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.

Just when you thought it was safe to venture out of your homes, the Rambler returns!
Thanks to the generosity and confidence of the Belle Plaine Community Development Corp. (BPCDC) Board, I have been given new life on the local news front. We will soon be entering the second month of what I still call this “grand experiment” and I hope you enjoy what you are reading.
In the past several years, this country has been making a shift in its habit of receiving news from the words printed on a newspaper to the electronic media. Meanwhile, the costs of producing a newsprint product have continued to increase. Members of the BPCDC recognize that the next couple of years should be very exciting in Belle Plaine and this should be a time for increased emphasis on local news. They also realized that the cost of producing a new newsprint weekly newspaper would be beyond the reach of most. Hence, this all-electronic version was born.
First off, a note of clarification: This local news site is a publication of the Belle Plaine Community Development Corp., a non-profit corporation. It is not funded by nor directly affiliated with the City of Belle Plaine. We fully expect to cover the city council, as well as other important news events in the city, but city officials will have no say in what appears on this site.
As times goes by and I become more familiar with the complicated exercise of web page design and update, we will offer coverage of the above mentioned Belle Plaine City Council, board of education, other school activities, community development updates, social news, meeting notices and the dozens of other things that people care about in our community. We hope to offer more immediate daily coverage, not possible through any newsprint publication. We will soon also offer you a chance to support this effort through your classified or display advertising.
And yes, from time to time, the Rambler, who was silenced at the end of 2008, will emerge with comments on local and/or national issues. After my last day at my previous position and the start of this one, I had several months to think. I had opinions on several things I observed with no outlet to express them! My family and friends can only stand so much of my ranting!
Much of the information on the start of this publication so far has been through word of mouth. I share office space in what I fondly call “the fish bowl” with Jon Dayton at 826 12th Street and I see at least dozens, if not hundreds, of people walking by each day. Some of them stop in and we tell them why I’m here.
Today, a billboard went up with “BellePlaineNow.com” prominently displayed. It is located on Seventh Avenue near the railroad tracks where southbound travelers can see it. Check it out sometime.
So the first hurdle has been cleared. You found out web site. Now I am going to ask you for some help. If you like what you have read, please tell a friend…tell several friends. If you have some suggestions on how it can be improved, tell us. If you have a news tip, tell us. Our e-mail address is: belleplainenow@iowatelecom.net and the phone number is 444-2700.
Above all, please be patient. For nearly 35 years, I have generated and helped produce community news in one form and suddenly I have the opportunity to produce it in a new and exciting format. The next few months promise to be very exciting for this community and for your humble servant, the (formerly) ink-stained guy called “the Rambler.”

Contract approvals, adoption of the school calendar for the upcoming year and approval of the plans and specifications for new additions to two buildings were highlights of Wednesday’s Belle Plaine Board of Education meeting.
The board approved a one-year agreement with the Belle Plaine Education Association which calls for a total package increase of 3.48 percent for its teachers. Next year’s base salary will be $27,400, a $600 increase. There were several other changes in contract language in personal, emergency and disability leave, health insurance, etc.
A two-year contract was approved with the Teamsters union for support staff. It calls for three percent salary increases in each year of the agreement. There were also changes in other language in the contract regarding insurance, accumulated vacation time and overtime. Food service employees will also receive the three percent increase.
Contracts were also approved for principal Dennis Phelps, transportation director Jan Kaplan, maintenance director Rod Blount and activities director Greg Walton. Each will receive the same 3.48 percent package increase the teachers will receive. The contract for Phelps is a two-year agreement, while the others will be for one year.
The board approved a similar increase for superintendent’s secretary Stacey Tomlin. In addition, the board approved a $500 per month stipend for her duties as board secretary. Board President Joyce Livermore said this was an opportunity to address a past deficiency. Tomlin has acted as board secretary for several years.
The board also delayed action on a contract for Cherie Brown, the building head. She and Superintendent Bill Lynch will meet to discuss a possible increase in her duties in that position and an appropriate increase in salary.
The renewal of instructional sharing agreements with the HLV School District was approved. German, Spanish and vocational agriculture instructors have been shared by the two districts in the past. Several Belle Plaine students have participated in the HLV industrial technology program. Those programs will continue, with the addition of accelerated biology program instruction at HLV and a couple of accelerated program classes in social studies at Belle Plaine.
School calendar approved
The board approved the calendar for the upcoming school year. The first day of school for the 2009-2010 year will be Wednesday, Aug. 26. The Christmas holiday break will begin on Wednesday, Dec. 23, with classes resuming on Monday, Jan. 4. The spring holiday break will be April 2-5 and the last day of school is scheduled for Thursday, May 27.
Building plans adopted
The board approved the plans and specifications for building renovations and additions at the high school and Longfellow Elementary School. John Darveau of Struxture Architects presented a revised cost estimate of $9,527,585. There were some changes to the original designs, including added classroom space at Longfellow. A 530 square foot athletic storage addition will be added on the north end of the high school gym.
Darveau said some adjustments were also made in the price of the all-weather track at the high school to accommodate the necessary site work for the eight lane track.
Struxture Architects is currently involved in several building projects in eastern Iowa and Darveau reported that bids are coming in well, sometimes below his estimates. There are nine contractors who have expressed interest in the Belle Plaine project from as far as Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Bids will be opened on June 4 at 2 p.m. Following the architect’s review, his recommendation will be presented to the board on Thursday, Jun 11 at 6:30 p.m. That will be the special date for the board’s June meeting. In a related schedule matter, the board decided to move the time for each subsequent board meeting to 6:30 p.m.
Lynch said the plan is for construction to begin later this summer.
In a separate building matter, the board approved the construction of an addition to the wrestling room at the high school. Coach Bob Yilek reported that the estimated cost of the 25 x 40 foot addition will be $34,850. He has $10,000 set aside for the project and hopes to use some volunteer labor to cut the construction cost. Lynch recommended that the board approve making up the difference between those funds and the money needed to complete the project. Meanwhile, Yilek said fund raising will continue with the goal of eventually completely covering the cost of the project.
Personnel
The board approved the use of summer maintenance help in the district and the appointment of Holly Tomlin to teach the summer school program and Jack Schlesselman for the summer band program.
The resignations of Dennis Kurriger from his student council advisor duties and Nancy Landuyt, school lunch cook, were approved.
Budget amendment
Following a public hearing, the board approved a budget amendment which will allow for an increase in expenditures of just under $300,000 for the 2008-09 fiscal year. There will be no increase in property taxes for the increases, which will be paid for through increased receipts and balances not previously budgeted.

The move to cut dealerships by two of the country’s three major auto manufacturers earlier this week caused some anxious moments for owners of Belle Plaine’s dealerships.
Chrysler cut over 700 dealerships, including 22 in Iowa. But the company notified each of its dealers by letter, informing them if they were to be cut or to be retained. Joel Thys, owner of the Raleigh Johnson Chrysler dealership in Belle Plaine, said he was notified that his firm was spared from this round of cuts. Chrysler then released the entire list of dealers nationwide that would no longer be in the fold as a part of its bankruptcy filing, which is a public document.

General Motors, which is not yet in bankruptcy, chose a different path. That firm cut more than 1,000 dealerships nationwide, but there was no advance notice of which would stay and which would go, according to John Grieder of John Grieder Motors, Belle Plaine.
Thys owns the Shaull & Ullrich Chevrolet dealership in Blairstown, so he had to await word from both companies. Both men confirmed that they didn’t know until the close of business on the day of notification that their General Motors franchises were apparently spared from this round of cuts.. General Motors also did not choose to release an entire list of the dealers that would be affected and it is still not publicly known who will stay and who will go.
Thys said the company hadn’t notified its dealers what criteria it was using in determining the cuts and he and Grieder both said they still don’t know and any guesses they might put forth would only be speculation.
As both companies attempted to follow guidelines of the Obama Administration after they received federal bailout money, industry analysts had offered several theories on what those guidelines might be. They suggested that some of the dealerships in smaller communities would be the first to go. But in this first round of cuts, some of the dealers losing franchises in Iowa came from some of the state’s major metropolitan areas as well as some of the smaller towns.

So without official word, it was left to the dealers and their customers to wonder how they would be affected. Grieder, who has operated a car dealership in the community for many years, said he had received numerous calls of support from friends and customers.
Thys said he thinks General Motors will have to file for bankruptcy. He has heard reports in the media that the company may cut an additional 1,500 dealers in the coming months, so it may not be over yet.
Grieder said as he and other dealers look to the future, his firm will continue to provide the products and service it has been known for in the area.

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