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E.B.F.H.S. Jazz Band Wins Districts

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

On Saturday, March 5th, the Eddyville Blakesburg Fremont High School Jazz Band placed 1st in class 2A at the South East Iowa Bandmasters Association District Jazz Contest in Iowa City. The 1st and 2nd place bands from each class qualify for the Iowa Jazz Championships, which is held at the Events Center in Des Moines on April 5th. This is the 30th year in a row that the E.B.F.H.S. Jazz Band has qualified for the Jazz Championships. Eddyville Blakesburg Fremont placed 1st ahead of Mid-Prairie, West Branch, West Burlington, Louisa – Muscatine, and Mediapolis in class 2A competition.

Several students received an Outstanding Soloist Award for their solo performances. Outstanding Soloist Awards went to: Delanee Van Zante; alto sax, Cyrus Rogers; tenor sax, Claire Jager, Alto Sax, Mika Farnum; Bari Sax, Andrew Hart; trombone, Sara Loving; trumpet, Maggie Voyles; piano, Carson Burrell; vibes, Dillon Howard; drums, and Kendal Durst; Bass. The EBF Sax Section received the Outstanding Sax Section Award for their great performance. Delanee Van Zante was selected as the Outstanding Soloist of the Day for her solo performances. The band is directed by Joe Overton.
The EBFHS Jazz Band will perform in concert with the junior high jazz band on Tuesday March 15th at the EBFHS Cafetorium at 7:00 P.M. The band will also appear at the Night of Jazz at the Daily Auditorium in Oskaloosa on April 1st with the bands from Oskaloosa and North Mahaska.

On To Phoenix Int’l Raceway

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Following Brad Keselowski’s victory on Sunday in Las Vegas, NASCAR’s early-season swing through the western United States continues as teams now head to Phoenix International Raceway. There’s another X-FINITY/Sprint Cup Series doubleheader on tap this coming weekend. There are thirty-eight drivers on the preliminary entry list for Sunday’s Good Sam 500, the fourth race of the 2016 Sprint Cup Series. Thirty-five of NASCAR’s thirty-six newly named “Charter” teams have drivers listed, with the driver of the Number-32 Go Fas Racing Ford to be announced. Non-Charter drivers entered at P-I-R are Ryan Blaney, Cole Whitt and Josh Wise.

There have been three different winners with three different manufacturers through the first three weeks of the campaign: Denny Hamlin in a Toyota at Daytona, Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet) in Atlanta and Keselowski (Ford) at Vegas.

There are thirty-nine drivers on the X-FINITY Series entry list including early-season points leader Daniel Suarez.

Pella Christian Uses Thrilling Comeback to Advance to Semis

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

It wasn’t Levi Jungling’s best day on the court on Monday. It didn’t matter.

Jungling’s teammates came up huge en route to #8 seed Pella Christian’s 59-52 victory over previously unbeaten and #1 seed Dike-New Hartford in the Class 2A State Quarterfinals.

The first half was controlled by PC, as they held the lead throughout. They would take a 29-21 lead into the locker room, leading the 25-0 Wolverines, who hadn’t faced many tests all season.

The second half began much differently, however, as DNH stormed back into the game and took the lead as PC failed to get anything going offensively with their star player struggling to find his shot.

As the fourth quarter rolled around, DNH pushed the lead to 8 with 6 minutes to go in regulation.

At this point, the Eagles started to chip away and get the game back to within reach. Senior Mitch Fopma had a couple of the biggest hoops of the game, nailing a three and getting a bucket while being fouled to help his team claw back within a single possession.

Junior Alex Pringle would complete the play of the game, however. With just over a minute to play and the Eagles down 50-48, Pringle would gather a loose ball off a miss and a guide pass from DNH 35 feet from the hoop. While in the odd-man situation in the fastbreak, Pringle then dribbled to the right corner before calmly gathering the dribble and burying the three to give the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish.

Jungling was huge down the stretch, as he would get a breakaway layup to make it a three-point game shortly thereafter, and nail all four of his free throws to ice the game.

Although he would only go 5 for 14 from the field and 1 for 5 from downtown, Jungling went 9 for 10 from the line to get to 20 points to lead the Eagles. He also led the way with 8 rebounds.

Senior Jeremy Van Beek had a very nice showing inside for Head Coach Larry Hessing, scoring 10 points in the first half to keep the Eagles on top while Jungling tried to find his stroke.

PC moves on to the Class 2A Semifinals where they will face #4 seed Cascade of Western Dubuque. Cascade defeated Osage 60-27 in the quarterfinals earlier on Monday night. They enter the game 21-3, while PC comes in at 17-9. All 9 losses for the Eagles came in Little Hawkeye Conference play, where they face Class 3A and 4A opponents. They are unbeaten this year against 2A competition.

The game will begin at 2 PM on Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. You can hear live updates throughout the afternoon on 104.9 FM KBOE and 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN.

Oskaloosa Man Apprehended After High Speed Chase

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

An Oskaloosa man is in custody at the Jasper County Jail after a high speed chase through Polk and Jasper Counties.

Derek Mullennax, age 35 of Oskaloosa, led authorities on a 30 mile chase, reaching speeds of 145 mph. The chase started in Pleasant Hill, and ended in Lambs Grove after Mullennax hit a tree stump.

Mullennax faces charges of attempted murder, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, felon in possession of a firearm, eluding police, as well as other traffic charges.

An Iowa State Patrol vehicle caught fire at the scene of the crash in the dry grass and brush. The trooper driving the vehicle was not injured.

School Board Meeting 3-7-16

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

The Oskaloosa School Board of Directors worked through a busy agenda Monday night handling a number of routine items.

The board approved a public hearing on Tuesday, April 12 for the 2016-17 school budget. Superintendent Russ Reiter recommended a budget with zero percent growth and an estimated levy of $15.4981 per $1,000 valuation. Reiter said the actual levy may be less, but until the Iowa Legislature sets an amount, this was the best way to go. Reiter said he felt it would ultimately be around $15, but recommended approving the higher rate.

“You can go lower if you wish after its published, but the levy can go no higher,” said Reiter.

The board also approved student fees for the next academic year with those fees remaining the same as 2015-16. Lunch fees were set at a previous meeting.

The board approved the purchase of new bleachers for the high school gymnasium and the smaller gym generally used for freshman athletics. This purchase completes the replacement of the competition gym and will allow for three rows of seating on the east side of the small gym. Seating and Athletic Facilities Enterprises, LLC received the bid not to exceed $53,210.

Thomas Bus Sales received the bid to install cameras in 25 busses. Transportation director Bill Almond and Reiter said the cameras would go into the 22 busses, which cover the routes in the district as well as three activity busses. Thomas put in a bid for the units and installation for $54,735.63.

The board also extended the timeframe for certified staff to apply for early retirement. Reiter said during the budget reduction meetings there was indication that there may still be some staff interested. The board voted to allow until March 31 for staff to notify the administration office. The same requirements for application and payouts are available to staff who have not previously chosen the option.

In other business:

  • Approved a solar power grant project at the middle school
  • Approved going out for bids for two 77-passenger busses
  • Authorized the sale of the used fluorescent lights currently being replaced by LED lighting
  • Set March 22 at 7:30 p.m. as the time for another board meeting

 

Story provided by RD Keep

City Council 3-7-16

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

The Oskaloosa City Council met for their regularly scheduled meeting Monday night at 6 pm in the Council Chambers of City Hall.

Multiple topics were discussed, but the main topic of the night was the Brownfields Assessment Grant Project.

Scott Mattes of H.R. Green Company presented on the Brownfields Assessment Grant Project to kick off the regular agenda. Mattes gave an overview of the EPA Brownfields Program, and stated what a “Brownfield” is. He said that according to the EPA, a Brownfield is a property that might be hindered in redevelopment or reuse due to a potential presence of an environmental contaminate or hazard. Some examples Mattes gave of Brownfields are abandoned warehouses, old mining entrances, and incompatible land use, as in a residential structure next to a warehouse or a grain elevator.

Mattes went on to say that the City of Oskaloosa earned two assessment grants totaling $400,000. He said the city can use that money to improve or redevelop sites that might have environmental risks. Mattes said after an assessment of Oskaloosa, around 3,500 parcels had a potential environmental risk. He then said that the group of properties was narrowed down to 121, and then it was again narrowed down to around 30 properties by an advisory committee.

In other business, the Consent Agenda was unanimously approved, and a new 28E agreement for fire protection services was passed unanimously for Adams, Garfield, Harrison, Jefferson, Lincoln, Madison, Scott, and Spring Creek Townships.

Budgets were also discussed and approved unanimously. It was noted that the average resident will see an additional $6.48 per month, or $77.76 annually for sewer rates, which will be effective April 1st, 2016.

Vacancies were also announced for the Airport Commission, Civil Service Commission, Historic Preservation Commission and Municipal Housing Agency.

The next meeting of the Oskaloosa City Council will be held on March 21st, 2016 at 6 pm in the Council Chambers of City Hall.

 

Story by George Henry

Brad Keselowski Takes Kolbalt 400

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

Brad Keselowski charged past race leader Kyle Busch late in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and kept his Number-2 Team Penske Ford in front over the final six laps to notch his first victory of the young season. Keselowski overcame a speeding penalty on pit road to claim his eighteenth career Cup Series win and first since March of last year at Auto Club Speedway – thirty-four races ago. Keselowski’s margin of victory over teammate Joey Logano was sixty-seven one-hundredths of a second. Jimmie Johnson led a race- high seventy-six laps and finished third in his bid for back-to-back victories after winning last weekend in Atlanta.

Busch grabbed fourth place with Austin Dillon completing the top five. Pole sitter Kurt Busch led only the first thirty-one laps and finished ninth, one of twenty-two drivers running on the lead lap with Keselowski at the checkered flag … The afternoon began with forty-mile-an-hour winds whipping across the mile-and-a-half desert oval and it looked for a while near the end of the day that Busch would blow the field away after seizing the lead on a late restart with a daring three-wide pass and pulling away. But the Number-18 Toyota developed a vibration in the closing laps that forced the reigning Sprint Cup Series champion to eventually surrender the lead to Keselowski.

Despite missing his second trip to Victory Lane this weekend … Busch won Saturday’s X-FINITY Series face, he did hold onto the early-season lead in the standings and enjoys a seven-point advantage over Johnson and Kevin Harvick – who are tied for second.

Board Of Supervisors Meeting 3-7-16

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors met for their regularly scheduled meeting Monday morning in the third floor conference room of the Mahaska County Courthouse.

The main topics discussed were an Employee Assistance Program, and the County Farm Sale notice.

An Employee Assistance Program would cover mental health, specifically allowing employees to anonymously receive mental health treatment. Supervisor Mark Doland brought this up after a county employee was involved in a fatal accident last year. Mahaska Health Partnership sent mental health therapists to Secondary Roads to help grieving employees. Doland said that studies show that if people are mentally healthy, they are better workers.

Jan LeBahn of MHP showed the Supervisors a generic contract MHP would have with a business for mental health treatment. LeBahn had two proposals for instituting the treatment. The first proposal was for a set dollar amount per employee per year, and the second proposal was based off of usage at $60 per hour.

LeBahn said that the program is a tool to help supervisors manage employee performance issues, and support employees that might be going through personal issues. The County Supervisors elected to go with the proposal of usage at $60 per hour to see how the program goes for the first year. They then said they would go over the language in the proposal before it gets finalized and approved.

When it came to the County Farm Sale, the Supervisors discussed when the sale would be, and when written offers should be due. They decided on having written offers due April 1st by 10 am, and the auction being on April 11th. The ground and house will be auctioned off separately. It was also noted that the county has the option to reject a bid for any reason.

The Supervisors also discussed courthouse restrooms being open at events with the Oskaloosa Area Chamber and Development Group, and contributions to a new animal shelter building. They were concerned about security, and how some events downtown get kybos for restrooms. They elected to have this be the last year the Court House restrooms are open will be used for events in the downtown area. They said if the county makes a contribution, it will be based off of usage. The Supervisors elected to not give a specific number at this point in time.

The next scheduled meeting of the Mahaska County Supervisors will be held on Monday, March 21st, in the third floor conference room of the Mahaska County Courthouse at 9 am.

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