Thursday, March 21, 2024
Vol. 5, No. 31
PCMExplorer Local People. Local Stories.
How to move forward
Local agencies respond to rural Colfax house fire Saturday
PCM School Board meets to discuss grade alignment further at workshop By Jamee A. Pierson PCM Explorer What is best for the kids? Many questions were asked during the PCM School Board Workshop on elementary alignment, but board member Jeremy St. Peter brought it together after listening to more than 90 minutes of discussion. “I am listening to the experts and the experts are saying alignment is what we need to do. If that is the best thing for our kids, why wouldn’t we align all of the grade right now?” St. Peter said. “Why wouldn’t we do that if that was truly better, why would we leave one town or the other behind and not do the alignment if it is truly the best thing for the kids.” While it may seem simple to go off of that one factor since they are talking about students’ education, many other factors were brought up and questioned when discussing moving forward with the alignment process of Monroe and Prairie City elementaries. The topic was brought before the board during the workshop after the idea of moving all third grade classes to Prairie City was tabled at the February board meeting. To begin, board president Ryan Van Der Kamp posed a question he received: Are we rushing, is there enough information and have people been informed of a plan, it seems likes we have gone several directions lately?
“Without a doubt, the administration team and Elementary Vision Team have not changed direction,” superintendent Michelle Havenstrite said. “In the fall of 2022, I had continued to hear of grade alignment and even talked to board members, some of whom are still here, we need to address grade alignment. I asked Mrs. Geetings to put together an elementary vision team. All parents had the opportunity to join, all teachers and community members had the opportunity to join.” She asked them to study the issue and report their findings. The work, she said, was one of the best grass roots efforts to gather input. The team took the time to go into the buildings, ask questions and gather information. Their findings were then shared with the board which four of the six current members were on. “They came back and said, I was startled by it, ‘we want to be together. Take as much time as your need but we want to be under one roof,’” Havenstrite said. “The first move, which made sense from the data we had at the time was to move fourth and fifth grade. I have said repeatedly and say to everyone in the crowd, we are going to go slow and do it right. We’re not going to rush around because it is more than moving groups. It is ensuring safety, services, busing and much more.” With two years of data, the leadership team recommended moving pre-
school together last school year. They found having two sections in Monroe and one in Prairie City wasn’t the best situation. The move was continuing what Havenstrite called a “slow and methodical pathway to everyone underneath one roof,” which was the recommendation in January 2022. The next step the leadership found was to move all of third grade to Prairie City. With a teacher retiring there would only be one section in Monroe and three in Prairie City. “Those who are saying we are changing direction, we aren’t changing direction,” Havenstrite said. “Our staff had told us, our parents involved, said we want to be together under one roof. We believe we can be more efficient and more effective as a team and provide high quality education. This team is willing to take it slowly to get it right and that is why the third grade recommendation was the next best step.” When asked why third grade next year, elementary principal Donita Geetings said it is an academics concern. “My viewpoint on that is probably not one that you want to hear. It is an academic concern for me,” Geetings said. “Our third grade (current second grade) has our lowest numbers across the district. In the winter we were at 34 percent and 56 percent proficient (in reading). Those are ALIGNMENT | 3
Celebrating spring By Jamee A. Pierson PCM Explorer The Easter Bunny is hopping over to Prairie City and Monroe for fun community events. Both towns will celebrate the spring holiday March 23 with a variety of activities for all ages. In Prairie City, the PC Celebration Committee is hosting a Spring Celebration at the PCM Middle School gym. Running from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., a vendor sale with more than 50 shopping options, games and prizes will fill the gym with fun for the whole family. The Easter Bunny will hop in at 11 a.m for photos, and a candy toss will start at 11:30 a.m. Max’s Cof-
Officials say 1 occupant died, body will be sent to State Medical Examiner By Christopher Braunschweig PCM Explorer Jasper County law enforcement says one person was killed in a house fire Saturday, March 16 in rural Colfax. Fire crews on Sunday, March 17 recovered the body of the occupant who was unable to escape the blaze. Newton News was told first responders had spent hours removing debris after the flames were extinguished According to a press release from Jasper County Sheriff ’s Office, a 911 call was made at 10:43 p.m. about a house fire at the 8000 block of South 52nd Avenue West, one-anda-half miles southeast of Colfax. When first responders arrived, the home was fully engulfed in flames and the number of occupants unknown.
While crews from multiple departments worked to extinguish the fire, it was determined one individual one inside of the home. At approximately 10:45 a.m. March 17, search and rescue crews located the decreased individual — whose name has not been released — in the basement of the home. The body will be sent to the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner for identification and autopsy. The investigation in still ongoing. In addition to the Colfax Fire Department and Jasper County Sheriff ’s Office, mutual aid was provided by agencies in Baxter, Knoxville, Mingo, Mitchellville, Monroe, Newton, Prairie City and the Iowa State Fire Marshall’s Office, who have helped put out the flames, search for the occupant and investigate the fire.
PC hosting Spring Celebration while Monroe has annual Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast and PCM Fine Arts Festival
fee and El Meson Taco Shack food trucks will also be at the celebration providing tasty treats. In Monroe, the Monroe Kiwanis will hold its annual Pancake Day Breakfast Fundraiser starting at 7:30 a.m. through 1:30 p.m. This year, the Kiwanis is teaming up with the PCM Fine Arts Boosters for a Fine Arts Festival kicking off at 10 a.m. Performances from all ages will take place in the gym and go throughout the day. There will also be a silent auction and bake sale to support the fine arts boosters. For more information about the showcase and to find a schedule of performers, visit the fine arts boosters Facebook page.
File Photo
The miracle (and work) of life Raising livestock is rewarding yet challenging, especially in extreme winter weather By Jamee A. Pierson PCM Explorer
Submitted Photo A calf sticks out its tongue to onlookers. Jessica Barnett, of Monroe, said most of the calves in her herd are born during January and February. Sometimes they even arrive on Christmas.
A publication of est. 1851
During the winter months, many farmers who solely grow crops are preparing for the next year while their tractors are getting a break until work begins for spring planting. For livestock farmers, an exciting and trying part of the year is just getting underway with birthing season. While breeding starts when the weather is still easy to manage, the babies tend to make their entrance at some of the craziest times, from snowstorms to record low temperatures. When babies are coming, everyone has to be ready. “Our breeding program is scheduled for winter calving. Most of our calves come during January and February. We also have a few cows that we calve out in early fall,” Jes-
sica Barnett said. “Our first calf typically hits around the Christmas holiday. Yes, we have had calves on Christmas and New Years! The cows don’t take breaks over the holidays.” Barnett and her family have a Nolin Red Angus cattle operation near Monroe. They raise purebred Red Angus cattle on their farms outside of town and have found that the cows tend to birth during the extreme weather conditions. “Typically when our calves come it’s cold and most often a snowstorm or extreme cold,” Barnett said. “We do several things to ensure our survival rate of newborn calves. We calve inside our barn no exceptions. The survival rate of a new calf greatly declines during inclement weather. The extreme cold is very hard on newborn calves.” They also clean the barns twice each day to keep the bedding clean and dry, and they
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introduce several supplements to promote viability and health. Another challenge comes with calves being very wet when they are born. With frigid temps, work has to be done to get them dry quickly. “In extreme cold conditions, parts of the calf will begin freezing, particularly the ears. The ears can freeze solid. If the ears are frozen solid for an extended period, the tissue will die, and parts of the ears will eventually fall off,” Barnett said. “We don’t leave the calf until its almost completely dry. In extreme cold conditions we bring our calves inside our basement and use a blower to dry them off.” Jacob Clark, who has hair sheep, Hereford pigs and laying chickens, also battles the cold to ensure the newborns have their best chance at survival. Currently, his sheep lamb at the LIVESTOCK | 2
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