| | 
The
Official Newspaper of Anamosa, located in Jones County, Iowa
Anamosa News
Since 1855
 Thursday,
September 27, 2007 |
School Board Holds Special Election to Discuss Replacing Those Who Resigned
by Michelle Phillips |
Members of the Anamosa School Board held a special session in the superintendent’s office on the evening of September 24. The only item on the agenda was the replacement of the three board members, Julie Fall, Julie VonMuenster and Sharon Weideman, who resigned last week.
Superintendent Dr. Dale Monroe told the members that they have 30 days from the resignations to appoint new school board members if they so choose.
“If that cannot or does not happen within three days of the 30 days ending, Don Folkerts, the board secretary, would call for a new election,” Monroe told the members.
Should the board choose to have a special election, they would be required to have it after 60 days but before 70 days of the resignations. That would make November 20 the new Election Day because elections must be held on a Tuesday and that would be the only Tuesday within the 10-day election window.
After calling the school’s attorney, Brett Nitzschke of Gruen Law Firm, the board learned that the positions would probably be slotted. The person with the most votes would get the three-year vacancy, the next would get the two-year vacancy and the person with the third highest number of votes would take the one-year spot. The terms are different because each member was in a different stage of her term.
Nitzschke said he would have to look into the particulars of timing and the seating terms as he was at home, not in his office, when he received the board’s call.
The four board members each had the opportunity to express their thoughts on which option the board should pick.
Connie McKean said, “The concensus I’m getting from the public is to hold an election and let the people decide.”
Newly elected Brian Bieber said he had heard the opposite and favored appointing new members to save money and avoid dragging out the process.
LeAnn Ridgeway commented, “As much as I’d like to appoint because of the number of seats, I think it’s best to go with a special election.”
Brian Darrow said he felt a special election would be better because then the community would be involved in the decision.
The school board voted to table the decision until they received legal advice from Nitzschke. The item will appear on the agenda at the regular school board meeting on October 1.
The board also discussed what constituted a quorum. The four remaining members do meet the requirements for a quorum: however, all decisions must be made by a majority, which would mean three members would have to agree to pass a motion. |
Alternative Energy Sources Dedicated at MVEC
By Michelle Phillips |
The wind whipped through Anamosa, and the sun heated up the day on September 21. It was a perfect day to dedicate a new wind tower and photovoltaic (solar) panels recently installed by the Maquoketa Valley Electric Cooperative (MVEC).
Legislators and officials from neighboring electric cooperatives made up the audience that had come to see the alternative energy in action. The crowd clapped as senators Tom Hancock, Rob Hogg, Mary Lundby and Roger Stewart flipped the switches that would turn on the wind turbine and solar panels.
Larry Swanson, board president of MVEC, said he hoped that the alternative energy sources and a new weather station at the facility would serve as a learning tool for classrooms around Eastern Iowa. All of the information will be available to students on the Internet.
He added that this is just a piece of the puzzle as far as energy production is concerned and that other technologies including coal, hydro and nuclear power would also be needed to meet energy need.
“No one technology can do it alone,” Swanson said.
Anamosa Superintendent Dr. Dale Monroe said he could see how the technology would be integrated at a high school level through Earth science, chemistry and other science classes.
“I’m interested, too, n how the weather portion will fit in with the elementary,” he said.
Hancock remarked, “As technology gets better and better, I think we’ll see a lot more of this.”
He added that he had recently visited a wind generation facility in Eastern Iowa as well as a technical college that offers a wind technology program, the first of its kind.
“It’s estimated that there will need to be one technician for every nine wind towers,” Hancock included, and said the jobs pay $16-25 per hour.
As for the alternative energy sources at MVEC, they are primarily for individual application. The estimated cost of the wind tower is about $10,000 and although results will vary based on wind, the expected output is about 4120 kilowatt hours annually, about one half to one third the average used by a MVEC member.
The photovoltaic system had a price tag of $20,000 and produces an estimated 3096 kilowatt hours annually.
MVEC Manager Jim Lauzon said that the project is educational for the coop’s members as well as students. He included that the MVEC wanted to showcase the types of alternative energy that a homeowner can install. |
Senators Rob Hogg, Tom Hancock, Roger Stewart and Mary Lundby get instructions from Maqouketa Valley Electric Coop (MVEC) Board President Larry Swanson before they flip switches to turn on wind and solar energy sources at a dedication ceremony hosted by the MVEC.
Workers auger holes for the photovoltaic panels at MVEC; Above MVEC Board President Larry Swanson greets guests at the dedication ceremony on September 21; The completed project.
|
“We wanted to give them data from a working project,” he explained.
He added that Monroe would be making a visit to MVEC with his staff to learn about how the data could be used in the schools.
Lauzon said as a coop, it is MVEC’s responsibility to do what’s best for its members.
“The energy needs in Iowa are growing so fast that we need to look at alternatives. Whatever makes economic sense for our consumers, I hope they’ll pursue it,” he said.
Certain provision had to be made when the units were installed. Since there is less wind in eastern Iowa, than Western Iowa, MVEC chose to erect a 50-foot tower as opposed to the typical 30-foot tower. The coop also had to work with planning and zoning to allow them to install the alternative energy sources.
“This is here because Planning and Zoning is allowing them (alternative energy sources) with a permit in commercial and industrial districts,’ said Anamosa City Administrator Pat Callahan.
Callahan said residential applications could be added at a later time.
Lauzon said assistance is available to those who are thinking about a alternative energy sources.
“There are a lot of federal and state dollars available to people with alternative energy installation,” he stated.
He included that the photovoltaic system was installed in less than a week and the wind turbine in less than three days.
Lauzon said before a homeowner or business owner rushes into purchasing an alternative energy source, he or she should do their homework.
“One of the questions American people need to address is what kind of sacrifices are they willing to make for energy independence because you can’t do it without conservation,” Lauzon reminded.
“This is something we can do in our own backyard.
For more information on the MVEC installations, visit the MVEC website at www.mvec.coop. |
Gargantuan Gourd Could Squash World Record
By Michelle Phillips |
Don Young, Jr. of Des Moines was walking through his local garden center about four years ago when he happened upon a package of giant pumpkin seeds. Don was immediately fascinated by the grandiose gourds, purchased a pack and took them home to plant.
“I came home and planted eight seeds in a hill, like you’d do with cucumbers, and I had vines everywhere,” said Don. “I had no idea what I was doing.”
The vines had to be pulled but that didn’t discourage him. He did an Internet search and stumbled upon
www.giantpumpkins.com. He read the information growers were passing along and began to follow some of the tips he read.
All his research and hard work has paid off, and this year Don has grown a pumpkin that could weigh upwards of 1600 pounds. The current world record for the largest pumpkin is 1502 pounds. The pumpkin, grown from 1370 Rose seed, measures bigger than any past pumpkins, so it’s hard to estimate its weight.
“It’s off the charts,” exclaimed Don as he wrapped a pumpkin tape measure around the gourd, marking a spot and continuing because the 16 foot tape measure couldn’t make it all the way around.
Don said he knew right off the bat that this pumpkin was special, “It was pretty big from the start.”
The pumpkin, which was planted the first week of May, measured about 500 pounds after 30 days. Don attributes part of the growth to the warm nights Iowa enjoyed throughout the summer. At its peak, the pumpkin increased in size by about 55 pounds a day.
“I could’ve cut it for the Iowa State Fair and won, but I’m saving it for Pumpkinfest,” Don revealed. “I’ve got an 1100 pounder that I’m talking to the weigh-off in Stoughton, Wisconsin.”
He has also spent painstaking hours grooming the fruit into the monster it has become today. Don said he has used all organic fertilizers, including a compost tea he made out of worm casings and molasses, rabbit manure and seaweed. He covers the pumpkin to keep it from ripening too soon, positions fans on it to keep the air circulating, shoots any vermin that may harm the pumpkins and follows a regime of insect and fungus control. He said he also amended the soil a great deal before planting.
Recently when Don measured the pumpkin, he realized it wouldn’t fit in the back of his full-sized pick-up, so he had to arrange for a trailer to bring the pumpkin to Anamosa. At about five feet, six inches in width, the pumpkin wouldn’t fit on a regular sized pallet, either. Don made a special pallet to transport the pumpkin. He also had to get a special harness made to go around the pumpkin because the straps of a normal harness wouldn’t fit around the fruit. |
Don Young, Jr. of Des Moines with his giant pumpkin. He estimates the pumpkin to be between 1500 and 1600 pounds. The second biggest pumpkin in his patch is in the background and could be over 1100 pounds.
Kevin Gripp with a watermelon he’s bringing to the Ryan Norlin Weigh-off; The specially built pallet and harness needed to move Don Young’s pumpkin; Some of the giant pumpkin seeds Young has collected since he began growing four years ago. |
To get the pumpkin out of his backyard patch, Don will use a crane that his father, Don Young Sr. and he use for their tree service.
After Don began growing giant pumpkins, he started spreading the word. Now his wife, Julie, his dad and Julie’s dad are all growing giant pumpkins.
Julie took an 1102-pound pumpkin to the fair this year, and although she didn’t win, she did bring home some money. She has a second pumpkin, weighing in at around 900 pounds, to bring to Anamosa. There is really only room for one pumpkin patch at their home, so Julie grows her pumpkins at her parent’s house.
She is as excited as Don about the pumpkin and looks forward to the Ryan Norlin Weigh-off. “That’s what you’re shootin’ for,” she said of the large pumpkin.
“For the first couple of years she kept saying, ‘you’re crazy, you’re crazy,’” Don said. “Between the two of them, that’s all they think about,” added Don Sr., who stopped by for some tomatoes.
Don was once an avid vegetable grower, but now only has a couple of tomato plants and a few onions to make way for his pumpkin patch.
“He used to grow really good corn,” Julie recalled.
Don didn’t stop at recruiting family members to grow pumpkins, he also got his neighbor, Kevin Gripp to grow pumpkins.
“We moved in about two years a go and when we were looking at the house we thought, ‘what’s going on over there,’” Gripp remembered.
The next year he was giving it a shot himself, but he didn’t really have a knack for growing the giants, so this year grew watermelons. He is bringing his biggest, approximately 130 pounds, to the weigh-off next week.
Don added that he would like to get the neighbor on the other side of him growing, too.
For the past several years, Don has collected a variety of giant pumpkin seeds. He has binders of seeds that he stores in the freezer to keep them fresh.
“They’ll keep for 10-12 years in the freezer,” he explained.
Seeds are big business in the world of big pumpkins and can fetch hundreds of dollars.
Sometimes the pumpkins don’t produce very many seeds, but Don is hopeful that this mammoth will yield at least a few.
Don has dreamed of riding on the Ryan Norlin Weigh-off float in the Pumpkinfest parade since he started growing, and barring any mishap, this could be his year.
“If I get on it’ll be great,” Don beamed.
“He deserves it,” concluded Julie.
For more information about the Ryan Norlin Weigh-off, visit www.anamosachamber.org. To learn more about giant pumpkins, visit www.giantpumpkins.com. |
PO
Box 108, 208 W. Main Street, Anamosa, IA 52205
319-462-3511,
FAX 319-462-4540
Copyright
Anamosa Publications
Anamosa Journal-Eureka / Town Crier 2005
Thede Web
Works - Website
Questions
|