Ruth June Beck, 76, died Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at the Belle Plaine Nursing and Rehab Center following a lingering illness. Services will be 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Luzerne with Pastor Michael Musick officiating. Burial will be in Rector Cemetery, Chelsea. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until the time of service at the church.
She is survived by her husband, Albert; daughters, Jean (Jim) Vandivier of Cedar Rapids and Susan Farrens of Lenox, IA; son, Gary of Media, PA; sister, Darlene Hoover of Sheffield Lake, OH; brothers, Bobby Oehlerich of York, NE and Don Oehlerich of Albert City, IA; also by ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers a memorial fund has been established.
Arrangements are with the Hrabak Funeral Home.

Here is the latest installment of news from the staff of The Plainsman at Belle Plaine High School:

A reminder to seniors
This is your friendly reminder that senior photos and baby photos are due now. If you would like to be in the yearbook please get your photo turned into Mrs. Maxwell, Dawn Stull, or the yearbook staff immediately. You must turn in four photos all together. If you have questions about this please contact the office. If you need to make arrangements to have your photo taken by a yearbook staff member let us know, we can arrange this. We would like to have everyone in the yearbook, so please get us your photo as soon as possible. Thanks!!

Belle Plaine High School Graduation Requirements

By Dakota Hamilton

Belle Plaine High School like all other high schools has mandatory requirements in order for a senior to graduate. BPHS requires 47 total credits…35 academic credits and 12 elective credits.
A BPHS student must have the following….

Number of credits Class Number of credits Class

2 English I 1 Government
2 English II 1 Economics
2 English III 6 Math
1 English IV 1 Health
2 Physical Science 1 Speech
2 Biology 1 Word Processing
2 Science Elective 1 Fine Arts
(art, band, choir, music history)
2 American History 2 Technical
(Industrial Tech, Computer, Family and Consumer Science)
2 World History 4 Physical Education/Conditioning
12 Electives

Some students may take upper level classes that also earn college credit and count toward a BPHS diploma credit…such as Advanced Composition.
It is important to take school serious and pass all your classes so you can graduate with your class in four years, and go on to be successful in college, the military, or with a full-time job. Working towards your BPHS diploma will take you in the right direction.

Blood Drive

By Alexis Farr

Many people like to help others. One invaluable way to help others in by donating blood.
Belle Plaine High School will be hosting a Blood Drive on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 from 11:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. in the high school gymnasium.
Student Council members will be hosting this event. Their duties will include: greeting people, serving goodies after people have donated, and helping out at the donation table transporting the blood products to the proper place.
If you are sixteen years old, with your parent’s permission, you may donate. Seventeen years old and older do not need their parent’s permission. All students will need a photo ID.
There are many opportunities to serve others. Donating blood saves many lives; please take the time to donate when given the opportunity.

BP Boys’ Golf and Track Begin

By Zach Clement

With wrestling and basketball over, Belle Plaine athletes start golf and track & field.
The boys’ golf team is coming off a good season winning twelve meets last year and losing three and tying one. The BP Boys’ Golf Team also got second at conference and third at sectionals. The team will have a new golf coach this year, Brad Allen. The golf team lost graduating seniors Ben Novak, William Pierce, and Paul Grieder from last years season.
The Belle Plaine Boys’ Track & Field Team also had a strong season last year, winning conference and sending five events to state. Those five events were the shuttle hurdle relay that placed second; distance medley the placed 10th; 4X100 meter relay that placed 13th; the 100 meter dash ran by Brian Crow who placed 15th; the 110 meter high hurdles ran by Tate DeMeulenaere who placed 19th. The BPHS Track & Field Team lost graduating seniors: Tyler Brandt, Colton Miller, Myles Kelly, Wes Spading, Tate DeMeulenaere, Davis Coover, and Rich DeFauw.
With the BP Boys’ Golf and Track seasons beginning, make sure you go out and hopefully enjoy the weather, and support the athletes during the new 2010 season.

Cooking Class
By Timothy Muench

There are several skills students should know before they graduate. One of these skills is cooking.
Belle Plaine High School offers several cooking classes for students to take. Creative Life Skills is the first class a student must pass to be able to experience Foods I and Foods II. Creative Life Skills class taught by Leah Mast explains how to follow a recipe, cook or bake, clean up, do dishes, and how to be safe in the kitchen. Students should know where to keep ingredients and how to use cooking tools, which is also practiced in the class. It is clearly essential to know how to follow the recipe and work an oven correctly.
Creative Life Skills, Foods I, and Foods II are excellent classes to learn and have fun too.

Extended School Days
As we all know the wonderful winter we have had has undoubtedly caused several delays and cancellations at not only Belle Plaine Community Schools but schools all over the state of Iowa.
Due to the many snow day cancellations Belle Plaine students and staff will be going to school an additional 30 minutes every day beginning on March 8th until the end of the school year. Therefore, the school day will now end at 3:40 p.m. With the extended school day students and staff will be making up the missed school days due to the nasty winter weather. BP students and staff have made up two snow days already with the ones that were built into the calendar.
The last day of school for Belle Plaine students is scheduled for May 27, 2010. Let us hope that we don’t have any further snow days. We know that everyone likes a day off, but remember the more snow days the less summer break one has.

Daily news from the counseling office
THE 2010 CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE COMPETITION was a heated race at BPHS. Overall 81% of all BPHS students were represented either by themselves or a parent/guardian at conferences.
All students and parents in attendance need to be congratulated for actively participating in their education and looking forward to a successful future. Participating members of the class with the highest percentage of attendance (the student and/or parent) were issued 5% coupons to use on an upcoming test/assignment/quiz of their choice. Here are the grade-by-grade results:
4th Place Sophomores 70%
3rd Place Juniors 80%
2nd Place Freshmen 81%
1st Place Seniors 89%
If you were unable to attend your student’s conference, please feel free to contact your student’s advisor or myself to review his/her academic standing and receive valuable information about all opportunities awaiting your student. We look forward to continued communication with students and their parents!
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: Benton Mutual Insurance Association is offering a $500 scholarship to seniors whose parents/guardians are policyholders of Benton Mutual Insurance. See Miss Daily for the application. The deadline to apply is April 1st.
CONGRATS TO ANDREA LOHF. She’s a state finalist for Zinch’s $20,000 Sweet Diggity Dawg Scholarship…AND NOW SHE NEEDS YOUR VOTES. Go to http://www.zinch.com/voting/Regionals.aspx and help Andrea advance to the next round. PLEASE VOTE TODAY!!!! Voting ends March 7th.

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the national professional organization for CPAs in the US. They offer several scholarship programs for undergraduate students interested in careers in business and accounting. Eligibility & criteria are available online at www.aicpa.org/aec. There are a variety of deadlines.

GREAT SOURCE OF COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID & SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION…can be found at www.needalift.org. It’s 132 page publication from the American Legion that’s free to download. It’s filled with great easy-to-understand chapters on the in’s & out’s of financial aid. The national scholarships start on page 29 and the Iowa-specific scholarships start on page 37. Check it out—BUT PLEASE DO NOT PRINT THESE 132 PAGES AT SCHOOL!!!

OPPORTUNITY for ALL BPHS STUDENTS: Iowa State University’s GO! Magazine invites all students and teachers to participate in their online scavenger hunt! The Iowa school with the highest percentage of students, school faculty/staff, and parents participating will win a $100 Amazon gift card for their school. Plus up to 20 Iowa students will win Go! T-shirts for answering correctly. The scavenger hunt is free! You don’t have to subscribe to this online magazine—but it is a free subscription if you want it! Go to http://www.go-explore-trans.org/2010/feb/puzzle_dept.cfm. to participate.
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: JANICE M. SCOTT MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP…Mrs. Scott was killed during one of the three attacks by terrorists on the morning of September 11, 2001. She was among the 125 individuals who perished in the Pentagon when terrorists crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the building of the Pentagon. In honor of Mrs. Scott’s commitment to the children of her community, the family created the Janice M. Scott Memorial Scholarship Fund in October 2001.
The selection process of these scholarships is based primarily on a “need” basis. The process involves four means of evaluation. 1. need; 2. academics; 3. community services; and 4. writing skills.
Application materials must be received or postmarked on or before the deadline date of March 31st, 2010. See Miss Daily for the application.
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: The Iowa School of Beauty (nearest location is Marshalltown) is awarding two $2500 scholarships to 2 graduating seniors at Belle Plaine High School. They offer programs in cosmetology, massage therapy, esthetics, nail technology, and instructor training. Go to www.iowaschoolofbeauty.com for more information.
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: The Salon Professional Academy in Ames, Iowa, is awarding one $3000 to a student from our high school. Current seniors can follow these 4 easy steps before March 31st, 2010 to apply: 1.) Apply to the academy; 2.) Fill out a high school scholarship application, 3.) Visit and complete a tour of the Academy; 4.) Submit your high school transcript. See Miss Daily for the scholarship application.

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: Grinnell Regional Medical Center Auxiliary is awarding five $1000 scholarships to students pursuing an education in the healthcare field and who live in the GRMC service area. All application materials are due March 5th. You can find the application at www.grmc.us.

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: The Iowa Schools Buildings and Grounds Association (ISBGA) is offering scholarships of $500 to $1500 to children or legal dependents of its members who are college-bound. See Miss Daily if your parent is a member of the ISBGA. Application materials are due May 1st.

The importance of the food pyramid

By Franky Gallardo

Are you health conscious? Can you identify the major food groups? If you can’t, you are not alone. Many students today are not concerned about the major food groups.
In asking ten students at Belle Plaine High School if they were health conscious enough to pay attention to the food pyramid daily, they weren’t. Students tend to choose quick, fast, and convenient foods when they are hungry. In school students like to eat ala-carte instead of the school lunch. Ala-carte does not have a lot of nutritional value, and it costs more too.
Mrs. Obama is pushing for schools to serve healthier meals to kids. She wants to remove all sugar items from school menus. Students, however, will just go home and eat whatever they want. For this reason, it would be a great idea to educate parents on great food choices. Parents can then pass this information on to their children.
In order to change student attitudes about healthy eating, it is going to take a lot of work, not only at school but also at home. Knowing about the food pyramid is just one of the many steps. The food pyramid provides people with the daily servings of each food group. According to the school of public health the servings of food that apply today are as follows:
2-3 = Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, Nuts
2-3 = Milk, Yogurt, Cheese
2-4 = Fruits
3-5 = Vegetables
6-11 = Grains
Trying to eat a well-balanced meal is healthy and satisfying. Being aware of the daily servings is important for growth and nutrition.

School Lunch
By Gage Rupp

Lots and lots of the students around the school feel that the school lunches provided here at Belle Plaine High School are not very satisfying. A few people have said it reminds them of detention lunch. Several of the lunch tables complain about the food. There is not enough time to eat your lunch and relax and it also doesn’t taste good.
School lunches need to be satisfying if you expect us to sit through eight classes all day long and not complain about it. Also students learn more when they are fed healthy and satisfying meals, so far we have not met those standards and that needs to change.
If you were a new kid at the school coming from a lot bigger school you would feel as though there are no choices. In the high schools in Cedar Rapids there is more than one lunch line and they serve, Chinese food, Subway, Pizza Hut, main line, and alternate line, so it’s a lot different coming from that point of view. It would be nice if the school would make the lunches a little bit better then there is a good chance the students here at Belle Plaine High School would have a better learning environment.
Hopefully the students and staff will see an improvement in school lunches at Belle Plaine in the future with the new school and improvements…it wouldn’t hurt. If you are a parent or community member eat the school lunches for about week, and also try the ranch and you may see why there needs to be a change.

Spring is Near
By Matt O’Brien

The first day of spring is March 20th. The entire United States will be anxious for this day. It has been a long and stressful winter for all.
Spring will be very welcomed this year! Between the snow melting and the spring rains, all the activities and special events will start. Seniors will be looking forward to helping with the service learning projects, their senior trip, the last day of school, preparing for graduation, and being a 2010 graduate. Fishermen are excited for spring to be able to put a fishing pole into the water. Mushroom lovers will be out in the woods looking for the mushrooms.
Spring is right around the corner…March 20th.

Dealing with a New School
By Jessie Peterson

There are a lot of challenges when a student has to move to a new school especially moving from another state or from a large school to a small school and vice versa. You have to worry about finding friends, fitting in, new teachers, getting used to a new school system, and starting over.
The classes that a student may have taken at a previous school may be a lot different from the ones that they have to take at a new school. A class may be more difficult. A class taken as a freshman at one school may be taken as a junior at the new school. There may be more students in a classroom. For example the class size may be different too. At a larger school, a student could have had a class of 30 to 40 students and in a smaller school a class size may be anywhere from five to 30. At a large school the student to staff ration is larger so students don’t get as much one-on-one or small group help.
Other changes may involve class length, periods per day, a block schedule, or trimester vs. semester. Eight period days have many classes which mean more homework and less time to do it in the class where the teacher has assigned work. Block scheduling means a class like PE, Foods, Science, Technical, or even math classes would have time to do what they need to do without having to worry about running out of time. Block scheduling also allowed for more critical thinking, discussions, lab time, and more time to get help on homework or even finish the work.
At a large school the lunches are a big difference because a student has more choices and/or open campus, which for kids is a really good thing. At a small school the choices are minimal and there is no open campus.
At a small school a student has a chance to get to know the entire class and maybe even a majority of the high school population. Whereas at a large school a student may only get to know a circle of friends and acquaintances; there are people you see everyday but never get a chance to know them. In a large school, there are people that you may graduate with and not even recognize.
There are a lot of things to compare and contrast when dealing with moving and/or between large and small schools. The most important thing to remember is to be social, meet new people, and don’t get discouraged.

New Students
By Mia Beck

BPHS would like to welcome two new student to Belle Plaine High School…Gage Rupp, a sophomore, and Teddi Workman, a freshman.
When asked how they like Belle Plaine High School each answered as follows.
Gage Rupp, “I am still getting used to it. My cousins go to school here, so that’s a plus. I’ve always been a pretty good student, hopefully that won’t change.”
Teddi Workman, “The staff and some of the rules are different, but I am adjusting.”
It’s always nice to see new faces in the halls of BPHS. Make sure you make the new student feel welcome and get to know them better.

Students of the Month for January and February
By Jessica Landuyt

Every month the faculty selects one student who has excelled in his/her classroom. This award is given in recognition for the student’s hard work in the classroom. The students of the month for January are as follows:

Math-Christina Brake; English-Brett Hampton; Science-Emily Coover; Social Studies-Dani Chilcote; Business-Dawn Phelps; Family & Consumer Science-Tim Muench; Spanish-Mitch Jacobi; German-Andrew Raue; Physical Education-James Johnson; Art-Kyle Janss; Music-Dani Coover; and AG-Chris Breja.

The students of the month for February are as follows:
Math-Blake Eberhart; English-Cody Trealoff; Science-Curry Drahos; Social Studies-Kellie Freemen; Business-Bailey Gorsch; Family & Consumer Science-Zakk Buch; Spanish-Breanna Robertson; German-Alyssa Frimml; Physical Education-Franky Gallardo; Art-Mikayla Mason; Music-Stephan Muench; and AG- Austin Beck.
Those were the students of the month for January and February. Congratulations and keep up the hard work. Make sure you keep reading. Be sure to watch for the students of the month for March.

The state of Iowa will be the center of Main Street attention next year, when the National Trust for Historic Preservation brings its 2011 National Main Streets Conference to Des Moines May 22-25, 2011.
Belle Plaine is one of 46 Main Street communities in Iowa. The state has the largest number of rural Main Street programs in the nation.
The four-day National Main Streets Conference is the only commercial district revitalization, educational and networking event that blends economic development, community revitalization and historic preservation. It provides a forum to share knowledge, best practices and innovative ideas with professionals and volunteers from small and rural towns, suburban communities and large and midsized cities from across the nation.
“We chose Des Moines as the site of the 2011 conference because it exemplifies a modern city that has incorporated historic preservation into its downtown development efforts,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “Des Moines has discovered the power of preservation in spurring economic development and community revitalization.”
“We are honored to host the 2011 National Main Streets Conference during Main Street Iowa’s 25th anniversary year,” said Gov. Chet Culver. “The hard work and success of Iowa’s Main Street communities continues to move Iowa forward. We look forward to providing a great experience for conference attendees.”

If you like what you see here and would like to see it continue, please consider making a donation to Belle Plaine Now. Click on the “Donate” button at the top of the home page and make your donation using PayPal.
In addition, if you operate a business and would like to tell the world about your product or service, please contact us at 319-444-2700 or belleplainenow@iowatelecom.net Your message has the potential to reach hundreds of viewers worldwide each day.

Belle Plaine’s American Legion Jennings Bradshaw Post 39 will be playing host to two events in the coming months that will bring hundreds of people to the city.
The first event will begin later in March, when the State Legion Bowling Team Tourney comes to town on March 13-14 and March 27-28.
On May 15, approximately 125-150 large motorcycles will roar into town as the Legion Riders arrive in the late afternoon. This will be a chance for residents to view some big bikes, as the Legion Riders ride motorcycles of at least 600 cc.

Belle Plaine’s ambulance service is featuring a new unit and the service managers, Dan and Elana Johnson, want it known that it was through the generous support of the community that it was possible.
The service recently took delivery of the unit, which is actually a combination of a new 2009 Ford E450 chassis and the box from the old Belle Plaine unit, which had undergone complete renovation and re-fitting. Dan Johnson said that by using one of the service’s existing bodies, the cost for the unit was $73,000, compared to $145,000 for an entirely new unit. It took about six to eight weeks for the firm in Rock Rapids to recondition and assemble the new unit. While the work was being done, Belle Plaine was given a loaner unit so that the service would have two units available at all times.
The makeover was long overdue. The old 1996 model was purchased used by the service several years ago. The renovation included not only the new chassis, but new interior, lights, etc.
Money was raised for the unit through various fundraisers including a sweet corn festival which raised about $12,000 in its first year last summer and a portrait promotion, as well as donations from individuals through one-time donations or naming of the ambulance service in a person’s estate.
The service is a privately operated enterprise that does not rely on tax dollars for its income, although the city contributes $2,500 per year toward the operating cost, which Dan Johnson said is a great help.
The Belle Plaine Ambulance Service charges rates comparable to other area services. Many of the 430 calls it responded to last year were paid by Medicare or Medicaid. Medicare pays 60 percent of the submitted bill and Medicaid pays just 20 percent of the cost. Johnson said that in some instances, secondary insurance will pay the remainder or individuals will pay the difference. The managers understand that in a tough economy, it’s often difficult to pay the bills. The service is very willing to work out payment plans for the cost of the run, he said. Despite this, the service has $57,000 on the books that has not been collected.
Meanwhile, routine operating costs of the ambulance service continue to rise. For example, a heart monitor costs $25,000. The Johnsons are the only full-time employees at the service. The ambulance crews are on call for 12-hour shifts and receive a modest per hour stipend.
In the past, the service has had some problem staffing the units on a 24-hour basis. But Johnson says that there are about 25 active members of the service now, including seven paramedics. While most of them live in Belle Plaine, some come from Vinton, Urbana, Van Horne, Blairstown and Tama to volunteer. The ambulance center includes two bedrooms, a kitchen and a living area for those staffing the ambulance from out of town.
With the full crew, the Belle Plaine Ambulance Service now covers the Keystone area as a back-up to the Elberon service. The 430 calls answered last year were all 911 calls. Dan Johnson says that there is some consideration to transporting patients for prearranged medical calls that are not emergency calls as a way to generate more income for the service. But there are several other companies available for transporting patients home after a hospital stay, for example.
Now that the primary unit has been renovated, attention will turn to the eventual replacement of the service’s second unit. It is a1999 model with 157,000 miles on it.
Dan and Elana Johnson like to make public presentations to civic and school groups. Each year, they attend a safety fair, where people of all ages are able to get a look at the equipment and ask questions. If any local group would like to have them present a program on the service, you can contact them at 333-3808 or bpaa09@yahoo.com
Residents will also have a chance to see the newly renovated ambulance unit during a soup luncheon at the ambulance center on Sunday, March 7, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Vegetable beef, broccoli cheese, cheesy potato and chili will be served for a free-will donation.
Free heart monitor checks (EKGs), blood pressure checks and ambulance tours will be offered.

The interior of the ambulance was totally refurbished and the box was placed on

a new 2009 Ford chassis.

One of the planned projects for park upgrades in Belle Plaine got a financial shot in the arm this week when the Belle Plaine Partners for Beautification received a $3,000 grant from the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP). The money is part of $85,000 in federal stimulus funds that the agency recently received.
Heather Harney, HACAP representative, presented the check to the committee during its meeting Wednesday night.
Vicki Schwab, co-chair of the beautification committee, said the money will go toward landscaping projects near the playground area at Franklin Park, attempting to enhance accessibility, safety and visual aspects of the area.
Although the area is still in deep snow cover, the committee has some projects in the works for this year and beyond. These include new entrance signs and plantings on the west and north sides of the city. A couple of the long-range plans in the works include development of a trail and safe walking system around the city and the development of Beautiful Plaines Park, which would be an educational prairie park exhibiting the area’s natural grasses and vegetation.
Some of the projects completed by the group recently have included plantings on the east and west entrances to the city, plantings at the museum and plantings and assisting in the construction of a bridge at Box Park. Money was also raised to pay for winter wrap around the young trees the group planted.
One of the other ongoing projects of committee members is the maintenance of the flower beds at Box Memorial Park. Schwab said the group is asking anyone with spare tools, such as rakes, hoes, shovels or wheelbarrows that they no longer need consider donating them to Belle Plaine Partners for Beautification. Currently, committee members carry the tools they need to the park each time. But with the construction of the new shelter house and restroom facility, there is also a storage room that they hope can be used for the gardening tools.
Anyone who has tools to donate can take them to parks and recreation director Joel Formanek at City Hall.
The group also welcomes new committee members and volunteers. The committee meets the fourth Wednesday of each month at the Belle Plaine Community Center. If you would like more information, have any ideas for beautification projects or would like to volunteer, contact co-chairs Dick Wells, 434-3066 or Vicki Schwab, 444-2086.

Heather Harney, HACAP representative, presented a $3,000 check to Belle Plaine

Partners for Beautification committee members Nate Moore, left and Bob Ulch at

the committee meeting Wednesday night.

Ten of the 12 members of this year’s Belle Plaine girls’ basketball squad, the ones who are not seniors this year, may be wishing the next season could start next week. Of course, they are probably looking forward to a little rest from the long bus rides and cramming homework into available time after practice and after games.
But it was an exciting ride for Coach Andy Dahlquist’s Plainsman squad, which posted a 14-8 overall record and a third place tie, in the win column, in the SICL Conference race.
With the end of the season comes some good news and bad news for the program. The good news is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder will be back next season. The bad news is the second leading rebounder and the team leader in assists and steals, the quarterback of the offense, will both be graduating.
This year, the Plainsmen never lost more than two games in a row and had a six-game winning string through January, including a 28-point spanking of Lynnville-Sully, a team that later qualified for the state tournament. In fact, their next game, a second loss to North Mahaska, was by just six points. The Warhawks were undefeated until the regional finals, when they dropped a 19-point decision to Prince of Peace Prep.
Junior Dani Coover led this year’s squad with 280 points, 12.7 points per game. She was also the team leader with 226 rebounds and added 49 steals, eight assists and a team-high 26 blocked shots. Senior Taylor Schafbuch was second in scoring with 272 points, 12.4 points per game. She had 49 rebounds and led the team with 100 assists and 91 steals.
Sophomore Macy DeMeulenaere was third in scoring with 238 points and third in rebounds with 79. She had 35 assists, 58 steals and eight blocks. The other senior on the team, Laura Breja, was second in rebounds with 104. She had 22 points, 24 steals and nine blocks. Junior Joy Cronbaugh, the fifth player who started every game this season, finished with 49 points, 69 rebounds, eight assists and 17 steals.
Sophomore Melissa Janss played in all 22 games. She had eight points, but also had 25 rebounds, five assists and nine steals. Another sophomore, Katie Croft, played in 21 games and had 14 points, 36 rebounds, three assists, seven steals and two blocks. Freshman Julie Long played in 19 games and scored 52 points, with 32 rebounds, 18 assists and 26 steals.
Two freshmen saw limited varsity action. Taylor Janss played in five games and scored five points and Emily Coover was in five games.
As the Plainsmen and the rest of the conference look to next year, they know they will have to tangle with a formidable North Mahaska squad again. Four of the time five scorers and rebounders for the Warhawks are freshmen or sophomores this year. The story is much the same for state tourney bound Lynnville-Sully, where the leading scorer is a sophomore and two of the top four scorers and rebounders are juniors this season. But if Belle Plaine can develop a replacement for Schafbuch and find at least one more player to help out in the lane on rebounding, there’s no reason that the Plainsmen should not be considered in the mix for a conference title next season.

By Jeff M. Brown
www.boredfactoryworker.com
“Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone.” – Jim Fiebig
“Age and possible lactose intolerance don’t diminish the extreme disappointment I have if a scoop of ice cream falls from the cone.” – Jeff Brown
So, I turned 40 recently. Yep, the big four oh, I’m getting old. (If you feel sorry for me and would like to send a card or present, it’s not too late.) Somebody asked me if I felt any different after reaching this milestone (translation: do you feel rustier, stiffer, achy, or just plain like crap?). I shook my head and replied in the wisest, most authoritative, most age appropriate 900 year old Yoda-like tone I could muster, “State of mind, age is. Hmmmmmm.”
I suppose if that were really true, I’d be about 10 years old. I still like dinosaurs, the space program, old cars, pizza, and ice cream. Too bad I’ve reached the big four oh, my aching stomach! For the last year or so I’ve been experiencing on and off again intestinal discomfort (I’ll spare you the details). According to my doctor, as we age sometimes people who have never had problems with milk or dairy products (translation: anything that makes me go “yum.”) may suddenly develop lactose intolerance.
I still don’t know if I have it or not, (I’m being tested) but I’m worried this might be the first domino. Lactose intolerance today, the big four oh, pass me another incontinence diaper tomorrow. Speaking of incontinence, I recently saw a TV commercial promoting the fact that Medicare will now pay for up to 200 brand new clean catheters a month. This apparently is great news for a lot of folks and it makes me wonder how far away I am from reaching the big four oh, I’m so excited because I hit the catheter jackpot!
Where was I? Please forgive me if this column meanders and doesn’t make sense. I have a good excuse because I’ve reached the big four oh, I can’t remember what I was talking about. Doctors say this is closely related to the big four oh, I can’t find my car keys and the big four oh, honey, where’s the new tube of Preparation H?
It’s not a cure, but I think I’ve found an effective treatment for the big four oh, my aching back and the big four oh, is it cold in here or is it just me? It’s my seed corn pillow. (As the name implies, it’s a pillow with seed corn in it.) Although it’s not related to dinosaurs and it doesn’t have a creamy filling, I love it because you can heat it up in the microwave and it will stay warm for a long time. I pop mine in for three minutes and take it to bed with me during the winter. I place it on, under, or near whatever body part happens to be aching. What I really need is a seed corn mattress, but I’m not sure how to heat it.
My wife is a little younger than I am. (I’m not going into any more detail because I’d like to live to see my next birthday.) Despite this, I think she’s already reached the big four oh, it’s so late I think I’m going to bed. This happens nearly every evening about 8:30 PM. When I point this out to her, she insists that she’s never really been a night person.
If I was younger, I might use this as an opportunity to tease my wife, but at my age I’m older and wiser and, did I mention older? As Yoda would say, “It is smart to provoke your wife not. Yes, hmmm.”
Besides, after having officially reached 40, I’m too tired to defend myself at 8:30 PM- it’s way past my bedtime.

Advance tickets are still available for Sunday’s performance by Richie Lee and the Fabulous 50s, a Buddy Holly Tribute, at the Belle Plaine American Legion Post. The concert will begin at 2 p.m.
Tickets are available at the Belle Plaine Museum, Thursday through Saturday, from 1-4 p.m. or at the offices of Belle Plaine Now. Tickets are $5 in advance or $8 at the door.