By: Jessica Landuyt

What is one thing everyone always runs out of? Time. There may be 24 hours in a day, but it always seems like we never have enough time. People get busy and lose track of time and forget about the people close to them. But one thing we are looking for is a way to keep in touch with loved ones without losing too much time. Facebook and Myspace have become ways for people to keep in touch and even reunite with old friends and family members.
Facebook has become one of the most used sites ever. Over 200 million people use Facebook. Facebook was created for people to stay in touch, meet new people, and find old friends and family. To use Facebook you have to go to www.facebook.com and create an account. After creating an account, you can search for friends and family and add them as your friend. To new users, Facebook may be confusing, but it is easy to figure out. If you have troubles, there are helpful hints and you can even find answers using the FAQ’s. Now, if you are interested in getting a Facebook account you must go to www.facebook.com and in the center of the page is where it all begins. You type in your information and follow the rest of the directions. Just like every site, there are positives and negatives. Some of the positives would be being able to meet new people, finding old friends and family, and keeping in touch. But there is one big negative to the Facebook world. It becomes another way for sex predators and cyber bullying to occur. This may be some reasons parents don’t allow their children to get a Facebook account, but you also have to remember there are a lot of other sites out there that allow these things to occur. As a parent, you just have to make sure your children know what can occur on the Internet and to be careful.
For many people, Facebook is a way to keep in touch and for others it’s to meet new people. Facebook is there for anyone and everyone’s enjoyment. Just make sure your children know the dangers of the Internet and keep everyone safe from the negatives.

By: Josh McGrane

Facebook is a social networking site, used by people of all ages from teenagers to adults. To create a site you need to have internet availability. Go to the facebook homepage at www.facebook.com and click sign up. To sign up you need the following information: Your full name and e-mail address.
On your facebook account you can upload pictures, talk with friends, and meet new people. Getting in touch with old friends and family is really easy with facebook’s interface. Other sites like facebook are Myspace and My yearbook.
Julie Long, freshman, Likes facebook and said, “It’s a fun way to communicate with your friends and family, cause I have friends in like Arizona and Colorado. My cousin posts updated pictures of her girls so I can watch them grow. And there’s farmtown that’s addicting.”
Lori Mactaggart, sophomore, “I like facebook because there are plenty of opportunities to meet new people and friends.”
David Dietz, Junior, “I like it because it is entertaining because there are many games and ways to keep in contact with friends.”
Tony Jones, Senior, “I like it because it connects people to people.”
Facebook is just another new way to communicate and meet new people all over the world. If you’re looking to find someone or connect with people with the same interests you should start an account today.

By Sterling Formanek

Christmas is right around the corner. Kids all around the world look forward to Christmas break, sledding, decorating the tree, baking Christmas cookies, getting together with family, and most of all presents. Here is what some fellow Belle Plaine High School students said when asked, “Why is Christmas the best time of the year?”
Brianna Lucas, senior, commented, “Christmas is the best time of the year to me because the holiday is to celebrate Jesus Christ’s birth.”
Blake Chekal, junior, said, “I think Christmas is the best time of the year because you get to celebrate it with the ones you love.”
Caleb Paar, sophomore, stated, “I think Christmas is the best time of year because I get presents.”
Dani Chilcote, freshman, said, “I think Christmas is the best time of year because I get stuff, and I get to see my family.”
Kris Baburek, BPHS staff, commented, “I think Christmas is the best time of the year because I get to spend extra time with my family and eat lots of good food.”
Overall, Christmas should be a time of year that brings people together and where positive things happen. May you all have a safe and happy holiday season and enjoy the time spent with friends and family.

By: Tyler Striegel

The Belle Plaine Elementary and High School are currently in the works of adding on. Construction began at the end of the 2008/09 school year. At the high school the addition is going toward the west which makes for distractions for certain classrooms. Many students and staff are looking forward to more room, elevator, new band/choir room, more locker rooms, and updated classrooms.
Senior, Alissa Frimml said, “I am looking forward to a bigger school, more room in the hallways, and just seeing if it will work when the school renovations are complete.”
Freshman, Christina Brake commented, “What I am looking forward to the most is the new band/choir room, but it will also be nice have an elevator for handicap accessibility and a new office when you come in the front doors.”
Staff, Jani Drexler stated, “I am hoping we utilize the Accelerated Math program for both the junior high and high school students. It will also minimize staff travel between schools, and save the school system money.”
Sophomores, Zach Bartlett and Hope Kriegel both commented, “We are looking forward to the new elevator, meeting new people, and a better band and choir room.”
The new school additions and renovations are scheduled to be completed for the beginning of the 2010/11 school year. Hopefully it will be a smooth transition for students, staff, and parents of the Belle Plaine community.

Belle Plaine’s eighth grade boys’ basketball squad came out on the short end of a 52-36 score to Union on Monday. The loss evened the Plainsman record at 2-2.
“I thought we played very good basketball in spurts, but just weren’t consistent enough to get a win,” Coach Todd Bohlen said. “We need to take care of the ball better and not give up so many turnovers that often time lead to easy buckets for the opponents. Hopefully we will come back rejuvenated after the Christmas break.”
Logan Phillippe led the Plainsmen with 10 points. He also had two rebounds and four steals. Ryan Janss had eight points and five rebounds. Derek O’Brien finished with six points and three rebounds. Adam Daily also had six points, eight rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Ross Henning had four points and two rebounds. Matthew Mengler had two points and four rebounds and Austin Vranek had three rebounds.
The team hit 34 percent from the field and four of 10 free throws, with 20 turnovers.

Team members include, front row, from left: Adam Daily, Derek O’Brien, Lance Weeda and Matthew Mengler. Back row: Logan Phillippe, Austin Vranek, Lance Bachelder, Ross Henning and Ryan Janss.

Two recent hot topics in the city, a proposed rental housing ordinance and access to an alley west of the Longfellow School property, were discussed once again Monday night by the Belle Plaine City Council in its committee-of-the-whole meeting preceding the formal council meeting.
The council had earlier passed the first of three readings of an ordinance which would have created an inspection process for residential housing properties in the city. But at its last meeting, the council heard from several landlords who said the ordinance was not needed, especially in the form that had passed the first reading.
At the time of that passage, council members indicated they were seeking input from citizens before any housing ordinance became law. Monday night, they considered a different ordinance which would require landlords to furnish proof that their units were insured. It would also create an ombudsman position to help iron out any disputes between landlords and tenants.
It was thought that the inspections could be left up to the insurance companies. But Monday night, City Administrator Bill Daily said he was told by a former insurance agent that not all companies require inspections before insuring a property.
Dick Wells, a former councilman and insurance salesman and current landlord, told the council that the revised ordinance might be worthwhile, since some landlords may not carry insurance. He added that they might be the ones causing the problems in the city.
Council members decided to table any further action on the matter for further study of the new proposal.
The alley that runs parallel to the west edge of the Longfellow School property will soon be reopened to traffic, after council members agreed that it should be reopened. The alley had been temporarily closed to reduce potential construction traffic in the area while additions are being built on the Longfellow property. But residents whose garages open onto the alley asked that the council consider reopening it, especially due to problems with snow removal.
The alley takes a 90-degree turn on the south end, which makes snow removal difficult even when it is open. In addition, a chain link fence bordering the Longfellow property makes it doubly difficult for snow removal.
Daily said residents should realize that clearing of all alleys in the city is the last priority of city crews. He added that residents should be ready to clear the alley themselves if the city crews can’t get to them in a timely manner. The council rejected a claim from Kaleb Hadenfeldt, whose house borders the alley, who had submitted a bill to the city for snow removal.
Also during the committee session, Police Chief Kris Hudson urged the council to consider revising its curfew ordinance. Currently, juveniles who are cited for curfew violations must make a court appearance. He said this would seem counterproductive, since they might have to miss school class time to appear in court. He suggested that the infraction be a scheduled fine, which would not necessitate a court appearance.
During its formal meeting, the council set Feb. 1 as the date for the public hearing on the sanitary and storm sewer project. The total estimated cost for the 13th Avenue sanitary sewer project and storm sewer work on Ninth Avenue under the railroad tracks is $295,648. Daily said that engineers indicated that recent bids on other projects around the state have been good. Construction should begin as soon as possible in the spring with a tentative completion date of July 4.
Following a public hearing, the council formally approved an application for a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant for façade renovation on the downtown revitalization project. Daily reported that 29 downtown property owners of 34 properties signed the necessary temporary easements which would allow for government financial assistance in the façade upgrades.
The council authorized that mayor to sign the airport five-year capital improvement plan for submission to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Highlights of the plan include $500,000 for wetland mitigation, grading and drainage in fiscal year 2011, $244,000 for a snow removal equipment storage building in fiscal year 2012, $80,000 for land acquisition the following year, $50,000 for a wildlife study in fiscal year 2014 and $450,000 for a deer fence in fiscal year 2015.
Of the roughly $1.35 million in proposed improvements, the FAA would fund all but just over $66,000 of the projects. While each of the projects are contingent on federal approval, the five-year plan is necessary for consideration for the future grants.
In a separate vote, the council authorized the mayor to sign and submit an application to the FAA for snow removal equipment for the current fiscal year. Total cost for the dump truck, sander and associated costs is $142,000.
In his report to the council, Daily commended the work of the public works department in the recent blizzard in opening city streets. Less than 48 hours after the blizzard ended, crews were called out to a water main break on Seventh Avenue. They worked Friday night and all day Saturday to repair the break.
“They did a wonderful job,” Daily said. Councilman Marv DeRycke echoed those sentiments on behalf of the council.
Daily said he wanted to make clear that snow removal is not a budget concern, that the safety of the residents is the primary concern.
He also reported that negotiations on a new master contract for city employees will begin in January. They are currently working on the last of a three-year agreement.
The Ninth Avenue railroad crossing should be reopened this week, he said. Daily said the railroad closed the crossing without warning for repairs, performed some of the work, then left. He was finally able to contact someone with the railroad who assured him that, weather permitting, the crossing should be opened sometime Tuesday.
The council set Jan. 18 as the date for its next committee of the whole session.
Mayor Jim Daily presented a certificate of appreciation to James Kurovski, who attended his last meeting as a councilman Monday night.

By Coach Steve Mengler
The 7th and 8th grade boys travelled to Traer to face North Tama in a make up basketball game Dec. 18. Between the date the original game was snowed out and the make-up, North Tama had midterms which decreased the number of players available. Add to this a time constraint because of a varsity basketball game in the same gym starting at 6 p.m. and we had the makings of chaos. So to make everything work, it was decided that six quarters would be played, and the 8th grade played the odd numbered quarters and the 7th grade played the even numbered quarters against a mixture of North Tama seventh and eighth grade athletes.
When the dust had settled after six quarters, the Plainsmen were victorious by a score of 53-30. The 8th grade was dominant over the Redhawks while the seventh grade team held their own against the three eighth grade athletes intermixed with the seventh grade team. Both teams shot well while they were in the game, with the 7th grade hitting 7 of 27 shots for 26 percent while the 8th grade hit 18 of 51 shots for 35 percent. It was an adventure at the free throw lane however, with both teams combining for 3 of 19 from the charity stripe. This is definitely an area that can be improved in the future for both teams. Scoring points for the Plainsmen were Logan Phillippe with 10, Vance Bohlen eight, Adam Daily seven, Josh Long six, Ryan Janss four, Matthew Mengler four, Ross Henning four, Derek O’Brien four, Adrien Griffith two, Lane Bachelder two, and Austin Vranek two.
Rebounding was down a bit for both teams, with the team grabbing a total of 50 rebounds. Part of this can be attributed to the stingy defense, especially of the 8th grade press that created numerous steals and other turnovers. Leading the team in rebounding was Janss with nine rebounds, Daily and Justin Jacobi with six, Henning with five, and Long with three boards.
Logan Phillippe and Josh Long had excellent floor games for each squad. Logan led the 8th grade both in points and also in steals with eight during the three quarters he played. Josh was aggressive on the boards as well as driving the ball into the lane and consistently hitting short jump shorts.
The Plainsmen 7th grade boys’ basketball team suffered its first defeat of the year against Union Monday night, falling 44-25. The game was close throughout the first quarter, but the depth of Union quickly wore on the Plainsmen as the Knights jumped to a 13-point halftime lead. The lead grew dramatically in the third quarter before the Plainsmen narrowed the gap down the stretch. Union has 27 7th grade basketball players this year and they brought their top ten, which caused us match up problems throughout the game.
For the first time this year the boys did not react well to a strong man-to-man defense. As a team we turned the ball over 35 times which is a huge amount for a 24-minute game. This was 35 times we had the ball and did not get a shot at the basket, which makes it very difficult to win a ball game. In the first quarter alone we only had five shots at the basket hitting two. As the game went on we did a better job of handling the pressure so that we hit 25 percent of our shots, 11 of 44 from the field. We had a lot of easy shots from six to eight feet that our players were unable to hit which made it difficult to stay even.
The team scoring was not particularly balanced with only four players scoring. Justin Jacobi led the team with 12 points, Adrien Griffith six, Vance Bohlen five, and Trey Squiers two. We also struggled again from the free throw line hitting only three of eight shots.
Defensively we played a very strong first quarter to trail by only four considering we were not getting many shots. The boys played a solid man to man defense and then we switched into a zone as we got tired. Our zone is sometimes weak because some of the athletes do not understand their responsibilities but we will continue to work on this. Hitting the boards was more of a team effort in this game, with Jacobi leading the team with six, Griffith and Squiers with four each, and Long and Austin Vranek with three boards each.
The next game will be at home against Iowa Valley on January 6th. Other home games will follow with Montezuma January 13th, English Valley January 22nd, and HLV on January 25th.

Team members include, from left: Vance Bohlen, Josh Long, Cody Bergom and Jacob Fabor. Back row: Coach Steve Mengler, Adrien Griffith, Justin Jacobi and Trey Squiers.

Dani Coover scored 23 points and pulled down 16 rebounds as Belle Plaine handed Keota a 48-28 defeat Friday at the Plainsman gym.
The host team jumped out to a 16-3 first period lead and was never seriously threatened after that. It was 32-12 at the half and 41-17 after three quarters.
Coover also had four steals. Taylor Schafbuch had 15 points, five assists and two steals. Macy DeMeulenaere had six points, four rebounds, four steals and a blocked shot. Julie Long had two points, Joy Cronbaugh had two points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals and Laura Breja added three rebounds.
The Plainsmen hit on 20 of 47 shots from the field and had 22 turnovers in the contest.

The Belle Plaine Police Department is sending out a short memo to citizens regarding some ongoing parking issues:
“The Police Department is appreciative of the public’s initiative in removing their vehicles from the public streets during our recent snow emergencies.
“There were very few violations and that makes the snow removal efforts much easier and efficient. However, many of you have parked your vehicles in private parking areas, such as a church or the Masonic Lodge, in order to comply with the snow emergency ordinance. These places have snow removal efforts to deal with as well. Please remove your vehicles from these areas as soon as practical or once the snow emergency has been lifted and park where you normally would.
“Keep in mind that if you park in a private area, the owners of those areas have the right to remove your vehicle at your expense. And as always, the city parking lot is always an option for those that do not have off street parking available to them. We would appreciate the public’s efforts in helping us deal with these situations.”

Dec. 15, 9:52 a.m. – Ambulance assist in the 1800 block of Ninth Avenue.
Dec. 15, 5:54 p.m. – Police responded to the 500 block of 17th Street for a two-vehicle accident. A 2000 Dodge Neon, driven by Meghan Klunenberg, Traer, struck the parked 1992 Chevy Corsica, owned by Leora Mikesell, Belle Plaine. Klunenberg was cited for failure to maintain control. Total damage estimate to the two vehicles was $4,000.
Dec. 16, 11:58 a.m. – A burglary at an as-yet unopened business at 817 12th Street remains under investigation. The business is owned by Matt Clark. Entry was gained through a forced rear door.
Dec. 18, 12:38 a.m. – Ambulance assist in the 1400 block of Second Avenue.
Dec. 18, 4 a.m. – Criminal mischief and theft was reported at 907 Ninth Street, where Christmas decorations were damaged and destroyed. Total loss was estimated at $300.
Dec. 18, 6:55 a.m. – Ambulance assist in the 400 block of Seventh Street.
Dec. 18, 8:04 a.m. – Criminal mischief was reported at 1009 Fourth Avenue, where Christmas decorations were damaged. The loss was estimated at $200.
Dec. 18, 8:15 p.m. – Police responded to Belle Plaine High School on a report of a theft from the locker room. Following an investigation, a female juvenile was charged with fifth degree theft and referred to juvenile authorities.
Dec. 19, 6:13 a.m. – Officers assisted a stranded motorist in the 1500 block of 13th Street.
Dec. 20, 1:47 a.m. – Jacob Marek, 32, Belle Plaine, was arrested in the 1200 block of Ninth Avenue and charged with OWI following a traffic stop for driving without headlights. He was taken to the Iowa County Jail.
A criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.