Author: Theresa Rose

MOUNT PLEASANT – Since February 2019, Henry County Health Center Foundation has been planning a huge celebration in honor of the 100th Anniversary of Henry County Health Center.  A Gala event was scheduled for Saturday, November 6th, 2021.  However because of spikes in the occurrences of COVID-19, the Foundation has had to reconsider its plans.

The priority of the HCHC Foundation is, and always will be, the physical and emotional health, safety and well-being of our community.  We all should do our part to protect our loved ones, our local and global community and ourselves.

Therefore, the HCHC Foundation has decided to postpone the Gala event to November 5th, 2022.  It will be held at Iowa Wesleyan University and the Mary Carrick Collective featuring Mary Heaton Carrick is expected to be the entertainment.

HCHC Foundation wants to reassure you of our ongoing commitment to enhance the health and wellness of the people of Henry County and surrounding communities.  We truly appreciate your continued financial support.

You can expect to hear and see more about HCHC’s 100th Anniversary, and the HCHC Foundation’s Gala celebration, in the weeks and months to come.

If you have any questions, please call Mark Hempen, HCHC Foundation Director at 319-385-6541 or via email at hempenm@hchc.org.

On Wednesday just before 3 pm Mount Pleasant Police were dispatched to a motor vehicle collision on Commerce Drive near Iris Road.

It was determined that a vehicle operated by Jacob Payne of Burlington was westbound on Commerce. A vehicle operated by Scottie Dunn of Mt Pleasant, was traveling eastbound on Commerce. Dunn attempted to enter a parking lot and turned left in front of Payne. Payne then struck Dunn broadside. The total damage was estimated at $16,498. There were no injuries.Payne was cited for No Insurance and Dunn was cited for Failure to yield on a left turn.

MOUNT PLEASANT, IA – On Monday, October 4 at 10:00 am, the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance will be visiting the iJAG classroom at Mount Pleasant High School to award a $2,000 check to kick off a week of activities in honor of Manufacturing Week.

Held annually on the first week in October, MFG Week helps show the reality of modern manufacturing careers by encouraging thousands of companies and educational institutions around the nation to open their doors to students, parents, teachers and community leaders. As manufacturers seek to fill 4 million high-skill, high-tech and high-paying jobs over the next decade, MFG Week empowers manufacturers to come together to address their collective challenges so they can help their communities and future generations thrive.

The Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance has a week of activities planned with the annual check presentation being one of the most popular. Each year, the sponsors of MFG week choose a worthwhile organization to support. This year, the committee chose the iJAG program at Mount Pleasant High School. iJAG is the premier non-profit organization connecting business and education to provide the most cost-effective dropout prevention and school to career solutions in Iowa. Students in the iJAG program have trouble making it in a conventional classroom because of the distractions and barriers at home, outside the classroom or even inside the classroom. Relying on real-world, project-based instructional methods and an unconventional approach to personal connections with students, the iJAG teaching specialists work within conventional learning environments to help remove barriers and show students how to achieve the next step of their career or education.

In addition to the check presentation on Monday, the Chamber will participate in a Regional Manufacturers’ Appreciation Golf Outing on Tuesday. All Chamber members are invited to attend the monthly Alive After Five at Kinney and Sons Excavating on Wednesday. They will offer a Regional Human Resources Covid Do’s and Don’ts webinar on Thursday. The week’s activities will wrap up with a chamber members participating in a College and Career Fair at the High School on Friday.

The Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance exists to improve the quality of life for Henry County residents through economic growth. The Chamber consists of 348 businesses, organizations, and individual members. The Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance encompasses the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce, Mount Pleasant Area Development Commission and Henry County Tourism.

14-day positivity rate for individuals: 14.7%

14-day positivity rate for tests taken (includes duplicate tests): 9.6%

# of cases last 3 days: 24

# of cases last 7 days: 51

# of cases last 14 days: 158

% of residents 12+ years of age fully vaccinated: 55.2%

% of all residents fully vaccinated: 47%

Think about who you interact with each day and if they are at a higher risk due to age or health concerns, please consider getting vaccinated to help protect them. This virus is continuing to spread throughout our communities. Public Health does not have the Pfizer vaccine, but continues to hold walk-in vaccine clinics for Moderna or J&J at 106 N. Jackson St. Monday – Friday 8am-3:30pm UNTIL those boosters are approved. Then we will change to all off-site appointment clinics. We will post updates here.

**We are sharing these regular updates to hopefully provide the most helpful information to keep you informed. There is a lot of data out there so we are reporting data from our local public health portal, with the exception of the vaccinated % which comes from the CDC Data Tracker since they break it out by eligible residents instead of just all residents.**

Mount Pleasant Arts IMPACT sponsors a mini art gallery in the Mount Pleasant Public Library. Local artists are featured on a rotating basis to showcase the work of area artists and to introduce new artists to the community. A new exhibit on display now during October and November is the photography of Kirsten Heerdt in which she features dramatic silhouettes and striking close-up photography.

Looking for a little getaway right here in Henry County and Mount Pleasant?

The new photography exhibit at the Mount Pleasant Community Public Library features the work of Kirsten Heerdt in a photographic journey around Southeast Iowa and also points beyond.

A Mount Pleasant resident, Kirsten is originally from Centennial, Colorado. Her background is in Electronic Reporting from Colorado State University.

Although she works at the Henry County Health Center as Public Information Assistant and Volunteer Services Coordinator, she is also passionate about Special Projects at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion.

As a frequent photograph contributor to Facebook, she often features dramatic landscapes and silhouettes from around Southeast Iowa. Her portfolio also showcases scenic landscapes from the Rocky Mountains as well as stunning macro photos of nature elements.

Kirsten uses her photography to encourage spending time in the beauty of the outdoors. She illustrates these values expressed in a quote from Jack Kerouac: “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing the lawn.”

Kirsten’s free exhibit is on display through Thanksgiving in the Arts IMPACT mini-gallery in the Public Library during regular library hours. The public may contact her through e-mail at kirsten.heerdt@gmail.com to comment about her display or to inquire about purchases.

AGENDA

September 30, 2021

Approve Agenda

Approve Minutes

Approve Claims

9:00  Sarah Berndt, CDS Monthly Meeting

9:45 Approve Reserve Officer Matthew Borders

10:00  Joe Buffington Second Reading to Adopt Henry County

Flood Plain Management Ordinance

Other County Business as time allows

Supervisors Sub-Committee Updates