PCM-03-21-2024

Explorer PCM

How to move forward

PCM School Board meets to discuss grade alignment further at workshop

By Jamee A. Pierson

PCM Explorer

What is best for the kids? Many questions were asked during the PCM School Board Workshop on elementary alignment, but board member Jeremy St. Peter brought it together after listening to more than 90 minutes of discussion.

“I am listening to the experts and the experts are saying alignment is what we need to do. If that is the best thing for our kids, why wouldn’t we align all of the grade right now?” St. Peter said. “Why wouldn’t we do that if that was truly better, why would we leave one town or the other behind and not do the alignment if it is truly the best thing for the kids.”

While it may seem simple to go off of that one factor since they are talking about students’ education, many other factors were brought up and questioned when discussing moving forward with the alignment process of Monroe and Prairie City elementaries. The topic was brought before the board during the workshop after the idea of moving all third grade classes to Prairie City was tabled at the February board meeting.

To begin, board president Ryan Van Der Kamp posed a question he received: Are we rushing, is there enough information and have people been informed of a plan, it seems likes we have gone several directions lately?

“Without a doubt, the administration team and Elementary Vision Team have not changed direction,” superintendent Michelle Havenstrite said. “In the fall of 2022, I had continued to hear of grade alignment and even talked to board members, some of whom are still here, we need to address grade alignment. I asked Mrs. Geetings to put together an elementary vision team. All parents had the opportunity to join, all teachers and community members had the opportunity to join.”

She asked them to study the issue and report their findings. The work, she said, was one of the best grass roots efforts to gather input. The team took the time to go into the buildings, ask questions and gather information. Their findings were then shared with the board which four of the six current members were on.

“They came back and said, I was startled by it, ‘we want to be together. Take as much time as your need but we want to be under one roof,’” Havenstrite said. “The first move, which made sense from the data we had at the time was to move fourth and fifth grade. I have said repeatedly and say to everyone in the crowd, we are going to go slow and do it right. We’re not going to rush around because it is more than moving groups. It is ensuring safety, services, busing and much more.”

With two years of data, the leadership team recommended moving pre -

school together last school year. They found having two sections in Monroe and one in Prairie City wasn’t the best situation. The move was continuing what Havenstrite called a “slow and methodical pathway to everyone underneath one roof,” which was the recommendation in January 2022.

The next step the leadership found was to move all of third grade to Prairie City. With a teacher retiring there would only be one section in Monroe and three in Prairie City.

“Those who are saying we are changing direction, we aren’t changing direction,” Havenstrite said. “Our staff had told us, our parents involved, said we want to be together under one roof. We believe we can be more efficient and more effective as a team and provide high quality education. This team is willing to take it slowly to get it right and that is why the third grade recommendation was the next best step.”

When asked why third grade next year, elementary principal Donita Geetings said it is an academics concern.

“My viewpoint on that is probably not one that you want to hear. It is an academic concern for me,” Geetings said. “Our third grade (current second grade) has our lowest numbers across the district. In the winter we were at 34 percent and 56 percent proficient (in reading). Those are

ALIGNMENT | 3

Celebrating spring

By Jamee A. Pierson PCM Explorer

The Easter Bunny is hopping over to Prairie City and Monroe for fun community events. Both towns will celebrate the spring holiday March 23 with a variety of activities for all ages.

In Prairie City, the PC Celebration Committee is hosting a Spring Celebration at the PCM Middle School gym. Running from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., a vendor sale with more than 50 shopping options, games and prizes will fill the gym with fun for the whole family.

The Easter Bunny will hop in at 11 a.m for photos, and a candy toss will start at 11:30 a.m. Max’s Cof-

fee and El Meson Taco Shack food trucks will also be at the celebration providing tasty treats.

In Monroe, the Monroe Kiwanis will hold its annual Pancake Day Breakfast Fundraiser starting at 7:30 a.m. through 1:30 p.m. This year, the Kiwanis is teaming up with the PCM Fine Arts Boosters for a Fine Arts Festival kicking off at 10 a.m.

Performances from all ages will take place in the gym and go throughout the day. There will also be a silent auction and bake sale to support the fine arts boosters.

For more information about the showcase and to find a schedule of performers, visit the fine arts boosters Facebook page.

Local agencies respond to rural Colfax house fire Saturday

Officials say 1 occupant died, body will be sent to State

Medical Examiner

By Christopher Braunschweig PCM Explorer

Jasper County law enforcement says one person was killed in a house fire Saturday, March 16 in rural Colfax. Fire crews on Sunday, March 17 recovered the body of the occupant who was unable to escape the blaze. Newton News was told first responders had spent hours removing debris after the flames were extinguished According to a press release from Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, a 911 call was made at 10:43 p.m. about a house fire at the 8000 block of South 52nd Avenue West, one-anda-half miles southeast of Colfax. When first responders arrived, the home was fully engulfed in flames and the number of occupants unknown.

While crews from multiple departments worked to extinguish the fire, it was determined one individual one inside of the home. At approximately 10:45 a.m. March 17, search and rescue crews located the decreased individual — whose name has not been released — in the basement of the home. The body will be sent to the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner for identification and autopsy. The investigation in still ongoing. In addition to the Colfax Fire Department and Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, mutual aid was provided by agencies in Baxter, Knoxville, Mingo, Mitchellville, Monroe, Newton, Prairie City and the Iowa State Fire Marshall’s Office, who have helped put out the flames, search for the occupant and investigate the fire.

PC hosting Spring Celebration while Monroe has annual Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast and PCM Fine Arts Festival

The miracle (and work) of life

Raising

By Jamee A. Pierson PCM Explorer

During the winter months, many farmers who solely grow crops are preparing for the next year while their tractors are getting a break until work begins for spring planting. For livestock farmers, an exciting and trying part of the year is just getting underway with birthing season. While breeding starts when the weather is still easy to manage, the babies tend to make their entrance at some of the craziest times, from snowstorms to record low temperatures. When babies are coming, everyone has to be ready.

“Our breeding program is scheduled for winter calving. Most of our calves come during January and February. We also have a few cows that we calve out in early fall,” Jes-

sica Barnett said. “Our first calf typically hits around the Christmas holiday. Yes, we have had calves on Christmas and New Years! The cows don’t take breaks over the holidays.”

Barnett and her family have a Nolin Red Angus cattle operation near Monroe. They raise purebred Red Angus cattle on their farms outside of town and have found that the cows tend to birth during the extreme weather conditions.

“Typically when our calves come it’s cold and most often a snowstorm or extreme cold,” Barnett said. “We do several things to ensure our survival rate of newborn calves. We calve inside our barn no exceptions. The survival rate of a new calf greatly declines during inclement weather. The extreme cold is very hard on newborn calves.”

They also clean the barns twice each day to keep the bedding clean and dry, and they

introduce several supplements to promote viability and health. Another challenge comes with calves being very wet when they are born. With frigid temps, work has to be done to get them dry quickly.

“In extreme cold conditions, parts of the calf will begin freezing, particularly the ears. The ears can freeze solid. If the ears are frozen solid for an extended period, the tissue will die, and parts of the ears will eventually fall off,” Barnett said. “We don’t leave the calf until its almost completely dry. In extreme cold conditions we bring our calves inside our basement and use a blower to dry them off.” Jacob Clark, who has hair sheep, Hereford pigs and laying chickens, also battles the cold to ensure the newborns have their best chance at survival. Currently, his sheep lamb at the

File Photo

Submitted Photo

A calf sticks out its tongue to onlookers. Jessica Barnett, of Monroe, said most of the calves in her herd are born during January and February. Sometimes they even arrive on Christmas.

livestock is rewarding yet challenging, especially in extreme winter weather

Explorer PCM

Worth Mentioning

Events at The Gathering Place

PCM School Coffee Break is at 9 a.m. March 21 at TGP.

Join Jacque Robinson for Piano at 2 p.m. Friday, March 22 at TGP.

Attend the Patty Richards Country Music Show from 7 to 9 p.m. March 22 at The Gathering Place. Bring finger food and your dancing shoes, $5 admission.

Every Monday at 8 a.m. The Gathering Place will host Coffee & Devotions with Pastor Ann.

“Get Fit, Move More!” with Amy S. at 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 27 at The Gathering Place.

An Acoustic JAMM will begin at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 28 at TGP.

A fundraiser for Thelma’s Chicken for The Gathering Place. Ordering will end April 1. Drive-thru pickup from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. April 4.

Lions Club breakfast Saturday

The Prairie City Lions Club is hosting a pancake breakfast at 7 a.m. Saturday, March 23 at the Prairie City Community Building. Menu includes pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs and drink. Proceeds from the freewill donation will support PCM Cub Scout Pack 348 this month.

PCM Food Pantry

The PCM Food Pantry at the Monroe Presbyterian Church, 113 S. Main St., is open 9 a.m. to noon and 6 to 7 p.m. Mondays and 9 a.m. to noon Thursdays.

TOPS

TOPS 1025 meets at 5:30 p.m. every Monday at the First Reformed Church in Prairie City for weigh-in, with meeting to follow. Go to the north side parking lot at the church and enter in the north door. Call 515-994-2200 for information.

PCM Clothing Closet

The PCM Clothing Closet, on the second floor of the Family Life Center at 105 S. Sherman St. in Prairie City, will be open from 3:30 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday and 2 to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Good News Club meets Monday

The Good News Club will meet after school Monday, March 25 at the Prairie City Elementary library and the Monroe Elementary art room. Kindergarten through 5th grade are welcome. Enjoy snacks, games, bible stories, songs and prizes. Parent permission required. Sponsored by Child Evangelism Fellowship. Contact Jane McConeghey at 641 891 2733, Monroe or Sheryl Plate or 641 521 3120, Prairie City.

Womens Recovery meeting

Lighthouse Recovery Ministries has a Women’s Recovery meeting at 6 p.m. each Wednesday at the Grace Alive Powerhouse, 701 W. Second St. in Prairie City. Contact Barb at b.miller@lighthouserecoveryia.com with questions.

Survey in Monroe

The City of Monroe Public Works Department must identify the material used for your water service line. Surveys have been mailed out and are due back by April 15 with drop off locations being city hall, the post office or Leighton State Bank.

Prairie City Lions Club supports backpack program

The Prairie City Lions Club conducts pancake breakfasts one Saturday each month from October to April to raise money to support local groups. The breakfast Jan. 27 was to support the PCM Backpack Buddy Program. This program provides food on weekends for approximately 100 PCM Elementary and high school students. Families who use the free and reduced lunch program are eligible to sign up.

The Backpack Program is a partnership between the PCM Elementary PTO and the PCM Food Pantry in Monroe. Food is purchased at reduced cost from the Central Iowa Food Bank when food items are available. Otherwise, volunteers go to stores weekly to purchase food. Food is delivered to Monroe Elementary where students in 2nd and 3rd grade who are part of the “Leader in Me” program carry the food into the building and then volunteers organize the food and pack the bags. “Leader in Me” students from the elementary schools in Prairie City and Monroe place the bags outside the appropriate classrooms so students who receive the bags can pick them up on Friday. The program is funded fully by donations.

Livestock

start of the year to be used for his son’s 4-H and FFA projects at the county fair.

“The sheep are bred to lamb on or after Jan. 1 and it usually lasts until mid-February,” Clark said. “We do this so the lambs will have a chance to grow as big as possible in preparation for (his son) Kolby to show a couple at county fair. Once the boys age out of 4H/FFA, we’ll probably switch to lambing in the spring when the weather is nicer.”

His oldest son Kaden also shows at the fair but his choice in livestock are the pigs. They are also bred to birth on or after Jan. 1, allowing them to be at market weight for the county fair.

“We also bred a sow for Feb. 14 this year so the pigs will finish out to show at state fair,” Clark said.

To help combat the winter weather, Clark has a fully enclosed barn to help block the wind and maintain the temperature inside. They have six birthing pens with solid walls to eliminate cold air drafts on the newborns, and they have also made “hot boxes” for extra heat.

“We cut an entry hole in a 55-gallon plastic barrel and hung a heat bulb in it. Once the lambs find this, they’re in it all the time when it’s cold,” Clark said. “We have three heated buckets but need three more to eliminate the hassle

The City of Monroe announces flowers must be removed from Silent City Cemetery in Monroe by April 15 or risk being mowed. Remove flowers from Silent Cemetery

Send your event to news@pcmexplorer.com Birthday Happy 90th Birthday, Dwight! With luck, good health and a great many blessings, Dwight has reached this milestone. Help us send him 90 good wishes for this very special day!

PCM Backpack Buddy Program volunteers assisted with advertising and working at the Lions Club Pancake Breakfast Jan. 27. The breakfast netted $675 of profit all of which was donated to the Backpack Program.

The next pancake breakfast is from 7 to 9 a.m. Saturday, March 23 at the Prairie City Community Center with proceeds going to PCM Cub Scout Pack 348. The final breakfast will be April 27 with proceeds going

of thawing frozen buckets when it gets very cold.”

Sometimes getting to the animals can be a challenge as barns typically aren’t located right outside the back door. With feet of snow blocking the roads, farmers have to prepare and get creative to reach the animals.

“The January snow events proved to be a challenge for our family to get to the farm. I had to be at work during most of the snowstorms to remove snow. Due to that I relied heavily on my family and parents to watch over the cattle,” Barnett said. “In January we knew that the heavy snow was coming, and our roads may or may not be passable. My son stayed at my parents for four days during the heavy snow events to assist with digging out the lots, feed cattle, assist with calving and keep the farm going. It takes the entire family to keep it running.”

Once the babies are here, the work continues to make sure they survive and thrive. In some cases, that is even harder than bringing them into the world.

“One of our orphan babies had a rough start but is now one of our favorite ewes. I found her in the pen, but nobody had claimed her, so the lamb ended up in our garage. We milked another ewe that had twins the same day to try to get the lamb some colostrum and then started her on milk replacer,” Clark said. “After a few days, her health took a turn. She was getting weaker everyday and finally got to

to the Lions Club Project Fund and Prairie City Christmas lights. The Prairie City Lions Club stays active throughout the year and does a lot to support the community. More members are needed. If you are interested in serving the community, you are invited to contact Lion President Greg Townley at 515321-5085 or email gregory.a.townley@gmail.com or one of the other members to learn more about becoming a member.

the point where she couldn’t stand on her own. That night we gave her colostrum milk, probiotics and several medications and prayed for the best. With some luck I guess, it worked, and she began her recovery. We had suspended the lamb in the air using a T-shirt and dog crate, so she was upright. This allowed for her bowels to work better and build her strength in her legs. Kolby showed her at county fair and won Champion Hair Yearling.”

Barnett has also had her chance to care for a twin calf after it wasn’t favored by the cow. After assisting with the birth, the twins, who were smaller at 50 and 55 pounds, got to start their lives in her basement and ended up living behind their house for the first few months.

“We named the calves RIP & Dutton after the Yellowstone series. RIP was the weaker of the two,” Barnett said. “We enjoyed feeding him the bottle and keeping them penned up behind the house the first few months. When the calves are small, they tend to be very friendly. It’s fun to walk around the pen and have all the babies right next to you. This is a good experience for my kids and their friends to interact with them.”

Raising livestock is not for the weary. Farmers have to have a love for their animals. From pulling all-nighters to trudging through knee-high snow, they put in the work to keep the farms going.

“Seeing the boys develop

their husbandry of animals through their 4-H projects is the main reason we continue to raise sheep and pigs,” Clark said. “Chores has given the boys an opportunity to learn responsibility. They have also experienced true life with the highs of birth and lows of death by raising the farm animals.”

Barnett wants to keep her animals for as long as she can. It is more than just farming to her, it is a way of life.

“Success for me is measured by the fruits of my labor. The farm and cattle are where I find my peace. We have a small herd of around 30 cows and I know every one of them. The cattle depend on me to keep them safe and help them when they need it. The No. 1 rule of cattle operation is don’t get attached. Well ... that’s one rule I break on daily basis. I can’t help but bond with my cattle,” Barnett said. “Raising cattle isn’t glamorous or easy. I do it because I enjoy it and I am passionate about cattle. It gives me a sense of purpose and satisfaction of raising cattle on our family farmland. A couple years ago, Wyatt (my husband) asked me what one thing is I want out of farming. I told him to always see my red cows grazing in the pasture out my kitchen window. I meant it. My plans are to always have cattle. It may be less than what I have today but if I didn’t have that connection to nature and cattle, I think I would be lost. It’s my way of life.”

Submitted Photo

Lion President Greg Townley presents a check for the PCM Backpack Buddies program to Mandy Shannon, Monroe Elementary Assistant Principal.

alarming numbers to me, maybe not to you. My hope would be that if we put teachers together they would be able to collaborate the way four and five have done.”

She added third grade is the year Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has asked very boldly to make sure the students are proficient. She said if they kept two in Monroe and two in Prairie City, it would just look different than the desire of the instructional team.

Administration was asked in several ways how the teachers feel about alignment. Geetings stated it depends on what the plan is the board wants to move forward with. If it is to have all classrooms under one roof, she has heard nothing but positive feedback.

“I think the teachers are out in the community, talking to parents and if you’ve got a couple of teachers who are talking negatively about it, it spreads like wildfire,” Van Der Kamp said. “I feel that is what is happening right now. I don’t think all of the teachers are on the same page.”

Feedback gathered from social media site Facebook was referenced both at the workshop and the meeting. The school also requested feedback from elementary parents, sending out 774 emails on the topic. By the cutoff time, 34 responses had been sent.

“I don’t know what that means or says but that is the data,” Havenstrite said.

Board member Rod DeHaai said social media is wild. There have also been discussions in the public on moving to kindergarten through second grade in one building and third through fifth grade in another. Havenstrite said that has never been the plan from administration.

“That is an easy fix to get things aligned right away. Is that a quick fix to get everybody lined up and to move forward until we can get to the next plan or is it coming out of left field, not an option?” Van Der Kamp asked.

Geetings said it seems like a lot in a short amount of time.

“We’ve been trying to do things really well little by little. We were able to put strong teams together in four and five and do it well,” Geetings said. “Our focus was going to be on third grade next year. It does fix that they would all be together. I think that it seems like a really fast turn around”

St. Peter asked if it was doable with the building as they are and Geetings said it is. Board member Kelsey Fiorentin asked if the teachers are OK with moving to the K-2, 3-5 model. Assistant elementary principal Mandy Shannon said some are, some aren’t.

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PCM Facilities Director Rusty Vos brought up the work it would take to convert the two buildings to that configuration.

“If you are going to do K-2, 3-5, I’m going to ask your guys if you have some vacation time in June and July. I’m going to need some extra help,” Vos said. “I can’t expect my people to do that and get the buildings ready to go. We better look at hiring people to help move. We have teachers that have to get their rooms together and we can’t ask them to come in, in the summer. There is a lot more to it than picking up a desk from here to there. If we do have a long range vision plan that is out there, I don’t know if it makes a lot of sense to move everything over there and here to Monroe and then in a certain amount of time do it all again.”

Due to current enrollment figures, class sizes for kindergarten through second grade would only require three sections for each grade. That would been at Monroe, there would be one kindergarten, one first grade and one second grade classroom.

“That is just due to size, class size. You’ll have single sections somewhere. According to our numbers we will have only three sections in kindergarten, first and second grade at about 18 in a class,” Geetings said.

That idea had many board members uncomfortable. Havenstrite said she was concerned, as well, and said they should maybe sit down and figure out how to make budget cuts to get two sections back in both buildings.

“We might be 12, 13, 14 kids in a class. That is a very low number, not heard of anywhere else, but I bet our kids would get great instruction,” Havenstrite said. “Is that an option we can consider?”

When it comes to teachers, the board asked why some positions have remained open, such as art and science, and why the district tends to lose teachers who have only been there for a couple of years.

“Art if a very difficult position because of the certification. We have a lot of people who would love to do it, but don’t have the certification. I can’t teach it. At this point we haven’t found anyone around here that is willing to go back and get it. It is time consuming and expensive,” Geetings said. “Another piece of it is when we interview people they don’t love the idea of driving back and forth. That is a big one. That is why we lost our PE teacher and I have an email from our music teacher who now works at Ankeny that said, ‘I would love to stay but I don’t feel a part of anybody.’ I would say that is what we see from our specials teachers, they don’t feel like they belong because they go back and forth.”

PCM’s starting pay for a first year teacher is $39,900. With a variety of options available to graduates, it can be hard to entice them to the district at that salary.

“We can pick up a first year teacher and we do the mentoring. As soon as they have their first two years done and

get their licensing they are off,” Havenstrite said. “Why can’t we keep them here? Because other districts are desperate for teachers, too, and we can’t compete with those salaries right now.”

Board member Greg Ingle said when he looked at the numbers, PCM appeared to be about in the middle for similar school sizes in terms of teachers salaries. Middle school principal Sam Brown said he ran several comps on the average salaries of teachers in neighboring districts, average salaries of teachers in similar size districts to PCM and average salaries of teachers in the Heart of Iowa Conference and found differently.

“For HOIC we were at the very bottom,” Brown said. “Schools of similar size, we are also at the bottom and for neighboring districts, we are fourth from the bottom and those four are all within $1,600 of each other. We’re down there pretty low. Baxter, Lynnville-Sully and Colfax-Mingo and then we are the fourth one.”

Topics including busing and the economic impact on each community should all grades align were also discussed.

“Extra cost wise. The only thing I can think of is staffing. We might have to drop off at buildings earlier, so we may have to look at when teachers, paras and staff show up at buildings,” transportation director Tucker Gilbert said. “I sat down with some bus drivers before this meeting and I think we can make it happen with the buses and drivers we have currently, it might just be tight.”

Fiorentin said that if an elementary school is taken out of a community, maybe less people will want to buy a house there but it also evens out with having the high school activities in the other town.

“These two town are forever intertwined. The businesses are supported by mainly the residents. It doesn’t matter where you live, we go to Prairie City all of the time and those in Prairie City probably are in Monroe,” DeHaai said. “I can understand if you purchased a house and all of sudden your child is moved, but those things can happen. It is a little bit out of our control and we can’t make our decisions based on that. If we know what we are doing what is best for the education of the kids, I think that’s it.”

Ingle brought up the changes could effect dozens of businesses and community entities and that is something to keep in mind when making decisions.

Fiorentin asked toward the end of the meeting, what is the end goal as a district. Havenstrite said that is something the staff is needing from the board.

“I think that is what our teachers need, what we need. When it is time to take action, it goes awry and we are confused. Is the end goal preschool through sixth or not? That is the board’s question. We were under the understanding that is where we were going. We need solid direction that doesn’t change,” Havenstrite said. “Our vision plan has been clearly communicated. We have our assurances to the community and the parents that we are going to go slowly and do it right. The decision to move fourth and fifth grade, I believe it was made in January, we spent time putting together the best teams we could. Setting that system up to make sure it was the best education possible. The community has to trust us. I’ve seen things that we are just deciding to do this today or that today. That’s not how we at all make decisions. It has to be a collaboration and trust both ways.”

Following the workshop, Geetings submitted her resignation from her position as elementary principal. The board will discuss the topic further at its regular March meeting.

County Treasurer Doug Bishop would like to remind Jasper County residents that the second half property tax and mobile home taxes are due and need to be paid on or before Monday April 1st 2024 due to last day of March being a Sunday. Payments can be made at the office from 8:00 until 4:30 daily. Credit card and E-check payments can also be made online at www.iowatreasurers.org. Payments mailed and postmarked before April 2nd will be accepted without penalty. There is also a convenient drop box on the East side of our new office building at 315 W 3rd St N. If you have any questions, please call the Treasurer’s office at 641-792-7731.

Week 10

On Wednesday, the House passed a bill that looks at school safety from the side of infrastructure.

This bill creates a task force to develop school safety building codes to determine what makes school buildings safer. Currently none exist. With new standards, school officials will be able to make sure they are doing what they can from an infrastructure standpoint to make buildings safe for students and teachers. Along that same line, the bill prevents districts from bonding to build athletic stadiums or facilities unless and until their facilities are up to date with the school safety building standards from the task force. Safety and security

should be the priority. This bill also deals with how schools can get help or send for help if an emergency arises. Schools are allowed to have a mobile panic alert system if it can connect to emergency services and integrates with local public safety answering points. This is a mobile phone application districts can utilize. The Governor’s office previously developed a grant program for emergency radios. Many schools took advantage of that grant, but some did not. The Governor’s office has said that they plan to re-open that grant program to make sure all schools can have access to funding for the radios. If schools do not take advan-

tage, they will be required to use their own funds.

The bill establishes two grant programs. The first is a three-million-dollar Firearm Detection Software grant program run by the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The grant program provides funds to school districts of varying sizes to help offset the cost associated with purchasing, installing, operating software that meets these requirements:

• Designed to alert and detect district employees and first responders if there is a visible, unholstered firearm on a property owned by the school district.

• Designed to integrate with a district’s existing security camera infrastructure.

• Was developed in the U.S. without any of third-party data or open-source data.

The second grant program is the School Security Personnel Grants for Infrastructure, Equipment, and Training. This grant program states that if HF 2586 or successor legislation is passed, which is the other House GOP school safety bill that creates a professional permit for school staff and mandates training requirements, it will provide school districts grants to purchase infrastructure and equipment related to employee permits to carry weapons, facilitate the training associated with employee permits to carry weapons, and to provide stipends to employees who participate in the training associated with employee permits to carry weapons. Districts who choose to enhance school security this way will have additional expenses and House Republicans want to help cover those costs to truly make schools a safer place for students and staff.

By Bryan Golden

Although life has its ups and downs, at times of prolonged or intense down periods there is the potential of feeling overwhelmed. When this happens, it can create a cascading effect. Your attitude turns negative, you feel distressed, your patience is worn thin, you become frustrated, your energy level drops, and you become discouraged.

When you get into this mode, you feel powerless to extricate yourself. It seems that whatever you try is ineffectual. Nothing you do makes any difference. Although you desperately need a break, problems keep piling up. You feel like a victim with no ability to make any positive changes. You are perplexed as to why these things are happening to you. Being a good person, you don’t deserve what is happening and it’s just not fair. Why do bad things happen? Why are we faced with unfortunate situations? People have pondered these questions since the beginning of time without discovering any meaningful answers. We have little or no control over some of the circumstances that we face.

There are many circumstances that are potentially overwhelming. They include natural disasters, economic misfortune, crime, loss of a loved one, failed or troubled relationships, family problems, and physical ailments.

Whereas you can’t control what happens to you, you do have control over how you respond. Getting through an overwhelming period is challenging but it is doable. The bottom line is that you have no choice but to persevere. It will be a struggle, but giving up will only exacerbate your predicament.

The way to make it through tough times is one day at a time. When even that seems overwhelming, take it one hour at a time. Give yourself a mental reprieve by changing your focus to what is OK in your life. You want to develop an attitude of gratitude. When you go through a list of what you have to be grateful for it helps break the negative thought cycle.

The trap is that a negative attitude and bitterness repels what you want while attracting what you don’t want. When you are overwhelmed, it is very hard to alter your attitude. You don’t see any light and everything appears tainted. You become caught in a downward spiral.

Developing your attitude of gratitude will break the negative cycle. At first, you may not think there is anything to be grateful for. However, you will find things. No positive aspect is too small or insignificant. The more you think about what is good in your life, the more of a positive impact it will have.

Next, give yourself credit for any successes you have had, regardless of how small or insignificant you consider them. Even the things you tried that didn’t work as planned are accomplishments. It indicates you are being proactive. Unfortunately, many people take a passive role, just waiting for circumstances to improve.

Since you never know how close you are to discovering solutions that work, you must persist. Take inspiration from those people throughout history who have overcome situations far more extreme that what you are facing. If they can do it, so can you. Your thoughts control your feelings. Even in dire circumstances, your thoughts are under your command. Your mind works nonstop to bring your thoughts to reality. When you believe that you will make it through, this is what your mind will work toward. Conversely, if you don’t feel there is any way out, you mind will actually work to keep you where you are.

When you are overwhelmed, you can and will overcome the challenges facing you. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Take small steps, develop a strong attitude of gratitude, take one day at a time, and don’t give up. Others have succeeded and so will you.

Contact Bryan Golden at Bryan@columnist. com

er means, to establish a board or other entity for the purpose of citizen review of the conduct of police officers.”

One of the more salient features of our world is that the average citizen has no clue what our legislature is up to until it’s done. This should not be the case since our legislature is there to serve the people of Iowa and we should all have some awareness of how they are accomplishing this. And for this purpose I am citing a portion of a new Senate File currently under consideration.

The Iowa Senate has introduced Senate File 2325 which will amend Chapter 400 of the Iowa Code. The new subsection 18 is worth stating:

“A city with a civil service commission established under Chapter 400 shall not adopt, enforce, or otherwise administer an ordinance, motion, resolution, or amendment, or use any oth-

The events of Oct. 7

In the March 6 Newton News, Sen. Ernst cites the fact that two tenths of one percent of the 13,000 employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza participated in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas that brutally murdered 1,200 Israelis. She states that for this reason, among others, the U.S. should permanently stop all funding for UNRWA (funding is currently suspended by the Biden administration). She says U.S. taxpayers’ dollars should not be used to support terrorists.

This is a gross misrepresentation of the actual situation in Israel/Palestine. For many years prior to Oct. 7, Israel has maintained a military occupation of the Palestinian territories of East Jerusalem and the West Bank, sys-

And rightly so, I might add. We certainly don’t want the local citizens to have the ability to complain about local law enforcement. Just think what that would lead to - - chaos. Newton’s population fluctuates around 15,000 so the statute as proposed would prohibit the citizens of Newton from exercising oversight of the behavior of local law enforcement. Just think if people of a given community would be able to complain about the behavior of individual police officers, there would be no end of complaints and this is not something that can be tolerated. Our police are here to serve and protect.

For instance, what would happen if a given community decided that possession of marijuana should not be prosecuted as a crime. After all, Illinois, Missouri,

tematically denying human rights to Palestinians, confiscating their land, stealing their resources and terrorizing their people. Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza, making it tantamount to an openair prison where Israel controls what goods and which people can enter or leave. In the West Bank, the Israeli military routinely burst into Palestinian homes during the night and detain children as young as 12 for months at a time with no due process. The military also looks the other way, and even actively supports, pogroms against Palestinian villagers by radical Jewish settlers.

Many groups, Christian, Muslim and Jewish, have worked for decades to find nonviolent means to effect change for their people. However, over the past year Israel’s leadership has been taken over by right wing extremists who openly call for the elimination of non-Jews from the land. This is

and Minnesota have all legalized marijuana. We simply can’t have a bunch of citizens filing complaints about the enforcement of a law they don’t much care for. After all, and once again, the laws are meant to serve the citizens and if they don’t see the wisdom of certain laws, they should obtain some counseling or some such thing so they would have a better understanding of the purpose and intent of the laws that are passed.

The last thing we need are police officers afraid to give a speeding ticket for fear that some citizen will make a complaint to some citizen oversight board -probably made up of a bunch of left-wingers who don’t like the police anyway. This is not something that can be tolerated. After all, just because you are a citizen doesn’t mean you should have any say in what laws are passed or how they are enforced.

Richard E. H. Phelps II Mingo

the context in which one must see the events of Oct. 7. This is by no means a justification of what Hamas did. But when peaceful efforts result only in further degradation, many oppressed people will turn to violence.

And since Oct. 7 Israel has tried to justify the indiscriminate bombing and the denial of food, fuel, water, medicine and other supplies necessary for survival in Gaza by blaming Hamas. At least 30,000 Gazans, a large portion of whom were women or children, have died. Epidemiologists estimate that 85,000 more will die even if there is a ceasefire, because of the devastation already wrought.

My message to Sen. Ernst and Mr. Biden is: if you don’t think U.S. dollars should be used to support terrorism, stop sending arms to Israel, a purveyor of state terrorism if ever there was one. Larry Anderson Newton

Prairie

Position Summary:

and

• Process accounts payable, accounts receivable, invoicing and deposits.

• Prepare and process bi-weekly payroll, quarterly and yearend payroll-related tax filings.

• Reconcile accounts for monthly statements.

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• Strong communication and customer service skills.

Health insurance

Paid vacation and sick leave

401K with company match

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