Thursday, November 22, 2012
N/Warre n Town and County News
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Page Seven
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LETTERS
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We publish letters to the editor when they are not
libelous and when they are signed by the person or
persons submitting them. Opinions expressed are
not necessarily the opinions of the N/Warren
Town and County News staff. Letters are printed
as received. We do not correct spelling and
grammitical errors.
What can we do to prevent another tragedy? As the allegations of child sexual
abuse at Penn State were reported, many people began asking themselves this very
question. It may feel like one individual in Warren County can't make a difference,
but you can!
Educate yourselfi Did you know that I in 4 girls and I in 6 boys will be sexually
abused before their 18th birthday? More than 80% of child sexual abuse happens in
one-on-one situations. Did you know that more than 90% of children who are abused
know their abusers? The Warren County Child Abuse Prevention Council provides
free or low-cost trainings for all types of organizations and groups. Programs can be
tailored to your audience and range from 30 minutes to three hours.
Be willing to talk about child sexual abuse! It's a tough topic, but one that we
must have the courage to address. Parents can learn how to have age-appropriate
conversations with their children that educate and protect them. Also, talk with other
adults to raise awareness.
Support policies at youth serving organizations that protect children. Train all
adults that interact with children. Conduct background checks. Limit one-on-one
contact between adults and children. Training and policies not only protect children,
but may lower insurance costs.
Get involved! Support the work of the Warren County Child Abuse Prevention
Council with your time, talents and dollars. Or support the Council by talking about
the cause.
Be observant and report concerning behaviors. Suspicions of Child abuse can be
reported to the Iowa Department of Human Services at 1-800-362-2178 by any con-
cerned citizen.
Remember, the best way to protect our children is to surround them with edu-
cated, caring adults that have the courage to take action. For more information about
how you can become involved, contact Colleen Reisener, Council Coordinator, at
c.reisener!'mchsi.com or 962-9171. To schedule training sessions, contact Barb Ramos,
Prevention Educator, at barb.ramos@simpson.edu or 961-1488.
Barb Ramos
Prevention Council, Warren County Child Abuse Prevention Council
Legislative News
By State Representative Julian B. Garrett
iulian.garrett@legis.state.ia.us
Coming Budget Debate
Recently the newly elected House Republicans met to elect leaders for the coming
session. We re-elected Kraig Paulsen as speaker and Linda Upmeyer as majority leader.
We also began looking at projected budget numbers for the fiscal 2014 budget year
that begins July 1, 2013. I expect that we will again work on a two-year budget as we
did in 2011. When we began the 2011 session, House Republicans agreed on three
budgeting principles and we will continue to adhere to those principles in the up-
coming session. They are:
We will spend less than the state receives in revenue.
We will not spend one-time money to pay for ongoing expenses.
We will not balance the budget by intentionally underfunding programs.
You may recall that we ended fiscal year 2012 on June 30 of this year with a sur-
plus of $688 million. We filled the "rainy day fund," made up of the state's emer-
gency fund and cash reserve fund, for the first time since 2008. These funds are now
at the legally required level of $622.4 million. The Taxpayers Trust Fund received the
legal maximum of $60 million. The Legislative Services Agency (LSA) projects that
we will need two adjustments to the 2013 budget. The first is an increase of school
aid of $4.5 million because of changes in enrollment, property valuations and special
education. The second is an increase of $46 million for Medicaid. Medicaid appro-
priations are always an estimate and it is not uncommon to make an additional ap-
propriation when the costs become clearer. With all things considered, the LSA projects
that we will have another surplus when the current fiscal year ends on June 30, 2013.
There are some Democrats who are advocating spending the current surplus on
ongoing expenses. I prefer to return the surplus to the taxpayers in the form of tax
cuts. In the House, we tried in the last session to pass a reform of the commercial
property tax rates here in Iowa. Our commercial tax rates are among the highest in
the nation and make it harder to do business in Iowa. Our bill also lowered the cap
on increases in residential and agricultural property taxes. Property taxes are a cost
of doing business and money spent on property taxes is not available for expanding
a business and hiring new employees. It is also a factor in discouraging a new busi-
ness from starting up in Iowa. We could not get the Senate majority to agree to mean-
ingful property tax cuts last session so nothing was done. If we do nothing again,
property taxes will likely continue to increase across the board.
A factor that many people do not think about is the effect that an increase in fed-
eral income taxes will have on Iowa's revenue. If the U.S. Congress does nothing
about the scheduled federal tax increases at the beginning of 2013, Iowa revenues
will go down, since federal income taxes are deductible on Iowa income tax returns.
As always, feel free to contact me with your ideas or concerns at
julian.garrett@legis.state.ia.us or 515-281-3221.
Aphra Behn (1640-1689), the first woman in England to
become a pro4usional writer, also worked as a q)y for King
Charles U of England.
Call 911
for
emergencies !
Norwalk Easter Public Library
Board of Trustees Minutes
Following are the
Norwalk Easter Public Li-
brary Board of Trustees
Minutes for the regular
meeting held September 10,
2012.
Roll Call-Chairperson
Tom Dunn called the meet-
ing to order at 6:33 p.m.
Andrea Johnson, Diana
Duffy, Tom Dunn and
Dyann Vilez were present.
Donna Kitterman and
Jordyn Hill were not in at-
tendance. Library Director
Holly Karlen was present.
Guests-There were no
guests.
Review and Change
Agenda-Andrea Johnson
made the motion to accept
the agenda as written and
Diana Duf seconded the
motion, with the board
passing it.
Review Last Meetings
Minutes-The August regu-
lar Board minutes were ac-
cepted with a motion from
Andrea Johnson and a sec-
ond from Laura Greiner.
Director's Report-Nmn-
bets: Visitors: 5,679; circu-
lations: 7,391 (items withhl
library); 205 (checkouts on
Wilbor); 7,596 total; New
Accounts: 66; Adult Pro-
grams: 6 programs (58 par-
ticipants); Children's Pro-
grams: 6 programs (311 par-
ticipants; includes pool
party at end of summer
read).
Staffing-Wewill be hir-
ing two new positions to
begin October 15. One of the
positions is to create a new
role within the library as
program assistant to help
primarily with adult pro-
gramming.
Programming-Still try-
ing to find time to develop
more adult programming
I am excited to see what
community group says in
strategic plan process
Technology Update: I
think we have solved all
problems for now.
Phone System-New sys-
tem was installed on Sep-
tember 11, 2012 and ap-
pears to be working well.
Other:. Automatic Door
Update-WCPP grant is due
October 1; Library Hours-
Wireless Walker Counter
Integration; Copiers-De-
cided that it was better for
us to wait on this issue un-
til closer to our ending con-
tract; Overdue Materials-
We can discuss more after I
have a chance to update
policy. Family Fun Day-Sat-
urda3 Oct. 13, 2012; Time:
9 a.m.-2 p.m. (Food from 11
a.m.-2 p.m.).Not a fund-
raiser, however will have
"free-will" donation jars
around except for Bingo -
will charge for that. We are
good on volunteers. We
have many high school stu-
dents interested.
Old Business-Treas-
urer's Report- Budget is on
schedule.
Strategic Plan - First
community meeting is to-
morrow night at 6:30.
Interlibrary Loan Policy
- Tabled until more infor-
mation available.
Overdue Materials -
Tabled until more informa-
tion is available.
Copiers - Tabled until
-more information is avail-
able:
New Business-None
Meeting Activity Re-
cord-Motion 1: Agenda Ap-
proval: Motion made by
Andrea Johnson, seconded
b Diana Duffy. Motion
passed.
Motion 2: Approval of
August 13 minutes: Motion
made by Andrea Johnson,
seconded by Dyann Vilez.
Motion passed.
Motion 3: Approval of
Bills to be paid: Motion
made by Diana Duffy, sec-
onded by Dyann Vilez.
Motion 4: Adjournment:
Motion made by Dyann
Vilez, seconded by Andrea
Johnson. Motion passed.
8-28-12 E-mail Agenda
Item:
Motion 1: Install New
Phone System Approval:
Motion made by Tom
Dunn, seconded by Diana
Duffy, motion passed.
Adjournment-Chairper-
son Tom Dunn requested a
motion for adjournment.
Adjourned at 6:59.
Minutes approved 11/12/12
Submitted by Diana Duffy,
Secretary
Norwalk Easter Public
Library Board of
Trustees Minutes
Of the Regular Meeting
of October 8, 2012
Roll Call-No quorum,
meeting cancelled.
Submitted by Diana Duffy,
Secretary
]Did You Know? 1
(NAPS)--Paying into a
prepaid 529 plan can help
you .save on your child's col-
lege tuition. Contributions
made by June 30th will buy
tuition at 2012 rates as new
rates take effect July ]st. For
more information, visit www.
)rivatecollege529.com.
J,
The Comptroller of the
Currency and the Federal
Reserve Board have ordered
the Independent Foreclosure
Review to determine wheth-
er you were hurt financially
and to provide compensation
or remediation for that harm.
roore at www.independ
entforeclosurerevtew.com.
***
The "Top 10 Responsible
Sports Moments" honors
sportsmanship, selflessness
and responsibility in youth
sports. The program is part
of Liberty Mutual Insurance
Responsible Sports program,
which supports children's
success both on and off the
field. To nominate a 2012
moment, visit www.Face
book.com/ResponsibleSports.
Winning organizations will
receive a $1,000 award from
Liberty Mutual Insurance.
***
Since 1931, a program of
the Library of Congress--the
National Library Service for
the Blind and Physically
Handicapped (NLS)--has
been providing reading mate-
rials, free of charge, for the
visually impaired and phys-
ically handicapped. To learn
more, visit www.loc.gov/nls.
LIBRARY HOURS
Monday - Thursday
10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Friday & Saturday
10 a.m. -5 p.m.
Sunday, 1 - 5 p.m.
Closed Sundays
(Memorial Day-Labor Day)
Doffed Bliss and friends
*Friday, Nov. 30th * 4pm-8pm
*Saturday, Dec. 1st * 9am-3pm
2502 Hills Drive, Norwalk
ALL ITEMS HANDMADE by: Deb Fairfax-Dotted Bliss bags & accessories,
Becky Anthony-magnets, Angela Davtdson-jackets & accessories, Maggie
HadowVogt-jeweln d, liarde Lamen-baked goods by Karde & Darcy, Mallory
Metzger-jewelry, Angela Miller-little girls nectaaces, Amanda Pelzer-letter
photography & vintage accessories, Wendy Smith-aprons, Vanezza
Van Buskirk.button jewel, Jane Walker-hand knit scarves
see our Dotted Bliss laceln page for pictures of our work
tval
