Akron Hometowner serving the communities of Akron, IA and Westfield, IA with Local News, Sports and What's Happening in the community. Designed by River City Digital Design www.rivercd.com
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March 21, 2007 What's Happening? Legion fish fry The Akron Legion Club is holding a fish fry March 23 from 11am to 9pm. $6, all you can eat. Riata will also be performing at the Legion March 31 at 9pm. Fish Supper Westfield Congregational Church's next Fish Fry is March 30. Youth tour Union County Electric Coop is sponsoring an all expenses paid youth trip to our nation's capitol. For application information contact Ralph Morse at Union County Electric, 605-356-3395.Water mains The Akron city crew will begin flushing water mains Monday, March 26. This will take approximately two weeks. You may experience dirty water or low water pressure. Sorry for any inconvenience. Super sale Jacobson's Auto Parts is holding its annual Farm Super Sale March 23 & 24 at 211 Reed Street in Akron. Register for door prizes, in store specials, free lunch begins at 11 a.m. March 23.Easter basket hunt The Akron Area Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring its annual Easter Basket Hunt April 7. Watch next week for more information. Dodgeball Tourney A Dodgeball Tournament will be held March 22, 7 p.m., at A-W. Proceeds will go to the Gant family. Memorial run The third annual Joan Wilson Memorial 5K run/walk is April 28 beginning at 9 a.m. at the Le Mars Municipal Park Fitness Trail. Registration forms available at the YMCA or online at joanwilsonmemorial5k. com.
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Oh what a difference two weeks makes! You just have to love this weather - one week we're scooping out from under over a foot of snow and then the floods soon come. The Big Sioux River came out of its banks closing roads in both Iowa and South Dakota last week. The above right photo was taken March 15 on 481st Ave. in Union county, SD, where water flowed over the road flooding fields in its path. The Big Sioux River Road heading to South Dakota was closed Friday evening around 4 p.m. as the river began creeping over the road (photo above). The Big Sioux crested in the early morning hours Saturday morning, March 17, at 21.8', flood stage is 16'. However, the water receded quickly as the road was reopened Saturday morning.
125th Anniversary queen contest coming up Plans and
preparations for Akron's 125th Anniversary are proceeding at a rapid pace
now. There will be something for everyone during the 4-day celebration,
which will be held this summer on Aug. 9, 10, 11 and 12. Akron couldn't
have an anniversary celebration without a queen to reign over the
festivities. It's been 25 years since Akron chose a queen for its
centennial. Now it's time to select a Quasquicentennial Queen. “The girl
who is
Rounds signs SB 157 By Julie Ann Madden Why did South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds sign a bill into law that eliminates school districts with less than 100 students? “Basically, it's the bill which includes most of the increases in funding,” said Gov. Mike Rounds in a telephone interview on March 15. “About half of the increase for funding this year comes through (Senate Bill) 157.” “As I looked at it,” he said, “and I looked at it for quite some time before I decided to sign it, there were some things in it which I didn't care for and some things in it which I thought were important for education.” With SB 157 and another bill, the South Dakota Legislature appropriated more than $32 million more into school funding this year said Gov. Rounds. “(This bill) also included an item, which for the first time in years put a minimum for school district size as well,” he said. The House and Senate worked through the issues with both House Bill 1082 and Senate Bill 157 and came up with compromises in both the funding package and reforms to our K-12 system, said Gov. Rounds. The first compromise was to set a minimum school district size at 130 students per district. This would mandate all South Dakota schools to test No Child Left Behind “The logic was that under the No Child Left Behind (law), if you have less than 10 children per class, you cannot break out or identify specifically the problems for testing so you don't do specific testing for schools of that size or smaller,” said Gov. Rounds. “You can't rate them if you don't have at least an average of 10.” “What I told them earlier was that I did not agree with an arbitrary minimum school size,” Rounds explained. The House then responded with the 130 students per district alternative but the Senate disagreed. They compromised by reducing the 130 to a minimum of 100 students per district. Both Greater Hoyt School District and Greater Scott School District, which contracts educational services with West Sioux Community School District in Hawarden, are impacted by this law. “There is interest on my part to do something about (Greater Hoyt and Greater Scott's situations),” said Gov. Rounds. “We are talking with local legislators about their interest in working with us on it.” Gov. Rounds told The Akron Hometowner that his goal is to make sure South Dakota students in small school districts have the same opportunities, including advanced mathematics, honors English, physics, and multiple foreign language courses, as students attending large school districts. “With smaller schools, the chances are very good that you don't have the same options available for the kids,” said Gov. Rounds. “Since these two school districts are already meeting part of the concerns I would have, I have expressed an interest in trying to work through this to allow them to continue the type of relationship they currently have,” he said. “It will take us time,” said Gov. Rounds, “and I will need legislators' support to do it.” “The fix will not be difficult,” he said, “but politically it will mean the recognition by legislators that these two schools districts, currently by their association with an Iowa school, are meeting the goals we had intended in the first place.” In signing Senate Bill 157, Gov. Rounds told The Akron Hometowner he looked at it as whether or not each of the school districts out there is meeting what we wanted, he said. “Which is what's best for the kids,” said Gov. Rounds, “and to be able to give them the optional classes and the chance to get that education they might not be able to get in an extremely small sized school."
Greater Hoyt calls special board meeting By Julie Ann Madden South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds signed Senate Bill 157 into law on March 14. This bill ends the nearly 40-year tradition of Greater Hoyt students being educated at Akron-Westfield Community School. This law, which goes into effect July 1, eliminates the Greater Hoyt School District. Its board of directors will have two years to develop a reorganization plan to consolidate with another South Dakota school district. Greater Hoyt School District has contracted its educational services with Akron and Akron-Westfield school districts since 1968. Akron-Westfield will lose Greater Hoyt's 61 students and the district's nearly $500,000 annual payment for educational services, transportation and Capital Outlay expenses. However, the battle to keep Greater Hoyt students a part of the Akron-Westfield Community School District is not over yet. At this point, the Greater Hoyt School Board has the option to convince their local legislators to create another bill to allow Greater Hoyt to continue operating a school with Akron-Westfield. The local legislators are Republican Senator Kenneth Albers of Canton, S.D.; Republican Representative Joel Dykstra of Canton, S.D.; and Democrat Rep. Margaret Gillespie of Hudson, S.D. There are two ways the legislators could create this bill. First, they could create a bill now and by a two-thirds vote of the South Dakota Legislature, they could suspend the law-making procedures and hopefully get this bill successfully passed on the last day of this legislative session. The second option is for the legislators to take six to eight months to create the bill and promote it to their fellow legislators across the state. The bill could be brought up in next year's legislative session and would only need a majority vote to pass. Greater Hoyt School Board President Greg Heeren is asking his board to meet with local legislators at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 3 at the Greater Hoyt School building. “It will require some more effort on our part to get some things turned around,” said Heeren. He is also requesting Akron-Westfield and Greater Hoyt residents come and support the board members as they meet with the legislator. He told The Akron Hometowner that this April 3 meeting is open to the public but will be conducted as a regular school board meeting and only the legislators will be invited to speak. Directions to the Greater Hoyt School: From Akron: take Big Sioux River Road which turns into South Dakota Highway 48. Turn right onto Union County Road No. 3, which is the first paved road west of the South Dakota line. Go two miles north to Hoyt Drive. Turn left (west) onto Hoyt Drive, a gravel road. The school is about one-half mile west on the south side of the road.
FFA members, community supporters honored at banquet 
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Designed by River City Digital, 2007
selected
as queen will represent Akron by riding in parades in the area,” said
Cindy Foley, who is chairing the queen competition. The queen also will
appear on television spots to promote Akron's celebration, and at various
events held during the 4-day celebration. There also will be two
princesses selected to assist the queen with her duties. Girls who are
currently in grades 10, 11 and 12 – and who live in the Akron-Westfield
and Greater Hoyt, S.D., school district – are eligible to participate in
the queen contest. Interviews with the judges will be held Saturday
afternoon, April 21. The program, with the crowning of the queen and
princesses, will be that evening. Entry blanks for the queen contest are
now available at the Akron-Westfield Community School principal's office
and at the Akron Public Library. For more information about the queen
contest, contact Cindy Foley at 712-533-6050 or Marcene Heeren, the
Quasquicentennial planning committee chairperson, at (605) 565-3134.