Belle Plaine’s fifth annual one-mile, 5K walk/run event is planned for Saturday, Oct. 24, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Belle Plaine Community Library.
The event is sponsored by the Teen Library Council. This year, it will feature a “Monster Dash” with “spooktacular” prizes for kids who come in costume and participate in the one-mile walk.
To register or for more information, stop in at the library or call 444-2902.
As we bid “farewell” to September, we literally blow toward the beginning of October later this week with a full slate of school sports action.
Today (Monday), the cross country teams travel to Kent Park for a meet hosted by Clear Creek-Amana. The volleyball team travels to Montezuma, meanwhile the JV football team hosts North Mahaska and the junior high volleyball team is also on the road at North Mahaska.
Tuesday, the junior high volleyball team returns home to host North Tama.
On Wednesday, the high school volleyball teams will be back home against English Valleys. Junior high volleyball hosts Tri-County and the seventh grade football team travels to victor to face Montezuma.
Friday night, the varsity football team travels to Iowa Valley for its next-to-last road game of the season.
On Saturday, the tenth grade volleyball squad will travel to Cascade.
Ever notice how time seems to fly by in the aftermath of something you are really looking forward to? It might be a wedding, or a big game or a final exam. But the event suddenly comes and goes and then before you know it, a week has passed.
That’s the feeling I’m getting here on a sunny Friday afternoon, nearly a full week since this town was a beehive of activity with more than 200 visitors spending a wonderful weekend.
When you get as old as I am and you look at the type of schedule we had last week, it only seems natural that you would wonder where you would find time for the living recliner, TV remote and football game. You tend to think you’ve seen it all and the weekend like the one we just experienced would be just more of the same.
But as the days leading up to the events dwindled, I had a front row seat to some of the planning and anticipation carried out by some of those in charge of the events. Don Hlas, the guru of the Civil War Days event might stop by to go over details with Jon Dayton, Belle Plaine Community Development Director. City Administrator Bill Daily, who headed up the appearance of the Walldog artists, would stop by just to fill us in on how those arrangements were progressing. So it was impossible not to get caught up in the enthusiasm that was generated each day leading up to last weekend.
Those of us who have been here for a number of years have witnessed the Civil War re-enactments and this year’s group of re-enactors did anther fine job with the school students on Friday, explaining the life and times during that period. Coaches Bohlen, Cronbaugh and Kurriger stepped in at noontime to help in the concession stand. Boy, can those kids eat a lot of hot dogs, hamburgers and drink a lot of pop!
While some of the events of the Weekend of Living History started on Friday afternoon, many of us jumped in our cars and headed east to see the Plainsmen tangle with Durant. It was more than 90 miles over that 70 mph parking lot known as Friday afternoon on Interstate 80. But it was well worth the trip. As many of us expected, the Plainsmen handed the Wildcats a defeat. The home team crowd had one moment to cheer when they saw their team return the second half kickoff for 95 yards and their lone touchdown of the night.
Meanwhile, back here in town, a group of wonderful artists were beginning to create four great murals that are now displayed downtown and out on Highway 30. When we learned that some of the country’s best artists were coming to town for the weekend, many people may have thought we would be invaded by tempermental, demanding people. Nothing could be further from the truth. By all accounts, our visitors were all great people who genuinely enjoyed spending a warm, sunny weekend in rural Iowa.
Sometimes when you plan on something, especially when the reputation of those who are involved precedes them, there might be a bit of a letdown. Most folks I’ve talked to this week sound like they wish the Walldog artists hadn’t left and wish they could come back soon. We were truly fortunate to have this wonderful organization choose our town.
So the high school football team won, the Civil War battles were fought at Franklin Park in another grand authentic fashion and we were blessed by a wonderful group of artists from as far as Colorado and Canada. For a little icing on the cake, our local fifth and sixth grade football team beat Newton on Sunday afternoon.
The ideal weather held out the entire weekend. The last mural was placed on the grain bin on Monday morning. The last bolt was driven just as the first drops of rain fell. What great timing!
Growing up in an area with over 300,000 people, I never imagined there would come a time when I could get excited about an event in a town of 2,800. But last weekend, seeing how the many volunteers pitched in to help and how the community welcomed our visitors, it made me proud to call this place “home.”
By Coach Joel Formanek
Belle Plaine Optimist Youth Football is off to a great start. The team just picked up their second victory of the season last Sunday with a 13-0 win over Newton Gray. Belle Plaine started off quick with a long touchdown run from Jacob Ehlen. The defense was tough all day and didn’t give up many yards.
It was good to be able to get some of the younger kids in there and see them dominate on defense. It made for a fun and enjoyable game. We probably could have scored a couple more times but with the lead it was good to get some other players more reps.
We now go on the road for a couple of tough games. This Sunday we are against Cedar Rapids Regis 2 and then next week we go to Newton to face Newton Black. Both teams are 2-0 so we will have some more tuff competition ahead of us. Sunday’s game is at 2:30 p.m. at the old Cedar Rapids LaSalle High School.
The trials for three defendants charged in the murder of Curtis Bailey have been pushed back until October. According to the web site Iowa Courts Online, pretrial conferences for Jessica Dayton and Jacob Hilgendorf, both of Belle Plaine and Denise Frei of Marengo have been set for Oct. 8, with the date for trial now scheduled for Oct. 12.
The three face first degree murder charges in the July 19th death of Bailey in his Marengo home. All three are currently being held in the Iowa County Jail, Marengo.
Week five of the high school football season features four games in District Five with distinct storylines.
Tonight, one of the key match-ups in the area will take place here in Belle Plaine, with fourth-rated and undefeated West Branch comes to town. The Bears have won each of their first four games by wide margins, holding their non-district opponents to six points each while giving up 28 points in each of their first two district contests.
The Bears opened the season with a 35-6 win over Tipton, then beat Wilton, 31-6. They handled Eddyville-Blakesburg, 56-28 in the district opener, then last week, handed Wapello its first loss of the season, 55-28.
The Plainsmen come into this game with a 3-1 record, 1-1 in district play. They beat HLV in the season opener, 14-6 and then took care of Highland Riverside, 40-14. The district opener was a 20-14 setback against Pekin, but last week, the Plainsmen bounced back for a 27-7 win over Durant. As a side note in that game, Plainsman fans may not have been aware of the fact that the day before the game, the Durant principal was placed on immediate paid leave and ushered from the school grounds by the district superintendent. The Quad-City Times reports that the 11-year veteran principal, whose children attend Durant schools and whose husband teaches in the district, had not been given any reason for her forced leave.
Back to the gridiron, in another key District Five match-up this week, Wapello travels to Pekin. The Indians got off to a fast start this season, beating Louisa-Muscatine, 42-12 in the first game of the year and then taking care of Columbus, 40-12 in week two. In the district opener, they beat Van Buren, 48-8 before falling to West Branch last week, 55-28 to go to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in district play.
Pekin, always a powerhouse, is a unique story this season. The Panthers dropped their first game of the season, 17-16 to Sigourney, then struggled for a 27-26 win over Waco. But after holding on for a 20-14 win at Belle Plaine in the district opener, they scored what must have been the most lopsided victory of the season in the state last week, 90-0 over Van Buren. The Panthers are 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the district and might be looking past this game in anticipation of next week’s showdown against West Branch.
Probably the only sure thing about tonight’s slate is that after it’s over, there will only be one team in the district without a victory. Van Buren travels to Iowa Valley. Both teams are 0-4 on the season. Van Buren dropped an 18-8 decision to Cardinal of Eldon in the first game of the season, then fell to Winfield-Mount Union, 19-12. A 47-8 setback at the hands of Wapello was followed by that eye-catching 90-0 loss to Pekin.
Iowa Valley lost to two SICL Conference foes in non-district play. Montezuma took a 26-21 season opening decision and HLV handled the Tigers, 20-0. In their first district contest, the Tigers dropped a 28-0 decision to Durant. Last week, Eddyville-Blakesburg beat them 50-14.
Next week, besides that Pekin at West Branch showdown, Belle Plaine travels to Iowa Valley, Durant is at Wapello and Eddyville-Blakesburg is at Van Buren.
By Coach Reece Dodd
The 8th grade football team got off to a successful start with a 36-14 victory over North Mahaska in a Saturday morning contest at New Sharon. Tailback Nick Pippert started the game off with a bang scoring on the first play of the game. Nick also carted the ball across the goal line two more times later on. Fullback Ryan Janss and Quarterback Adam Daily scored touchdowns also for the Plainsmen. Dailt and Janss also scored on 2-point conversion runs and Tight End Matthew Mengler caught a conversion pass from Daily to round out the scoring.
I was happy with the way we moved the ball on the ground. Doing most of the blocking up front for the running backs was Mengler, Lance Weeda, Derek O’Brien, Austin Vranek, Josh Hotz, Ross Henning, Grant Bevins and Jacob Reineke.
Defensively we need some work. Because of the lack of numbers in the junior high program right now, this was the first time we actually defended an entire offense of our size this year. We can practice against an over-matched 7th grade and even do some half lines but it’s never the same as defending an opponents entire offense. Tackling is the biggest issue we need to improve on. Knowing their responsibilities was also a problem. We’ll focus on that before our next game and hopefully improve. Derek O’Brien had a nice interception to stop a drive.
On Wednesday, the eighth grade football team scored a 40-6 victory over Iowa Valley in their first home game of the season. The team went into the game with only 12 players as injuries to Austin Vranek and Rachel Blink kept them from playing. The running game exploded again as great blocking up front allowed our backs to fur free. Nick Pippert again led the scoring with 3 touchdowns. Nick is a real tough young man to tackle. Swing back Trenton Young showed off his speed with an outstanding game with 2 touchdowns and a 2-point conversion. Lance Weeda’s first catch of the season went for an 8 yard touchdown on a tight end quick. Adam Daily delivered the pass to Weeda. Daily scored a conversion try on a quarterback sneak. Matthew Meck replaced Austin Vranek at offensive tackle and Rachel Blink at defensive end and played an outstanding game. What impressed me was that we had our second unit backfield in the second half and still moved the ball well. That second unit consisted of Matthew Mengler at quarterback, Trenton Young at tailback, Derek O’Brien at swingback and Adam Daily at tight end. We kept Ryan Janss at fullback and he had some good, tough runs.
I thought the defense played much better but still has room for improvement. We made better contact but still need to do a better job of wrapping up. I thought the defensive line of Ross Henning, Grant Bevins, Jacob Reineke and Mathew Meck played very well.
The team gets the next two weeks off before playing BGM on Oct. 7th at Belle Plaine.
The following photos were supplied by Steve Mengler.
The Belle Plaine Police Department will be offering a four-hour self-defense course for women in October or November, with instructor Officer Wes Sebetka.
The cost of the course will be a freewill donation, with proceeds used for police department training equipment and protective equipment.
If interested, contact Chief Kris Hudson at 444-2200.
The Plainsman news has come to Belle Plaine Now.com. Beginning today, we will offer photos and articles from the Belle Plaine High School Plainsman staff. To access this feature, simply click on the “community” button on the home page.
We appreciate the efforts of teacher Deb Maxwell and her student staff in supplying school news on a regular basis and with them continued success.
By Marlee Schminke
To start out the school year on a positive note and maintain good grades there are many ways to be a successful student.
One thing that is very important is attendance. If you want to be a successful student you have to show up for class everyday and always be on time. Another thing is your attitude; walk into the classroom with a good attitude and always be ready to learn. Another key item is appropriate behavior; in the classroom always pay attention and follow the rules this will help you learn in the classrooms. Involvement is also important. Participation in class discussions and responding to teacher questions will create a positive rapport between the student and teacher. Being involved in other activities in the school such as sports, band, choir, drama, student council, and clubs can introduce you to more people throughout the school. Motivation is key to being a successful student. Students always need to have motivations to get your homework done and to do their best.
By following these suggestions to be a successful student not only stress will be minimal, and the 2009-10 school year will be a breeze.
