Plans are being finalized for the fourth annual Wallace Winkie Motorcycle Poker Run on Saturday, June 13. The event kicks off with a pancake breakfast at Franklin Park from 7:30-11 a.m. Registration for the run will go from 8:30-10 a.m. and the run will begin promptly at 10 a.m. Riders will return to the Belle Plaine Legion Hall by 5 p.m.
There will be cash prizes and door prizes for the event. Proceeds from the breakfast and the ride will go to the Belle Plaine Museum.
There were approximately 150 riders for the first ride and organizers predict there could be as many as 200 this year.
Further information is available by calling Dean Carl at 319-640-5676.

The Celebration Iowa Singers and Jazz Band show is returning to Belle Plaine this summer. The concert is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 7.

Belle Plaine High School junior Ariel Hawkins will be a member of the saxophone section in this year’s group.

Now in its 27th season, Celebration Iowa (formerly known as the Iowa State Fair Singers and Jazz Band) showcases the quality of Iowa high school music programs through its educational and service-oriented summer performance opportunity. Together with a talented staff of teachers and professionals, students in Celebration Iowa present an action-packed two-hour production that includes song, dance and jazz band favorites for audiences of all ages to enjoy.

The ensemble rehearses on the Luther College campus from June 7-28 before embarking on the statewide tour.

It is a project of Luther College in Decorah and also funded by the R.J. McElroy Trust, the Fred Maytag Family Foundation, Alliant Energy Foundation, Inc. and the Celebration Iowa Alumni and Parent Fund. The appearance is also sponsored by several local civic groups.

            For the second time in four years, Belle Plaine is seeking to be designated a “Great Place.” But as a group of 15 local residents met with state Great Places officials Wednesday night, this time it appears the city’s application process will be different.

            The Great Places designation was implemented with legislation signed by then-Gov. Tom Vilsack in 2005. Administered through the state’s Department of Cultural Affairs, the program attempts to identify communities, regions, neighborhoods or districts that either already have, or are developing the “Seven Dimensions of a Great Place.”

            According to the department’s information, those “seven dimensions” include: unique sense of place, engaging experiences, sustainable community and pleasing environment, rich, diverse social fabric, a vital, creative economy, strong foundation and creative culture.

            There are now 20 locales with the “Great Places” designation including: Clinton, Coon Rapids, Sioux City, Adams County, Dubuque, Fairfield, Guttenberg, Jackson County, Mason City, Appanoose County, Charles City, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Decorah, Perry, Valley Junction (West Des Moines), Marquette-McGregor, Spencer, Warren County and West Union.

            A team of “coaches,” led by Francis Boggus of the Great Places staff, met with the local residents to hear some of their ideas on what already makes Belle Plaine a great place and what is being done to enhance and improve the community. They offered suggestions on what the local group should emphasize as they prepare a formal proposal to the state, due later this summer.

This time, the city’s application is being spearheaded by the Belle Plaine Community Development Corp. Corporation president Jennifer Zahradnik told Boggus that at least 15 businesses have located in the city in the past few years. She said it is a safe community, with a full-time police force, where children can walk or bike to the pool or school and where housing is plentiful and reasonably priced.

            Boggus told the group that Great Places is looking for that “wow factor,” that will attract visitors to a particular community or region. In a brief tour of the city before the meeting, he noted that the city has a rich history attached to the railroad, including a depot that is reportedly only one of three of its kind remaining in the nation. The depot was formerly owned by the then-Belle Plaine Chamber of Commerce, but has in more recent years been privately held.

            Since the city’s last attempt at gaining the Great Places designation, several projects have been started and are in various phases of completion, including the Iowa Living Roadways Project to enhance the beauty of the entrances to the community, the planned aquatics and streetscape projects and the major renovation and expansion of two of the city’s school buildings.

            Boggus heard of the plans to create a brick mural on the west wall of the museum later this summer, which will be a unique art piece in the city. Additional downtown improvements include upgrades of the facades of local businesses and the inclusion of other murals throughout the downtown.

He also encouraged the group to further investigate how the city might connect with a proposed trail system along the Iowa River Corridor south of the city, including the possible development of a park to emphasize the native prairie in the area.

            When the city first applied for the Great Places designation, City Administrator Bill Daily was told there was “no pot of gold” associated with the designation, no direct state funding. But in the past few years, the legislature has allocated funds for the 20 places currently in the program. Boggus said new places that receive the designation could receive between $400,000 and $500,000 over the three-year commitment.

            In addition, the benefits of this designation include a more open pipeline to other state resources.

            Daily said that in the previous application, a community poll indicated that residents sought improvements in three areas, the downtown, aquatics center and schools. All three areas are being addressed. The downtown improvements are still awaiting final awards of several state grants to supplement local funds, but there is every indication that some of those awards will be announced shortly. The bidding process on the new aquatics center is underway and bids will be opened on the school improvements next week with the goal of beginning construction later this summer.

            “I’m anxious to tear up some street,” Daily said. “It’s already been a 4-5 year process.”

            Area residents will now begin preparation of the formal proposal to be presented to the Great Places committee by mid-July. The committee will tour the communities making the finalist list in late September.

            Two top ten finishes highlighted the Belle Plaine team’s performance at last week’s state co-ed track meet at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

            The shuttle hurdle relay team of Keegan DeMeulenaere, Brayden Morrow, Seivon Steward and Tate DeMeulenaere finished second in the finals, with a time of 59.05, just .06 behind the winning time of Dyersville Beckman. The Plainsmen qualified with a fifth place finish in the preliminaries.

            Dani Coover had the other top ten local finish. After placing sixth in the prelims, she finished fifth in the girls’ 100 meter hurdle event.

            In other girls’ events, the 4 x 200 relay team of Coover, Paige Henning, Mallory Brandt and Melissa Janss was tenth. Megan Abernathy placed 12^th in the long jump and Taylor Schafbuch was 14^th in the 400 meter hurdles.

            The boys’ distance medley relay team of Steward, Brian Crow, Myles Kelly and Tyler Brandt finished tenth. The 4 x 100 meter relay team of Tate DeMeulenaere, Crow, Myles Kelly and Steward was 13^th. Crow placed 15^th in the 100 meter dash and Tate DeMeulenaere was 19^th in the 110 meter hurdles.

Cathy Cronbaugh says her first goal as the new head coach of the Belle Plaine softball team is to build and/or remodel the program from the ground up. After many years as a teacher and coach in the district, she assumed the top job this summer and decided the best way to build a strong high school program is to start with the younger set.

“We will start with the third, fourth and fifth graders in a Little League program,” she said. They will play in the Benton County League and have ten games and two tournaments this season. Phillip Stanerson is their coach and there are 16-17 players on his roster.

Todd Bohlen returns as the coach at the junior high level, which will now include sixth, seventh and eighth graders. Cronbaugh said the 22-player squad will play on Tuesday and Friday nights and some morning games as well.

Although she is a new head coach, Cronbaugh has a lot of past experience. She was a volunteer assistant for the past three seasons and while at Iowa State, she played two years for the Cyclones in what she calls the “pre-Title 19, pre-scholarship days.”

This year’s Plainsman team should be improved over last year’s squad, with one more year of experience and some off-season work by many of the players. Senior leadership will be provided by pitcher Kristen Bevins, centerfielder Katie Walton and first baseman Meghan Ehlen. Bevins will also play at third when she’s not pitching.

This year’s juniors include Brenna Ford at catcher, second base and outfield, Bree Nerison in the outfield and shortstop Taylor Schafbuch. Sophomores include Joy Cronbaugh, pitcher and third base, and Connor Roth, currently on the injured list.

The freshmen include Macy DeMeulenaere in the outfield, Melissa Janss, catcher and second base and Meghan Miller, outfield.

Four pre-freshmen who will also see some varsity action will include Julie Long, Molly O’Brien, Cheyann Markham and Melissa Stull.

Due to the appearance of several Belle Plaine athletes at the state track meet last week, Cronbaugh said practice was a little difficult with several players either competing or watching their friends at state. But a lot of the work was done in the preseason, when several members of the squad participated in pitching, catching or hitting clinics. The pitchers also threw during the winter, the coach said.

Cronbaugh said while the pitching staff which had a great 2.1 earned run average a year ago, should again be one of the team strengths. She said the Plainsmen need to clean up on their fielding and she has instructed the base runners that they have a “go” sign whenever they want to take an additional base.

She added that she is looking for a good season and thinks her team should be in the mix with other top teams in the SICL, which she mentioned as being English Valleys, North Mahaska and Iowa Valley.

The varsity assistant coach this season is Katie Parr, the district Spanish teacher and the new varsity volleyball coach.

The team is slated to make its 2009 debut tonight (Tuesday) when they host Keota at 6:30 p.m. The Plainsmen will then be on the road for the next nine dates. While this year’s schedule is similar to that in year’s past, one notable addition is the Nevada Softball Invitational on July 3, where Cronbaugh said her team will see some teams from larger schools and possibly some teams they will encounter in district action.

The Plainsmen have also added a 10th grade tournament at home on June 20 with BGM, Keota and Tri-County.
Playing for Addison

Cronbaugh also said that the team’s “Playing for Addison” campaign is continuing and has been very successful to this point. The team sold more than 450 t-shirts and many area businesses have agreed to make donations based on the number of base hits and extra base hits the team collects in each game. She said her goal was to have four businesses sponsor each game and she got 10.

Addison Stamp is the young daughter of Josh and Jessica Stamp, Belle Plaine High School graduates, who is battling a debilitating disease.

Belle Plaine High School softball schedule
Date/Opponent
May 26 Keota
May 27 @Tri-County
May 29 @Iowa Valley
June 1 @HLV
June 3 @North Mahaska
June 5 @BGM
June 6 @Oskaloosa Classic
June 8 @Sigourney
June 9 @Vinton-Shellsburg (var. DH)
June 12 @Montezuma
June 13 @Vinton-Shells. Tourn.
June 15 English Valleys (var. DH)
June 17 @Lynnville-Sully (var. DH)
June 19 @Keota
June 20 BP Soph Tourney
June 22 Tri-County
June 23 Iowa Valley
June 24 HLV
June 26 North Mahaska
June 27 @Pekin Tourn.
June 29 BGM
July 1 Sigourney
July 2 Benton JV DH
July 3 @Nevada Invit.
July 6 Montezuma
July 9-11 District
July 14-16 Regional
July 21-25 State

ALL SCHOOL REUNION COMMITTEE MEETING: Saturday, May 30 at 9;30 a.m. the all school reunion committee will meet in the Observation Room at the museum. Anyone interested in being involved is invited to attend. Joan Herring and Mitch Malcolm are working on a land address and e-mail address list for all former students and employees.

MUSIC ON MAIN; THE ORIGINAL LINCOLN HIGHWAY. Karen Bartachek will start our Music on Main on June 5 at 6 p.m. in front of the museum. There will be homemade pie and ice cream along with other food. Other local musicians who will play each Friday evening through August 28 are listed below:
June 12….Czech Band
June 19…Judy Mehlert
June 26 ..Bluegrass Friends
THERE WILL BE NO MUSIC ON JULY 3.
July 10..Karen Bartachek
July 17..Czech Band
July 24..Judy Mehlert
July 31 to be announced
August 7..Karen Bartachek
August 14Czech Band
August 21..Judy Mehlert
August 28… to be announced
Bluegrass Friends will be playing again and Cory Popelka will be playing.
Anyone is invited to participate by playing or singing from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Contact 319-434-6093

Saturday, June 6, at 1:30 p.m. DAR
Saturday, June 13. Wallace Winkie Motorcycle Poker Run. Starts at Franklin Park with a Pancake Breakfast. For details contact Dean Carl 319-640-5676
Monday, June 22, Military Convoy traveling the Lincoln Highway. Passing through Belle Plaine sometime around 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Saturday, June 27 at 2 p.m. Coffee honoring Henry and Patricia Tippie. You are invited to join us in the Observation Room of the Museum.

July 11, 9 a.m. Lincoln Highway Association Meeting in the Observation Room
Antique Automobile exhibit in front of museum.
August 15, Antique Farm Equipment exhibit in Franklin Park
August 16, Antique Tractorcade starts in Franklin Park

CHELSEA – Lucille D. Beck, 87, of Brooklyn Community Estates and formerly of Chelsea died Saturday, May 23, 2009 at the Grinnell Regional Medical Center following a short illness. Services will be 2:00 PM Tuesday at the Hrabak Funeral Home in Belle Plaine by Deacon Joe Behounek. Burial will be in Rector Cemetery, Chelsea. Visitation will be from 4:00 – 8:00 PM Monday at the funeral home.

She is survived by sons, Paul (Julie) Beck of Tama, Larry (Sharon) Beck of Chelsea, David (Gloria) Beck of Des Moines; daughter, Connie (Edwin) Jahlas of Deep River; brothers, Roland (Lorraine) Staker of Tama, LeMoine Staker of Marshalltown, and Marvin (Verona) Staker of Traer; also eight grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.hrabakfuneralhome.com under “obituaries.”

Central Elementary entrants included, front row, from left: Grace Parrott, Tanner Meeks, Shaylee Dodd, Hope Brecht and grand prize winner Ashton Bohlen. Back row: Hannah McLennan, grand prize winner Will Mengler, Kobe Hovious, Trey Alcott, Brodie Bohlen, grand prize winner Bailey O

Local elementary school students recently competed in a poster contest in conjunction with Children’s Book Week. The contest was sponsored by the Belle Plaine PTO Reading Committee.

Sixty-five posters were entered and a panel of four judges picked the winners. It was open to all elementary students and they were asked to pick a favorite book and then create a poster based on the book. All entries are on display at Country Foods and the Belle Plaine Community Library. Each student that turned in an entry received a Subway Kids Meal certificate. Winners for each classroom were able to pick a new book, and grand prize winners were given a goodie bag that included a pass to the King Theater.

Kindergarten entries included, from left: Jackson Tegeler, Zach Brecht, Emma Longnecker and Hope DeBrower.

First graders included, from left: Katelyn Cook, Macy Dodd, Hannah Cook, Brenda Steinford and grand prize winner Pantera Ranberger.

It was a mixed bag of results for the first day of the state co-ed track meet in Des Moines Thursday. Belle Plaine is represented in a total of nine events and three competed on the first of the three-day event.

The boys’ 4 x 110 shuttle hurdle relay team of Tate DeMeulenaere, Brayden Morrow, Seivon Steward and Keegan DeMeulenaere won its heat with a time of 59.53. It was the fifth fastest 2A time of the event and qualified the team for the finals Saturday at 11:40 a.m.

In the girls’ long jump finals, Megan Abernathy placed 12^th with a best distance of 15-5.5 feet.

In the boys’ 100 meter dash, Brian Crow finished fifth in his heat with a time of 11:57 but did not qualify for the finals.

Today will be a busy afternoon for Plainsman athletes and coaches as the other six events compete.

At 3:40 p.m., Taylor Schafbuch will race in the finals of the girls’ 400 meter hurdle event.

At 4:30 p.m., the finals of the girls’ 4 x 200 meter relay will feature four local runners from a field of six, including Dani Coover, Paige Henning, Mallory Brandt, Melissa Janss, Schafbuch and Abernathy.

Next up, at 5 p.m., Tate DeMeulenaere is entered in the prelims of the boys’ 110 meter hurdles. The finals are scheduled for Saturday at 12:45 p.m.

At 5:20 p.m., Coover runs in the prelims of the girls’ 100 meter hurdles. The finals for that event are set for Saturday at 12:35 p.m.

The boys’ distance medley finals are next up at 5:40 p.m. Four of the following six Plainsmen are entered: Steward, Crow, Chris Janss, Tyler Brandt, Tate DeMeulenaere and John Long.

Today’s action wraps up at 6:20 p.m. with the boys’ 4 x 100 meter relay prelims. Four of the following six will race: Tate DeMeulenaere, Crow, Kelly, Steward, Morrow and Keegan DeMeulenaere. The finals are scheduled for Saturday at 3:20 p.m.

Updated results are available throughout the meet at the Iowa High School Athletic Association‘s web site, www.iahsaa.org.

It was postponed by a week due to bad weather, but the wait was well worth it for Belle Plaine elementary students who enjoyed a day of physical activity earlier this week at the annual Olympic Day at the high school.

Students in grades kindergarten through sixth celebrated the upcoming end of the school year with a variety of activities including sack races, long jump, football and softball throw, tug-o-war, races around the track and other events.