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Harkin events today draw less combative crowds

August 10, 2009 By

Senator Tom Harkin made public appearances today in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids, but neither event compared to Harkin’s town hall meeting in Des Moines this weekend.

On Saturday audience members critical of health care reform repeatedly shouted at Harkin and questioned the rational behind the reform plan that Harkin supports. Harkin’s appearance today at a community health center in Cedar Rapids was rather tame by comparison.

"I think there’s a whole, broad spectrum of people coming to these meetings," Harkin said during an interview with Iowa Public Radio. "There are attempts made, nationally, to organize protests and disrupt these meetings. I know there’s some attempts to do that on a national basis, but I think most people in Iowa aren’t into that. I think most people are pretty respectful here."

According to Harkin, you can’t "clump" all those who disagree with him into one group.

The Linn County Community Care Center Harkin visited today was damaged by last year’s flooding. The center got over half a million dollars from the federal economic stimulus to reopen, at a new site.

"One of the great things I like about community health centers is that they, number one, take in anyone who comes in the door, I mean, even if you have health insurance. If you have health insurance, you can come here, or Medicare or Medicare or if you don’t have insurance — anyone who comes in the door gets high quality, personal care," Harkin said during the event in Cedar Rapids. "And the other thing that the community health centers do is they focus a lot on prevention and wellness and in keeping people healthy."

The Linn County Community Health Center is due to receive another quarter of a million dollars in federal stimulus funds in the coming weeks.

 

Filed Under: Business, Health & Medicine, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Gingrich says Harkin a "model" for handling of town hall

August 10, 2009 By

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican, is praising Democratic Senator Tom Harkin’s handling of a Saturday afternoon town hall meeting. The event drew over 150 people, about half of whom oppose the health care reform plan Harkin supports.

Gingrich, during an appearance on "This Week with George Stephanopolous ," mentioned Harkin. "I spent 20 years doing town hall meetings. I once had 800 Machinists members on an Eastern strike for three hours and they got to shout all they wanted," Gingrich said. "I thought Senator Tom Harkin was the model this week. His staff got nervous, they wanted to close down the meeting and Harkin said, ‘No, these are Americans. They have every right to talk,’ and he just listened and he engaged and he conversed."

But Gingrich isn’t supporting the health care reform Harkin’s pushing. According to Gingrich, there’s plenty of angst in the country about the plan.

"There are a substantial number of people who are genuinely upset," Gingrich said. "The American way is let it hang out, talk to them. Members ougth to go back home, hold as many town hall meetings as you have to, let people get it out of their system."

If the public is allowed to vent, Gingrich argues that by September, the country can have a "genuine dialogue" about health care reform.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

Hawkeye Hampton surprised by attention to his knee

August 10, 2009 By

Jewel Hampton found out this summer just how much people care about the Iowa football program. The sophomore running back tallied 463 yards and seven touchdowns a year ago while playing behind Shonn Greene and was penciled in as the starter for this season.

A knee injury during a June workout set off weeks of speculation about whether or not the Indiana native would even play this season. Hampton says he knew of the situation and that was one of the reasons why he came to Iowa. But he says he didn’t expect to get all the questions when he hurt his knee.

Hampton says there were constant inquiries about his health and he even added a few thousand friends to his Facebook page. Hampton says the most bizarre thing was all the people wanting to know how he was doing and a reporter coming to his house.

The good news for Hampton and the Hawkeyes is the knee injury was not serious and he was able to run at full speed when camp opened last week. He says if anyone in his position was told the season could be taken away, that would be heartbreaking, but he says he kept a good head about him.

Hampton says the experienced gained from last year will be a plus during the 09 season. He says last season prepared him for this year and he won’t be "a new fish in the pond" not knowing what is going on. The Hawkeyes open the season at home against UNI on September fifth.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Northwestern hopes to keep tradition going with new coach

August 10, 2009 By

Kyle Achterhoff The transition to head coach at Northwestern College has been a smooth one for Kyle Achterhoff.

A former player at the school, Achterhoff spent the last decade on the staff of former coach Orv Otten.

He takes over a program that has endured only two losing seasons since 1968 and he is only the third head coach the program has had during that span.

Achteroff says they are going to do a lot of the same things that have been a part of Northwestern football for a long time, and they plan on continuing that tradition. The pieces appear to be in place for another banner season. A number of experienced players are back from last year’s team that finished with a record of 7-3 and was ranked 18th nationally.

They have 15 returning starters, with 7 on defense, which he says has been a strength of their team. Six starters are back for an offense that will feature a new quarterback this season. Jayme Rozeboom from West Lyon will be the starter. Rozeboom is a sophomore and the son of a coach that Achteroff says he can make plays with his arm and feet as well.

Despite a glossy record the past two years the Red Raiders have missed out on a spot in the NAIA national playoffs. Achterhoff hopes an emphasis on special teams play will help them get over the hump. Achteroff says the need more consistency offensively, as they would play well one game and then would struggle the next game.

Despite the tradition and the return of 15 starters Northwestern was picked to finish sixth in the pre-season Great Plains Athletic Conference poll. He says a new coach and uncertainty at the quarterback position makes it somewhat understandable, but he says they will take it as a challenge. The Red Raiders open the season at home September fifth against Dordt College.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

Former Iowa City school counselor charged with sex abuse

August 10, 2009 By

A former Iowa City elementary school guidance counselor is facing allegations that he sexually abused a student. Fourty-one-year-old Donald Lyle Clark is accused of abusing a fifth-grade boy, who was 11-years-old at the time of the alleged abuse in 2003.

Clark surrendered himself to police early this morning. Iowa City Police spokesperson Sergeant Troy Kelsay says the victim told investigators the abuse happened in Clark’s office at Lemme Elementary School.

“On at least two occasions, there was contact between Mr. Clark and the victim’s genitals,” Kelsay said. The second instance allegedly involved Clark putting his hand inside the victim’s pants. “During that particular event, the 11-year-old became upset and Mr. Clark used a stuffed animal to kind of put it up in (the child’s) face to quiet him down and muffle the noise he was making,” Kelsay said.

The investigation started in June when officers were informed of the alleged abuse by the Department of Human Services after a call to a D.H.S. hotline from the victim. In addition to his work at Lemme, Clark provided counseling services at Grant Wood Elementary in Iowa City. He started working in the district in 2001 and resigned in April of 2008.

Kelsay believes Clark may have abused other school children during that time. “If there are additional victims out there, we would encourage those victims to come forward,” Kelsay said. “I would not personally be surprised if there were additional victims, however, I also think it’s important to stress that at this time, we are unaware of additional victims.”

Clark resigned shortly after being arrested by University Heights Police in March 2008. Clark was charged with indecent exposure after police say he performed a sex act with another inmate at the Johnson County Jail, shortly after he was arrested for drunken driving.

Today, the Iowa City School District sent out a letter to the families of any students that attended Lemme or Grant Wood when Clark was working there. A parent meeting is scheduled for this Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at City High School in Iowa City.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Education

AARP ads to "debunk myths" about health care reform

August 10, 2009 By

AARP’s state director says the organization is buying millions of dollars worth of ad time on radio and television to try to "cut through the noise" on health care reform. Bruce Koeppl, Iowa state director for AARP, says he doesn’t know how big this national ad buy is, only that it’s "millions of dollars worth" of advertising.

"This is a campaign that’s focused on dealing with some of the myths that are being portrayed out in the public debate right now and trying to not only scare seniors, but also confuse them," Koeppl says.

The AARP office in Des Moines, for example, has been fielding questions about whether the health care plan would create a government panel that would decide who lives and who dies. Koeppl calls that a "lie" — one of many that he says opponents of health care reform are peddling in hopes of confusing seniors.

"We hope that these ads will help them cut through the noise and find the facts about health care reform for them and their families," Koeppl says.

Koeppl is urging AARP members to attend the town hall meetings Iowa’s congressional delegation is holding this month. Koeppl says he’s surprised by the "aggressiveness" health care reform opponents have shown at recent town hall meetings here and elsewhere.

"That’s unfortunate. In fact, it doesn’t help the process and, you know, we’ve held different meetings throughout the state…People had different opinions, different ideas, but we did it in a civil way," Koeppl says. "I think there are groups of people who are motivated by a political agenda, but there are also people who are sincere about what their concerns are and those people, quite frankly, are not getting a chance to ask those questions and hear the answers from members of congress, because of the disruptions."

AARP held a series of forums in Iowa this past April with Senator Grassley and in June with Senator Harkin to give AARP members a chance to talk with each policymaker about health care reform.

AARP has more information about their ad campaign available online at www.healthactionnow.org .

 

Filed Under: Business, Health & Medicine, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , , , ,

More details available on Harlan plane crash

August 10, 2009 By

The operations manager of the airport near Harlan was watching this morning when a crop dusting bi-plane crashed during take off. Olie Pash, says he heard the plane taxing down and went out to see if he needed fuel, but the plane did not need fuel and headed down the runway.

Pash says the plane started to take off about where he would expect it to, but the plane simply didn’t climb. Pash said the single-seat Grumman Ag-Cat aircraft being flown by Mike Christensen, of Harlan, lost power and dropped off the end of the runway. Pash says he continued watching the plane and then said out loud, “Mike I don’t think you’re going to make.”

He said it was probably less than three-seconds from the time he went airborne to the time the plane landed in a corn field. The plane ended-up about 100-yards past the end of the runway, upside down. The bi-plane is owned by Thomas Paulsen, of Harlan. Officials say the aircraft was loaded with about 170-gallons of fungicide on-board, but Pash thought it was more along the lines of 120-to 130 gallons — a light load, he says, for that type of plane.

Pash says the fungicide itself was not much of a hazard, but combined with aviation fuel or gas, it produces a poisonous vapor. He says Christensen suffered minor injuries and refused medical treatment, but was transported to the hospital to be checked-out as required by F-.A.A. regulations.

The airport was closed to air traffic at around 11:18 a-m, and Pash says he’s not sure how long it will remain closed, but it could be until sometime tomorrow, while an investigation into the incident is underway.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters
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