Home News KLEM News AM Update Sept. 13, 2010

KLEM News AM Update Sept. 13, 2010

(LE MARS)–The second part of a Le Mars Community School project to enhance school facilities will be discussed at a meeting of the Board of Education tonight (Monday).

Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt, Middle School Principal Steve Webner and Assistant High School Principal Mark Iverson will present information about the Phase II construction project. The board is not expected to take any action.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Carl Turner will provide information about the plans for professional development for staff for this school year. The year will be focused on meeting the requirements and timelines for the Iowa Core Curriculum Implementation plan. Core curriculum was passed by the Iowa Legislature and includes model curriculum in Science, Language Arts/Reading and Math, Social Studies, and 21st Century Skills.

The board will consider approving a revised policy on the lease, sale or disposal of school property. For any real property with a value of five-thousand dollars or more, a public hearing would be held. Discussions about Kissinger School in Merrill and the Camp Quest property are factors in considering a revised policy that includes sections of state law.

The Board is expected to close a portion of the meeting to the public to discuss the purchase of real estate.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
You are hereby notified that the Board of Education of the LeMars Community School District will meet on September 13, 2010, 7:30 p.m. in the Education Service Center, 940 Lincoln St. SW, LeMars, Iowa. Agenda is as follows:

1. Call to Order

2. Election of Officers

3. School Bus Purchase Hearing and Bid Opening

4. Approval of Minutes (August 23, 2010 – Regular Meeting)

5. Consent Grouping (Claims and Accounts; Superintendent’s Office Fund; Lunch Fund; Elementary, Middle School & High School Activity Accounts)

6. Reports and Information (Unscheduled Audience; Professional Development Plan; Curriculum Development Plan; IASB Employee Relations Conference; IASB Orientation to Governance; IASB Annual Convention; Phase II Construction Project; Financial Comparisons)

7. Action Items (Resignations; Contracts; Board Policy 903.3; Board Expectations of Superintendent)

8. Other Business

9. Unfinished Business

10. Adjournment

11. Closed Session
The Board of Education will conduct a closed session in the Superintendent’s
Conference Room in accordance with Iowa Code 21.5(1)j to discuss the purchase of particular real estate only where premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the price the school district would have to pay for that property.

NEXT REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 27, 2010, 7:30 PM

LeMars Community School District

940 Lincoln St. SW
LeMars, Iowa 51031
(712) 546-4155
BY: Lisa Boehm, Secretary, Board of Education

Wolf is 2010 Oktoberfest Queen

(REMSEN)–The new ambassadors for the Remsen Oktoberfest celebration are beginning their reign.

The 2010 Oktoberfest Queen and her court were chosen Sunday. Lori Sheehan of rural Remsen served as Mistress of Ceremonies.

Listen here
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Queen Vanessa Wolf is the daughter of Eugene and Karen Wolf of rural Remsen who credits her Luxembourg heritage for her interest in promoting the Remsen celebration.

Listen here
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 Wolf says the polka dancing is another fun part of Oktoberfest. She’ll  prepare for the celebration with the tradition of polka lessons.

Listen here
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Other court members are Alexa Pick who is the daughter of Lon and Connie Pick and Haley Harms whose parents are Rick and Sherri Harms.

Jessica Kass, the daughter of Don and Shelly Kass of rural Remsen, was the 2009 Oktoberfest queen.

The annual celebration is October 30th. 

Listen to the 2010 Oktoberfest Queen Coronation here
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 Le Mars Police arrest four on drug charges

(LE MARS)–Four Le Mars residents are being held in the Plymouth County Jail after they were arrested on drug charges Friday.

Le Mars Police made the arrests and released written information stating the charges are part of an ongoing drug investigation.

Thirty-eight-year-old Rebecca Lopez is charged with felony delivery of marijuana; felony delivery of a simulated controlled substance; three child endangerment charges and two charges of prohibited acts.

Twenty-year-old Jordan Arehart is charged with four felonies including two charges of delivery of a controlled substance and two charges of failing to have a drug tax stamp.

Eighteen-year-old Nathan Adams is charged with two felonies of delivery of marijuana to a minor. The fourth person charged is 18-year-old Raven Osterloh who is charged with a felony of conspiracy to deliver marijuana to a minor.

Omaha man convicted in drowning death

 Neb. man gets 10 years in bathtub drowning in Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) A Nebraska man has been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison in the drowning death of his 13-month-old daughter in a bathtub in Iowa.

Court documents filed in Woodbury County District Court show 22-year-old Selvin Arevalo-Morga, of Omaha, agreed to a plea deal this past week.

Associated Press reports that Arevalo-Morga was sentenced on a neglect charge. A child endangerment charge was dropped.

Arevalo-Morga had been scheduled to stand trial on both charges. He could have faced 60 years in prison if convicted.

Court documents says Arevalo-Morga left his 13-month-old in the bathtub with a 3-year-old in May 2009, then left the bathroom to cook dinner.

(COPYRIGHT 2010 BY ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

Agriculture Secretary debate focuses on egg recall

SPENCER, Iowa (AP) The national egg recall took center stage at a debate between Iowa’s top agriculture official and the man hoping to take his job.

Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey joined Democratic challenger Francis Thicke in Spencer for Saturday’s debate.

Associated Press reports that Thicke said the recall has damaged Iowa’s reputation. Eggs from two Iowa farms have been linked to as many as 1,500 salmonella poisoning cases and more than half a billion eggs have been recalled.

If he’s elected, Thicke said he’d implement a regulatory system that includes vaccinating laying hens and monthly inspections of egg-laying facilities.

Northey noted that the source of the salmonella has not yet been confirmed, and cautioned against drawing conclusions too quickly.

(Copyright 2010 by Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Dem. strategists downplay GOP edge in recent polls

INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) Two top Democratic strategists are downplaying polls that suggest Republicans have an edge heading into November’s midterm election.

White House adviser David Axelrod and David Plouffe, President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign manager, headlined Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin’s 33rd annual steak fry Sunday.

It’s one of the most prominent Democratic events each year and drew hundreds of party activists to a county fairgrounds.

Some polls have predicted the GOP will take control of one or both chambers of Congress after November’s election. That result could cause severe headaches for Obama as he begins preparing for his own re-election effort in 2012.

But Axelrod and Plouffe say they expect Democratic enthusiasm to ramp up as the midterm election nears.

Man found shot to death in front of Waterloo home

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) Waterloo police are investigating the shooting death of a 23-year-old man whose body was found in front of a home.

Police say they responded to a report of shots fired at 2 a.m. Sunday in the 900 block of Broadway Street.

Officers found a man lying in the grass with what appeared to be gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim has been identified as Rodricus Keith Jones.

Police haven’t released any other information.

Second Drake student dies in less than a week

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A second Drake University student has died in less than a week.

Police say graduate student Cliffton Murove of Zimbabwe died early Saturday after falling from the balcony of a Des Moines apartment building.

Drake President David Maxwell said in an e-mail to the campus that it appears the fall was accidental.

Murove was getting his master’s degree in economics after finishing his bachelor’s in 2009 at Drake. He hosted a podcast on politics in Zimbabwe and had planned to return home after graduation.

In a separate incident, Drake senior Ryan Henderson was found dead in his car off campus on Sept. 5.

Authorities are awaiting toxicology reports before deciding on a cause of death for Henderson. No foul play is suspected.

Plastic bag ban spurs debate in Dubuque

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) Groups are weighing in on Dubuque’s debate over paper or plastic.

The City Council is considering banning plastic shopping bags by 2014. The recommendation was made by the Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee.

Committee member Chad Aberdoerster told the Telegraph Herald that they’re happy to work with the council on solutions, but the group doesn’t necessarily need government to do a “big doctoral ban.”

Jerry Fleagle of the Iowa Grocery Industry Association says the group studied the issue for two years before launching a program with grocery stores that encourages consumers to return their plastic bags. The stores bale them and ship them to a recycling plant.

Hy-Vee spokeswoman Ruth Comer says the chain’s policy is to promote reusable cloth bags.

Iowa’s methodical offense on a roll

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) The Iowa football team’s offense is designed to control the tempo, not light up a scoreboard.

But when the Hawkeyes are clicking on all cylinders, their methodical approach can be just as effective as a pass-happy spread attack and just as demoralizing to opposing defenses.

Iowa’s offense was rolling in a 35-7 win over rival Iowa State on Saturday, which wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated.

The Hawkeyes (2-0) scored touchdowns on five of their first seven possessions, controlled the clock for more than 20 minutes in the first half and ran the ball on 50 of 70 plays.

Iowa rushed for 275 yards against the Cyclones, converted 7 of 14 third downs and now has scored 56 points in the first half through just two games.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Submit your news release, confidential news tip or news idea by email klemnews@lemarscomm.net, by calling 712.546.4121 or 712.546.9672 fax.