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Oskaloosa School Board Passes Technology Proposal

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

Oskaloosa School Board members listened and asked numerous questions of school technology director Shari Barnhart Tuesday night. Following about 70 minutes of questions and answers, the board approved a proposal for the 1 to 1 technology project.

The scope of the project includes replacement of 775 Macbooks at the high school and the purchase of 815 Dell 11-inch Chromebooks for the elementary. Also including in the project is the replacing of 230 teacher Macbooks with a 13-inch MacBook Air.

In her presentation, Barnhart explained that the pricing of the Dell Chromebooks at $199.38 and its ability to utilize the apps currently in use as a factor. Barnhart did say one application, Logger Probe, would have to be used using a “Citrex Solution” as well as some of the more robust apps. The Logger Probe is used in some deep thinking analyzation applications.

Board member Erik Edgren asked several questions about assurances the Citrex Solutions would work for those students when they are at home. He was also concerned about the strength of Internet connections to operate, especially those in the rural areas. Edgren lives southeast of Oskaloosa and sometimes rural connections are much more difficult. He is also concerned if the applications cannot be used offline.

Board member Carl Drost asked superintendent Russ Reiter if this purchase was moving the district forward to student achievement. Reiter said he was confident that it was putting the students in a position to be successful. Board member Kraig Van Hulzen agreed since the elementary students have not had computers for each student available in the third through fifth grades.

Following the discussion the board agreed to use no more than $615,000 and awarding the contract to HSI, Incorporated and related vendors for the project. Reiter and business manager Chad Vink said the funds for the project would come from the current 1-cent tax and the PPEL Fund.

The measure passed on a 5-1 vote with Edgren voting against.

 

 

Report from RD Keep

Applebee’s In Ottumwa Robbed, No Arrests Made

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

On Sunday April 24, 2016, at approximately 12:26 a.m., the Ottumwa Police Department responded to Applebee’s, 1303 Vaughn Drive, Ottumwa, on a report that a Robbery had just occurred.
Preliminary investigation identified that Colrita Hem, an employee of Applebee’s, was robbed by two assailants who gained access to the interior portion of the restaurant after it was closed. At least one of the assailants was armed with a weapon that was not a firearm. The two suspects left Applebee’s after obtaining cash from the restaurant.
On Sunday, April 24, 2016, at approximately 11:30 p.m., officers from the Ottumwa Police Department, Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, and the Keokuk County Sheriff’s Office, executed a search warrant at 104 S. Locust, Richland, IA, in relation to this investigation.
Police believe that one of the suspects, or their associate, possibly exchanged a large quantity of $1 bills on Sunday, April 24. If a business or a citizen recalls an instance of exchanging the $1 bills for larger denominations of currency, please contact the Ottumwa Police Department.
No arrests have been made at this time in relation to this incident but the investigation is ongoing.

 

Reminder: A criminal charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Plots Still Available at Community Garden Sites in Oskaloosa

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

Community gardening is on the rise in Oskaloosa!  In 2016 there is an additional garden as well as additional plots at the community gardens in Oskaloosa.  One place interested gardeners can find information about the community gardens of Oskaloosa is the new website  bzposky.wix.com/communitygardens.  This website was developed by Emily Brown, United Way Community Impact Coordinator.  The site will be updated during the growing season!

Community Garden sites and the facilitators at the sites in Oskaloosa include OCSD Glendale Garden, Ron VanHeuvelen (641-660-4329. rvheuvelen@gmail.com); Hope Gardens, Blaine Vos (641-676-1601, oskyhope@gmail.com); Lifeforge Church Garden, David Steinbron (641-638-1657, daalstein@gmail.com); and William Penn Garden, Marsha Riordan (641-673-1044, riordanm@wmpenn.edu).

The OCSD FFA learning garden will again plant, tend, and harvest their garden and establish raised beds for vegetable production.  The produce will be provided to the local food pantries.  OCSD FFA Learning Garden facilitator is AG/FFA Instructor Bret Spurgin (641-895-2291, spurgeinb@oskyccsd.org).

For more information about community gardening in Oskaloosa, specific gardening topics or Mahaska County Extension horticulture programming, please contact Mahaska County Extension by email striegel@iastate.edu or phone at 641-673-5841 or visit our website www.extension.iastate.edu/mahaska.

 

Information from news release from ISU Extension, Mahaska County.

Groundbreaking Ceremony Symbolizes New Era in Oskaloosa

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

The Oskaloosa Fire Station was the site for a special groundbreaking ceremony Friday morning as crews begin work on the updated facility passed a couple months ago by the City Council.

Fire Chief Mark Neff, along with Mayor David Krutzfeldt, City Manager Michael Schrock, and City Council members Joe Caligiuri, Scottie Moore, and Aaron Ver Steeg, were on hand to symbolically dig the first holes for the new addition to the fire station.

Chief Neff is excited for the new facility to begin construction.

“Everyone here at the station is really excited,” Neff said. “The staff here has been great. It’s been a little trying at times, but the construction crews have worked hard and they’ve been working almost every day. They haven’t let the rain slow them down. Now we can actually see that something is being done. It’s just been four years that we’ve been working on the project, it’s nice to finally see stuff coming around.”

Last fall, there were some complications with the initial project’s design and the money that it would take to complete, which far exceeded the 3.195 million dollars citizens voted to allocate to the project.

Neff said that the redesign process was done carefully.

“We sat back down with the architects,” Neff explained. “I didn’t want to underbuild the building because I knew that was going to be an issue. You never want to move into something and be full right away. You need to have a little bit of room for arranging stuff.”

The project was redesigned with alternate plans in place in several locations of the model for additional items to be added if the budget allowed.

According to Neff, this worked much better and stayed within the budget.

“It actually went pretty smooth,” said Neff. “We were able to break everything down and put the bid alternates in place. We got everything that we really requested through the bid alternate plan and it worked well. They backed out some of the remodel upstairs, but we’re perfectly happy with that. It’s going to be a nice addition.”

There are plenty of key features with the new addition to the station, and there will be plenty of functions when the project is completed, but none bigger than space.

“The biggest thing is just flat square footage,” Neff explained. “It’s going to give us a lot more room getting vehicles in and out. These vehicles are not getting any smaller. In fact, we brought in a new apparatus just last week and that apparatus will not fit into the existing station. It’s about 2 inches too tall. So this new facility is going to accept that new sized apparatus and we won’t have those things to worry about.”

People in Oskaloosa can now see 2nd Avenue closed on the block housing the fire station and a former parking lot torn up for the project, but those are not the only changes the public will be able to notice on the site in the next couple of months.

“In the next two or three months, you’ll see the footings come in,” said Neff. “You’re going to start seeing some flatwork for concrete done. Obviously the overhead lines are going to be gone. And you might even see within two months some of the steel structure and masonry start.”

The timeline for the project is about 15 months, which means completion should occur around late summer of 2017, barring any setbacks.

You can view photos of the groundbreaking ceremony on our Facebook page, “KBOE 104.9 FM.”

Two Killed in Traffic Accident Near Chillicothe

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

A fatal accident occurred just west of Ottumwa on Highway 163 on Thursday afternoon.

According to the accident report from the Iowa State Patrol, a Toyota Camry driven by 32-year-old Annie Kumcho Ngum of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, attempted to cross Highway 163 from Eddyville Road near Chillicothe to get in the northbound lane. Her vehicle was struck by a southbound semi driven by 59-year-old David Kirk Barnhill of Des Moines and pushed it into the median.

Ngum, along with her passenger, 31-year-old Patience Ndikum Mbuh of Anoka, Minnesota, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Barnhill was not injured in the crash.

BREAKING: Boil Water Advisory Lifted in Oskaloosa

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

The Oskaloosa Municipal Water Department is happy to announce that the Boil Water Advisory has been lifted effective immediately.  Test results from samples that were gathered Tuesday and Wednesday throughout Oskaloosa and Beacon have shown that there was no bacterial contamination of the water supply, and that the water was, and is, safe to drink.

We sincerely and wholeheartedly apologize for the inconveniences and issues this may have caused our customers.  The action of issuing the advisory was precautionary to help ensure the integrity of the water system and the health and well-being of our customers.

Steps are currently being taken to reassess operating procedures to help ensure that something of this nature does not happen again.

The Oskaloosa Municipal Water Department would like to take this time to thank all of the local media outlets for helping us get the word out to our customers and to thank those who stood by us and continued to provide support as we worked through this.

Again, we would like to reiterate that the water is safe to drink, that tests have shown that there was no bacterial contamination, and there is no longer a need to boil water before using for human consumption.

RCR X-Finity Series Crew Chief Draws One-Race Suspension

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

Nick Harrison, crew chief on Ty Dillon’s Number-3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR X-FINITY Series, has been suspended for one race. The team was found to have used an improper spoiler assembly and extension last weekend at Bristol, where Dillon finished seventh in the Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300.

In addition to his one-race suspension, Harrison was fined ten thousand dollars and placed on probation through December 31st for the rules violation – which was discovered during opening-day inspection.

Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force Execute Drug Search In Grinnell

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

On April 19th, 2016 at approximately 12:50 p.m. members of the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force with the assistance of the Grinnell Police Department executed a drug search warrant at Cleveland Hall Room 2013, 1125 East St in Grinnell where illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia were seized.

As a result of the search warrant one individual was taken to the Poweshiek County Jail on drug charges awaiting initial appearances. Jeffrey T. Gabell age 19 of that residence was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, failure to affix drug tax stamp and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Possession with intent to deliver marijuana and failure to affix a drug tax stamp are both class D felonies. Possession of drug paraphernalia is a simple misdemeanor.

As a reminder, a criminal charge is merely an accusation and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force is based in Des Moines and currently has 21 central Iowa local, county, state and federal agencies participating in the task force.

Lt. Brad M. Shutts, Jasper County Sheriff’s Office

Dierks Bentley’s “Somewhere On A Beach” Notches Top Spot

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

Dierks Bentley’s single “Somewhere On A Beach” has notched a spot atop Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart this week. The song reaches the chart’s summit while it continues to make its way up the top 5 on the Billboard Country Airplay, Mediabase and Country Digital Songs Charts. “Somewhere On A Beach” is the lead single from Bentley’s forthcoming studio album Black, out May 27th.

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