There’s no escaping it. For the next couple of months, we will be bombarded with claims and counter-claims, filled with truth, half-truth and outright lies. Unfortunately, that’s what election time has become in this country.

If you listen to an election news report in the coming weeks for five minutes and you don’t hear something about same sex marriage, you probably have somehow tuned in a report from Mars. It seems that way too many candidates for different offices have abandoned taking the true high road and have decided to take the easy road in campaign rhetoric. You can usually spot them. They’re the ones whose mouths are wide open, faces beet-red with one or two veins popping out on the sides of their heads. In most cases, they vow to make same sex marriages illegal in this country.

I’ve written in this space before about my beliefs on the subject. I may or may not agree that two people of the same sex should marry, but I do believe that the government should not be making that decision. If two people agree that they want to make a lifetime commitment to each other, the only thing the government should do is affirm that right – not through marriage, which is best handled in a church – but by a civil union document.

The arguments for and against same sex unions seem so simple. But when you get Washington or Des Moines involved, suddenly it becomes very complicated. Unfortunately, that’s how so many of our laws are. For instance, do away with the state and federal income tax and replace it with a sales tax that can’t be tampered with through exceptions by the legislature or Congress and suddenly our state and national representatives could cut their time in Des Moines or Washington by about half.

Why is it that so many of us have to have some cause to become completely insane about? Ask someone who is campaigning against allowing same sex unions how granting this right will be harmful to them and they will say that it harms traditional marriage. With this nation’s high divorce rate, how is same sex union any worse? Ask any of these zealots if they would ever try to tell someone if they should be a Catholic or a Baptist or a Lutheran and they would say that should be left up to each individual’s conscience. So why should same sex unions be any different?

I have a theory about why there is so much talk about this subject on the campaign trail. The candidates whose main goal is to deny this right are not equipped to solve many of this country’s more pressing problems. We don’t know how to solve this nation’s economic problems, but we do know if we prohibit same sex unions, the world will be a brighter place. We might jump on the wacko bandwagon which is still questioning whether our president was born in this country, but we don’t have a clue on how we can bring an end to terrorism.

We all need a project of some kind. It’s one way to give us a purpose for getting up each morning. All I’m saying is our project should not tread on the rights of others. Maybe we don’t have an answer on how we can end our involvement in Afghanistan. But a lot of us know someone who is deployed in that region. Why not channel some of our energy to raising funds and helping to pack care packages for the soldiers? If you don’t have the resources or the time to help in this way, you certainly have a moment to pray for their safe return.

On a lighter note, if you are a conspiracy nut, why not investigate why companies, especially food companies, are decreasing the amount of product they are selling us for the same money as before. A half-gallon of ice cream is now 1.75 quarts. A pound of coffee is now just over 11 ounces and falling. There’s more water in that can of green beans or tuna than there was a few years ago. How’s that for a conspiracy?

If you still insist on participating in this crazy election game, go to rallies or town meetings of legislative or congressional candidates and if there is a question and answer session, ask the tough questions. Ask them about their plan on improving our state or national economy and putting us all back to work. Ask the Congressional candidates what is their plan for ending our war in the Middle East. Ask them if they endorse a simplified revenue system, such as the national sales tax, etc.

If they don’t have a ready answer and insist on returning to the same sex argument, get up and leave.

After experiencing nearly 50 first days of school, first as a student and later as a reporter, I’ve realized that some things never change. If you pay close attention when you walk into a school building that first day, you will notice a pleasant smell of clean and sometimes fresh paint. The floors are buffed to a mirror finish.

Belle Plaine’s students will have so much more to experience this week as they make their way back for the start of the 2010-11 school year. A more than $9 million facelift and expansion is nearing completion at Longfellow Elementary School and what is now Belle Plaine Junior-Senior High School. Last week, I had a chance to take a tour of both buildings. One of the first things I noticed in both buildings is just how bright and airy the buildings are. There’s a lot of new windows at both buildings. They’ll probably have to deliver Windex by the tanker load this year!

At Longfellow, I noticed the hallways and wondered if the track and wrestling coaches had any ideas of using them for sprint work in bad weather. The expanded main hall at Longfellow is really long!

Actually, the first thing I noticed when walking into the Longfellow building was how cool it is inside. Both buildings are now air conditioned, which should really help the concentration level in the first month of the school year. I remember visiting teachers in some of those classrooms at Central and the old junior high building early in the school year, wondering how they could work in such heat and how any learning was accomplished.

Over at the high school, there have been plenty of improvements as well. Finally, the main office is just inside the front door, not socked away in a windowless, basement level area. When plans for the renovation and expansion were underway and it became apparent that the offices would be relocated to the main level, whenever I called the high school, I only half-jokingly reported to the secretary what the weather was like, since they didn’t have any windows to the outside from their old office.

Band and chorus students now have a wonderful center to create beautiful music including a larger rehearsal hall, instrument storage area and practice rooms in a new wing of the building.

Our tour group visited a renovated classroom on the library level that is now a science lab. Now, there are work stations for more than 20 students to conduct various science experiments.

Other high school improvements include more classrooms, renovated locker rooms and an elevator – something that has been needed in that building since the day it first opened. At Longfellow, students will notice a great resource center (library) and a larger gym/lunch room with a stage at one end.

The improvements and changes to the facilities in this school district are indeed historic and past due. The changes should have a profound impact on the future of this community. Administrators and board members have devoted a lot of time consulting with architects and contractors to get thing right. Seeing what they have had to deal with makes the report I read from Los Angeles even more mind-boggling.

Next month, 4,200 students in one section of Los Angeles will be going to a new school complex. The Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools cost $578 million. The district has two other complexes under construction, one with a $377 million price tag and the other a mere $232 million. School officials explain that construction costs in Los Angeles are the highest in the country. The price of real estate, seismic construction, etc. At one site, they had to spend $17 million on a methane gas mitigation system after a methane gas field was discovered on the property.

The three schools mention are only three of 131 currently under construction in the Los Angeles School District. They are being funded through $20 billion in bonds and are being built despite a $640 million shortfall in the district’s general fund.

Seeing the wonderful new facilities in our district makes all this information on the Los Angeles Schools mind-boggling. But I doubt even 131 new schools in that community will have the impact on the whole area that our new facilities will have here.

It will be an adventure getting to the Longfellow building in the first few weeks with construction continuing and the narrow Seventh Street in front of the school probably the busiest two-block stretch of pavement in town. But the students should definitely enjoy the improvements. We have a veteran teaching staff and the teachers and administrators deserve the better working conditions.

Once again, the voters in the Belle Plaine district came through in their approval of bonds for these much-needed building projects. We should all be proud of the results. Good luck to all of the students, teachers, administrators and parents of our district this year. Let’s make it a good one!

www.boredfactoryworker.com

by Jeff M. Brown

“In a man’s middle years there is scarcely a part of the body he would hesitate to turn over to the proper authorities.” – E.B. White

“I can think of some body parts, one in particular, that I wouldn’t want to turn over to anybody.” – Jeff Brown

Where no Man has Gone Before

(Part I)

As I write this column, I’m literally starving to death. All I’ve had to eat today is a pop sickle and a couple Jolly Ranchers. That’s about to change, however, because I’m about to eat lunch: a steamy hot cup of chicken broth. Oh, yeah, look out tummy here it comes!

Perhaps the lack of sustenance is causing me to be a little over dramatic, but I’m light-headed and I swear I can feel my strength, my very life force, slowly slipping away. I’m sure I won’t be able to type for very much longer because the caloric demand of striking the keys is stealing energy from my brain. Soon, I’ll forget to breathe. The resulting lack of oxygen will most certainly cause me to lapse into a coma. I’ll probably die right here in front of the computer, hopefully, long before the procedure for which I am preparing for takes place.

Am I trying to lose weight? No. (My wife says she wants me to bulk up, but that’s fodder for another column.) Am I on a hunger strike in support of President Obama taking yet another summer vacation? (Hey, my president needs to be thoroughly rested and fresh before his next golf outing.) Certainly not. What I am doing is getting ready for something so unspeakably horrible that space aliens and human doctors normally render their victims, er patients, unconscious for the act.

I’m having a colonoscopy tomorrow.

According to the literature my doctor gave me, a colonoscopic examination is done by “inserting a long flexible lighted tube into the rectum and beyond.” It’s the whole “and beyond” part of that sentence that is especially disturbing to me. It almost sounds Star Trekish. Jeff’s Colon, The Final Frontier. The mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Frankly, I’d like to keep it that way.

Imagine this…

It’s early morning and you flip on the TV to see what’s going on in the world. Sure enough, there’s breaking news and a familiar Fox anchor holding a microphone says, “This is Geraldo Rivera reporting live from Jeff’s colon. This is truly an amazing day folks. Finally, after all these years, I think I’ve found the true location of Al Capone’s treasure.”

The whole point of having a colonoscopy is to look for polyps, which, I believe, are closely related to voles. My doctor says they’re the last things you want running around unchecked inside your colon. If a polyp is discovered during the examination, according to my patient information sheet, “a thin snare wire is passed through the colonoscope and the polyp is encircled. The snare is tightened and an electric current is passed through the wire, which cuts off the polyp.” The polyp (or vole) is then brought out of the colon and sent to the exterminator for further examination.

What I’m really worried about are possible complications of the colonoscopy and polypectomy (vole removal). They include perforation of the colon (jagged, gaping holes caused by the colonoscope crossing the center lane and skidding out of control), hemorrhage from the colon (mass exodus of polyps out the hole and into other areas of my body such as my cerebrum), and side effects due to the medicines that are given (sedatives, which I hope are given to me in extremely large quantities because I absolutely, under no circumstances, want to be awake for this). “In very rare circumstances,” says my literature, “death could result from a complication.”

That is, of course, if I survive the starvation diet and impending colon cleansing (an oxymoron if I ever heard one) which I have to perform in a few short hours.

To be continued…

A couple of weeks ago, the Belle Plaine Board of Education spent a considerable portion of its monthly meeting going over the new student handbook with a magnifying glass. With several pairs of eyes looking over the draft for the new handbook, especially the junior-senior high guide, the board members were able to spot some words that changed the meaning of a particular entry, tightened up the language and seemingly sent a clearer message to the students what behavior is expected of them in the upcoming year.

As I observed their deliberations, I realized that while it was a necessary exercise, in a way it was too bad so much time and effort has to be devoted to telling students of that age what is expected of them. I guess when you get to be my age and you realize that you could have grandchildren in high school, some of the things that are spelled out in the handbook seem really obvious.

In my dealings with young people over the years, I have grown to marvel at how so many of them are able to juggle so many aspects of their lives with ease. Some of the best students in school are also involved in one or more extracurricular activities and may also hold down a part-time job while still maintaining some sort of social life. I guess that even as these students show the maturity to budget their time wisely to succeed in school, they still need the reminders outlined in the handbook and board policy to keep them on track.

Again to us older folks, at least those of us who haven’t ever worn an orange jumpsuit with a number across our chest, it would stand to reason that you should wait until you are legally allowed to have a beer. When you walk in the front door of the high school, you should realize that it is a place of learning and your teachers and parents have the expectation that you will learn something while in class and not just cruise through the day waiting for the start of sports or play practice.

The board spent some time reviewing the cell phone usage part of the handbook. When I was in school, if you needed to call home to get your mom to bring your forgotten homework to school, you had to go to the office a beg to use the phone. Now, everybody is wired not only to others with a phone, but in many instances to the World Wide Web as well. The natural reaction would be to prohibit possession of cell phones by all students in school. But I know if I had been a parent of a student in Colorado a few years ago, I would have felt a whole lot better if my kid had called me on his cell phone telling me he had successfully been evacuated from Columbine High School.

As the dialogue continues on how to improve our educational system, many government leaders and educators keep coming back to the value of the positive influence on the home front. Many kids today come from broken homes where the remaining parent has to work extra hours to make ends meet. Unfortunately, some kids come from homes where the parent will dismiss some disturbing behavior by their kids with the comment, “Well, kids will be kids. You should have seen what we did when we were their age!”

There are other parents, and I’ll admit I fell into this group, who really wanted to be a part of the educational process with their kids. But we realize that we are paying a bunch of teachers to teach our kids. Some of us grumbled when our kids were younger when bad weather caused the schools to be closed, since we had to find someone to watch our youngsters during the work day.

What educators and government officials are trying to tell us is that in an era of increased competition for a place in a good college or for a good job, neither attitude will work today. And I guess that’s why school officials still have to spend time making sure the language in the student handbooks is as precise as they can make it. At some point, you hope the kids will wake up and realize they won’t make it in the world if they use their cell phone to message a friend and cheat on a test, or crack open a few beers on the weekend or put off getting help with their school work if they don’t understand an assignment.

In a few short weeks, our students will enter newly renovated school buildings to start the 2010-11 school year. (Just typing those numbers make me feel very old!) Here’s hoping everyone will follow the rules and have a fun and successful school year!

To the editor:

Wow! What a rainy, hot, and quick moving summer this 2010 is having! I wrote a letter to the local newspapers regarding many ongoing hot topics in Belle Plaine during the loved month of December. Those topics included the ongoing main street renovations, Benco Manufacturing closing, Belle Plaine beautification programs, along with the election of Jason Parizek to the Belle Plaine City Council. I plan on touching up my thoughts with these and adding some more topics to the fire.

First, I would like to welcome back James Kurvoski to the council chamber. Its great having another humble person on our council again. The outcome of Parizek’s ‘time’ on the council was disappointing. I regularly attend city council meetings and in my last letter showed support for Parizek after the election. I supported his views on community topics. It was disappointing seeing the third wards man seat empty frequently. The outcome was pretty substandard and honesty irritating. I could continue to ramble about this subject, but I’m not going to. I hope Jason has a successful future with his life and expansion of his popular new business! Good Luck!

Secondly, Benco is now closed and frankly I still haven’t heard any news updates on refilling the building. I raised the question if this was the city’s top priority to do. Meanwhile I would imagine talks have been held behind closed doors, I would like to ask if this is the top priority? Getting jobs into this community? Yes downtown updates are a necessity and have my support 100%, however, the downtown should be second priority, with job creation being top priority. Recently  $10,000 went to the support of a new ‘park.’ I think the need for a prairie park for educational purposes is a great idea. But I think most city taxpayers wouldn’t want public funds going towards the project. I believe most taxpayers would like to spend $10,000 on a job creation study, or $10,000 to pay down the Benco bill to resell it. Great idea? I give good luck to the prairie park and applaud the hard working people involved with the project.

The main street is inches away from having a much needed upgrade! I’m sure our city personnel are ready to get this never-ending project complete and out of their hair. It seems like this downtown revitilation has been ongoing since dirt was created.  So all I can address regarding the downtown and the community is to brace yourselves, deconstruction and reconstruction is on the way! Now, I would like to spread the wealth, oh sorry I turned into Obama there for a brief second.  I would like to welcome Kyle Spading as Park and Recreation director, and thank Joel Formanek for many great years of service. There are some things I thought I would bring up regarding campgrounds, the police department, our July 4^th celebration,  and other little things hopefully readers can catch up on.

Regarding campgrounds, I believe the current suggested area for Franklin Campgrounds is indeed not too fastidious. In my opinion I think campgrounds would be a nice addition to the land near the aquatic center, or upper Franklin Park. What the heck when someone camps up there throw in a free admission to the aquatic center, which would be a polite thing to do and show off to outsiders what Belle Plaine has to offer. Regarding the aquatic center I believe it was a beautiful addition to the community. I have heard mixed opinions regarding the aquatic center, but the community did their best with the funds available and future additions may be necessary.

The city recently accepted the resignations of two Belle Plaine policemen.  I attended the meeting where is was approved, and I just wanted to comment that unexpected events do pop up and I also agree policemen should stay around until their contracts are complete. Maybe changes are needed to those contracts to make them shorter?  The city just purchased a new police car and I just wanted to point out that a SUV would be a great addition to the department during the next the rotation. We have fun winters here in Iowa and cars are not always the most dependable when there is ten feet of snow outside.

The July 4^th celebration was another busy day in town. The weather worked with us (surprisingly) and I think the best part was the car show and cruise. Much improved and was the best Belle Plaine has ever held! Many people think a much improved midway, co-ed softball tournament, and a big time concert after fireworks are some things the committee should look into. These where some things I spoke with people about upgrading our July 4^th events.

Finally,  I would to thank the community for the support during my Student Body President days during last school year. I received plenty of positive feedback for the Kirk Ferentz and Sen. Grassley visits, and the other subjects I was involved in! So I thank the many who supported me! I am still deciding whether to attend school for politics or something else…wish me luck.

Sincerely,

Anthony T. Jones

by Duronda Schlue

Plan, Pack, and Dress Wisely

Take time to analyze what your agenda will be on your trip. Select clothes that can be mixed and matched. Take less than you think you will need. Wear comfortable shoes and only pack one additional pair.

Lay all items out on the bed and visualize what you have to mix and match. Add accessories in this procedure. Then pack accordingly.

Put all liquids (small 3 oz. bottles, small jars) in 1 quart size zipper locked bag. Push bottle in slightly before capping and spillage will be less. You are allowed only one for carry-on. Pack others in checked bag.

Put all medications in a see-through bag. You will not have to show this to the agent, but it makes scanning easier for the agent of Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Roll all items. You will waste less space and wrinkles are minimal.

Dress comfortably in layers. You will find some airports and planes are cooler. You will appreciate the sleeves.

Carry-on luggage should contain all medications. NEVER pack medications in bags to be checked! Other items in carry-on might include book or magazine, address book, and container for itinerary, boarding pass,  and ticket. When reservations on made on-line or on the phone, the passenger usually is not issued a hard copy of the ticket. The gate agent will give you what you need.

Name tag on outside of all pieces whether you are checking them or carrying them on the plane. Place index card inside each luggage piece with the same information.

Arrive  one and ½ hours prior to take off for domestic flights and 2 hours for international flights.

Check In – Have photo identification and give agent your name. You may also check in at the kiosk using a credit card. The machine will spit out your boarding passes, but the agent will tag your checked baggage and verify your identity.

Deliver checked bags to the screening machine. Bags should not be locked. After security your bag will be delivered to the your plane. Walk to passenger screening with boarding pass and photo id in hand.

Show documents. Agent will initial your boarding pass. Put id away and find trays for your to be scanned items.   (Hang on to boarding pass. You will still need it.)

a. Take laptop out of carry case and place in tray.

b. Take off shoes and jackets and put in tray including wallet, purses, personal items.

c. Take off metal items and place in dish or tray.

d. Put quart bag with liquids in tray.

7. With directions from the agent, walk through scanning device with boarding pass.

After items are scanned, the tray will appear at the far end. There you pick up your belonging. Make sure you have everything. Sometimes a passenger will be asked about his carry-on because the machine can’t identify items clearly. Every few passengers will be patted down. If you are a woman, a woman will do the patting. If you change departure aircrafts at the last minute or purchase a ticket at the last minute, you will be subject to more screening.

Find gate – The boarding pass holds important information: gate no. and boarding information. Boarding is usually arranged by plane zones. Look for words like “Group 2” or “Group B.” Boarding usually takes place 20-30 minutes prior to take-off.

Visit the bathroom, get a drink or snack and listen for your group to board.

Take off and landing – different noises or normal.

Once on board stow all hand luggage under the seat in front of you and/or in the overhead compartment. Seat should be upright. The lever is on the armrest and the seatbelt fastened. Seatbelt extensions are available upon request if needed. Bathrooms are usually found in the back, but if the fasten seat belt sign is on, no one is allowed to leave his seat. This is for safety.

Taking off is exciting as the plane rapidly progresses down the runway and gathers lifting speed. Once the speed is met the front of the aircraft will rise and “up, up, and away” begins. Remember the aircraft uses all its energy to get off the ground. In a few minutes if you listen carefully, you will hear the pitch of the aircraft change. It is a normal sound change. Don’t let it frighten you. All that take off power is not needed for cruising altitude.

Twenty plus minutes before landing, the wheels will come out of their storage area and will drop into place and lock. If you listen carefully, you will hear them. You will now begin your descent into the airport.  Usually a flight attendant will share gate information for connecting flights. This will save time and the diagram of the airport is usually found in the company magazine in the front pocket facing you. You may have to take an airport train to get to another part of the airport. Asking directions can save you valuable time and lessen the stress of traveling.

Remember that it is ok to ask questions. It is ok to be a little nervous; however, flying is safer than fighting the crazy drivers on our busy highways. When I began my flight attendant career with Pan Am in l966, I had only been on a few small prop planes. Through the years I have experienced many positive trips around the world. I, too, have asked someone in an airline uniform for help, who better to know an airport. If you have any flight questions, that I might help you with, please contact me at belleplainenow.com. I’m here to help because I think flying is exciting and fun, particularly take off!

by Jeanne Duffy

Belle Plaine Community Development Director

It’s so good to touch the green green grass of home. How I love Belle Plaine.  I love the drivers that greet you with the index finger wave above the steering wheel.  I love the greetings walking down the street.  I love tending to my tomatoes on the vine, one large and one small, my first ever.  And my flowers.  You can’t take the farmer out of an Iowa farm girl.

As we anxiously await the word from Des Moines on the two new grants so we can start the downtown renovation project, I am excited to see Belle Plaine return to its previous splendor.  I hear those who doubt it will happen but it will.  Bill Daily has worked beyond what I would think possible from one individual to make it happen.  Watching his dedication speaks volumes. He grew up here and he loves the town.

The Lincoln Café shall make it’s re-entrance in September.  Jimmy Lamoni and Kristy Tovar have worked hard to take this grand lady down to bare bones and make it a restaurant that will bring people from surrounding towns.   This means more shoppers for the downtown area.  No shortcuts are being taken on the Lincoln.   If you’ve been to King Towers in Toledo you know the type of food they serve and it’s just another statement of their “get ‘er done right.”

When I travel, people know Belle Plaine by the beautiful architecture downtown.  Look up as you walk through and imagine it restored to its original glory with windows replaced, bricks cleaned and current unuseable buildings restored.  Folks, it’s coming.

All the promises you heard will be kept after we jump through a few more hurdles, and hit the ground running.

By Duronda Schlue

Car Bingo can turn boredom into fun and games

Summer is always a good time of the year for a family outing. It helps if parents plan ahead with activities that can break a long car ride into a trip with conversation and observations of the sites outside the vehicle.

One of my favorites is Car Bingo.  Our family of four was about to embark on a two-day trip from New Mexico back to Iowa when my mother presented us with her version of car bingo as we departed on a two-day, 19-hour car ride from New Mexico to Iowa. Our children were 4 and 6.

We four all remember the game and the challenges presented when we could find many cows, but not a bull.  This bingo game can be easily modified and tailored to fit a family’s interests and location of the journey.

First create a grid with five squares across and five squares down. An adult tells the children what they are looking for outside the car. All objects should be shared verbally before starting.  Then the game begins. When the object is spotted, the person tells the rest of the family. The first to see the object gets his initials in the square. If there are older children, each could handle his own copy and let the referee in the front seat jot down each find. It works best if an adult can verify the find.

At the end of the game the person with the most answers wins. Prizes are optional. We found our children were truly engaged in the scenery and had a good time playing the car bingo game. The squares could be colored different colors when completed for a more creative step. An empty grid could be passed out and each child could illustrate each word from the bingo card. Here is our first bingo game from Meme.  I hope you will try it with your family. We loved it.

CAR BINGO

The flag raising ceremony, complements of the local American Legion post and

scout troop, signaled the official start of the afternoon festivities.

By Jeff Orvis

My favorite ball park in the whole world is Wrigley Field. If there was ever a baseball cathedral, that would be it. I have been fortunate to see a few games there over the years and only once, when I drove into Chicago by myself from Davenport, was the game rained out.

As much as I love Wrigley, I’ve become a fan of the new parks that have retractable roofs. To my way of thinking, it presents the best of both worlds. On great weather days, they open the roof and the game is played as it was invented. When Arizona temperatures reach the triple digits or rain falls in Milwaukee, they close the roof, crank up the air conditioning and those who have traveled all day to get to the ball park will not go home disappointed.

But this piece is not about baseball parks. I was thinking about those modern stadiums on July 4^th as I attended some of the wonderful activities we had in our great city. The weather was questionable all day and I began wishing there was some way we could put a retractable dome over the entire town so the activities wouldn’t be canceled due to rain.

As it turned out, there were a few showers during the day, but most of the activities went ahead as planned. And many people decided they didn’t want to be sidelined by a little rain. The crowd that lined the parade route Sunday morning was awesome! Later in the day, even with low-hanging clouds, Franklin Park was a beehive of activity. One of the annual highlights of the day was the spectacular fireworks display. Again, rain threatened to wash out that show. But hundreds of people turned out to watch at the park and at various parking spots near the park and the show went off without delay.

Most of us who have attended the local celebration over the years have a few favorite activities we don’t want to miss each year. But if you ever want to fully experience what is offered, vow to try something new each year. The number of things to see and do is almost staggering, from a hole-in-one contest to a 5K and mile run, car show, street dance, parade, various food stands in the park, carnival rides and games for the youngsters, swimming, basketball, volleyball, bingo, music, craft show, tractor pull, fireworks…not bad for a town of under 3,000 population.

Maybe I noticed all the activities offered more this year because it may be the last time I experience a Belle Plaine Fourth of July celebration. A pending change in careers will likely take me away from this city. Over the years, working first in Independence and then here, I’ve realized that the Fourth of July is a work day. There’s a camera in my hand most of the day. But my working involvement with the holiday includes writing a story or two before the weekend, covering various events that day, then editing pictures the days following.

But for those who plan this celebration, there are hundreds of hours of work before, during and after the celebration. I wonder if anyone has taken the time to add up all of the man-hours it takes to put on our annual celebration, including the organizers, the volunteers who work at the various booths and other venues, the fireworks crew, performers and many others.

If this wonderful celebration is to continue, it is vital that others step up and volunteer to help. While the folks who have worked on this day for several years undoubtedly love it, I’m sure there comes a time when anyone would wish to be able to do something with their own families and friends that day. So if you liked all the choices of things to do here in town last weekend, the best way to show your appreciation is to volunteer to help next year.

Meanwhile, if you sell a software company for a few billion dollars and wonder what to do with your sudden wealth, contact our city leaders about that retractable dome over the city.

While Vernon Blomme grilled and Bruce Gapstur assisted, the Rev. Jim Campbell

implored the crowd to try a “blessed burger.” Christ United Methodist Church was

in charge of the main food booth this year.

By: Brad Cook

Once again the Lion’s Club showed they know how to throw a birthday party, as the citizens of Belle Plaine celebrated 234 years of independence. The weather cooperated, for the most part, and a good time was had by all, with the fireworks finale concluding the day’s festivities. Throughout the day there was good food, a parade, tractor pulls, crafts, carnival rides, entertainment, volleyball, and of course more good food.

I don’t know who came from the farthest distance to celebrate this Fourth of July in Belle Plaine, but I did meet and talk to Earl Park (class of 65) who came all the way from his home in Hawaii to attend his class reunion and celebrate the holiday in his hometown. Hopefully fond memories were instilled in the children of Belle Plaine today that will bring them back to their hometown no matter where life takes them in the future.

God bless the U.S.A.