The Belle Plaine Rotary Club received three awards at its meeting on June 14. The awards included Most Improved Club of District 5970, which includes 54 clubs; Rotary International’s Presidential Citation for membership growth and exemplary action and service, strengthening Rotary’s future  and the District Governor’s Rotary Club Excellence Award. This award takes into consideration leadership and administration, membership, club activities and Rotary Foundation contributions.

Local club president, Lon Weber, left, received the award from Gerald Retzlaff. (Photo contributed)

Two members of the 2009-10 Belle Plaine High School wrestling squad have been selected to the National High School Coaches Association Academic All-America Team. Recent grads Jack O’Brien and Zakk Buch were the only Iowans from the class of 2010 and took two of the 64 spots for the team that represented 39 states.

O’Brien finished 42-5 and fifth in Class A state tournament at 125 pounds for Coach Bob Yilek at Belle Plaine High School; three-time state placewinner; career record 155-31. Earned 3.8 GPA, scored 28 on the ACT and ranks No. 10 in a class of 68; will attend Coe College.

Buch finished 32-6 and seventh in Class A state tournament at 103 pounds two-time state placewinner; career record 107-21. Earned 3.5 GPA and scored 25 on the ACT; will attend Coe College.

A flash flood warning is in effect until 6:15 p.m. Tuesday for Benton County and surrounding areas. At midday, moderate to heavy rain continued to fall over the area. Residents in low lying areas and those near creeks and small streams should be prepared to move to higher ground.

Street flooding has been reported in counties to the south of Belle Plaine. Motorists are reminded not to attempt to drive over water covered roadways.

June 7, 10:44 p.m. – Joni Wilson, Belle Plaine, reported harassment. A subject was warned.

June 8, 3:38 p.m. – Officers responded to the 400 block of 11^th Street on a report of a dog running at large. The dog’s owner, Justin Patterson, was cited for allowing his dog to run at large.

June 8, 4:20 p.m. – A stray cat was caught at 405 Seventh Street and taken to Countryside Veterinary Clinic.

June 9, 11:35 a.m. – A woman not known by the occupants at 709 Tenth Street. She left before officers arrived.

June 10, 10:10 a.m. – Police were called to 210 Seventh Avenue, Lot 11, on a harassment complaint. No charges were filed.

June 10, 11:20 a.m. – A neighbor to a residence at 1106 16^th Street reported a possible theft of landscaping blocks. The house is vacant.

June 10, 12:57 p.m. – Officers were called back to the 400 block of 11^th Street. Justin Patterson was cited again for allowing a dog to run at large.

June 10, 6:14 p.m. – Police investigated a report of a dog who bit a pedestrian. Thye dog’s owner, Austin Smith, was cited for allowing a dog to run at large. He was also ordered to remove a vicious animal from the city. The dog was impounded.

June 11, 5:48 a.m. – Kara White, Belle Plaine, reported a domestic dispute at 1006 15^th Street. No arrests were made.

June 11, 1:41 p.m. – Ambulance assist int eh 1400 block of Sunset Drive.

June 12, 12:55 a.m. – Justin Seaba, 29, Marengo, was arrested in the 800 block of 12^th Street after he allegedly passed out in a vehicle. He was charged with public intoxication-second offense and taken to the Benton County Jail.

June 13, 8:43 a.m. – Police were called to 1106 13^th Street for a civil matter. No charges were filed.

June 14, 8:23 a.m. – A hit and run accident was reported in the north parking lot at Belle Plaine High School. A 1992 Chevy truck, owned by Dave Baburek, Belle Plaine, sustained approximately $800 when it was struck by an unknown vehicle sometime that morning.

A criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

This week’s slate of local activities includes a school board meeting, a couple of meetings involving members of the Belle Plaine Community Development Corporation (BPCDC) and, weather permitting, more baseball and softball action on the high school level.

Tonight (Monday) the Belle Plaine Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to meet at City Hall at 7 p.m. On Tuesday, the BPCDC’s Promotion Committee will meet at 5:15 p.m. at Iowa Mold.

A teen summer program will be offered at the Belle Plaine Public Library on Wednesday at 1 p.m.

The Belle Plaine Board of Education meets Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Facilities and personnel are key items on the agenda as the board will consider several appointments and resignations of staff members. A closed session to discuss the possible purchase of real estate is also on the agenda, as is a tour of the new building projects at Longfellow Elementary and at the high school.

The BPCDC Board of Directors meets at City Hall on Thursday at 5:15 p.m.

A late decision by SICL Conference members to change the softball and baseball schedules to cut down on travel expenses means changes continue from the published activities calendar. Our recent trend toward wet weather, along with rain forecasts for much of this week means the competition schedule is really up for grabs.

Today, the baseball and softball teams will travel to English Valleys. A big night of action is scheduled Wednesday, when Lynnville-Sully will bring its baseball and softball teams here for varsity doubleheaders for each team. On Friday, the baseball team travels to Keota, while the softball team hosts Keota.

Stay dry and have a great week!

When June rolls around, hardcore pro football fans begin to get the itch. They may try to have their thirsts quelled with arena football. But with just under two months left until that first preseason game, the publishers of sports guides are trying to strike while the iron is hot with pro and college football guides.

It has been my tradition to latch onto one or two of these publications and check out those inflated preseason rosters. Each of the NFL teams publish a list of returning pros, their draft choices and perhaps some others who have been invited to try out for the team. There may be 75 or more players on these early lists. By early September, the squads will be pared by about 33 percent to the number allowed on the active roster.

Of the more than 2,000 men who harbor dreams of making that final NFL roster, it’s always interesting to me to see how many of them played their college ball in Iowa. This summer, there are 53 former collegians with Iowa ties on pro rosters from five colleges.

I’ve never been one to put much stock in the annual Iowa-Iowa State rivalry debate. I am first a Hawkeye fan, but also hope Iowa State and UNI do well. But it’s tough to argue who has the most successful program in the state when you consider that of those 53 players who played college ball in Iowa, 36 of them played for the Hawkeyes. Nine played at Iowa State, six were at UNI and Drake and Coe each have one veteran on a pro roster this summer.

There are 10 rookies from the state who are seeking full-time football employment, but there are also six players who have been in the league at least 10 years.

Seven NFL teams have no players with Iowa ties on these early rosters. Minnesota has the most with five and Baltimore, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Jacksonville each have four.

A lot can happen in the nearly three months before the start of the regular season. Players will be cut, others will join other teams. But here’s a look at where some of your favorites have landed so far this year, with the player’s name followed by his position, years in the league and school:

Arizona Cardinals

Kenny Iwebema DE 3 Iowa

Brandon Keith T 3 UNI

Atlanta Falcons

Jonathan Babineaux DT 6 Iowa

Rob Bruggeman C 1 Iowa

Baltimore Ravens

Billy Cundiff K 6 Drake

Bryan Matteson G 2 Iowa

Marcus Paschal DB 2 Iowa

Marshal Yanda T 4 Iowa

Buffalo Bills

Kyle Calloway G 0 Iowa

Fred Jackson RB 4 Coe

Carolina Panthers

Jason Baker P 10 Iowa

Charles Godfrey S 3 Iowa

Chicago Bears

Quentin Scott DB 0 UNI

Cincinnati Bengals

Abdul Hodge LB 5 Iowa

Reggie Stephens C 0 Iowa State

Cleveland Browns

Derreck Robinson DE 4 Iowa

Ahtyba Rubin NT 3 Iowa State

Eric Steinbach G 8 Iowa

Seneca Wallace QB 8 Iowa State

Dallas Cowboys

NONE

Denver Broncos

Seth Olsen G 2 Iowa

Detroit Lions

Jared DeVries DE 12 Iowa

Amari Spievey DB 0 Iowa

Green Bay Packers

Bryan Bulaga T 0 Iowa

Houston Texans

Trey Stross WR 0 Iowa

Indianapolis Colts

Pat Angerer LB 0 Iowa

Dallas Clark TE 8 Iowa

Mitch King DT 1 Iowa

Bob Sanders SS 7 Iowa

Jacksonville Jaguars

Sean Considine SS 6 Iowa

Reggie Hayward DE 10 Iowa State

Aaron Kampman DT 9 Iowa

Brad Meester C 11 UNI

Kansas City Chiefs

Tony Moeaki TE 0 Iowa

Casey Wiegman C 15 Iowa

Miami Dolphins

Tim Dobbins LB 5 Iowa State

Minnesota Vikings

Chad Greenway OLB 5 Iowa

Marcus Hamilton WR 0 Iowa State

Sage Rosenfels QB 10 Iowa State

Benny Sapp DB 7 UNI

Albert Young RB 2 Iowa

New England Patriots

NONE

New Orleans Saints

NONE

New York Giants

Scott Chandler TE 3 Iowa

New York Jets

Shonn Greene RB 2 Iowa

Matt Kroul DT 1 Iowa

Oakland Raiders

Robert Gallery G 7 Iowa

Brandon Myers TE 2 Iowa

Philadelphia Eagles

Ellis Hobbs DB 6 Iowa State

Austin Howard T 0 UNI

Pittsburgh Steelers

NONE

San Diego Chargers

Nate Kaeding K 7 Iowa

San Francisco 49ers

NONE

Seattle Seahawks

Colin Cole DT 8 Iowa

St. Louis Rams

Bradley Fletcher CB 2 Iowa

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NONE

Tennessee Titans

NONE

Washington Redskins

Alvin Bowen LB 1 Iowa State

Chad Rinehart G 3 UNI

When June rolls around, hardcore pro football fans begin to get the itch. They may try to have their thirsts quelled with arena football. But with just under two months left until that first preseason game, the publishers of sports guides are trying to strike while the iron is hot with pro and college football guides.

It has been my tradition to latch onto one or two of these publications and check out those inflated preseason rosters. Each of the NFL teams publish a list of returning pros, their draft choices and perhaps some others who have been invited to try out for the team. There may be 75 or more players on these early lists. By early September, the squads will be pared by about 33 percent to the number allowed on the active roster.

Of the more than 2,000 men who harbor dreams of making that final NFL roster, it’s always interesting to me to see how many of them played their college ball in Iowa. This summer, there are 53 former collegians with Iowa ties on pro rosters from five colleges.

I’ve never been one to put much stock in the annual Iowa-Iowa State rivalry debate. I am first a Hawkeye fan, but also hope Iowa State and UNI do well. But it’s tough to argue who has the most successful program in the state when you consider that of those 53 players who played college ball in Iowa, 36 of them played for the Hawkeyes. Nine played at Iowa State, six were at UNI and Drake and Coe each have one veteran on a pro roster this summer.

There are 10 rookies from the state who are seeking full-time football employment, but there are also six players who have been in the league at least 10 years.

Seven NFL teams have no players with Iowa ties on these early rosters. Minnesota has the most with five and Baltimore, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Jacksonville each have four.

A lot can happen in the nearly three months before the start of the regular season. Players will be cut, others will join other teams. But here’s a look at where some of your favorites have landed so far this year:

Arizona Cardinals

NAME POS EXP SCHOOL

Kenny Iwebema DE 3 Iowa

Brandon Keith T 3 UNI

Atlanta Falcons

Jonathan Babineaux DT 6 Iowa

Rob Bruggeman C 1 Iowa

Baltimore Ravens

Billy Cundiff K 6 Drake

Bryan Matteson G 2 Iowa

Marcus Paschal DB 2 Iowa

Marshal Yanda T 4 Iowa

Buffalo Bills

Kyle Calloway G 0 Iowa

Fred Jackson RB 4 Coe

Carolina Panthers

Jason Baker P 10 Iowa

Charles Godfrey S 3 Iowa

Chicago Bears

Quentin Scott DB 0 UNI

Cincinnati Bengals

Abdul Hodge LB 5 Iowa

Reggie Stephens C 0 Iowa State

Cleveland Browns

Derreck Robinson DE 4 Iowa

Ahtyba Rubin NT 3 Iowa State

Eric Steinbach G 8 Iowa

Seneca Wallace QB 8 Iowa State

Dallas Cowboys

NONE

Denver Broncos

Seth Olsen G 2 Iowa

Detroit Lions

Jared DeVries DE 12 Iowa

Amari Spievey DB 0 Iowa

Green Bay Packers

Bryan Bulaga T 0 Iowa

Houston Texans

Trey Stross WR 0 Iowa

Indianapolis Colts

Pat Angerer LB 0 Iowa

Dallas Clark TE 8 Iowa

Mitch King DT 1 Iowa

Bob Sanders SS 7 Iowa

Jacksonville Jaguars

Sean Considine SS 6 Iowa

Reggie Hayward DE 10 Iowa State

Aaron Kampman DT 9 Iowa

Brad Meester C 11 UNI

Kansas City Chiefs

Tony Moeaki TE 0 Iowa

Casey Wiegman C 15 Iowa

Miami Dolphins

Tim Dobbins LB 5 Iowa State

Minnesota Vikings

Chad Greenway OLB 5 Iowa

Marcus Hamilton WR 0 Iowa State

Sage Rosenfels QB 10 Iowa State

Benny Sapp DB 7 UNI

Albert Young RB 2 Iowa

New England Patriots

NONE

New Orleans Saints

NONE

New York Giants

Scott Chandler TE 3 Iowa

New York Jets

Shonn Greene RB 2 Iowa

Matt Kroul DT 1 Iowa

Oakland Raiders

Robert Gallery G 7 Iowa

Brandon Myers TE 2 Iowa

Philadelphia Eagles

Ellis Hobbs DB 6 Iowa State

Austin Howard T 0 UNI

Pittsburgh Steelers

NONE

San Diego Chargers

Nate Kaeding K 7 Iowa

San Francisco 49ers

NONE

Seattle Seahawks

Colin Cole DT 8 Iowa

St. Louis Rams

Bradley Fletcher CB 2 Iowa

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NONE

Tennessee Titans

NONE

Washington Redskins

Alvin Bowen LB 1 Iowa State

Chad Rinehart G 3 UNI

It’s been a rough start for the Belle Plaine baseball squad and their first year head coach, Scott Janss. The Plainsmen have a 1-6 record so far against a conference slate that the coach says should be pretty balanced this year.

After a 4-2 loss in the season opener to Keota, the Plainsmen dropped a 12-5 decision to Tri-County, a 16-6 loss to Iowa Valley and a 7-6 loss to HLV. Then came the offensive highlight of the season as the Plainsmen pounded out 17 hits in an 18-14 decision over North Mahaska.

Dustin Drexler had three hits, including a homer and drove in three runs. Devon Parr also had three hits with four rbis and a double. Cooper Northrop drove in two with a homer. Lance Hinschberger had three rbis and Scott Wheeler doubled and drove in two.

Two days later, BGM handed the Plainsmen an 11-0 defeat and then Sigourney also prevailed, 8-5.

Janss, who spent the last five years as the assistant coach, says he has always wanted to have a shot at the head baseball coaching position. He said he would have taken the job even if his kids weren’t playing. But it is a real family affair, as graduated senior Chris Janss is the ace on the mound and his older brother, Brandon, a Coe College student and Plainsman grad, is the assistant coach.

There is a lot of experience on this team, as 11 of the 22 men on the roster are returning lettermen. But the coach says he realizes that a good program is built on nurturing younger talent. The Belle Plaine junior varsity has had a winning record for the last six years. He says positive attitudes and supportive parents are key to bringing success to the Plainsman program.

This year, the SICL could be a very balanced league. Currently, Sigourney and BGM sit atop the conference with seven wins each. Two other teams have five wins and three have just one win each.

If the Plainsmen are able to turn it around in the next three weeks, they could have some success in the postseason. In the last two years, in district action they have had to face Solon on the Spartans’ field. Each year, Solon went on to advance to the state tournament. This year, the Plainsmen will travel to Brooklyn on July 10 to face East Marshall in the first round of district action.

By Jeanne Duffy

BP Community Development Executive Director

This week I decided there must be a secret society in Belle Plaine with a challenge to see who can create the most beautiful yard with gorgeous flowers, nicely mowed yards and patriotic additions.  Such a welcome  relief without 115 degree Phoenix weather and while your plants wilt, you sadly blow leaves off  your rock yard. Yes, I love rainstorms, thunder, and windy days.  We’ll address snow much later in the year.

Here is a great opportunity. We would like to get a day care started in Belle Plaine.  This is not meant to put any babysitters who work out of their home out of business but more like perhaps two or three home sitters who’d like to join in and work jointly with others to add a much needed business to our town.  Space is leasing only. It would be certified by the state and have many amenities which are sometime difficult to organize if one person is doing it all.  In fact, there is a potential of two buildings I can think of that could be used for this purpose. Just an idea that could easily become a reality.  If you are interested, please call me at 319-434-6481.

We can share ideas.

Officials with the City of Belle Plaine have announced that 11^th Street from 8^th – 9^th Avenue and 9^th Avenue from 11^th – 12^th Street will be closed to traffic until the storm sewer project in the area is complete.

When Belle Plaine’s new aquatics center officially opened recently, four generations of a family with past and probable future ties to the facility were there to give it a try.

Billie Tubaugh was one of the first to take swimming lessons at the old pool. Her daughter, Gloria Feuerbach, has given swim lessons and conducted water aerobics classes for many years at the local pool.

For the grand opening day, both women were there to inspect the new center, joined by Gloria’s husband, John, their son, Shannon and his son, Preston.

The new center includes a zero entry level for the younger set, so Preston should have no problem having fun this summer. It also provides ample room for the aerobics and swim lessons, as well as a new water slide, diving boards and areas for lounging in the sun.

City officials indicated earlier this week that the aquatics center was a busy place during the first week and the number of season passes sold this year is nearly double the number sold in each of the last two years.

The recent opening of Belle Plaine’s new aquatics center drew four generations of

a local family with strong ties to local aquatics. John Feuerbach, left, holds his

grandson, Preston and is joined by his wife, Gloria, her mother Billie Tubaugh and

John and Gloria’s son, Shannon.