Area runners braved the brisk conditions last week for the annual Belle Plaine Community Library’s 5K/1 mile run. The event raised several hundred dollars for the Teen Council activities at the library.
The top overall finishers in the 5K race were Mindi Slaymaker for the women in a time of 28:00 and Paul Svacina for the men in a time of 21:58. It was kept all in the family in the one-mile run, where the top finisher for women was Paula Mengler, 16:05 and her son, Matthew, was the top finisher for the men in 7:18.
The following are the finishers by age division in each race:
Girls’ 5K –
Ages 21-40: Mindi Slaymaker, Kristin Funk, Heather Coover, Holly Gates, Missy Kriegel and Nikki Mumby.
Ages 41-50: Susie O’Brien
Ages 50+: Kathie Montgomery
Men’s 5K –
Ages 0-10: Noah Mumby
Ages 11-20: Will Mengler
Ages 41-50: Paul Svacina, Todd Montgomery, Dan Vodochodsky
Ages 50+: Andrew Hazer, Mark Zimmer, Art Millikin
Girls: 1 mile –
Ages 41-50: Paula Mengler, Ann Bartachek, Julie Pierce
Ages 50+: Judy Schlesselman
Men’s 1 mile –
Ages 0-10: Branen Hudson
Ages 11-20: Matthew Mengler
Ages 21-40: Kris Hudson
Ages 50+: Jack Schlesselman

Top finishers in Saturday’s race included, from left: mile winners Paula Mengler

and Matthew Mengler and 5K winners Mindi Slaymaker and Paul Svacina.

A public open house and dedication for Belle Plaine’s first Habitat for Humanity home will be tonight (Friday). The open house will be from 6-8 p.m. and the dedication is set for 7 p.m. The home is located at 408 11th Street.

Swine producers, production workers and truckers will have an opportunity to receive their certification for Transport Quality Assurance (TQA) on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 from 7-9 p.m. at Montgomery Hall, Johnson County Fairgrounds in Iowa City, Iowa.
Who needs TQA certification? All truckers transporting pigs to harvest plants, swine producers and production workers selling to certain packers will need TQA certification. Currently, to sell to Hormel, producers as well as all individuals working in the swine operation will need TQA certification by January 1, 2010. Please check with your packer for their TQA requirement.
TQA certification training will cover swine handling, loading procedures, loading facilities and equipment, trucking, bio-security, laws and regulations, and emergency response. After the two hour training presentation, participants will need to complete a 50 question examination. In order to receive TQA certification, participants will need to successfully answer 90 percent of the questions.
A registration fee of $25.00 per individual will be assessed. If possible, as a courtesy, please pre-register for the training certification by contacting Larry McMullen, Jones County Extension Office, 319-462-2791 – email lkmcmul@iastate.edu or Tom Miller, Washington County Extension Office, 319-653-4811 – email tmiller@iastate.edu

Belle Plaine took a 7-6 lead late in the first half, but Starmont added a score in the third and another in the fourth to hand the Plainsmen a 21-7 loss in substate football action Wednesday night at Douglas Field.
The Plainsmen end their season with a 7-3 record. Starmont advances to the first round of playoffs on Monday against Clayton Ridge.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Stars took the lead with 5:30 left in the half on Vinnie Otdoerfer’s one-yard run. The kick failed. Brian Crow scored the touchdown for the Plainsmen on a three-yard run with 1:27 left in the half, capping a nine-play, 75-yard drive. Keegan DeMeulenaere kicked the extra point and it was 7-6 at the half.
Starmont took the lead with 1:23 left in the third quarter when quarterback Austin Hamlett called his own number and raced 24 yards for the score. The conversion run made it 14-7. Hamlett scored the last touchdown of the night with eight minutes left in the game on a four-yard run. The extra point kick was good.
Coach Todd Bohlen said his team didn’t practice very well in preparing for the Starmont contest. He said they had expended so much effort and concentration in the last part of their regular season that it may have taken a toll. But he said they had seen film on Starmont and knew that they had a similar goal, to rely heavily on the run and control the ball. Starmont finished with a 65-47 lead in offensive plays.
But the Plainsmen were unable to stop Starmont’s sophomore flash, Vinnie Otdoerfer. He had 36 carries for 154 yards and a touchdown. He’s only listed at 5-6 and 143 pounds and reminded some folks of Freddie Russell, the former Iowa tailback who was dwarfed by most of his offensive lineman teammates.
For the Plainsmen, Damon Rhoades finished with 14 carries for 51 yards. Crow, who was slowed by that sore shoulder, had 10 carries for 46 yards and the touchdown. Seivon Steward had five carries for two yards and John Long had three carries for minus 15 yards.
Chris Janss had one catch for 34 yards, Steward had one for 12 yards and Rhoades had one catch for 23 yards.
Janss finished with 16 tackles, Tony Jones had nine, Steward and Brayden Morrow each had three, Austin Chekal, Keegan DeMeulenaere and Rhoades each had 10, Ryan Rupp had 13, Cooper Northrop had one with a pass interception, Scott Wheeler had 12 , Blake Chekal, four, Jacob Miller had 14, Devin Conway, two and Lance Hinschberger and Reed Petersen each had one.
The Plainsmen will have some major roles to fill before next season, as they lose 16 seniors to graduation. But the 53-man playoff roster included 15 juniors, 10 sophomores and a dozen freshmen. Bohlen said several of those younger players got considerable experience at the junior varsity level and now it remains to be seen how much they want to work in the offseason in preparation for a possible expanded varsity role in 2010.

Starmont 0 6 8 7 - 21
Belle Plaine 0 7 0 0 - 7

BP S
First downs 10 15
Rushing 32-84 57-230
Passes 4-15-2 4-8-1
Pass yds. 69 38
Punts 5-29 1-31
Fumbles 3-0 2-0
Penalties 4-27 6-35

By Coach Mark Tegeler
We ran our district up at Starmont on Monday and we ran really well. As a team we just kept getting better each week and we ended the season on a very high note. We finished sixth as a team, there were 25 boys schools competing at Starmont.
Our top finisher was Jack O’Brien who finished 16th overall with a time with a time of 18:42. Jack ran his best race of the year, he got out real strong and finished like he normally does. They take the top 10 to state so Jack gave it everything he had and just came up a little short.
Zakk Buch topped off a great senior season with a 34th finish with a time of 19:39. Zakk became our number two runner towards the end of the season and did a great job with it. Mitch Jacobi bounced back after a couple of tough meets at Starmont. Mitch usually goes out with Jack and Zakk and then fades away a little bit, but today he ran a strong race and finished 42nd with a time of 19:53.
Brian Carlson ran his best race of the year today and came up huge for us with a 51st place and a time of 20:24. Stephen Muench usually gets out real strong and he did so today as well, but today he was really able to keep us his start with a finish of 53rd with a time of 20:28. Austin Yilek really battled today for us. Austin didn’t have his best race today, but with Austin you know that he is always going to give you everything he’s got and he did that again today. Austin finished 57th with a time of 20:42.
Scott Croft has been struggling the last couple of weeks. Since the week of the North Linn meet when he come down with the flu he just couldn’t regain his early season form. Scott gave it everything he had and finished in 80th place with a time of 21:57.
The course today really ran slow I thought. It was real wet, it was cool and there was some wind. It was relatively flat, but top to bottom runners just weren’t running with the best times. This was a tough district. There were two rated teams, including top ranked Tipton and there was also nine ranked runners from class 1A. For us to finish this well says a lot about the growth, the talent and the work these guys put in this year.

Space is still available for crafters wishing to participate in a pancake breakfast, craft show and bake sale, sponsored by the Belle Plaine Junior and Senior High softball teams on Sunday, Nov. 8, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the high school.
The breakfast menu will include pancakes, sausage, milk, coffee and juice. The cost will be a free will donation.
Any club, organization or individual wishing to secure craft show space should contact Coach Cathy Cronbaugh at the junior high, 444-3631.

Local residents who attended a meeting to update them on progress of the proposed downtown renovation project Tuesday night heard that the streetscape portion of the project is “still in the works.” But efforts to get the downtown business owners on board by granting temporary easements to allow for façade improvements was met with considerable questions.
City administrator Bill Daily told the group that the city’s bid for a $543,000 Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) grant was rejected by the Vision Iowa Board. But after considerable lobbying efforts aimed at board members and the governor, board chair Regina Bailey visited the city and ultimately invited local officials to try again. That proposal is scheduled to go to the board in January.
The Belle Plaine City Council has committed $2 million toward the downtown project. It will go toward renovation of 12th Street and sidewalks, lighting and related infrastructure, which will necessitate the removal of several overhangs now being supported with posts that are planted in city right of way. With the removal of those overhangs, some repairs will be needed on the fronts of the buildings affected. So city officials decided to expand the redevelopment project and seek grants from the CAT board, Brownfield funds and a Community Development Block Grant to help business owners improve the appearance of the fronts of their buildings.
Those grants are still pending. But in order to qualify for public funding for privately owned property, those property owners who wish to participate in the project must agree to grant temporary easements to the city.
That’s where the questions came from the business owners. They were concerned about how much control the city would have over construction and appearance of the buildings, as well as the duration of those easements. Daily, Belle Plaine Community Development Board Chair Jennifer Zahradnik and Mike Bell of RDG Consultants which is designing the streetscape project tried to assure the business owners that local officials would work hand in hand with them to implement an attractive and affordable renovation.
Daily and Zahradnik told the group that even if the grants currently in the works are approved, the funding will be limited. It is the city’s goal to give some financial assistance to all of those who commit to the project.
“Our goal is to make your dollar double, triple or even quadruple” with city assistance, Bell told the group.
Daily said some have questioned whether this is the right time to pursue this project, especially in light of local, state and national economic conditions. But he said this is the ideal time, since one of the first things prospective residents do when they come to a new town is drive down the main street. He added that the streetscape project would create construction jobs.
Even in these tough times, there is interest in downtown development. Daily said three businesses recently completed or are in the process of renovating buildings on the city’s main street.
There will be some inconvenience during the construction period, he said. But he said the city will make every effort to minimize that inconvenience. The city would also assume all liability during the construction period.
Zahradnik offered to meet individually with local business owners in the coming days to answer any more questions on the temporary easement issues. She and Daily also urged them to consult with their attorneys on the proper language in the agreements.

The annual Belle Plaine Rotary Club spaghetti dinner will be held Thursday, Oct. 29, from 5-7 p.m. at the American Legion Hall. Tickets are available at the door at $7 for adults, $3 for kids ages 6-12 and kids under six are free.
Proceeds from the dinner go to various local and national Rotary projects.

Week seven winners in the Belle Plaine pro football raffle are as follows:
Highest
1st Place 133 pts. $325 Alan Erger Cedar Rapids, IA
1st Place 133 pts. $325 Joyce Livermore Belle Plaine, IA
3rd Place 124 pts. $100 Jerry Wood Swisher, IA
4th Place 122 pts. $ 60 Marvin & Elaine Bohlen Clarksville, IA
5th Place 118 pts. $ 45 Lino Bernal Des Moines, IA
5th Place 118 pts. $ 45 Justy Northrop Belle Plaine, IA
7th Place 117 pts. $ 35 Mike Fletcher Las Vegas, NV
8th Place 115 pts. $ 30 Robert Hans Elk River, MN
9th Place 114 pts. $ 8.33 Stephen Sickels Marion, IA
9th Place 114 pts. $ 8.33 Amanda Vonnahme Ankeny, IA
9th Place 114 pts. $ 8.33 Beverly Belzer Conroy, IA

Lowest
1st Place 9 pts. $ 20 Steve Walton Hiawatha, IA
2nd Place 10 pts. $ 4.16 Dick Loy Keystone, IA
2nd Place 10 pts. $ 4.16 Brad Allen Iowa City, IA
2nd Place 10 pts. $ 4.16 Larry & Jessica Rassler Albert Lea, MN
2nd Place 10 pts. $ 4.16 Burke Blanchard Swisher, IA
2nd Place 10 pts. $ 4.16 Holly Gates Belle Plaine, IA
2nd Place 10 pts. $ 4.16 Karla Ehlen Belle Plaine, IA

The team that Belle Plaine will face in its substate football match-up Wednesday night brings a long playoff tradition. But this year, the hopes of advancement for the Starmont Stars rests on the back of a 5-6, 143 pound sophomore who reached the 1,000 yard plateau in rushing in just seven games.
The Stars come into this game with a record of 6-3, third place in District Four. Belle Plaine finished second in District Five with a record of 7-2 overall, 5-2 in district play.
This will be Belle Plaine’s fourth trip to the state football playoffs. They appeared in 1995, 1997 and 2008. Starmont has appeared 10 times, including a second place finish in 1999. Their last appearance was in 2007.
Starmont has just one sophomore listed on its varsity roster, but in the last seven games, Vinnie Otdoerfer has made a big impact. After not being listed in the statistics for the first two games of the season, he burst on the varsity scene with 40 carries for 191 yards against Maquoketa Valley in an 8-6 win. In the next three games, he rolled up 107, 160 and 180 yards. He topped the 100 yard mark five of seven games he played, saving his best individual performance for last, with 38 carries for 214 yards in the Stars’ 33-6 win over Edgewood-Colesburg last Friday.
The Stars have been an up and down team this season. Offensively, they have been held to one touchdown or less in four games, having been shut out twice. Defensively, they have held six of their nine foes to a touchdown or less, but Turkey Valley put 42 points on the board against them in the second game of the season and district champ Clayton Ridge beat them, 26-0.
Plainsman Coach Todd Bohlen says the Stars appear to be a team much like the Plainsmen, relying on the run for much of their offense. In fact, they have gained 1,827 yards on the ground as a team, while gaining 288 yards in passing on 21 of 68 attempts with six interceptions. Their running attack has a 16-4 lead in touchdowns over their passing attack.
Bohlen said earlier this week that although his team will rely strongly on its fine stable of three senior running backs to pound the ball at the opposition, they must also be ready to pass more than in recent games.
Field conditions will undoubtedly dictate the game plan of both teams. The turf at Douglas Field took a real beating in Friday’s finale, but sunny skies and breezy weather the first part of this week might help improve conditions.