEET solution and it lasted 301 minutes — compared to a non-DEET-based soybean repellent that lasted for 22-point-9 minutes, the longest any other product lasted) Some manufacturers offer DEET-free repellents, saying that DEET can be harmful to certain people.

Because a small percentage can have a sensitivity to it, doctors recommend using a commercial product that contains no more than 30-percent of the active ingredient and just ten-percent if it’s used on kids under three.

Seniors also may have a reaction to the chemical. The reaction basically will be a rash, and if that appears. she says you should wash off the repellent right away. If it’s itchy or uncomfortable, the user should go see a doctor. Powers says children are the least likely to be bitten by mosquitoes, while people over 50 are most likely to be bitten.

With dozens of types of mosquitoes in Iowa, people are also urged to get rid of any standing water and make sure their screens and windows are properly sealed. Whenever possible, Powers encouraged people to wear long-sleeved shirts and pants, especially between dusk and dawn when mosquito populations are at their peak.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine
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