City council filing underway
Persons interested in running for open seats on area city councils began filing nominations papers Aug. 29. Papers are available from and may be filed with city clerks and must contain a minimum of 10 signatures of eligible voters from that community.
In Odebolt, councilmen Todd Bengford, Butch Hemphill and Jim Scott have expiring terms. Bengford has filed papers. The deadline to return signed nomination papers is Thursday, Sept. 22. The voter pre-registration deadline is Friday, Oct. 28. The election is Tuesday, Nov. 8.
BC-IG, O-A boards meet Monday
The Battle Creek-Ida Grove and Odebolt-Arthur School Board will meet in a joint session on Monday, Sept. 12, 6:30 p.m., at the high school central office in Ida Grove.
Dialogue and action items include: discussion of Aug. 29 work session, annual progress report, BC-IG early graduation request, Sunday activities, BCIG support vehicle purchase and BC-IG NWAEA District 5 board of directors ballot.
BC-IG, O-A voters to decide consolidation
O-A/BC-IG - Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek- Ida Grove voters will vote on a public measure to consolidate the two districts. The measure needs to pass by a majority vote in both the BC-IG and O-A districts (not towns). Voters in the Odebolt- Arthur district will vote at the Odebolt Fire Station or Arthur Community Building. BC-IG voters will vote at the Battle Creek Community Building or Ida Grove Community Building.
Voters will check yes or no on the following measure:
“Shall the Odebolt-Arthur Community School District and the Battle Creek-Ida Grove School District be reorganized to form a new school district known as the Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove Community School District to include all of the historical territory of both districts which has been legally described in the published decision of the board of directors of Northwest Area Education Agency regarding the Petition for the Reorganization of the Odebolt-Arthur Community School District and the Battle Creek-Ida Grove Community School District,
“shall the initial board of directors be comprised of seven directors with two directors appointed by the Odebolt-Arthur Community School District board of directors, four directors appointed by the Battle Creek- Ida Grove Community School District board of directors and one director appointed by the members of the initial board, or in the absence of such appointment, by special election,
“shall the proposed school district be governed thereafter by a regular board of directors comprised of seven directors, shall the method of election for the regular board of directors of six directors being residents of six single member director districts and one member elected at large, with all directors elected by the electors of the entire district as set for in Iowa Code Section 275.12(2)(c),
“and shall the assets and liabilities of the two districts merge and become the assets and liabilities of the newly reorganized district on the effective date for reorganization of July 1, 2012?”
WITCC public measure
Voters in the BC-IG and G-H districts will also vote on a Western Iowa Tech Community College public measure.
The public measure reads: “Shall the board of directors of Western Iowa Tech Community College in the counties of Buena Vista, Carroll, Cherokee, Crawford, Harrison, Ida, Monona, Plymouth, Sac, Shelby, Sioux and Woodbury, State of Iowa, be authorized to continue to levy a tax not to exceed 20¼ cents per $1,000 of assessed value in any one year for a period of 10 consecutive fiscal years beginning with the tax levy to be made for collection in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, for any one or more of the following purposes:
“for the purchase of grounds, construction of buildings, payment of debts contracted for the construction of buildings, purchase of buildings and equipment for buildings, and the acquisition of libraries, for the purpose of paying costs of utilities, and for the purpose of maintaining, remodeling, improving or expanding the community college of the merged area; or for such other purposes as authorized by law, as provided in Chapter 260C, Section 22 of the Code of Iowa?”
O-A School Board to fill four openings
The Odebolt-Arthur School Board has four openings on its school board this fall, with all three incumbents and one new candidate running on Sept. 13. Candidates include incumbents Paul Neumann and Traci Bengford of Odebolt, and Brad Lundell of Kiron. Pat Hoefling of Odebolt is also running. Lundell was appointed to fill Scott Cranston’s seat when he moved and board member Deb Bengford of Arthur is not seeking reelection.
Paul Neumann
Paul Neumann, 54, and his wife, Elaine, have four children: Clayton, Alison, Kim and Jessica. He has been owner/operator of Neumann Construction in Odebolt for 34 years. He is a member of Faith Lutheran Church, vice president of the O-A/BC-IG Dollars for Scholars Foundation, and current president of the O-A School Board.
“Being interested in the academic future of all students is why I have decided to seek re-election for school board. The dedication and passion toward education that our staff and administration show for our students in all of the communities of O-A/BC-IG keeps it interesting and rewarding,” Neumann said.
“For the past seven years, I have been involved with the planning and development of whole grade sharing between O-A and BCIG and support reorganization of both districts as the next important step for excellence in education for our students. I feel our communities need the consistency and the knowledge of all incumbent board members from both districts for a smooth transition into reorganization,” he added.
“I support the consolidation of O-A and BC-IG school district to insure the excellent strong stable school system for all of our communities that we have now and can carry into the future.”
Traci Bengford
Traci Bengford, 43, and her husband Darrell, a contractor, have three sons. Taylor, 22, graduated from O-A in 2007 and Kirkwood Community College in 2009, owns and operates Bengford Landscaping and Spraying. He is working here in the area. Tanner, 20, graduated from O-A/BC-IG in 2010, and is attending Iowa State University, majoring in accounting/finance. Dustin, 19, graduated from O-A/ BC-IG in 2011, and is attending Kirkwood Community College, majoring in wind energy production.
Bengford has worked as office secretary at Rex Chevrolet- GMC-Truck in Odebolt for the last 18 months. Prior to that, she worked at United Bank of Iowa in Odebolt for 20 years.
She is a member of St. Martin Catholic Church and the O-A/ BC-IG Athletic Boosters.
“I am seeking re-election because I have a sincere interest in the education of our students. Technology continues to change, and we need to keep up with those trends, while maintaining the ability to think and recall information on our own. We need to continue to challenge our students in their basic knowledge, while offering a variety of accelerated classes that will either take them to a four year college, or more importantly, into a two year technical field of study,” Bengford said.
“I have first-hand experience, with my boys, that there is a need for more skilled manual labor. We as a society need to encourage these students by giving them a work ethic that provides them with the tools to become a productive and purposeful individual.”
“I do support the reorganization between the O-A and BC-IG School Districts. For the past six years, both boards have been studying whole grade sharing, and now the reorganization of two very well established school districts that have many things in common. This has been a task that we have not taken lightly. Both the O-A and BCIG districts have many points of pride, and now we need to give the students in these two districts the opportunity to broaden their horizons, both in the classroom, and in their futures,” Bengford commented.
Brad Lundell
Brad Lundell, 35, and his wife Sarah have two children, Jonathan and Ally. He is a selfemployed farmer and a member of Bethel Lutheran Church in Kiron, Sac County Farm Bureau, Western Iowa Pullers, Iowa Turkey Federation and Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers.
“As a parent with children starting school, I felt the need to ensure our kids a good eduation. As times change, we have to as well. The consolidation of the O-A/BC-IG Schools will be a huge step in continuing steps of an excellent eduation.”
Lundell said he does support the consolidation referendum. “The kids’ interest is great; the community interest is great. Together, it will be a stronger, better school system,” Lundell commented.
Pat Hoefling
Pat Hoefling, 57, and his wife Ann have nine children: Joey, Nancy, Mike, Mitch, Matt, Vickie, Janet, Heidi and Scott.
He has been a floater operator for Crop Production Services (CPS) fertilizer company in Odebolt for 26 years. Two of his sons, as well as he and his wife, run a trucking business. His wife, one son and he also operate a lawn service. He is a member of St. Martin Catholic Church choir and the Sac County Cattlemen.
“We need to put academics first. I want to do what’s best for all our students and taxpayers of our district,” Hoefling said.
He does not support a consolidation.
“During this sharing process, there hasn’t been a lot of sharing between the districts. I feel the school board and part of the administration are painting a pretty picture of the sharing we are in,” Hoefling said. “Several teachers and students are not happy with this situation. I feel Odebolt-Arthur will be in the same position Battle Creek is in now in 10 years.
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