Mobile Home Sales in Creston, SC

City hall receives petition stating council either abandon request or send it to ballot

After multiple comments from the audience, letters in support and a petition asking Creston City Council to abandon the proposed McKinley pool project, council unanimously approved the latter during their regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday.

“I think we should respect MPAC’s wishes of what they asked us earlier and not call for a special election,” said council member Matt Levine. Terry Freeman second the motion which led to the vote to abandon the request. No council member publicly offered any explanation for their vote.

City Clerk Lisa Williamson and Mayor Gabe Carroll said the city received a valid petition at about 11 a.m. Monday with 209 signatures stating council to consider the options of abandoning by not taking any action on the contribution request or placing it on the November ballot. After the meeting, city officials could not specify who created or submitted the petition since multiple people were involved with leaving it at city hall.

The McKinley Park Aquatic Center committee had asked city council last month $487,000 to fund certain improvements to the pool as part of phase one of the project. The amount requested would not require a special election. MPAC members have raised 73% of the estimated cost. City of Creston and Union County contributions would also complement matching-grant applications. Council initially did not approve a public hearing on the matter, but reconsidered and scheduled one Tuesday.

Sam Baird, an MPAC committee member, said she was informed of the petition Monday. She does not want the project to be voted on by the people. The pool project was defeated by the voters in 2019 as it was one of three items on a ballot. Improvements to McKinley Lake and the library were also sent to a vote in 2019.

“It was never the intention to be on the ballot,’ she said about this year’s effort to avoid a repeat of 2019 and hurt the other projects. Baird claimed it was more cost effective to not be on a special-election ballot.

“We raised over $2 million to put back into this community and I can’t believe there is such support out there to turn that kind of money down. It’s like cutting off your nose to spite your face,” she said.

The lake improvements will be on the November ballot, and she said she in favor of that work.

Alisha Stehr said she supports the pool project and has lived in Creston since 2009. After her second child, she eventually realized the challenge of having two children of different ages with different swimming skills and interests at the Creston pool.

“One child wanted to be in a little bit deeper and the other in shallow water,” she said.

She has taken her children to Corning’s pool which she said has more convenient pool features in a more family-friendly environment. As her children have aged they still use the Creston pool, “But on (my) days off them wanting to venture off with to pools with lazy rivers, with more exciting water slides, high dives and other features our pool just doesn’t offer, again taking us out of town. The city needs to show its ownership.”

Several comments from audience members referred to using pools in Corning and Winterset for a better experience.

Kathryn Ralston encouraged council to make the contribution to the pool. Although her children suggested using pools in other towns because of friend’s suggestions, she resisted in support of Creston. She did say she has changed and has since visited other town’s pools since she was one of the few Creston families at the pool.

“We like to support local,” she said about she and her husband. ‘We have given time and resources to many projects including this one.”

Ralston said the pool planning considered convenience for those with mobility issues.

“They have a really hard time entering the pool,” she said about.

Ralston said the pool needs a family entrance where people who need assistance can appropriately enter with a family member rather than be forced to go through one of the gender changing rooms by themselves.

“If they are not able to enter independently the pool itself, it’s also challenge,” she said.

Ralston said she feels like the amenities in Creston “are disappearing.”

“It’s crucial the city invest in this project,” she said.

Calie Worlisek was one of the rare comments against the project, but for different reasons than financing. Staffing the pool is her concern. She is a former pool manager and has noticed lifeguards with certified training are taking higher-paying jobs elsewhere.

“We need staffing,” she said.

She claims Creston lifeguards are not compensated for their required courses. Guard training can cost more than $150 over a 28-hour course.

“The city doesn’t help reimburse those so that’s coming out of their pockets,” she said. “It’s hard to keep staff.”

“We can’t pay them,” she said. She claimed Ames pays up to $13 an hour with incentives to return.

She said the new proposed pool features require additional training for guards.

“With this new pool they have to have an extra certification,” she said about the aquatic center label. ‘It’s coming out of their pocket. It’s not fair to them.”

She said a water heater would benefit morning swimming lesson students. Guard stands needs to be secured in the floor with concrete, claiming how every time a person leaves the stand it weakens eventually causing a potential fall.

“It’s not safe for us. Some of the equipment at the pool needs updated,” she said.

“I’ve been to the park and rec boad and I have talked about these things. What they are doing is awesome, i just don’t agree with it,” she said about the committee’s motives.

But she also questioned the committee’s integrity.

“I don’t see these committee members coming to our pool. If you are going to fundraising for something, at least come support us with what we have. Don’t go out there and spend your money elsewhere. Show us that you want to stay in this community by coming to our pool.”

Jeremy Rounds, who is working on the fundraising for the pool, said a better facility will attract more people to work.

Union County Development Association Executive Director Wayne Pantini said the pool has not had any significant maintenance in 25 years.

“It will need significant reinvestment to remain a viable community asset. Without that reinvestment, city annual’s operations and maintenance costs will eventually increase exponentially. The time for that reinvestment is now. It is the fiscally responsible thing to figure out how to fund that 26 percent,” he said.

Creston Parks and Recreation Board member John Kawa said he supports the pool project and added the city has a great deal knowing about three-fourths of the project cost has been acquired. “The pool committee has worked very hard to get to this point,” he said.

Kawa said MPAC’s request is justified.

“Creston would pay 25 cents on the dollar. I don’t what the hell you’re going to get than a better deal than that,” he said. “If we allow a petition to run our council then petitions could become a common thing. I think this is a chicken (expletive) way to prevent progress.”

JOHN VAN NOSTRAND

An Iowa native, John's newspaper career has mostly been in small-town weeklies from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River. He first stint in Creston was from 2002 to 2005.

Hurry up and wait.

That’s the sentiment from Southern Iowa Rural Water Association General Manager Dan McIntosh about proceeding with plans to build a water treatment plant and other accessories.

Wednesday was a scheduled public hearing at their office west of Creston for the public to submit their opinions about the proposed work originally estimated at $54 million. There were no formal comments made to the SIRWA board. But SIRWA also didn’t gain any ground in their plans as the Iowa Department of Natural Resources still has not approved the treatment plans.

McIntosh said the board had also opened submitted bids for the project as scheduled, but since the DNR is still reviewing the proposal, no bids were approved. McIntosh said the bids were more than what was budgeted for the work. McIntosh said the lowest bid was about $70 million, more than what was budgeted. To respect the integrity of the bidding process since a bid was not formally approved, the Creston News Advertiser will not name bidding companies.

“It does not change anything,” McIntosh said about the delay in plan approvals and higher cost to build. “We are in hurry up and wait.”

McIntosh said the DNR first need to approve the plans which then can make SIRWA finalize its loan agreements with Rural Development.

“Then we will approve a bid,” he said.

Because of the increase in costs, McIntosh expects SIRWA to apply for additional loans from Rural Development.

McIntosh said it’s still possible for dirt work to begin on the project before the end of the year.

Other work includes water pipe improvements and a water tower. The water treatment plant will have a a capacity of 6 million gallons a day. New pipe will be a combined total of more than 9 miles. The water tower will hold at least 1 million gallons.

SIRWA purchases water from the city of Creston’s water treatment plant at Twelve Mile Lake. McIntosh said about 85% of SIRWA’s water is from Creston Water Works. Creston Water Works owns the water rights to Twelve Mile Lake while SIRWA owns the rights to Three Mile Lake.

The treatment plant was pursued after SIRWA’s growth using Creston City Water Works facilities. Creston and SIRWA had contractual agreements SIRWA using Creston’s water treatment plant at 12 Mile Lake and paying a percent of how much water was used. SIRWA had more customer growth than Creston’s. Both entities agreed SIRWA would pay for a percentage of maintenance of plant use but as SIRWA’s customers grew in numbers, so did its plant expenses.

SIRWA was paying about 75% of the plant operation, which created the idea to have its own water treatment plant. McIntosh said there are discussions for SIRWA and the Creston Water Works to adjust their contracts upon completion and use of SIRWA’s water plant, which is expected in 2023. Additional agreements are being discussed to share water sources and each entity supply each other finished water during emergencies or maintenance.

JOHN VAN NOSTRAND

An Iowa native, John's newspaper career has mostly been in small-town weeklies from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River. He first stint in Creston was from 2002 to 2005.

For the past 13 years, Jack Boes has had several school facilities, classrooms, mechanical systems, and more, to keep track of. At the end of this month, he’ll retire from Nodaway Valley Community Schools and Nick Thompson will take all that over.

Boes has learned the ins, outs, ups and downs of all three of NV’s learning centers, and three more in the CAM Community Schools, over recent years, as he is shared with 80% time spent at NV and 20% with CAM. His role at CAM is primarily an advisory one, however he does travel there often to resolve problems.

Boes said last spring that he is retiring. He has remained on staff through the summer to help Thompson, a 2004 Nodaway Valley graduate, get up to speed on what he needs to know.

Before coming to Nodaway Valley, Boes worked for the City of Fontanelle and in the plumbing and heating world, so coming to the school to oversee maintenance there seemed to be a good fit.

“The most rewarding part has been dealing with the people,” Boes said. “You try to keep things moving along, but what am I going to miss? The people.”

Boes said his job focuses on anything that is broken. If something breaks, staff will call him in and he’ll decide whether it’s a job he can tackle, or else he will have to call in the appropriate professionals to remedy it.

Boes manages Nodaway Valley’s four janitors. After working with someone who lived with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Boes was a pioneer for the district in finding environmentally friendly cleaning products to use that were far less harmful than the ones used before.

In addition to resolving problems on the day to day, a maintenance director also schedules and facilitates required annual inspections of systems such as the fire alarms, smoke detectors, sprinklers and boilers in each building.

A few memorable events stick out to Boes on his retirement, including an update to lighting in each of the buildings that made them more energy efficient, building the new elementary and learning all of the utilities involved there, and when the roof partially came off of the high school gym in a wind storm just before school started in 2019.

“That morning I came in, and I saw insulation on the south side of the building. At that point in time, I knew it was not a good thing,” Boes said.

While he attended school here and has been in the district’s buildings before, Thompson said it’s still going to be a learning curve, familiarizing himself with all of the nooks and crannies he’ll be dealing with daily. Boes will remain available even after he retires to help Thompson.

“I always had a knack for fixing things. It seemed like a good opportunity,” said Thompson, who added he likes that no day on the job is the same.

Boes can attest to that.

“You can come into work with a plan, but you always have in the back of your mind that certain jobs need done, but there’s always a [higher] priority that comes up that takes precedence,” he said.

Caleb Nelson

Caleb Nelson has served as News Editor of the Adair County Free Press and Fontanelle Observer since Oct. 2017. He and his wife Kilee live in Greenfield. In Greenfield and the greater Adair County area, he values the opportunity to tell peoples' stories, enjoys playing guitar, following all levels of sports, and being a part of his local church.

South Carolina's Catholic diocese has identified 42 priests "credibly accused" of child sexual misconduct or abuse.

The diocese released a list of the priests Friday afternoon. The list dates back to 1950. Most of the priests are dead.

None of the priests are still serving in the diocese.

Included among the accused is Hayden Vaverek, who worked at schools and churches in Greenville, Simpsonville, Anderson, Greenwood, McCormick, Myrtle Beach, Garden City, Moncks Corner, Bonneau and Hilton Head Island, according to records. Vaverek was accused of sexual abuse by a former St. Joseph's Catholic School student.

The church had previously settled many legal claims in a 2007 class-action lawsuit.

The diocese said it has defined "credibly accused" not as a finding of guilt but as an indication that the allegations seem credible or offer grounds to be believed.

A statement signed by Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone, the state's Catholic leader, said, "It is my fervent hope and prayer that publishing this list will help bring healing to the victims and their families who have been so grievously harmed by the betrayal of priests and Church leadership."

He urged prayers for all victims of sexual assaults.

The list includes four parts: priests employed by the diocese and accused of crimes within the diocese; visiting priests; diocese priests accused outside of the diocese’s borders; and priests whose actions led to settlement payments.

Half of the priests named were from within the diocese, and of those 21 priests, only four are alive. Two of those have been defrocked, or laicized. One of the others was put on administrative leave in 2002, the other retired also in 2002 with restrictions, according to the diocese's report.

There were seven diocese priests accused of crimes outside of the state.

Among eight priests identified by the diocese as facing allegations that led a mediator to agree to payments, seven are dead and the other left in 1983.

The only surviving priests to have actions taken against them in the last decade are Vaverek and Gabriel Smith. Smith is identified as having been a diocesan priest. He retired on Dec. 31, after the state diocese had publicly said they planned to release a list of credibly accused priests.

The release was delayed in February, and the findings were made public Friday afternoon.

The diocese has urged anyone to report suspected abuse to law enforcement.

Priests identified as 'credibly accused'

► Diocese priests accused within the diocese:

• Roy Aiken, deceased

• John Bench Jr., deceased

• Peter Berberich, deceased

• William Burn, deceased

• Eugene Condon, deceased

• Basil Congro, placed on administrative leave in 2002 and not allowed to function as a Catholic priest

• Raymond DuMouchel, deceased

• Thomas Evatt, deceased

• Justin Goodwin, deceased

• Frederick Hopwood, deceased

• Walter Pringle Lee, deceased

• Frederick McLean, deceased

• George Frederick Moynihan, deceased

• Daniel Francis Murphy, deceased

• Joseph Murphy, deceased

• James Robert Owens-Howard, deceased

• Gerald Ryfinski, laicized or defrocked in 2007

• Paul Seitz, retired in 2002 and under restrictions

• Charles Sheedy, deceased

• John Simonin, deceased

• Hayden Vaverek, laicized or defrocked in 2016

► Visiting priests or religious order members accused within the diocese:

• Juan Carlos Castano-Mejia, served prison sentence and deported

• Roger Collerett, unknown believed by diocese to have returned to Canada

• Anthony William Johnson, deceased

• James Nyhan, dismissed from ministry by Archdiocese of Boston

• Cesare Palatore Belfiore, unknown and believed by diocese to have returned to Costa Rica

• James Sharples, deceased

► Diocesan or religious order priests accused of incidents outside of diocese borders:

• Robert Joseph Kelly, unknown. Kelly, ordained in 1974, was a visiting priest from a Pennsylvania diocese and shares the same name as a South Carolina priest who is not accused

• Francis Landwermeyer, deceased

• John Mitchell, deceased

• Augustine "Austin" Park, deceased

• Gabriel "Gabe" Smith, retired from active ministry 12/31/2018

• Robert Spangenberg, deceased

• Thomas Tierney, deceased

► Priests listed because an arbitrator agreed to make payments in a class action due to allegations against them:

• John Eccleston, deceased

• Leon Joseph Hubacz, deceased

• Ernest Kennedy, deceased

• James McElroy, deceased

• Anthony Plikunas, deceased

• William "Bill" Richardson, left Catholic priesthood in 1983

• Frederick Suggs, deceased

• Creston J. Tawes, deceased

The classroom buzzes with the low hum of conversation mixed with concentration.

In one corner, senior Jacob Routh works on setting up a 3D printer. In another, sophomore Desi Osterhout and junior Cydney Seley sit on blue-green patterned armchairs, looking through Google Cardboard goggles that use smartphones to create virtual-reality experiences. At a long, markerboard-surfaced table in the room’s center, a group of students builds robots from Cubelets, box-shaped elements that use sensors to perform different functions. Another group builds circuits using a kit with snap-on pieces.

These students belong to one of Anthony Donahoo’s Environmental and Spatial Technology classes at Creston Community Schools. Better known by the acronym EAST, these classes combine the use of technology with community service.

This year, Donahoo’s EAST students are in the process of testing and discovering the new equipment in one of Creston’s two brand-new next-generation learning spaces, also called 21st century classrooms.

Creston Schools furnished the classrooms — one in the high school and one in the elementery/middle school — in partnership with the Green Hills Area Education Agency. The classrooms are two of the first constructed in southwest Iowa and will be used by teachers in the district beginning next week.

Each of the two rooms contains many of the same furniture elements: tables with markerboard tops and raised chairs, flat-screen TVs that can display images from students’ personal devices, cushioned areas for more relaxed activities, green screen areas for creating broadcasts, a Smart Kapp markerboard that transfers the board’s contents to digital devices, and an interactive projector.

Each room also has a closet full of technology like GoPro cameras, circuitry sets and robotics of all shapes, sizes and functions.

Finding what works

Stephanie Mikkelsen, Green Hills Area Education Agency technology integration specialist, said a major role for these classrooms is seeing how these new technological elements benefit instruction. She said the main goals include increased student achievement, increased student engagement and learning; and increased student and teacher literacy with technology.

“A big thing about these classrooms is a lot of research and development: What works? What doesn’t work? What are the students using? What’s really helping the teachers enhance their lessons?” Mikkelsen said.

Teachers will have the opportunity to use these spaces for their classes by signing up to use them for certain periods. Mikkelsen said eventually, these elements might be working their way into other classrooms.

“We’re trying to create all the experiences (here) that they might want just so they can get an idea what they might want in their classroom,” she said.

Today, Creston is holding a 21st century classroom open house as part of the Green Hills AEA’s 21st Century Learners’ Conference, also being held at Creston High School. Mikkelsen, Donahoo and technology assistantTeri Keeler, along with some students, are presenting the technology and the vision for it to educators from around the area.

“Part of the partnership between Creston and Green Hills AEA was to make these rooms available to start conversations with other districts, as well, and give them an opportunity to see how this room might enhance student experiences,” Mikkelsen said. “The doors these rooms can open for our students really create endless possibilities.”

Creston Superintendent Steve McDermott said when he was hired in 2013, boosting Creston’s use of technology was one of his top “marching orders” from the school board.

McDermott said he worked closely with Green Hills AEA to brainstorm the possibilities, and they discussed partnering to create the learning spaces.

Green Hills AEA provided the technology equipment, a total of about $89,000, and Creston funded the furniture and other renovations to the room, a total of about $68,000, plus an additional amount for a video conference network that will allow students and teachers to communicate with others around the nation and world.

“We have a lot invested in these two spaces, but again in terms of research and development and in terms of just terrifically expanded student learning opportunities, we just felt like the investment was worth it,” McDermott said. “We’ll watch our return on our investment to see how it goes.”

McDermott said his hope is that teachers are eventually “fighting over the use of that space.” But he also said he realizes it might take some time before people use the space to its full potential.

“Like I told people, we have a new Harley in the garage, and we’ve been riding a bike, so we need to climb off the bike and learn how to ride the Harley,” McDermott said.

McDermott said he is already looking into applying for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) grant to expand technology offerings, which may include putting a similar room in the Early Childhood Center.

As for the immediate future, Donahoo said the high school students have been loving the new technology.

“I’ve been letting the kids free-range discover, and they’ve been coming out with some amazing stuff,” he said. “I’ve had at least three kids a day tell me how cool this is. I love to hear the words ‘how cool’ and ‘fun.’”

And, he said, it provides an open range of opportunities for the EAST students.

“The vision is just to do bigger, better projects,” he said. “The sky’s the limit on what students can create, what we can do.”

©2015 the Creston News Advertiser (Creston, Iowa). Visit the Creston News Advertiser (Creston, Iowa) at www.crestonnewsadvertiser.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Stephen Noonoo is a former editor of eSchool News. He has served as a consultant for CUE, California’s ISTE affiliate, and as managing editor of its quarterly publication, OnCUE. He has worked as a freelance writer, an education editor for SmartBrief newsletters, and as a staff editor for a well-known publication focusing on education technology.