OFFICIAL
NEWSPAPER FOR
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NORWALK COMMUNITY
SCHOOL DISTRICT
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Vol. 41 No. 39 Norwalk, Iowa 50211 USPS No. 395-120 Phone 981-0406 Thursday, February 18, 2010
IO00TT00
By Dr. Laura Sivadge D
Preschool-lst Grade Principal Norwalk Fire
Variety has reported that Norwalk High School and Rodney Martinez Department
graduate and "Stargate Atlantis hunk" Jason Momoa, 2nd-3rd Grade Principal
has been cast as the lead in the remake of the movie, Raising_a_Readex By DustinFire ChiefHUst°n
"Conan the Barbarian," with filming to begin in March Advice to Parents of Young Readers
in Bulgaria. Arnold Schwarzenegger portrayed "Conan"
in three films in the 1980's. Momoa, also an artist and
model, has appeared on several television shows.
Speaking of television, some area residents watch-
ing the recent Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) Award Show
caught a glimpse of Norwalk actor Brandon Routh. He
and his wife, Courtney Ford, were seated at the table
with the "Dexter" cast. Ford appeared in several epi-
sodes of the cable Showtime hit, "Dexter." She also has
appearances on "Human Target."
Currently Routh, who had the starring role in the
movie "Superman Returns" has a role on the Monday
night NBC show, "Chuck" in which he plays Special
Agent Shaw. He also has three films that are to be re-
leased this year. They are 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,"
"Miss Nobody" and "Dead of Night."
Ashton Kutcher, also from Iowa, was on the final 9
p.m. Jay Leno Show Tuesday, Feb. 9, to talk about his
latest movie, "Valentine's Day." Another guest on the
show that night was Iowa native, football star Kurt
Warner.
NEW PRODUCT- "ROOF MELT"
Just as area residents have been worrying about all
the snow and ice on their roof tops, Domonick Cimino
of Norwalk Hardware has announced that he has re-
ceived a new product called "Roof Melt."
Cimino advises the product is a bucket of 60 pellets,
which look similar to hockey pucks. Customers toss
them on the roof and the pellets rhelt the snow and ice
so that the runoff can go down the gutter. It is supposed
to be Safe for shingles, Cimino said. He further noted
that he has been selling a lot of ice melt and shovels and
that customers have even been asking for individuals
who are willing to go up on the roof to remove the snow.
Agenda
Regular City Council Meeting
Norwalk Easter Public Library
Thursday, February 18, 2010, 6 p.m.
This is a tentative agenda only, which is subject to change.
The final City Council agenda will be posted at least 24
hours prior to commencement of the meeting. The agenda
will be posted at the Norwalk City Hall.
I. Call to order at 6:00 P.M. - Roll Call of Members
II. Approval of Agenda
Ill. Approval of Minutes- February 4, 2010 Regular
Council Meeting
IV. Mayor - Welcome of Guests and Public Com-
ment, 3 minute limit, no action
V. Presentation - Tyler Ward representing Fellowship
Community Church
VI. Consent Agenda
A. Tax Abatements
B. Approval of Expenditures
C. Set the date of June 12, 2010 for the Soap Box
Derby
D. Approval of the Norwalk Chamber of Com-
merce funding request
Concluded p. 2
Reading is the most important skill your children will
ever learn. It's the tool your child needs the most at
school and it is essential for nearly every job and career.
Learning to read takes time and it takes you. Read-
ing isn't something children can just pick up, like learn-
ing to talk. It's complicated. Children need you to en-
courage them to work at it and to keep trying if they get
frustrated.
Your children also need to see how exciting reading
can be. They will learn this every time you share a won-
derful story with them, or open a book about fascinat-
ing people, places, or things. It's up to you to show them
that reading is far more than just a subject taught in
school - it's the doorway to a lifetime of learning, creat-
ing, discovering and succeeding.
Although your children will learn the nuts and bolts
of reading at school, they still need the special one-on-
one attention only you can provide. That's why we at
the National Association of Elementary School Princi-
pals and World Book Educational Products have teamed
up to bring you these reading tips. We've included an-
swers to the questions parents most often ask about read-
ing, along with a lot of helpful suggestions.
Thanks for caring enough to make reading a priority
for your children.
.W_hen shoul.ld
If you haven't already, then start today! The earlier
you start, the better. While you're reading, you can help
with some of the fundamentals:
• Run your finger under the words as you read aloud.
• Show how you begin reading at the top of the page
and work down.
• Point out words that are repeated often. See if your
child can spot those words when they appear again.
• Talk about the pictures, too. Many times, children
can figure out unfamiliar words by looking at the pic-
tures that accompany the story.
How can I tell if my child is ready to read?
Many children are eager to begin reading related ac-
tivities even before they begin school. Others need more
time. Here are some signals to watch for:
• Does he pick up books and pretend to read?
• Does he pretend to write things down and read them
to you?
• Does he know what a letter is and understand that
words are made up of groups of letters?
• Can he show you how to read a book--from left to
right, top to bottom?
• If you say a word, can he think of a word that rhymes
with it?
• Does he know the sounds that most of the letters in
the alphabet represent?
Don't worry if your child is not at this stage yet. Push-
ing a child into reading will not make him a reader - it
may, in fact, make him resist reading. Do be alert for the
signs of reading readiness and show enthusiasm as you
begin the reading adventure together.
--How can I show my child that reading is important?
Here are some of the most effective ways to raise a
reader:
• Be a reader yourself! Every time she sees you with
a book, you're demonstrating that reading is something
Continued p. 9
2009 Annual Statistics ,
2009 marked a higher than normal increase in our
call volume. The Norwalk Fire Department averages a
9.5% increase in call volume per year. This year we ex-
perienced a 12% growth ending up with 685 calls for
service. Of these calls, 75% were Medical (EMS) related,
21% were Fire or Rescue related and the remaining 4%
were made up of public relations events (tours, site vis-
its, etc.). Response to these calls and public relations
events required more than four thousand hours of our
members on top of the needed training. Along with our
department training, the State Fire Marshall has now
required twenty-four hours for all firefighters, starting
in 2010, for basic firefighting techniques.
One of the most surprising facts regarding our sta-
tistics is that 58% (400) of the calls occurred between 6
a.m.-6 p.m. As Norwalk has always been viewed as a
bedroom-type community, I think this statistic shows
Norwalk is continuing to grow and we do have a lot of
activity during the day when the majority of people are
working in another community. This year call volume
was evenly distributed over the weekdays with Wednes-
day being the most common day for a call of service.
An interesting side note is that January and May were
the busiest months last year.
Response to 76.3% of our calls was below the eight-
minute National Fire Protection Agency recommended
response time guidelines. Our average on scene arrival
time was six minutes and twenty-four seconds. This
means that on average after receiving a notification of a
call for service, our members have responded to the sta-
4
tion, have geared up and have arrived on location. With
the addition of eight new recruits we are staffed at thirty-
eight members. With their help and the help of the other
staff we look forward to providing your Fire and EMS
needs in the coming year.
As always, feel free to contact me with any questions.
OES Dinner
This Sunday
The monthly public
OES dinner will be held
Sunday, Feb. 21, at t.he
Norwalk Masonic Temple
on Main St. Serving is from
11 a.m. to I p.m.
The menu includes
hamballs, green beans,
cheesy potatoes, coleslaw
and homemade pie. The
cost is $6 per person.
Sorenson's
Public Forum
State Representative
Kent Sorenson will hold a
Political Forum Saturday,
Feb. 20, from 9" to 10:30
a.m. at the Warren County
Administration Building,
301 N. Buxton, second
floor, in Indianola.
The public is welcome
to express concerns with
Sorenson.
Wrestlers to State
Evan Reynolds- 103
Kyle Coates- 130
Tyler Thompson-Hwt.
