Little Miss Squirt 2005, Margaret Cruise, serves ice cream to Bob and Madonna Bormann with a little help from Mom, Cathie Cruise, at the Jones County Dairy Banquet. The banquet was held February 18 at the Berndes Center in Monticello. For more Dairy banquet photos see page 32. (Journal-Eureka Photo by Susan Yario)

MONTICELLO–Jones County Dairy Banquet Dinner and Coronations at the Monticello Berndes Center began with cheese and wine samplings, followed by a dinner of grilled pork chops, baked potato, green bean casserole, cottage cheese & peaches, salad and roll. Donated dairy items for the meal included: butter, sour cream, milk, cottage cheese and ice cream. The meal was served by Main Street Market in Coggon with the pork provided by the Jones County Pork producers.

The February 18 program began with emcee and Dairy Board President Robert Stoll welcoming everyone, and introducing the 2005 Jones County Dairy award winners. The winners are as follows: Doug & Jody Fairbanks High Herd for Milk award; 27,738 pounds and Combined fat and protein 1,869 pounds, Dairy Service Award;Triangle Agri Service Ted & Karla Koehler and Bill and Sue Tenley. Friend of the Dairy Board; T.C. Feed Service, Tom and Terry Collum.

A Year in Review slideshow created by 2005 Jones County Dairy Princess Kathleen McNamara was shown. It featured memorable pictures from Jones County dairy events during 2005.

Katie Zumbach presented the 2006 Jones County Dairy Royalty. This years frontrunners include: Erica Manternach, Monticello; Dairy Princess, Allie Sadler, Monticello; Little Miss Squirt and Noah Steiner, Monticello; Little Sir Dairyman.

Nashville Country music artist, Kyle Jennings rounded out the night by entertaining the crowd along with a second musical guest, Adam Ricker (Raisin’ Cain).

The evening concluded after the presentation of door prizes. The fifty-two sponsored gifts given out included $10.00 dairy certificates, ice cream and cheese packages. The success of the dairy banquet was possible due to the assistance of individuals and businesses, which donated products, time and money.

Back row: 2006 Dairy Princess; Erica Manternach, 2005 Dairy Princess; Kathleen McNamara; Front row: 2006 Little Miss Squirt; Allie Sadler, 2005 Little Sir Dairyman; Tanner Larkey, 2006 Little Sir Dairyman; Noah Steiner and 2005 Little Miss Squirt; Margaret Cruise. (Journal-Eureka Photos by Susan Yario)

ANAMOSA–After nearly four years of planning the Hale Bridge will be moved to its new home in Wapsipinicon State Park on March 8.

“We’ll be starting at 8 am and hope to wrap it up by 4 pm,” said Rose Rohr, chair of the Jones County Historic Preservation Commission, who led efforts to move the bridge.

The historic three-span, bowstring, iron bridge will be airlifted by two National Guard Chinook helicopters from its current site near Hale and placed at its new location.

“The first helicopter will land at the Hale site and pick up the smallest truss, then the second helicopter will be ready to hook up onto the 100-foot section. The second helicopter will take off after the first truss is set on the piers,” explained Rohr.

Rohr added that the largest, 100-foot section will be placed next to the piers, and the smaller trusses put in place. This method was chosen as a precaution because the National Guard doesn’t want to take the chance of damaging the smaller, end sections. It will then be put on the piers by Iowa Bridge, the company installing the bridge, with cranes.

The fly-in will be an all day event, and all are invited to attend. Maps will be available at the park and DNR officers will direct traffic to the site. Traffic will be directed down the lower road, and guests will be able to go to Wapsipinicon Country Club for food. Food will also be served near the bridge site.

The lodge near the bridge will be set up for media, and the History Channel will be filming for their series Mega Movers. Iowa Public television will also film the event, including the sandblasting and painting, which is currently being done at the bridges original site. The two television stations will share footage, and the History Channel will ride in one of the helicopters to film.

The Hale Bridge was built by King Iron from 1877-1879, and was slated for demolition when a new bridge was built in 2003. Alan King Sloan, grandson of the original builder, is expected to attend the event.

The helicopters will produce winds of up to 100 miles per hour, and visitors are asked to stay in designated areas to insure their safety. Remember to dress accordingly for weather and wear comfortable shoes because some walking will be necessary.

Much of the funding for the $444,000 project has come from grants, and Rohr estimates the grants to be in the $400,000-$420,000 range. The grants include: Iowa DOT, ECICOG, the State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa DNR, REAP, Silos and Smokestacks, RACI, the City of Anamosa and the Jones County Supervisors. Additional funds were raised through private donations. Weber Stone of Stone City donated the stone for the piers, and Bard Concrete of Anamosa donated the coloring for the concrete.

“I’m very excited,” said Rohr of the move. “I have all sorts of overwhelming feelings.”

Rohr said there would still be plenty of work to be done at the site after the bridge is put in place.
That work will include building approaches to the bridge, landscaping and an information kiosk to be located near the bridge. All work is expected to be complete by May or June.

Weather conditions need to be favorable for the helicopters to move the bridge. In the event of high winds, the date will be changed to March 9.

ANAMOSA–The Anamosa school District voted unanimously on two items at its regular meeting Monday night.

The first item approved by the board was the conference move to WaMaC. Despite mixed reactions from the community, teachers and coaches the switch will be made in the 2007-2008 school year.

The second item on the agenda was the approval of Dale Monroe as new Superintendent of Schools beginning July 1, 2006. The board voted unanimously to hire Monroe.

The board chose Monroe from a group of four candidates. Input was given to the board by several groups, including the community, students and school faculty.

ANAMOSA–Food days have always been great fun here at J&P® and some employees suggested doing a cookbook as a way to swap recipes.

The idea came about to have them printed so employees could get copies, and sell them to the public as a fundraiser. The idea was a hit, and local charity, Camp Courageous of Iowa, was chosen to receive all the proceeds.

Camp Courageous of Iowa is a camp for disabled and special needs children and adults. It was founded in Monticello in 1972 and annually serves over 5,000 campers, ranging in age from 1-100.

Suzy Gilkerson, Diane Neely, Tracy McCarty and Sandra Etten formed the Cookbook Committee and collected recipes, designed a cover and got the completed book to the printer.

Copies went on sale in July and in October of 2005 a check was presented to Camp Courageous for $1295. In January 2006 Camp Courageous received a second check for $380.