Le Mars Community School Board Discuss Last Day Of School
(Le Mars) — During the Le Mars Community Board of Education meeting held Monday evening, the school board discussed the current school calendar, as well as the proposed 2020-2021 school calendar. School superintendent Dr. Steven Webner says if all goes well, the school district can look at dismissing for the summer on Thursday, May 21st. However, if the school
should encounter another delayed start, or cancellation of a school day, Webner says Le Mars Community would need to make up that lost time, and be dismissed on Friday, May 22nd.
Webner offered a detailed explanation to the school board as to when will be the last day of school.
The school board approved the recommendation to dismiss classes on Thursday, May 21st, unless additional school time would be lost, then classes would dismiss on Friday, May 22nd. Webner says if more than one day is lost for any reason, then the school board would need to decide if classes would
extend beyond Memorial Day which is scheduled for Monday, May 25th.
Board of Education Discusses Proposed 2020-2021 School Calendar
(Le Mars) — The school board also discussed the school calendar for next school year of 2020 through 2021. After receiving comments from administrators, faculty, staff, and even from the community through the District Leadership and Instructional Impact Team, or DLIIT, the proposed
calendar would have school starting on Tuesday, August 25th. School superintendent, Dr. Steven Webner offered some comments for the school board’s consideration.
Webner says registration dates will be going back to an evening session. The school calendar will have the first quarter to end on October 26th. Second quarter will conclude on January 13th. March 18th will be the end of the Third quarter with the final day of school for 2020-2021 would be Wednesday May 26th, if there are no snow days or other reasons to make up lost school
time. Webner shared with the school board why the school district doesn’t go a full week when starting school in August.
Thanksgiving Break for next school year would be Wednesday, November 25th through Friday, November 27th with classes to resume on Monday, November 30th. Christmas holiday vacation is scheduled to be from December 23rd through January 1st with students returning to school on Monday, January 4th.
Spring Break is scheduled to occur between April 2nd through April 6th.
Webner says the school district has added an extra day for Spring Break of 2020-2021.
Early two-hour out days for teacher workshops have been scheduled for September 16th, October 14th, November 11th, December 9th, January 20th, February 10th, March 10th, April 14th and May 5th. The school board did approve the proposed school calendar for 2020 through 2021.
Orange City Tulip Festival Names Feekes As 2020 Parade Marshal
(Orange City) — For over 41 years, Duane Feekes committed his professional career to the City of Orange City. Specifically, from 1997 to 2019, Duane served as Orange City’s City Administrator, playing an important role with many Tulip Festival committee members, assisting with the successful planning and operation of our annual Tulip Festival. Often referred to as our festival’s unsung heroes, the city staff under Duane’s leadership played a vital role in providing a clean, hospitable and accommodating environment for our annual three-day festival year after year.
“As a festival committee, we are truly thankful for the cooperation that Duane has fostered between the City of Orange City and the Orange City Tulip Festival,” say Reese and Cristi Kelch, 2020 Tulip Festival Chairpersons. “As we prepare for our 80th Tulip Festival celebration, and as the city
celebrates its 150th anniversary, Duane’s leadership and stewardship of our community is a true reflection of this year’s festival theme, ‘Vibrant Together.’”
Duane’s involvement with the Tulip Festival began well before his time as the city administrator. He started working for the city of Orange City in 1978, and his festival volunteer efforts also began at that time as the campground and shuttle coordinator. He then worked with the promotions committee, making pins for Tulip Festivals in the 80s and 90s.
For Duane, the festival has always been a family affair, as much as a city responsibility. Duane’s wife, Marilyn, has sewn costumes for him and their family since the early 80s. Duane’s children Emily, Amanda, Katie and Evan participated in many facets of the Festival during their school years,
making it an important part of their life in Orange City. As a family, they have participated in Mode Shows, street scrubbing, float riding and the Dutch Heritage Walk. Duane has also made poffertjes, helped at the Century Home and, of course, inspected the streets with the Mayor and City Council to determine if they were clean enough for the Queen prior to the festivals’ Volksparades.
Tulip Festival Court Unveils Honored Heritage Costumes
ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The annual Orange City Tulip Festival Extravaganza was held Wednesday, March 11, at Prairie Winds Event Center. The event featured a luncheon and program during which the costumes for the 2020 Tulip Queen and Court were revealed.
The 2020 Tulip Court is proud to be wearing the costume of Volendam.
(photo contributed.)
Volendam is one of the most well-known costumes of the Netherlands. The court is wearing the everyday attire. This
would have been worn through life’s day to day activities. It is characterized by a unique “Yak” or jacket, which has many
rows of hand shirring, creating hundreds of tiny pleats, which are meant to flatter the waist line. The fabric to create the
Jacket, as well as the traditional striped apron, was shipped in from the Netherlands. The apron also features rows of
decorative stitching. Women of this time didn’t have a lot of variety in their wardrobes, so they would often embellish
every piece of clothing they wore. This included their wooden shoes, which feature two rows of delicately carved leaves.
The queen is wearing the formal attire of Volendam. This would have been worn to church, festivals, and funerals. It is
characterized by the black “kletje” or half-sleeved jacket. The krap-lap, or under shirt, has two pieces of brightly colored
embroidery. The top of the “boezel” or apron also features a similar embroidery design, done five times over. The queen
is also wearing a striped skirt, as opposed to the black one of the court.
The accessories of the court and queen are much the same. The pointed white hats are very characteristic of the
Netherlands. They also are wearing a small black under cap, which helps keep their hair in place, and hat standing tall.
The red coral necklaces feature a “boat clasp”, which was unique to Volendam, and contains a tiny painting of a ship
within it. The blue and white scarves were a way for women to show their creativity. Each scarf features 3 different
designs which can each be displayed by folding it in different ways.
Iowa City Hospital Says Patient With Coronavirus In Critical Condition
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa City hospital CEO says a patient suffering from COVID-19 has been admitted and is in critical condition there. Suresh Gunasekaran is CEO of the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, and he said in an email Wednesday that all proper procedures and precautions were
followed during the admission process so staff members were properly protected. It’s unclear whether the patient is one of the 13 COVID-19 cases already reported for Iowa. The health threat has forced officials to cancel plans for massed gatherings. The Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Society decided Tuesday to call off this year’s event in Cedar Rapids.
University of Iowa To Suspend Face-to-Face Instructional Classes Due to Coronavirus Concerns
(Iowa City) — University of Iowa officials have announced that the school will suspend face-to-face instruction for two weeks following spring break due to coronavirus concerns. KCCI-TV of Des Moines is reporting, U of I President, Bruce Harreld says, “The university will move to virtual instruction beginning March 23, 2020, and will continue online courses through at least April 3, 2020.” Harreld says, “We are making this decision proactively to maintain the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, and patients and in conjunction with the governor and Board of Regents, and the State of Iowa. We will continue to follow the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Iowa Department of Public Health.” University of Iowa now joins Grinnell College as another Iowa higher level education institution to decide to suspend classes due to the coronavirus.
Trial Date Is Re-scheduled For Man Accused Of Setting Fire To Sioux City Motel Room, Killing A Woman
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Another trial date has been set for a man accused of killing his former girlfriend in a Sioux City hotel room and setting it aflame. Court records say 29-year-old Jordan Henry has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and arson. The new starting date for his nonjury trial is April 7. His earlier dates were July 9 and Sept. 17 last year. Police have said an autopsy showed 40-year-old Elizabeth Bockholt, of
Hinton, was strangled. Firefighters found her unresponsive Jan. 24 last year in a Wingate Hotel room, and she was pronounced dead later at a hospital.
Iowa Woman Sentenced To Prison For Killing Nebraska Pedestrian
DAKOTA CITY, Neb. (AP) – An Iowa woman has been given 15 to 30 years in prison for killing a pedestrian in northeast Nebraska. Court records say Maria Gonzalez-Diego, of Sioux City, Iowa, was sentenced Tuesday in Dakota City. She’d pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide. In return, prosecutors dropped a charge of failure to stop at the scene of a fatal accident. South
Sioux City police have said Gonzalez-Diego’s vehicle hit 62-year-old Antonia Lopez De Ramirez the night of June 24 as she walked across a street. Police say Gonzalez-Diego vehicle continued north, leaving the scene.
Shooting Incident Occurred At Waterloo Bank
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – Police say one person has been shot outside a Waterloo bank. The Courier reports that the shooting happened Wednesday morning outside a U.S. Bank branch and left one person hospitalized with serious injuries. Police tell the newspaper they are investigating the shooting as a possible robbery. Waterloo police did not immediately return a
message left Wednesday seeking more information. The shooting is reminiscent of a shooting outside a Lu Verne bank in northern Iowa in December that left a bank employee dead. Valentino Williams, of Coralville, was sentenced to life in prison last month in that shooting that killed 43-year-old Jessica Weisharr, of Algona.
