Wayne Schipper Remembers Visiting 9/11 Ground Zero
(Le Mars) — Today is often referred to as “Patriot Day” when the nation remembers those people that lost their lives as a result of terrorists hi-jacking jet planes and deliberately crashing them into the Twin towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon building, and at a field in Pennslyvania.
Wayne Schipper was fire chief for Le Mars at the time 9-11 occured. A year following the tragedy, Schipper and several other fire fighters from northwest Iowa, visited Ground Zero in New York, as well as with several of the New York fire stations. Schipper says he was overwhelmed as he recalls his visit to New York following the tragedy.
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A total of 343 fire, rescue, and police personnel died when the World Trade Center towers collapsed. Schipper says the nation now has a greater sense of appreciation for local emergency officials as a result of the 9/11 attack.
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The former fire chief remembers visiting with one New York Fire Fighter who was the lone survivor of his fire fighting unit following that memorable day. Schipper says the visit was inspirational for himself and the New York fire fighter.
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The elder Schipper hopes, as the years past, the nation will continue to honor those who died during 9-11. He says its important to pass on to new generations the reasons why we must always remember.
Le Mars Community Schools Celebrate Homecoming Week
(Le Mars) — This week is Homecoming week for Le Mars Community School District, with the theme “Welcome to the Jungle”. Coronation and the community pep rally are scheduled to happen on Friday afternon at 1:00 p.m. with the Homecoming parade scheduled to begin at 2:15 p.m. All of the afternoon events will be featured live on KLEM radio. This year’s king candidates include : Tyler Borchers, Tyler Paulson, Caleb Cline, Matt Ellefson, Hunter Fedders, and Beau Ohm. The queen candidates include : Holly Schneider, Paige Tracey, Angel Lamoreux, Allie Theisen, Emily Ahlers, and Kassidy Rieken. Kickoff for the football game against the Storm Lake Tornadoes is at 7:00 p.m.
Floyd Valley Hospital’s Family Medical Clinics Honored
(WASHINGTON, DC) — The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) announced that Floyd Valley Hospital’s Family Medicine Clinics (Le Mars, Marcus, and Remsen) have received NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). Recognition for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long term, participative relationships. Mike Donlin, Administrator for Floyd Valley Hospital and the Family Medicine Clinics says “We have been working to accomplish this goal since the transition to the Patient Care Team Model several years ago.” Donlin continued to say, “We are excited to earn this highest level of recognition. It raises the bar even higher to continue providing high quality health care.”
The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home is a model of primary care that combines teamwork and information technology to improve care, improve patients’ experience of care and reduce costs. Medical homes foster ongoing partnerships between patients and their personal clinicians, instead of approaching care as the sum of episodic office visits. Each patient’s care is overseen by clinician-led care teams that coordinate treatment across the health care system. Research shows that medical homes can lead to higher quality and lower costs, and can improve patient and provider reported experiences of care.
Woman And Child Charged With Sioux City Arson Cases
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A 32-year-old woman and a 14-year-old have been arrested on arson charges in Sioux City.
Daisy Castillo and the youth are suspected of setting five house fires over 2 1/2 weeks in August and September, police said. Castillo also is charged with burglary. No injuries have been reported.
Castillo remained in custody on Thursday, according to Woodbury County Jail records. Her attorney didn’t immediately return a call.
The Associated Press generally doesn’t identify juveniles accused of crimes.
More arrests were expected in the case, Sioux City fire marshal Mark Aesoph said.
Shooter At Supervisor Meeting Committed Suicide
MAQUOKETA, Iowa (AP) – The 71-year-old man who fired at the county assessor after a meeting at the Jackson County Courthouse committed suicide, authorities said.
The Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner said in a news release that Francis “Gus” Glaser died from a gunshot wound to his neck and head and that he’d killed himself. Jackson County Sheriff Russ Kettmann said investigators found evidence that suggested Glaser was going to commit suicide.
Glaser pulled a handgun from a briefcase Tuesday as a group prepared to leave a recently adjourned county supervisors meeting at the courthouse in Maquoketa. Glaser demanded the meeting resume so officials could discuss his rising property taxes, said county Supervisor Jack Willey.
Despite pleas to put down the gun, Glaser took a shot at county assessor Deb Lane and missed, several witnesses said. Larry Koos, another county supervisor, tackled Glaser to the floor. The gun went off again. Glaser was pronounced dead at the scene.
U Of I Hopes To Use Grass As A Bio Fuel
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The University of Iowa hopes it will be able to use grass as a biofuel to help power the campus
About 70 people, including University of Iowa officials, on Wednesday toured Dan Black’s farm where he is growing giant miscanthus, a tropical tallgrass native to east Asia. The University of Iowa is aiming to use less energy in 2020 than it did in 2010, even as its campus expands. By 2020, the college wants to have 40 percent of its energy derived from renewable sources, according to Ben Anderson, the university’s power plant manager.
The school has been increasing its use of burning oat hulls in an attempt to draw down how much coal it burns at its power plant. The university plans to test the grass by burning it in its boilers next week.
Black approached the university to offer a portion of his property for its pilot project, with the college renting the 15 acres for five years and paying for the planting, maintenance and harvest of the grass. The school is also working with a farm near Muscatine to grow the grass.
“It just seems to make sense, if we can grow energy,” Black said. “It’s a renewable energy source – it just seems like it’s worth a try, worth the effort and worth the experimentation to see if this will work for us.”
The University of Iowa has said it hopes to plant an extra 2,500 acres of the plant by 2016.
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