August 25, 10:10 a.m. – A stray dog was reported in the 700 block of Ninth Avenue. Eric Doty, Belle Plaine, was cited for allowing his dog to run at large.

August 26, 6:50 a.m. – An attempted burglary was reported at 1005 Eighth Avenue, where a screen had been pried off a window.

August 26, 2:49 p.m. – Colleen Stanerson, Belle Plaine, was arrested at 1309 Seventh Avenue on an outstanding warrant from Iowa County for failure to appear. She was turned over to the Iowa County Sheriff’s Department.

August 29, 1:26 a.m. – No charges were filed as a result of a domestic disturbance at 902 Sixth Avenue.

August 29, 6:48 p.m. – Phone harassment was reported at 510 13^th Street.

August 29, 10:25 p.m. – Reckless driving in the parking lot was reported in the 900 block of First Street. Officers were unable to locate anyone.

August 30, 9:28 a.m. – No arrests were made as the result of a report of a domestic disturbance at 510 13^th Street.

August 30, 11:20 a.m. – Alan Dvorak reported someone had driven through his properties in the 800 block of Sixth Avenue. Anyone who may have witnessed this should contact the Belle Plaine Police Department.

August 30, 11:45 a.m.- Ambulance assist at the Belle Plaine Bowl.

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

The first full week of the school year means a return to plenty of activities this week. The JV football team travels to HLV tonight at 6 p.m. This is a change from the activity calendar.

Tuesday, the cross country teams are set to travel to IMS for a meet starting at 5 p.m.

The ninth and tenth grade volleyball teams will be in action Tuesday at BGM with Montezuma, starting at 6 p.m. This is a change from the activity calendar.

On Friday, the Plainsman football squad will host Lone Tree for a Parents’ Night contest starting at 7 p.m. Then on Saturday, the varsity volleyball squad swings into action at North Tama, starting at 9 a.m.

As a reminder, due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 6, the Belle Plaine City Council will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 7, at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

Belle Plaine will be the site of one of two Women to Leadership Conferfences in September. The conference will be held Sept. 18, with registration from 9-9:30 a.m. and the conference scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Belle Plaine Community Center. A second conference will be held at the Muscatine Hotel Ballroom on Oct. 16.

Rep. Dawn Pettengill (R-Mount Auburn) was challenged last year during debate on the gender balance bill.  “Mandates aren’t the way to go.  Skill development, mentoring and networking are the real solutions and I will do something to address the need that way.” says Pettengill.

In 2009, Pettengill and her Steering Committee hosted the first W2L Women to Leadership Conference.  The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Conference topics include leadership development, media relations, image, balance and social networking.  Numerous speakers, panels and skill presentations are on the agenda, with women leaders from all areas of the state confirmed to attend.  There will be many opportunities to network.

Participants are encouraged to bring materials for their particular business or interest to share at those times.

Sponsors of the events are the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women and multiple businesses and organizations, who are participating and donating to door prizes and gift bags.  “The events have received great support from the community and amazingly, this year, we are taking it on the road all the way to the Mississippi,” said Pettengill.  “I am committed to helping all people be engaged and successful, not only women. This is a commitment everyone can get behind.”

The conference fee is $25.00 and includes the conference materials and a gourmet lunch provided by Divine Decadents, Shellsburg.  For conference registration, you can send your name, address, phone, email, number of participants and conference fee to W2L, PO Box A, Mount Auburn, IA 52313 by September 10, 2010.  If you have questions, you can contact Dawn at 319-610-3412 or dawnpettengill@gmail.com.

Belle Plaine City Administrator Bill Daily attended “Rhythms of Revitalization”, the 24^th annual Iowa Downtown Summit held August 24 and 25 in Davenport.

During the summit, prominent downtown development experts from across the U.S. provided training sessions designed to help attendees acquire practical information and ideas, and learn strategies for historic preservation-based commercial district revitalization that is relevant to rural, mid-sized and urban communities.

Daily attended sessions on marketing and child friendly downtowns presented by national, Midwest, and local experts in downtown development.  Daily was also a guest presenter on Re-inventing Your Downtown in relation to Belle Plaine’s pending Façade Master Plan Project.

“Iowa has been at the forefront of the move to revitalize city cores as cultural and entertainment hubs and retail centers,” said IDED Director Bret Mills. “This year’s summit gave city officials, economic development professionals and others with a stake in downtown revitalization a chance to share their best ideas and success stories necessary to move Iowa forward.”

“I have been attending the Downtown Summit for five years now and I must say that it is the best conference I have found in relation to downtown revitalization.  It certainly was an honor to be invited to share with people from across the state the efforts and accomplishments that Belle Plaine has achieved over the last many years.  This Summit gives me the opportunity to continue to build a network of professional resources that can assists us with our downtown revitalization efforts.  I would encourage anyone that has a sincere interest in downtown to take advantage of this opportunity and attend the Summit, it’s open to all,” stated Daily.

The Summit was sponsored by Iowa Department of Economic Development’s Iowa Downtown Resource Center (IDRC), and the Federal Home Loan Bank, Des Moines, with additional conference contributions provided by MidAmerican Energy.

The IDRC coordinates the Main Street Iowa program, provides fee-based services to all Iowa communities, and has an extensive resource library on downtown revitalization tools and techniques.  For more information, visit www.iowalifechanging.com/community, e-mail downtown@iowa.gov, or call 515.725.3058.