(LE MARS)–Ballots for a Plymouth County County Farm Service Agency (FSA) election need to returned by December 6th.
According to Plymouth County F-S-A executive director Jeff Davis, county committee members make decisions on how federal farm programs are administered locally.
Those programs include commodity loans and payments, conservation programs, disaster assistance and emergency programs.
Voters in an area that includes America, Elgin, Grant, Johnson, Portland, Preston, Washington and Westfield townships received ballots.
Ballots returned by mail need to be postmarked no later than the December 6th deadline.
Centenarians to be honored at Museum
(LE MARS)–One hundred years of living will be the focus of Plymouth County Historical Museum honors next Sunday.
Frank Bogenrief of Hinton and Margaret Spies of Merrill are both centenarians who are longtime supporters of the Museum.
The program in the Museum’s Music Room begins at two in the afternoon on December 5th.
The “Museum Manger” display of nativity sets will be in the newly renovated Study Hall.
The public is invited to bring in nativity scenes for the display no later than Friday afternoon at five. Ron and Delores Burkard are chairing the display.
The 2010 video of Plymouth County created by Tom Vance will also be presented during the December 5th Museum activities. The project is funded with Le Mars Hotel-Motel and Plymouth County Local Option Sales Tax.
“Rachel’s Challenge” to be presented in Remsen
(REMSEN) A story of tragedy and change will be presented in Remsen next month.
Rachel Scott was the first student killed in the Columbine High School shooting in April of 1999.
Rachel’s Challenge is presented to schools and communities to convey her legacy which is to treat others with kindness and compassion. She wrote about her desire for change in an essay about a month before the shooting.
Rachel’s Challenge will be presented Monday, December 6th from 7-8 in the evening at the R-U Auditorium.
Dordt interns partner with new business
(SIOUX CENTER)–A new Sioux Center business was launched with a unique internship for two Dordt College students.
Junior Sarah Skidmore of San Diego, California and senior Amy Parish of Lynden, Washington put their business course work into practice to help open Hands Around the Plain.
The Main Street retail business in Sioux Center will provide women from The Bridge with transferable job skills. The partnership with community members is designed to break down stereotypes often associated with the poor.
Skidmore concentrated on the marketing for her internship developing materials such as posters, news releases and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Parish worked with finances, the cash register and getting QuickBooks software for record keeping.
Palin says Iowa book signing stop not political
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Hundreds turned out for a Sarah Palin book signing in Iowa, an event the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate insisted was not for political purposes.
Palin’s stop Saturday at the Borders in West Des Moines brought her back to Iowa, which hosts the caucuses that kick off the presidential nominating season.
The “America by Heart” author has hinted that she’s considering a 2012 presidential run, but says the visit was to promote her new book and that’s all.
Security was tight, and Palin did no media interviews.
People who bought her book were shuffled to the signing table in small groups. But few complained, and most couldn’t contain their excitement.
Palin is scheduled to return to Iowa on Thursday for an event in Spirit Lake.
Des Moines high school starts Saturday classes
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) There’s a new program at Des Moines East High School that requires students who skip classes to go to school on Saturday mornings.
The Des Moines Register reports that the new Saturday program started earlier this month. The program requires students to attend school from 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturday if they have five or more unexcused absences. The goal is for the students to make up for time lost from the classroom. Principal Dan Conner says students who don’t come on Saturdays face discipline, including in-school suspension.
The newspaper reports that the school has the lowest attendance rate of district high schools. About 80 percent of students come to classes regularly. Conner says he wants to change the mindset and coming to school isn’t optional.
Iowa man injured while trap shooting
ROCKFORD, Iowa (AP) A north central Iowa man has been injured while trap shooting.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports 40-year-old Duane Richard Fisher of Rockford was hurt Friday when a shotgun discharged and hit him in the hand. He was taken to a hospital in Mason City. Deputies in Floyd County say Fisher was trap shooting northwest of Rockford when his shotgun jammed. It discharged when Fisher tried to clear it.
The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are investigating the incident.
3 Iowa teens face deer hunting violations
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Three Iowa teenagers have been charged with hunting violations.
The Gazette reports that Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials received tips from citizens about the teens. Two teens are charged with hunting without a small game license, failure to have a valid deer hunting license, taking antlered deer with a high-power rifle and attempting to take deer out of season. A third teen is charged with one count of being over the limit of whitetail deer.
The teens face thousands of dollars in fines and a suspension of hunting privileges. The activity happened in Keokuk County.
Officials say the case underscores the importance of receiving tips from citizens.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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