HCHC Foundation Announces Grant Award Recipients

By Theresa Rose · Friday, December 9th, 2022 at 3:33 pm CDT

Henry County Health Center Foundation is pleased to announce its 2022 Grant Award Recipients: ISU Extension, Parkview Home, Iowa Wesleyan University, Mount Pleasant Community Childcare Center and Mount Pleasant Community School District. The HCHC Foundation awarded grants to each of these organizations for various projects supporting health related initiatives.

ISU Extension was awarded $2,500 for the Family Connection program.  Parkview Home Care Center in Wayland received a grant for $1,000 for the purchase of medical grade chairs for their dining room.  Iowa Wesleyan University was given a grant for $2,000 for enhanced nursing student recruitment.  Mount Pleasant Community Childcare Center was awarded $2,500 to help build a before and after school program.  And Mount Pleasant Community School District was handed a check for $2,000 for the purchase of new heart rate monitors for their students.

In total, the HCHC Foundation awarded $10,000 in grants this year.

The HCHC Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the enhancement of the health and well-being of Henry County individuals and families.  Foundation Director Mark Hempen says, “We are very excited to support the projects of these organizations that will make a difference in the health of our county residents.  These grants are just one example of how HCHC Foundation fulfills our mission for a healthier Henry County.”

The next round of grants will open in July of 2023.  For more details contact Mark Hempen at HCHC Foundation by calling 319/385-6541, or email MHempen@greatriverhealth.org.

Henry County Conservation Board Meeting Agenda

By Theresa Rose · Friday, December 9th, 2022 at 11:02 am CDT

The Henry County Conservation Board will hold their December 2022 Board meeting on Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at 5:30 pm in the
conservation board meeting room at the office in Oakland Mills. Items on the agenda will include: Nature Center Improvements, Foot
Bridge Renovation Update, Nature Center Open House, Director Update, and Naturalist Reports. Please contact the conservation department if you have any questions, 319-986-5067.

Henry County Supervisors Meeting Agenda

By Theresa Rose · Friday, December 9th, 2022 at 10:56 am CDT

AGENDA

December 13, 2022

Approve Agenda

Approve Minutes

Approve Appointment to Board of Health

9:00 Jake Hotchkiss, Engineer Weekly Update

Motion for Bridge Replacement Funds on Iowa Ave

Over Fish Creek

Other County Business as time allows

Supervisors Sub-Committee Updates

Master Gardener Home Gardening Series Begins January 3

By Theresa Rose · Friday, December 9th, 2022 at 10:43 am CDT
Registration is open for educational gardening series

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Master Gardener program will again host the Home Gardening Webinar Series, beginning in January and ending in March.

Designed for anyone who is interested in gardening or horticulture, the series aims to inspire and educate. Throughout the series, participants will hear from experts at Iowa State, the University of Illinois, North Dakota State University, Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District, and Reiman Gardens. The sessions are free and open to the public, although registration is required.

Four sessions in January will cover edible topics including building and using cold frames, growing microgreens inside, growing and preserving herbs and designing an edible landscape.

Pruning is one of the most highly sought-after presentation topics, so the month of February will be completely devoted to pruning. Each week, an expert will provide in-depth instruction on how to prune and care for shade, conifer and apple trees, as well as brambles, shrubs and vines.

In March, the series will conclude with two presentations about water usage. On March 1, Ed Lyon, director of Reiman Gardens, will discuss Cassian Schmidt style gravel gardens, which are water-wise gardens that do not require continuous watering once established. March 8, representatives from the Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District and Polk County Public Works will detail rain gardens and rain barrels as strategies for landscapes with excessive water levels.

“The Home Gardening Webinar Series is for everyone, regardless of gardening experience,” said Alicia Herzog, statewide Master Gardener coordinator with ISU Extension and Outreach. “The topics chosen are based on survey responses from last year’s participants and will appeal to a wide range of viewers. This program has been a great success with our audience, and we look forward to bringing them another engaging season.”

The series is an educational opportunity for existing master gardeners, those interested in becoming master gardeners and those who just want to learn more about these topics.

Zoom registration for each webinar session is available at: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/mastergardener/webinar-series, or on the Iowa State University Master Gardener Facebook page.

All webinars will be live with question and answer at the end. Participation is limited to the first 500 attendees. For more information, contact Alicia Herzog at 515-294-3627 or mgardener@iastate.edu.

WMU School Board Meeting Agenda

By Theresa Rose · Friday, December 9th, 2022 at 10:36 am CDT

WINFIELD – MT. UNION COMMUNITY SCHOOL

REGULAR BOARD MEETING

LIBRARY, W-MU 6:00 p.m. ~ December 14, 2022

  1. Call to Order
  2. Roll Call
  3. Public Comment
  4. Consent Agenda

D1.  Minutes, Bills, Financial Reports

D2.  Personnel Hirings/Resignations

  1. Reports

E1.  Building Reports

E2.  Superintendent Report

 

  1. General Business

F1.  Consider HVAC Bids

F2.  Policy Review – Nelson:  Wellness Policy 507.9; 710.1 School Nutrition Policy, 710.2 Free

or Reduced Cost Meals Eligibility, 710.3 Vending Machines, and 710.4 Meal Charges

F3.  Consider FY22 Certified Annual Report

F4.  Consider Teacher Quality Pay Increase

F5.  Consider Boys/Girls Wrestling & Soccer Sharing Agreements with Columbus CSD

F6.  Consider Shuttle Driver and Coach Driver Pay

F7.  Consider Louisa County Fair Participation agreement

F8.  Consider K-8 Math Curriculum  Purchase

F9.  Consider New Student Information System

F10.  Consider SIAC Goals

 

 

  1. Adjournment

Sports, December 9th

By Slaten Swords · Friday, December 9th, 2022 at 6:10 am CDT

High School Basketball

The Mt. Pleasant boys basketball team will travel to face off with Keokuk tonight with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 pm. KILJ will be on the call with pregame at 7:15 pm.

Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to Wapello tonight with the girls starting at 6 pm and the boys to follow.

WACO will host Columbus tonight with the girls scheduled to start at 6 pm and the boys at 7:30 pm.

The Mt. Pleasant girls basketball team will be at home again tonight for a conference matchup against Keokuk at 7:30 pm.

Central Lee will be back on the road to face off with Van Buren County tonight with the girls going at 6 pm and the boys to follow.

New London’s next game will be at home against Holy Trinity Catholic while Danville will travel to play Burlington Notre Dame tonight at 7:30 pm.

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released their third rankings of the season with the big highlight for Southeast Iowa being Burlington Notre Dame and Winfield-Mt. Union being ranked 13th and 14th, respectively, for Class 1A.

High School Wrestling

The Mt. Pleasant boys wrestling team fell to Keokuk last night 48-30. Mt. Pleasant got out to a 12-0 lead after Justin Stenier won by forfeit and Franklin Tousignant won by fall. However, the Chiefs outscored the Panthers 48-18 the rest of the way including 30 straight points. Bowen Davis and Gavin Kerr each tallied a win by fall with William Birdsell winning by forfeit. For the girls team, Ella McNamee continued her strong start to the season winning by fall in her match, giving McNamee a 12-1 record on the season, and Zenlynn Lee followed suit by defeating Emily Kay by fall. The boys team competes tomorrow at the Ginnell Tournament, while the girls team will have to wait until December 17th to wrestle at the Wilton Tournament.

IAwrestle released their boys high school rankings with Burlington Notre Dame currently ranked second in Class 2A as the Nikes are led by Carter West, who is number one at 106 pounds, and CJ Walrath, the Northern Iowa commit looking to repeat his 57-0 record that resulted in a state title from last year. For Class 1A, WACO and New London each have two wrestlers ranked with the Warriors touting Gage Samo at 106 pounds ranked tenth and Louden Huisenga ranked seventh at 160 pounds. The Tigers have Gage Burden ranked ninth at 126 pounds and Trent Wilkerson ranked sixth in the 220-pound weight class.

High School Bowling

The Mt. Pleasant Panthers girls and boys teams fell to Keokuk last night in close matches. The boys team fell 2,755 pins to 2,453 with the top bowler for the Panthers being Alec Payne with a two game total of 410. Chase Hemann paced the Chiefs with a total of 463.

The girls fell 2,694 to 2,270 with Addison McGehearty leading the way for the Panthers with 369 total pins. Rachel Moore was far and away in first for the Chiefs with 437 total pins. The Panthers will be going against Fairfield next Monday, December 12th, at Flamingo Lanes.

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics

The men’s basketball team will be back in action December 13th on the road against Saint Ambrose University at 7:30 pm.

The women’s basketball team’s next game is December 13th on the road against Grace College at 2 pm.

The Tigers continue to field impressive wrestling programs as the women’s team that has not wrestled since November 19th only fell three places in the rankings from 9th to tied for 12th with Missouri Baptist. Adaugo Nwachukwu is the headliner for the Tiger’s program as she is number one in the 136-pound weight class. Mia Palumbo is also having an impressive season ranked 2nd in the 109-pound weight class. Joanna Vanderwood moved up in the rankings from 11th to 6th in the 130-pound weight class. Alaina Sunlin in the 101-pound weight class and Destiny Campbell at 130 pounds are both ranked 9th. Faith Cole is newly ranked at 15th for the 116-pound weight class.

The men’s team is still trying to claw their way into the rankings as the team is receiving votes. Helping the cause for the team is the addition of another ranked wrestler. Austin Abitua remains ranked at 25th in the 149-pound weight class. Lane Scorpil is the newly ranked Tiger, as he is placed in 22nd at 125 pounds.

The women’s team is in action December 16th at the Eagle Duals at Avila University, while the men’s team will have to wait until next year to wrestle at Central Methodist University on January 10th.

Iowa Wesleyan’s next Indoor Track and Field competition will be this morning at the Grinnell Opener at 9 am.

This Day in Sports History

1934 – National Football League Championship, Polo Grounds, NYC: New York Giants defeat Chicago Bears, 30-13. This game became famous when Ray Flaherty made the suggestion to Coach Steve Owens to wear sneakers on the frozen field to gain traction.

1935 – 1st Heisman Trophy Award: Jay Berwanger, Chicago (HB).

1984 – LA Ram, Eric Dickerson, rushes for 215 yards for the NFL single-season record 2,105 yards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iowa Wesleyan Honored Graduates at their December Ceremony

By Theresa Rose · Friday, December 9th, 2022 at 5:48 am CDT

Mount Pleasant, IA – December 8, 2022 — Iowa Wesleyan University held its annual December Graduation Ceremony in the University Chapel earlier today. The University celebrated the graduation of 31 undergraduate and nine graduate students, including seven Master of Arts in Management Leadership and two Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction.

During this ceremony, Iowa Wesleyan President Christine Plunkett recognized the first two graduates of our new partnership with Southeastern Community College, the Southeast Iowa Higher Education Alliance. These graduates mark an important step in broadening the educational opportunities for students in our region.

The graduation speaker was Dr. Jeff Martinek, 2022 Chadwick Teacher of the Year. Dr. Martinek is a Professor of English and has been at IW since 2007. In his address to the graduates, Dr. Martinek challenged the students by stating, “So, my advice to you on this commencement day is to not commence – at least not fully, that is if commencing means closing the books, closing your minds, and settling for dubious consolations you will be offered for your lost youth… If all that is what commencing means, then I again implore you: don’t do it.”

 

Iowa Wesleyan University: As Southeast Iowa’s regional comprehensive University, Iowa Wesleyan University is a transformational learning community whose passion is to educate, empower and inspire students to lead meaningful lives and careers.

Norman Hirschy

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, December 8th, 2022 at 4:52 pm CDT

Norman Hirschy, age 68, of Mount Pleasant, died Wednesday, December 7, 2022, as a result of an automobile accident.

Norman was born August 17, 1954, in Wayland, the son of Elwyn and Esther (Graber) Hirschy. He graduated from WACO High School, and joined the National Guard. Norman lived in the Wayland and Mount Pleasant communities all of his life. He farmed for many years and drove truck, most recently for Grandinetti’s Metal Recycling. Norman was a jack of all trades and had a knack for fixing just about anything. He treasured the time he spent with his grandchildren. Norman was a devoted Chicago Bears fan, and avid outdoorsman. He loved to hunt, fish and spend time in his boat on the water. Norman had a kind heart, and never knew a stranger.

Norman is survived by his five daughters, Melissa (Micheal) Hummell-Sprague of Mount Pleasant, Lisa (Jesse Clawson) Hirschy of Ottumwa, Becky Hirschy of Ottumwa, Abby (Jared Ford) Moeller of Salem, Masi (fiancé Danny Durst) Hirschy of Burlington; 16 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren; significant other Diana Larson of Mount Pleasant and her daughter Trisha Seggerman and granddaughter Marley Allison; two sisters Sandy McVey of Hiawatha and Karen Hirschy of Goshen, IN.

He was preceded in death by his parents, daughter Ariel and his best friend Hootie Wilson.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. The Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel is caring for Norman and his family. www.powellfuneralhomes.com