OFFICIAL
NEWSPAPER FOR
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SCHOOL DISTRICT
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Norwalk Warriors Inside: City Council Agenda, Norwalk-Prole Saddle Club, Letters
Vol. 44 46 Norwalk, Iowa 50211 USPS No. 395-120 Phone 981-0406 email: news@norwalknewspaper.com Thursday, April 4, 2013
1 Kindergarten Readiness Awareness
Norwalk Student Opportunities for Parents
Education Foundation
We have two dates set aside for parent awareness of
Activities
and
Events
Kindergarten Readiness. Note that the Kindergarten
L By Lori Miller, President program needs ready for the child - not the child dem-
onstrating he/she is ready for kindergarten. This may
The Norwalk Student Education Foundation (NSEF) read like a play on words; however, we want to use this
invites you to join us for Taste for Education 2013, an opportunity to address questions parents might have
evening guaranteed to be fun! about the Oviatt kindergarten program.
Two Saints and Summerset wineries as well as Wine We started this awareness program two years ago and
Styles and Doll Distributing will be pouring tastes in have now expanded the program offering two different
honor of our students and teachers. Come hear about evenings for parents to participate. Kindergarten teach-
what your donations have done and continue to do for ers Brenda Jorgensen and Dawn Myers will facilitate
our schools. Cheeses and chocolates as well as other the program. They encourage parents to pose questions
appetizers will also be served, throughout the presentation as this event is designed to
The event is set for Friday, April 5, from 6-8 p.m. at help both parents and children in their transition to
The Wright Place, 340 W. Wright Rd., Suite A, Norwalk. Oviatt Elementary..
Admission is $20 at the door or tickets canbe purchased Location: Oviatt Elementary, Rooms 209 and 211;
on our website, www.norwalkstudentfoundation.org. Dates: Monday, April 8, 6:30-7:30 p.m., or Tuesday, April
100% of the proceeds go directly to grants and scholar- 16, 6:30-7:30 p.m. RSVP at 981-1005 to let us know if
ships, you plan to attend. You can also sign up during Kinder-
The risk is low, the pay out- high!! See you there!! garten Round-Up.
TOWN HALL
OPEN HOUSE
Staff photos by Mary Lou Gray.
A Town Hall Open House meeting was held Thurs-
day, March 28 at The Wright Place for residents to visit
with city officials. More than 100 people attended the
gathering from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Mayor Doug Pierce, City
Administrator Marketa Oliver and councilmembers,
along with some department heads were present.
Proponents for and against the proposed casino/150-
room hotel/events center/bowling alley were present to
answer the many questions and concerns about the
project. Voters in Warren County will have an opportu-
nity to vote on the proposal'Tuesday, May 7.
More information about the project can be obtained
at www.VoteYesWarrenCounty.com or on Facebook at
NoCasinoWarrenCounty.
NHS CLASS NHS Class of
OF 1993 1973 Reunion
PLANS Members of Norwalk
High School graduation
REUNION class of 1973 are planning
Members of Norwalk their 40th reunion in May.
High School graduation The reunion will be
class of 1993 are planning held Saturday, May 4, at 7
their 20th reunion the p.m. at the home of Rich
weekend of July 26 - 28. Gates, 2686 Clark St.,
Friday, July 26, there Cumming.
will be a Happy Hour be- Please RSVP by calling
ginning at 6 p.m. at Cal's 515-981-5925.
Fine Food & Spirits II, 2351
Sunset Dr.
Saturday, July27, atour Gumming Seeks
of Norwalk High School is Board
planned from 5 - 6 p.m.,
followed by a Happy Volunteers
Hour, dinner and recep- The City of Cumming is
tion from 6 p.m. to mid- looking for additional
night at Countryside Golf members for both the Park
Course, 3089 North Ave. If and Recreation Board and
interested for Saturday tee the Planning ard Zoning
times, call 515-981-0266. Board. All are three-year
Sunday, July 28, there terms to start July 1, 201K
will be a family picnic at Requirement are Park
Billy O Phillips Park from and Recreation: must live
noon to 4 p.m. The park is within the 50061 zip code;
located at 2500 Lexington Planning and Zoning:
Dr. in Norwalk. must live within the city
More details are avail- limits. Contact the City
able on Facebook pageClerk at 981-9214 or
Norwalk IA Class of 1993 cityclerk@cumming-
or email norwalkiaclass iowa.com for more infor-
ofl993@gmail.com, mation or to apply.
From Norwalk
School District
By Kate Baldwin, Business Manager
for Norwalk Community Schools
Norwalk School Board to Approve 2013-2014 Budget
Reducing the Property Tax Levy by $.91
The Board of Directors of the Norwalk Community
School District will vote to approve a $.91 reduction of
the levy for the 2013-2014 school year. This meeting will
be held at 6:00 p.m. April 8 at Lakewood Elementary
,School. The Board received a presentation at the March
15 board meeting summarizing the proposed certified
budget for the 2013-2014 school year. The proposed
budget was published in the March 28 issue of the North
Warren Town and County News and is also posted on
the District's website at http://www.norwalk.k12.ia.us/.
Paper copies are available at Central Office located at
906 School Ave., Norwalk.
For the first time in nearly 20 years the School
District's levy will be below $20 per $1,000. The pro-
posed levy for 2013-2014 is $19.65 per $1,000. The prop-
erty development within Norwalk and Gumming is in-
crementally impacting the community and lowering the
levy.
Why is the levy going down?
• The District's property Values continue to increase
above the state average. New business and residential
properties were added to the tax base during the past
year. The total school tax base grew by 6% during the
past year. The average annual growth over the past five
Concluded p. 11
f
By Mayor Doug Pierce
2
I think Spring has finally arrived weatherwise and
the warmer temperatures with abundant sunshine just
seem to make life more enjoyable. I hope that you all
had a great Easter and were able to enjoy it with family
and/or friends.
The Council will be approving Proclamations at the
April 4 Council meeting, two of which are for specific
awareness topicsfor the month of April. They are Child
Abuse Month and Pay It Forward Day which is April
25. Therefore, I am going to briefly discuss the purpose
of both.
Since Child Abuse Prevention is for the entire month,
I will address-that one first. At my breakfast club re-
cently, we had a speaker who addressed the topic of
Child Abuse and as part of her presentation was a chart
showing the long term results of abuse "events" in one's
younger years. In essence, each incident has an expo-
nential increase in the probability that it will lead to that
person either being an abuser his/herself or will have
emotional issues as a result of it. The Proclamations
"Therefore" statement is to "call upon all citizens, com-
munity agencies, faith groups, medical facilities and
businesses to increase their participation in our efforts
to support families, thereby preventing child abuse and
strengthening the community in which we live."
The second Proclamation is for designating April 25
as "Pay It Forward Day." The concept is to promote com-
munity spirit through intentional acts of kindness so as
to create positive change in our community and world
- one good deed at a time. Therefore, the last Thursday
of April is proclaimed as Pay It Forward Day in Norwalk
and all citizens are urged to observe this day with ac-
tivities and acts of kindness that demonstrate and Gel-
ebrate selfless giving.
Garrett to Host Norwalk Forum
Representative Julian Garrett will hold a legislative
forum at the Norwalk City Hall Saturday, April 6, at 10
a.m. Representative Garrett will discuss the current leg-
islative session and answer questions and entertain com-
ments from those in attendance. The public is invited.
