Week of Thursday, January 7th, 2010
Ceiling Collapses at Middle School
by Michelle Phillips
Students at West Middle School were ushered across their classroom by language arts teacher Jeff Vaughn Monday morning after part of the ceiling collapsed on the first floor. Vaughn heard a noise and moved the students to one side of the room.
“Ceiling tiles gave way, as did a row of lights,” said Anamosa Community School District Superintendent Dr. Dale Monroe. “There was a 2x12 ceiling and floor beam (joist) that split.”
Monroe said the joist helps support the floor above and suspected that it was the culprit in the collapse. He had called a structural engineer to inspect the damage.
“There was one room affected by the ceiling and one by the beam as well,” he said.
According to Monroe, the accident occurred at about 8:30 a.m. There were only very minor injuries in the incident.
Former AJE Editor Succumbs to Cancer
by Michelle Phillips
Joan Marlin, Anamosa resident and former editor of the Anamosa Journal-Eureka, passed away on New Year’s Eve after a courageous battle with cancer. (See obituary page 6)
Joan began working at the newspaper soon after moving to town with her husband, Ken, in the mid-70s. At the time, she worked as the advertising manager. Joan later came back to work at the paper and served as news editor of the publication from October 1999 to June 2003. She also wrote for the Cedar Rapids Gazette and the Des Moines Register. In addition to working at newspapers, Joan also worked in the sixth judicial district, at Frank N. Magid Associates and more recently as the director of Jones County Tourism.
She was a proponent of education and worked as a substitute in the Anamosa district. Joan was also a member of the Anamosa Rotary and was a Paul Harris Fellow.
Joan was very involved in the community and served on many committees and boards, including the Anamosa Chamber of Commerce and Local Access.
She was also known for her quick wit and sense of humor, which she often displayed in the weekly newspaper column she wrote called Joan’s Journal. As a tribute to Joan, we are publishing her first column after her return to the paper in 1999 and her last when she left in 2003.
City Finalizes Trash Collection Ordinance
by Michelle Phillips
The Anamosa City Council met on December 28, 2009, for the last time before the new council is sworn in on January 11. In addition, the change will also begin the all at-large council approved by voters in November 2008. The meeting began with a presentation by Lawrence Schwers concerning a new city ordinance that prohibits residential trash pick-up from city alleyways. His argument was that the properties in the 200 block of North Ford Street were on a slope and that resident driveways were in the alley. Council listened to the presentation then went on to approved the final reading of the ordinance.
City Administrator Pat Callahan said the council included a provision in the ordinance that would allow for exceptions.
The council approved the interim hire of David Burkholder as Police Chief. They also approved a resolution to set up a hiring committee but left it up to the new council to choose committee members. Repairs to the sewer line on East Cedar Street were also approved. The repairs would include two phases; the first is a new sewer main, and the second phase is connecting properties to the new line. Council approved Ricklefs Excavating to dig the areas where connections will be made.
The councilmen also set a resolution to change the date of a general obligation loan for the repair of the Wastewater Treatment Plant and public works building. The loan was originally due on December 31, 2009, but was extended to June 30 because the city is still getting FEMA funds in for the project.
A public hearing for the repair of the Dillion footbridge near public works was changed to January 25 from its original date of January 11. The date change was to allow a little additional time to see if FEMA would pay damage to the deck and fencing caused by flooding in 2008. The hearing will be held at 6 p.m.
An explanation of a 28E agreement with other cities in Jones County to fund senior dining was given, and it was noted that all of the cities in the county were not supporting the agreement. Senior dining is asking the city for $4,200 to help with expenses at the facility in the coming fiscal year.
Council approved the sale of bonds for a sanitary sewer lift station on Rosemary Street. All of the documents are in order, and council approved the bonds for the project.
The tenent above City Hall is going to work on a proposal for a lease agreement with the city, Callahan told the council. She is expected to have the document ready in March or April.
Callahan reported to the council that an I-Wireless cell phone tower that was planned to go in behind T&D Eatery will not come to fruition because I-Wireless was unable to get all the easements it needed for the project. The company now has plans to erect a tower on N. Davis Street behind the old Bell Telephone building. Callahan also told the council that Planning and Zoning has scheduled a meeting for January 21 to determine if special exceptions will be needed in the future for building additions or new construction. He said the new regulations come out of the Zoning Board of Adjustment’s decision not to grant an exception for the Anamosa High School addition.
The city administrator also gave a timeline for the budget, which is typically done in the spring.
The council also approved the following: • Sale of alley right of way to Tom and Heather Swain. • The hire of Bill Carlson as a part-time parks and rec employee, and the full-time hire of Bruce Miell to be split between public works and parks and rec. • The purchase of a 3/4 ton pick-up truck for public works. • Renewal of trash collection licenses for Wapsi Waste Service, Edwards Sanitation, Waste Management of Iowa, Frazier Sanitation and BFI Waste Services.
