Month: November 2021

Henry County Publik Health will hold a COVID-19 vaccine clinic Friday morning at the First Presbyterian Church in Mount Pleasant. There are still appointments available. This is for anyone who still needs their first shot (Moderna or J&J) and anyone eligible for their booster shot. Please note: the Moderna boosters have now been approved. They will have the Pfizer vaccine for kids age 5-18 there as well. They can make an appointment at healthyhenrycounty.org/covid or call 319-385-0779. However, please remember the Public Health office is closed for Veterans Day.

MOUNT PLEASANT— Congratulations to Dr. Joe and Dr. Kaci Vela who are the recipients of the quarterly Community Pride Award presented by the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance. This award was created to honor chamber businesses and organizations that display exceptional beautification and exterior improvements to their properties and encourage others to do the same.

The Vela’s will be recognized with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday, November 15 at 4:30 pm at 1804 E. Washington. Other tenants in the development include Orthodontic Associates of Iowa, Children’s Dental Center of Southeast Iowa, American Eyecare and the new Scooter’s Coffee.

“This is a beautiful development on the east side of our community. We are so fortunate the Vela’s decided to invest in Mount Pleasant,” said Kristi Perry, Executive Vice President of the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance.

The Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors created the Community Pride Award back in 2012 and have honored 3-4 recipients each year during that time. Recent recipients include Iowa Wesleyan University, Innovairre, Henry County Courthouse, Lomont Molding and Farm Credit Services of America, just to name a few.

The Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance exists to improve the quality of life for Henry County residents through economic growth. The Chamber consists of 340 businesses, organizations, and individual members.

ISU Extension and Outreach – Henry County is hosting a Farm Tax and Accounting Workshop on Wednesday, December 1 from 6:00 pm – 8:00pm at the Henry County Extension Office in Mt. Pleasant (127 North Main Street).

In this timely workshop Charles Brown, Iowa State Extension and Outreach Farm Management Specialist, will address:

• Record keeping for income tax preparation.
• What are W2, W4, W9 and I9 forms?
• When do you need to send 1099 forms?
• Schedule F income versus ordinary and capital gain income.
• Depreciation rules for 2021.
• What to look for in purchasing a farm accounting program.
  • A quick review of Quick Books and PC Mars accounting programs

This workshop is free for all participants, but pre-registration is required to assure adequate space. Please contact the Henry County Extension Office at (319) 385-8126 to register by November 30^th.

The Southeast Iowa Band, based at Iowa Wesleyan University, announced the dedication of their fall concert to long time band member and supporter David Scott.

This concert is free and will be held at the Chapel Auditorium on the IW campus at 3 pm on Sunday November 14th.

SEIB director, Robert McConnell said, “Dave was one of those super dedicated musicians that did so many things to help music in Burlington and the Southeast Iowa area, it was difficult to know everything he did.  With the Southeast Iowa Band he not only played in our percussion section but he also recorded the concerts.  In addition, he was a skilled woodworker, and built the podium I conduct from.”

“I know that Dave was important to the success of both SEIB and Burlington Municipal Band and he is sorely missed.”

The concert also features the world premiere of a work by Burlington, Iowa native, Joel Prescott. Please Stay is dedicated to the prevention of suicide. The composer drew on his own experiences of being bullied growing up and learning how to cope.

“This is a deeply moving and beautiful work and I think, ultimately it will be widely known in band literature. It’s wonderful to hear a work that captures the care of concerned individuals in hoping that depressed, struggling friends will chose to continue to fight through life’s difficulties,” said Robert McConnell.

Other highlights of the program directed by McConnell include Fiesta del Pacifico, Downey Overture by Spanish composer Oscar Navarro and Noisy Wheels of Joy by Eric Whitacre.  Dr. Michael Knight will conduct the Four Preludes of Robert Russell Bennett.

“This is a great opportunity for the public to come into an acoustically beautiful facility and hear a great concert featuring many of the region’s top musicians, and we hope the public takes advantage of it. “

For further information contact Dr. Michael Knight–michael.knight@iw.edu.

*masks are encouraged when attending events on the IW campus

Two people were killed in two different accidents Tuesday in Lee County.  According to the Iowa State Patrol Betty Cochenour of Luray, Missouri died when her car was hit by a semi. Emergency responders and law enforcement were paged out at at about 1:30 pm to the intersection of Hwy 218 northbound and County Road J40. Cochenour was stopped facing east on J40 at the crossover with Hwy 218. She pulled out onto 218 into the path of a northbound semi driven by Nazar Bekboev of Schaumburg, Illinois.

The name of the victim in the second crash had not been released as of Wednesday morning.  According to the State Patrol, Tuesday just after 6 pm, Michael Ray Walker of Fort Madison was operating a large John Deere tractor southbound on Green Bay Road near 190th Street when the tractor was struck by a northbound vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene.

The State Patrol continues to investigate both accidents.

Mount Pleasant, IA – November 10, 2021 — Iowa Wesleyan University announced a new partnership with TEL Education to help lower the barriers to higher education, particularly for underrepresented and rural high school students.  On November 3, TEL Education and Iowa Wesleyan University officially signed as academic partners.  

TEL Education is a non-profit curriculum and educational technology organization dedicated to providing innovative and affordable online college-level learning courses to high school students, making college more accessible to underrepresented demographics and communities. Through the partnership, TEL will provide its catalog of mastery-based, online general education course materials and work with Iowa Wesleyan administration and faculty to customize TEL content to align with the university’s specific academic and program goals. High school students can access affordable dual credit and experience Iowa Wesleyan’s commitment to student success with this expanded catalog.

Iowa Wesleyan President, Christine Plunkett, stated, “I am very excited about this partnership; it’s right up our alley in terms of working with a population of underrepresented students who lack access to education.”  Dr. DeWayne Frazier, University Provost, added, “Access to education is one of the key factors in serving underrepresented groups, and one of the best ways to do this is through keeping costs affordable.  TEL Education and IW have the same goals of providing access and empowering students.  The partnership is built on multiple synergies of the two organizations.” 

Iowa Wesleyan had previously worked closely with TEL by offering online self-paced instruction courses to their current students.  Through the new partnership, Iowa Wesleyan will serve as the school of record for TEL to provide online college courses to high school students for enhanced dual enrollment opportunities. As a school of record, Iowa Wesleyan will work closely with TEL to review the curriculum and assess learning outcomes.  According to TEL Executive Director Dr. Rob Reynolds, this partnership with Iowa Wesleyan is essential for TEL’s mission to make college-level learning accessible to everyone in the U.S.

“A partnership works based on a common set of goals and mission; we’re drawn to IW because we have a common mission to serve through education,” said Reynolds. “Because of that commitment, I know that our two organizations can make a big difference in Iowa and the entire Midwest.”