TODAY....SUNNY....NICE....47 DEGREES.

NICE WEEKEND, BUT LITTLE COOLER, ALMOST HERE.

LONG WEEKEND FOR SOME WITH PRESIDENT'S DAY MONDAY.

AT THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING THIS WEEK, THE COUNCIL LOOKED AT
SEVEN BIDS TO DEMOLISH THE OLD POOL AND BATH HOUSE IN MAQUOKETA.
LOW BID WAS FROM ARDO SCHMIDT, $38,269.
HIGH BID WAS $89,500.
A PREVIOUS BID OF $4,650 FOR ASBESTOS REMOVAL IS ALSO PART OF THE
PROJECT.
THE COUNCIL WILL HAVE THIS TO ACT ON OR NOT AT THE COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY NIGHT.
THE JOB INCLUDES REMOVING CONCRETE DECKING AND SIDEWALKS AROUND THE FILLED-IN 1040'S POOL....REMOVING CONCRETE SLABS NEAR THE POOL
HOUSE, REMOVE THE OLD BASKETBALL COURT AND STRUCTURES WITHIN
THE FENCE THAT SURROUNDS THE 1970'S POOL.
MY QUESTION....WHAT ABOUT THE 1970'S POOL ITSELF?

THE ADDITION TO THE WELDING SHOP AT THE MAQUOKETA HIGH SCHOOL
WILL BE PUT OUT FOR BIDS IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS. A 40 BY 60 FOOT
ADDITION HAS BEEN DESIGNED FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS, BUT PAID-FOR BY CLINTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE. THE COLLEGE RECEIVED A $366.000 GRAND TO PAY FOR THE FACILITY. IT WILL BE A STEEL BUILDING THAT WILL
MATCH THE CURRENT WELDING CLASSROOM BUILDING. IT WILL COST THE MAQUOKETA SCHOOL DISTRICT NOTHNG AND IT WILL BECOME A DISTRICT BUILDING. IT WILL BE ADA ACCESSIBLE. THE WELDING PROGRAM WILL
BE EXPANDED AND WILL BE CALLED A MANUFACTURING CENTER.
ADDED WILL BE TWO ROBOT WELDERS, TWO CNC MACHINES AND A PLASMA
CUTTER. OTHER CLASSES MAY BE ADDED.
A DEFINITE PLUS FOR MAQUOKETA!

THE SALVATION ARMY CHRISTMAS KETTLE DRIVE THIS PAST CHRISTMAS
BROUGHT IN $16,207.54......70% STAYS IN JACKSON COUNTY FOR FAMILIES
IN NEED. FAMILIES THAT HAVE A NEED WILL BE ABLE TO REQUEST
HELP ONE TIME.

IT WON'T BE LONG AND IT WILL BE HERE......TORQUEFEST 2012 IN MAQUOKETA!
MAY 4TH AND 5TH....AT THE FAIRGROUNDS.
BIGGER AND BETTER!
THIS YEAR THERE WILL BE A PRE-TOURQUEFEST DOWNTOWN EVENT ON
THURSDAY NIGHT BEFORE IT STARTS. RICH CURRENT OF THE
CORONADO CAR CLUB IN MAQUOKETA HAS MORE INFORMATION.
AND THE TORQUEFEST WEB SITE IS: vintagetorquefest.com

HAVE A NICE WEEKEND.

DENNIS VOY

MAQUOKETA COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPT. DR. KIM HUCKSTADT TALKED WITH SEN. TOD BOWMAN OF MAQUOKETA AT THE IOWA STATEHOUSE ON FEB. 16TH. SEN. BOWMAN, A MEMBER OF THE SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE, ASKED ABOUT IDEAS TO IMPROVE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN OUR LOCAL SCHOOLS. RECENTLY THE IOWA SENATE VOTED TO INCREASE STATE SUPPORT FOR MAQUOKETA SCHOOLS DURING THE 2013-14 SCHOOL YEAR AND PROVIDE A TOTAL OF $8,897,450. BOWMAN SAYS THE IOWA HOUSE AND GOV. BRANSTAD HAVE THUS FAR FAILED TO FOLLOW THE 40-YEAR-OLD STATE LAW REQUIRING STATE GOVERNMENT TO HELP LOCAL SCHOOLS BUDGET FOR THE FUTURE.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED!
DENNIS VOY