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The
Official Newspaper of Anamosa, located in Jones County, Iowa
Anamosa News
Since 1855
 Thursday, April 10, 2008
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Young Women Recall Time as Legislative Pages
By Michelle Phillips |
Megan Lacey and Caitlin Forrester of Anamosa had a plan after attending a field trip to the Iowa Capitol last year, the friends were going to become legislative pages. The young women said they went online and applied, secured interviews and set up their new jobs. Megan began in the fall, and Caitlin joined in the spring.
“I think 60 people got interviews, and 23 were hired,” said Megan.
The women said the experience has been a great way to help them make decisions about career choices, given them a taste of being away from home and taught them that all issues have multiple facets.
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Caitlin Forrester and Megan Lacey are inside the Iowa House Chambers. The two women have been working as pages for the Iowa House of Representatives. |
“I think it has changed my future,” Caitlin stated and added that she is now considering a major in political science and perhaps a career in politics.
Megan agreed and said she is considering a double major in marketing and political science, “I never thought I’d want to run for office, but now I think it would be fun to be in the House.”
Caitlin and Megan have a few years to decide because of the minimum age for a Iowa House Representative.
Both women said their interest increased after observing the Iowa House in action.
“For me it was the first debate I got to see,” explained Caitlin.
“The smoking bill debate was the one for me,” Megan concurred.
While Megan said she would prefer to be a state legislator connecting with rural folks, Caitlin has her sights set on the US Legislature.
The women also had some advice for those who may want to be pages.
“I’d say do it when you’re a senior,” suggested Caitlin.
“Really?” asked Megan. “I might recommend doing it as a junior.”
The women said they don’t really miss school, and it has been exciting for them to live away from home. Caitlin lives with a family, and Megan lives in an apartment with another page.
“You get some experience living on your own, which is good,” said Caitlin.
“It’s almost an interim step between high school and college,” Megan included.
Caitlin and Megan had only good things to say about the representatives, their fellow pages and the legislative clerks. All were willing to answer questions and teach the women the ropes.
For the most part, they spend their days running errands for the House Representatives, including retrieving folders and memos. All of the pages work for all of the representatives, but the women said they do have some favorites. They also vary in the level of help they need.
“There are reps that want everything done for them and some that want to do things for themselves,” Megan revealed.
“It’s an awesome job,” exclaimed Caitlin.
“Yeah. I wish I could do this as a career. I can’t believe there are only three weeks left!” Megan concluded.
There are a few activities students can participate in as well as being a page. The Capitol Project invites students from grades nine through 11 to attend workshops, visit the State Capitol and Terrace Hill, and meet statewide elected officials and legislators. Students are also able explore the workings of the legislative process by learning how to draft bills and then participate in a mock legislative debate. The Capitol Project spans four days.
During Capitol Youth Day students grades six through 12 have the opportunity to meet with Secretary of State Michael A. Mauro, state legislators, and are able to watch the legislative process from the Senate and House galleries.
The Capitol Project and Capitol Youth Day deadlines have passed this year, but students interested in attending next year or working as a page in the future may contact District 31 Rep. Ray Zirkelbach at ray.zirkelbach@legis.state.ia.us. |
School Board Hears from Long Range Planning Committee, Approves 2008-09 Budget and Sets Hearing Date
By Mike Moynihan |
Rick Delagardelle reported to the Anamosa School Board Monday on the public forums held by the Long Range Planning (LRP) Committee regarding a site for the new high school. One definitive finding to come out of the forums was that site C was not a viable choice.
The report noted that although the Hwy 64 site has had a much more thorough traffic study done on it than the other two sites, due in part to planning for the hospital construction to take place there, there has been no formal traffic analysis of site B by either the city or the school district.
There has been no study on whether Old Dubuque Road should be widened, have turning lanes, have a median, traffic lights, right of way or predictive analysis of traffic congestion at the five-way intersection at the base of the high school hill.
The current project design calls for traffic exiting site B to flow into the city rather than toward the Hwy 151 intersection with Old Dubuque Road in an attempt to minimize traffic going directly to that intersection from the school parking lot. |
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The LRP Committee report directly quoted Tim Simodynes of the DOT regarding sites A and B/C and said it was important for the community to know Simodynes’s opinions.
Simodynes commented on site A Dec. 10, 2007:
“. . . from a safety perspective, we have serious concerns whenever high schools are built along a high-speed rural highway. We have too many examples where . . . the result is high-speed severe crashes . . . even though everything is designed to standards. . . . Our experience . . . has also been that the presence of a horizontal or vertical curve (or combination) amplifies the problem, even though adequate sight distance is available.”
A little more than a week later, on Dec. 18, 2007, Simodynes said of sites B and C: “I am curious about the other two potential sites. If either involves students accessing U.S. (sic) 151 at an at-grade intersection [such as Old Dubuque Road and 151], I would recommend against that more than the alternative on Iowa 64.”
Board President Brian Darrow commended the committee on a job well done and said it might be time to put the choice between sites A and B to a referendum in order to get broadest possible community input.
Superintendent Dr. Dale Monroe said he had spoken with Jones County Auditor Janine Sulzner about this and that if it were done at the polls, it would have to be done as a bond issue on each site in order to get a reading on how the public feels. If that were done, a super majority of 60% would be needed to pass either site, and if the bond issues only showed a voter preference for one site over the other without reaching 60%, another bond issue would have to be held in order to try for the super majority necessary for passage.
He suggested a post-card referendum be held instead, and at a much lower cost. With an all-out effort to educate the public on the pros and cons of the two sites, it would be possible to get a response that was both informed and widespread.
Board member Connie McKean said her only concern with such a survey was that the public might overlook the analyses done by the LRP Committee and growing out of the public forums it held. She also said she would like to see three choices surveyed: whether to go with site A, whether to go with site B, and a third choice for those who think both sites are equally acceptable.
Former school board member and president Jim Mitchel rose to speak to the issue of site selection. “Our school district, I feel, is being torn apart by these issues,” he said. “I don’t understand all this continuing discussion. The board voted to buy the property (site A), we bought it, and yet we continue to discuss the matter.”
Another citizen, Al Conrad, rose to compliment Delagardelle and the LRP Committee on the job they had done in getting input from the community. Former board member Julie VonMuenster also spoke, echoing the sentiments of Mitchel, and said she feels the board still made the right decision in buying site A.
Josh Lyons of Solon, currently the principal at West Elementary in Independence, was hired as Strawberry Hill Elementary Principal for the 2008-09 school year, replacing Reona Ewald, who is retiring. Lyons briefly spoke to the board, saying he had some big shoes to fill and that he was extremely excited to join the district.
The board approved an amendment and revisions of the proposed certified budget for 2008-09. The revised levy rate for 2008-09 will be $15.077 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, an increase of 2.3 percent over the current year.
The board also approved a resolution allowing it to reduce property taxes by a corresponding amount taken from cash reserves, resulting in no property tax impact from the district’s loss of new money due to an overstatement by 75 students in the October 2006 certified enrollment. Business Manager Linda Von Behren said the resolution would keep the district’s spending authority at a responsible level without affecting property taxes.
A public hearing on the 2008-09 budget was scheduled for 6:45 p.m. April 14 at the Anamosa High School Library.
The board unanimously approved the low bid of $17,900 from Environmental Services of Iowa, Inc. for asbestos abatement at Strawberry Hill Elementary this summer. Monroe, noted this would eliminate all asbestos in the steam tunnels at the school. He said Environmental Services of Iowa, Inc. was a reputable company with more than 20 years of experience in asbestos removal.
The board approved an application by the Rainbow Daycare Center for grant money from the Quality Child Care Improvement Initiative of the Jones County Empowerment Board. It also approved an out-of-state field trip by the Leadership and Resiliency Program to Wisconsin Dells, Wis., to be paid for by U.S. Dept. of Education grant monies for alcohol abuse prevention.
Trent Jeffrey, asst. principal for the elementary and high schools. reported on the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. The program is based on the research of Swedish psychologist Dan Olweus and has apparently proved it can reduce bullying, increase the likelihood of bullying victims to attend school, and more fully involve adults in dealing with bullying and other antisocial behaviors.
District Technology Director Mary Bendixen reported to the board on the success of the district’s web site since its inception in November 2007, when it had 6,373 visitors. Since then usage has steadily increased, and there were 12,380 visitors in March 2008.
Elementary Principal Reona Ewald and Middle School Principal Linda Vaughn reported to the board on Iowa Test of Basic Skills scores for their respective schools. The board also heard an update on the Read 180 program and was given a hands-on overview of how the Read 180 software works by Anamosa High School Reading Teacher Carol Reilly prior to the beginning of the board meeting.
Monroe informed the board he was looking into the possibility of outsourcing the district’s summer trimming and mowing as a means of saving money and also freeing up regular maintenance personnel to address more important physical plant issues. He told the board local vendors Bill Feldmann and Jeff Minger had made proposals of nearly identical amounts, and asked for and received permission to further explore the situation and report back with more facts. |
House Recognizes Grant Wood Art Festival
By Michelle Phillips
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Members of the Grant Wood Art Festival (GWAF) Committee traveled to Des Moines on April 7 for the reading of an Iowa House of Representatives resolution recognizing the Grant Wood Art Festival. The resolution, HR 123, was co-authored by Rep. Ray Zirkelbach of Jones County and Rep. Ro Foege of Linn County.
Zirkelbach told fellow legislators that Grant Wood was an important figure in both Jones County and the state. He included that the colony in Stone City was also an important piece of history.
Foege added that Wood was known for his humor. He then admitted that he dressed as Wood at the GWAF in the ‘80s. He also showed a picture of Wood with Stone City in the background.
Upon learning that the capitol had no artwork by Wood, the committee arranged to donate two prints of Wood’s work, Stone City and Daughters of the Revolution.
The GWAF will be held on Anamosa’s Main Street on June 8.
Above: Rep. Ro Foege points out the humor in Daughters of the Revolution; Right; Iowa House Reps. Ray Zirkelbach and Ro Foege address fellow representatives, reading a resolution recognizing the Grant Wood Art Festival.
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Box 108, 208 W. Main Street, Anamosa, IA 52205
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