Greene County Librarie’s 11th Annual Toddler Fest is Today
The 11th Annual Toddler Fest is happening today in Jefferson.
The event is for children ages two to five and their families. There are over 20 stations of activities to introduce youth to reading. Children’s Librarian Terry Clark says some of the stations feature farming, law enforcement, firefighters, crafts, tumbling and there will be a balloon artist this year.
Last year, 270 people attended and Clark is hoping for more this year. Each child will receive a free book bag and a book. Plus, Clifford the Big Red Dog will be at the event.
It is a come-and-go event that will take place from 10am to noon this morning at the Greene County Community Center. It is sponsored by the Greene County Board of Supervisors and the Greene County Library Association.
Paton-Churdan’s Prom is Tomorrow
The 2016 Paton-Churdan prom is today and their theme is “A Fairytale Ball”..
The day starts with the grand march on the front lawn of the school building in Churdan at 6:30pm. A prime rib meal is catered by B&C Catering from Paton and will be served in the school’s gym. The dance will also be in the gym after the meal.
After prom begins at 11:30pm. The junior class parents host after prom with several activities like inflatables including jousting and a bungee run. There is also a giant Jenga, giant twister, bean bag toss, minute to win it games, a photobooth and more. Each student will receive a goodie bag valued around $30 and there’s another $5,000 in prizes and gifts that will be drawn throughout the night. Plus, breakfast will be served towards the end by 2am.
Principal Annie Smith says having everything at one location for prom eliminates any safety concerns of students being on the road to travel to different places, and that promotes a worry free evening for the students, which is always the goal.
The public is invited to see the decorations in the gym from 5:45 to 6:30pm.
Branstad Visits Jefferson, Gets Education on Water Quality Program
About 60 people attended a site visit with Governor Terry Branstad on Mike and Kathy Bravard’s farm near Jefferson Monday.
The Governor was touring a bioreactor that the Bravards and the Iowa Soybean Association installed in 2008 to help with water quality. Iowa Soybean Association Environmental Scientist Keegan Kult says the bioreactor takes in water through an existing drainage tile, then it goes through a system of wood chips, which filters out the nitrites and disperses the leftover nitrogen into the air. The bioreactor reduces the nitrites in the water by 60-70 percent. Kult adds that the Agriculture’s Clean Water Alliance and the Sand County Foundation helped to fund the original pilot program.
The Bravard’s are no stranger to conservation on their farmland. They use buffer stripes and have experimented with cover crops. Mike was also the recipient of the Iowa Soybean Association’s Environmental Stewardship Award earlier this year. The Bravards want to leave their land in better shape for future farmers to succeed, while also respecting the land.
Branstad introduced a bill this session to devote funding to increasing water quality in the state.
A Jefferson Man Arrested for Speeding and Drugs
A Jefferson man faces a drug charge and a hefty speeding ticket after a couple of traffic stops on Friday, April 8th.
Police Chief Mark Clouse says 46 year-old Craig Allen Kinsey is charged with a serious misdemeanor for possession of methamphetamine, a simple misdemeanor or reckless driving and an excessive speeding citation.
At 3:35pm, officers were advised of an alleged accident that happened in Grand Junction involving the accused who left the scene and was suspected to be under the influence. Officers found Kinsey’s vehicle in the 100 block of North Chestnut Street and he gave officers permission to search his vehicle and himself. Officers discovered suspected narcotics on Kinsey. However, pending lab test results, the officers didn’t arrest him.
Around 7:30pm, officers received several calls about Kinsey driving recklessly throughout Greene County. It was also reported that he made comments to family members that he wanted to harm himself. An officer stationed on Westwood Drive, near Deer Run, saw Kinsey’s vehicle go by and his radar unit clocked him going 116 miles-per-hour in a 55 miles-per-hour zone. The officer then made a traffic stop near Linwood. Clouse points out that due to the well-being of Kinsey, the officer arrested him on the speeding citation. While being taken to the law enforcement center, officers spoke with the county attorney who recommended filing the drug charge as well.
Kinsey was booked and released from the Greene County Jail and his trial date is scheduled for April 27th.
Greene County School Board Approves 2016-17 Budget; Holds First Open Public Meeting
The Greene County School Board met twice Wednesday.
The Board met in special session to approve a few agenda items. The Board approve the 2016-17 calendar with the first day of school on August 24th and the last day on May 31st and early Wednesday dismissals to continue for the upcoming school year. The Board also approved an amendment to the 2015-16 budget to purchase 250 Google Chromebooks for $65,937.50. Finally, the Board approved the 2016-17 budget. The tax levy is $12.36 per $1,000 of property tax valuation. However, because this is the last year of tax breaks from reorganization, the former Jefferson-Scranton district residents will pay $12.40 and the former East Greene district residents will pay $12.27 before everyone pays the same amount starting with the 2017-18 school year.
About 20 people then attended the first open public meeting with the Board. Main topics that were covered included attendance policy in regards to what is considered an excused and an unexcused absence. The current policy allows for some flexibility, which the ultimate decision is left to the building administrator. Following the discussion, it was decided that the Board will consider looking at the attendance policy at their May meeting.
Another topic that was addressed was about the evaluation process of teachers and coaches. The Board’s responsible for hiring and terminating teachers based off the recommendation from the superintendent.
There was a discussion on teachers and non-teachers as coaches. A teacher that is a coach is allowed to request a hearing from the Board if that individual is being terminated and then they can request an appeal above the Board if needed. However, a non-teacher that is a coach is only allowed to have a hearing in front of the Board. The activities director is responsible for evaluating the coaches, which is done on a three year cycle. It was brought up that there should be a fulltime AD for the district instead of the position being part-time to allow for the AD to do their job effectively. No decision was made by the Board on the evaluation process for teachers and/or coaches.
Celli Whipple is a former school board member and told Raccoon Valley Radio that she thought the first public meeting was very helpful and she hopes that more people attend to have their voice heard and have an active discussion with some of the board members. She thought it was great that the district would allow for an interactive meeting. Board Vice-President Dr. David Ohrt shared how he felt the meeting went.
“Well there were a lot of good questions asked. People tended to be very respectful of each other and hopefully there was good information shared back and forth.”
The open public meetings will continue to be on the second Wednesday of every month at 5:30pm with two to three board members present at each meeting on a rotation basis.