It’s hard to believe, but we are beginning the final week of October. We are nearing the start of a few weeks of transition from fall to winter high school sports. The community is gearing up for a great Halloween weekend.

This week, the library board meets on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the Belle Plaine Public Library. On Wednesday, the community center board will meet at 5 p.m. The Belle Plaine Partners for Beautification meets on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

The Halloween festivities begin Friday as the preschool and kindergarten students will trick or treat at downtown businesses Friday at 1 p.m. This is a half-hour earlier than listed on the school activity calendar, due to a one-hour early dismissal in the Belle Plaine schools that day.

Many of the youngsters will be back downtown Sunday from 5:15-6 p.m. for the Trunk or Treat promotion, sponsored by the Belle Plaine Community Development Corporation. The city’s official trick or treat hours are Sunday from 5-8 p.m.

The main thing on this week’s school activity calendar is the first round football playoff game. The Plainsmen will travel to Lisbon on Wednesday. Game time is 7 p.m.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

One student trip was approved but approval for another trip was postponed at Wednesday’s Belle Plaine Board of Education meeting. The board approved the 37^th annual Close-up trip to Washington, D.C. This year, nine seniors will participate in various activities April 3-8.

A request by Spanish instructor Katie Stull to take five or six Belle Plaine students to Mexico in March was tabled after one board member voiced concern over the cost and how students who could not afford the estimated $2,000 expense still be allowed to attend.

Jim Pierce asked if any fundraising activities had been planned to attempt to cut the cost for each student. He said the cost could limit participation and without proof of some fundraising activities, the board should not approve the request. The matter was tabled pending getting more information.

The board approved the resignations of Kurt Hinschberger, assistant wrestling coach and Cindy Felton, teacher associate. Hinschberger cited a job change in leaving the wrestling program after 14 years. His resignation is effective immediately. Felton also cited a change in her future in her resignation, effective Dec. 23.

A request for early graduation was granted for Curtis Rethman, who intends to work full-time.

In an attempt to get a better view of district spending, the board heard a report from Superintendent Bill Lynch about a recent meeting of the activity fund advisory committee which included teachers, coaches, activity sponsors, board members and administrators. The committee reviewed procedures for spending for all activities, as well as fund raising activities. It was suggested that when students are selling items for fundraising, they could inform the customer what percentage of the cost of the item would go to the activity so that the customer could choose whether to buy the product or perhaps make a direct donation for the activity.

Pierce thanked the staff for following the guidelines already in place for fundraising activities, but he suggested that a review policy be established with direct board input on such activities. Board member Marie Stratford added that the Belle Plaine School Foundation should also be involved. Pierce said there have been instances where staff members went directly to the foundation for fund requests without prior board approval.

In other routine business matters, the board re-elected Joyce Livermore as board president and Mike Bachelder as vice-president. Lynch was appointed chief negotiator for the district with Pierce and Stratford serving on the district negotiating committee. The Lynch Dallas Law Firm was retained for district legal matters.

Lynch reported that the district will be using funds from its portion of the Microsoft settlement for the purchase of several I-Macs, laptop PCs and software. The district will receive $105,609 and will purchase at least 21 of the I-Mac computers and 46 laptop PC computers, which will be used at the junior-senior high level. The funds will also allow for the purchase of various word processing and learning software titles.

In a new construction update, Lynch told the board that the gym floor has been installed at the Longfellow building. The floor has been sealed and painted with one final seal coat to be applied by the end of the week. He also said the junior-senior high school’s Iowa Communications Network classroom is nearly up and running. He said classes may be able to begin using the facility by the first part of November.

Board members also got their first look at a proposed storage room addition on the north side of the junior-senior high school gym. The room had been in the original building plans, but the board decided to build a larger room. The architects will be asked to change the design to include doors for loading.

The board also voted to change the date of the November meeting to Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 6:45 p.m. The state school board association convention begins later that week, which caused the change.

The following is the list this week’s winners in the Belle Plaine pro football raffle:

2010-2011 Week 6 NFL Raffle Results:

Highest

1^st Place      93 pts.       $350           Benita & Gil Rodriguez           Chula Vista, CA

2^nd Place      92 pts.       $125           Tara O’Leary                          Belle Plaine, IA

2^nd Place      92 pts.       $125           Donny Bearbower                             Jesup, IA

4^th Place      91 pts.       $ 60            Sharyl DeMeulenaere              Victor, IA

5^th Place      90 pts.       $ 50            Kim Hynek                              Swisher, IA

6^th Place      89 pts.       $ 26             David Coover                          Belle Plaine, IA

6^th Place      89 pts.       $ 26             Larry Kithcart                         Belle Plaine, IA

6^th Place      89 pts.       $ 26            Kelly Lorenz                            Marengo, IA

6^th Place      89 pts.       $ 26            Pamela Evans                          Argyle, IA

6^th Place      89 pts.       $ 26            Leah Mast                               Belle Plaine, IA

Lowest

1^st Place        18 pts.      $ 20            Steve Drexler                           Belle Plaine, IA

2^nd Place        26 pts.      $  8.33        Ralph Dodd                                      Geneva, IA

2^nd Place        26 pts.      $  8.33        Matt Miller                              Luzerne, IA

2^nd Place        26 pts.      $  8.33        Parrott Family                         Belle Plaine, IA

Oct. 12, 12:02 a.m. – Police were called to 912 Eighth Avenue on a report of a domestic disturbance. No charges were filed.

Oct. 12, 9:30 a.m. – A garbage can was reportedly stolen from 1004 16^th Street.

Oct. 12, 1:23 p.m. – Another garbage can was reportedly stolen from 904 18^th Street.

Oct. 13, 9:24 a.m. – A garbage can was taken from 1808 11^th Avenue.

Oct. 13, 12:18 p.m. – Vehicle unlock at 1403 Seventh Avenue.

Oct. 13, 6:45 p.m. – Daniel Allen Brodie, 39, of Belle Plaine was taken into custody on a Benton County warrant charging stalking, a Class D felony. He was taken to the Benton County Jail.

Oct. 13, 8:57 p.m. – Officers were called to 1002 Seventh Avenue on a report of a suicidal subject. Accompanied by Benton County Sheriff’s deputies, officers forcibly entered the residence where they found a subject armed with two long swords. An officer used his tazer to take the subject into custody. No officers were injured in the incident, but the subject sustained self-inflicted cuts on his arms. He was transported to St. Luck’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids by Belle Plaine Police.

Oct. 14, 12:03 p.m. – Officers responded to 701 Ninth Avenue after a Lifeline call. They found an elderly women who had fallen in her back yard. They assisted her and there were no injuries.

Oct. 14, 9:30 p.m. – Police are investigating a hit and run accident at 1305 Fourth Avenue where a parked car was struck.

Oct. 15, 1 p.m. – A barking dog was reported in the 1400 block of Fifth Avenue. The owner of the dog was located and warned.

Oct. 15, 1:57 p.m. – A home burglary was reported at 701 Tenth Street, where dresses, letters and possibly a stereo were taken.

Oct. 16, 1 a.m. – A runaway female juvenile was reported in the 600 block of Tenth Street. She was subsequently located and taken to a juvenile youth center in Cedar Rapids.

Oct. 16, 10:35 a.m. – Vehicle unlock at 414 11^th Street.

Oct. 16, 9:30 p.m. – James Larimer, 20, Belle Plaine was arrested following a traffic stop in the 1300 block of Second Avenue. He was a passenger in the vehicle and was charged with interference with official acts and transported to the Benton County Jail.

Oct. 17, 12:16 a.m. – William Daniel Snyder, 34, Belle Plaine, was charged with OWI-first offense following a traffic stop at the Belle Plaine Bowl parking lot. He was initially stopped for erratic driving. He was taken to the Benton County Jail.

Oct. 18, 6 a.m. – Ambulance assist in the 1300 block of 12^th Avenue.

Oct. 19, 7:37 a.m. – Officers investigated a parking complaint at Casey’s.

Oct. 19, 8:08 a.m. – Police received a report of a fire at Franklin Park. It was a controlled burn by park staff.

Oct. 19, 8:54 a.m. – Officers were called to Belle Plaine High School for a problem with a male student.

Oct. 19, 9:35 a.m. – Vehicle unlock at Casey’s.

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

Wheatland’s loss became Belle Plaine’s gain late last week when a caboose was placed on a short section of rails on property east of the Belle Plaine Museum. Museum officials indicated that it will be an important part of the preservation of the city’s railroad history. Following repainting and restoration, it is expected to be open to the public sometime next summer.

According to a story by Bill Wundram of the Quad-City Times, the caboose was described as a “Wheatland landmark” for 22 years. This summer, it was moved from the town of 732 about 30 miles west of the Quad-Cities. It had been owned by Roy Ganzer, who bought it from the railroad for $15,000 and installed electricity, heating and air conditioning. He estimated that he sold 5,000 different styles of belt buckles from the caboose over the years.

The caboose, which was built in 1950, weighed 48,000 pounds when Ganzer bought it. Since railroads began phasing out cabooses several years ago, many of them have been cut into scrap and this one was apparently sought by several communities.

On Friday, it was moved into position about 50 feet from the railroad tracks by two cranes and a four-man crew from Coonrad Cranes. Jay Hamilton of Hamilton Construction brought in rock for the base of the rails for the caboose.

Museum officials were happy to obtain the relic of past railroad times, saying it will be a “good anchor for that end of the property.”

In the wake of a directive from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources which closed its yard waste dump, the City of Belle Plaine appears poised to begin composting residential yard waste such as leaves, grass and tree limbs.

At Monday’s committee of the whole work session, the council heard a presentation from representatives of T&W Grinding and Compost Services of Delhi. The firm proposed grinding the yard waste material from a central site and ultimately turning it into compost material, which the city could either sell or give away. Residents would bring the material to an as yet to be determined location in the city and the firm would then come in with heavy machinery and grind it and continue the process of turning it into compost through return visits.

The representatives estimated that the cost to the city would be approximately $16,000 annually, including transportation costs from Delhi.

The council had also considered a proposal from Waste Management Corporation for residential pick-up of the material. But the councilmen were concerned with the requirements of bundling and limiting the size of tree limbs and the requirement of placing leaves and other such material in 35 gallon containers. The fee from Waste Management for this service would be $2 per household per month.

While it could not take formal action during a work session, it was the consensus of the council that staff be directed to work on a formal contract with the T&W firm. City Administrator Bill Daily said a $2 monthly fee on residential sewer and water bills would cover the cost of the service. Councilmen indicated that several residents had voiced support for the fee for the service.

The council also discussed a request from the new owners of the Lincoln Café for a curb cut to allow for parking on the north side of the building. But councilmen were concerned with traffic hazards which might occur if a curb cut was placed on Eighth Avenue so close to the intersection with 13^th Street. But they also said they want to work with the business owner to help with his parking concerns and they decided to continue studying it after the restaurant opens.

Daily indicated that the city is poised to continue its downtown sidewalk snow removal program. He said that while the city is not in the business of private property snow removal, removing it from the sidewalks in the downtown helps reduce the amount of snow shoveled onto the street.

During its formal meeting, the council approved a final retainage payment of $5,002.47 to Mechanical, Inc. for the aquatic center. It also approved a commercial interior grant of $1,835 toward the installation of new heating and air conditioning at the Oddfellows building. The grant followed a recommendation from the design committee.

During his report to the council, Daily said that most easements on downtown properties have been secured. The architects will be in town on Friday with final designs for façade renovations. He said that the target date for construction is April, 2011.

The council set Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. as its next work session.

A group of five girls from Belle Plaine, Vinton, and Watkins will be competing in the national championship of the Quiz Bowl competition as part of the Western National Roundup in Denver, Colorado in January, 2011.  The girls began their quest for the national championship by winning the state competition in Ames, Iowa in March of 2010.  This win followed the group’s second place finish a year earlier.  That finish gave them the opportunity to represent Iowa in the Quiz Bowl competition in Ohio at the National Quarter Horse Congress held in October of 2009.

The members of the Quiz Bowl team are; Emily Coover, Karly Kenney, Julie Long, Debbie Manternach, and Molly O’Brien.  They are asking for donations to help with the expenses of traveling to Denver and representing the state of Iowa in the National Quiz Bowl competition.  The team has already raised a portion of the funds needed by selling food and drinks at a horse clinic and at the Benton County Fair, holding a raffle at the Benton County Fair, and cleaning the animal stalls at the Benton County Fair.  Any donations would be greatly appreciated.  Donations may be sent to the Benton County Extension Office at 501 1^st Ave. Vinton, IA 52349.  Checks may be made payable to Benton County Horse Club.

Several of the girls have been competing in the state Quiz Bowl competition for the past four years.  Each year the team has improved in the final standings of the competition.   They are now ready to advance on to the national competition and represent the state of Iowa in Denver.  Years of practice and countless hours of studying have helped them to advance to the top competition.

The Quiz Bowl competition is held in conjunction with the state’s 4H program, Horse Jamboree, and is held in March of each year at Iowa State University.  Denise Schwab, former 4H leader and current leader of the group has served as the coach for the team.  She is now assisted by her son Tanner, a former Quiz Bowl participant.  The competition consists of teams answering questions relating to anything having to do with horses.  The girls must demonstrate knowledge in areas such as grooming, nutrition, genetics, breeds, diseases, and many other topics related to horse care and management.  The girls are all members of local 4H clubs and also belong to the Benton County Horse Club entitled BEHIP under the direction of Denise Schwab.  BEHIP stands for Benton Equine Horse Interest Program.  This is a new 4H club dedicated solely to the care and training of horses.  Club participants get the chance to learn about horses and to ride and practice safety and proper riding techniques.

It’s another busy week in and around Belle Plaine, both on the community and school fronts. The Belle Plaine City Council meets in committee-of-the-whole and formal session tonight (Monday). The first meeting begins at 5 p.m. with the formal session set for 6 p.m.

Items on the committee agenda include discussion of yard waste services, a curb cut request and downtown sidewalk snow removal program.

The highlight of a rather brief council agenda will be the city administrator’s report.

The Belle Plaine Board of Education will meet in regular session on Wednesday at the special time of 4:30 p.m. at Longfellow Elementary School.

The board is scheduled to consider travel requests by the Close-up group to Washington, DC and the Spanish students to Mexico. There’s also an early graduation request and the board will elect a president and vice-president for the year.

The Belle Plaine Community Development Corporation Board will meet on Thursday at 5:15 p.m.

With the end of October approaching, the school calendar this week is busy with postseason contests and end of season games. The JV football squad will travel to North Tama tonight at 6 p.m. The volleyball team opens regional action Wednesday at 7 p.m. against the Meskwaki Settlement School in Tama. The cross country district meet for boys and girls is Thursday at Starmont, west of Strawberry Point on Highway 3.

The Plainsman football team will attempt to secure a playoff spot Friday night when they host Montezuma for Super Friday.

Cooper Northrop scored 35 points and his team never trailed as Belle Plaine handed North Mahaska a 41-27 defeat Friday at New Sharon.

Northrop’s night included three receiving touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns, three extra point kicks and one two-point conversion catch. His team rolled up more than twice the number of yards in offense as the host team as the Plainsmen climbed to 3-2 in the district and 4-4 overall.

Northrop gave the Plainsmen the 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 38-yard run and the extra point kick. Later in the half, Logan Baburek connected with Northrop twice for touchdown catches of 20 and 11 yards to give the Plainsmen a 21-0 lead.

North Mahaska cut the lead with a 15-yard touchdown pass and later on a 33-yard field goal to make it 21-10 at the half.The Warhawks cut deeper into the Belle Plaine lead in the third quarter on a 15-yard touchdown run. But the conversion pass failed, leaving the Plainsmen in the lead, 21-16.

The third Baburek to Northrop scoring pass connection went for 25 yards later in the third quarter to make it 27-16. A second Chaz McBirnie field goal, this one from 27 yards out, moved North Mahaska closer, 27-19.

In the fourth quarter, Northrop scored his final touchdown from four yards out and caught the conversion mas to make it 35-19. But the Warhawks answered on a two-yard touchdown run and a conversion pass to make it 35-27.

The final score of the game came on Keegan DeMeulenaere’s 14-yard run for the Plainsmen.

Once again, seven Plainsman runners carried the ball. Kyle Janss had seven carries for 55 yards. Northrop had seven carries for 87 yards. DeMeulenaere had two for 17, Baburek had one for minus two, Devon Parr had 11 rushes for 72 yards, Ben Ehlen had two for 15 and Brett Hampton ahd five for 21 yards.

Northrop caught four passes for 57 yards, DeMeulenaere had three catches for 35 yards and Janss had one for 17 yards.

Northrop also punted twice for a 38-yard average.

Defensively, Reed Petersen had three tackles, Zach Snyder had four, Devin Conway had six, Brayden Morrow led the team with eight including two for loss, Parr had one with one for loss, Hampton had four with half a tackle for loss, Northrop had five, Tyler Williams had seven with two for loss, Chad Olson had two with a half-tackle for loss, Blake Chekal had four with one for loss, Garrett Rollins had four with one for loss and a fumble recovery, Ehlen had three with one for loss, a half-sack and a pass interception, Brett Stull had four with one for loss a a half-sack and DeMeulenaere had two tackles.

This week, Montezuma comes to town for Super Friday. The Braves fell to HLV last week, 28-13 and are 2-3 in district play, 4-4 overall.

Belle Plaine                  7                   14                   6                 14              -             41

North Mahaska          0                   10                   9                   8              -             27

BP                    NM

First downs                               16                       8

Rushing                                      37-261             37-100

Passes                                         7-14-1               4-14-1

Pass yds.                                    109                     74

Punts                                           2-38                   4-36

Fumbles                                     3-3                      1-1

Penalties                                    10-75                7-55

Mildred A. Sheda Behounek, 93, died Saturday, October 16, 2010 at the Belle Plaine Nursing & Rehab Center following a long illness. A mass of Christian burial will be 10:30 AM Monday, October 18 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church by Rev Mike Mescher and Deacon Joe Behounek. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 9:00 to service time on Monday.

She is survived by daughters, Connie (Joe) Dvorak of Clutier, Sue (John) Herriage of Olathe, KS and Joedy (Tom) Burton of Omaha; sons, Tom (Carol) Behounek of Montezuma and Joe (Francine) Behounek of Chelsea; also by 19 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.

A memorial fund has been established.