By Elaine Rassel
Another hot week with not much rain. There were nights when the weather forecast wasn’t the greatest. Some got high winds and even a tornado that touched down and destroyed property.
The last of this week was really the best I have felt since that incident on July 4. Like I said that day, “If I was a druggy and took beyond what my body could handle, that would be the last time. I never want to experience this again!”
I went to the Library on Wednesday for their last summer program. Laura Jones was the presenter. She is such a vivacious speaker and she knows what she is talking about! There was an article she wrote in the Chronicle about her Micro Prairie that she has established. She has butterflies, bumblebees as well as birds that go from flower to flower. She says if you can have a garden, you can have this Micro Prairie. These prairies are small areas with a diverse mix of densely planted native flowering plants. Think of the mowing and trimming you wouldn’t have to do?! (I’m not sure if we would have an ordinance on this kind of “over-flowing nature spot” that would allow it?)
Well, RAGBRAI is leaving Le Mars on Sunday to head for Golden Pheasant Corner at Remsen. What a disaster for anyone coming or going to Remsen that time. I understand Remsen is taking them downtown before they get to Golden Pheasant corner. At least that is what the secretary from St. Paul’s said_people couldn’t park on the west side of the church as there was to be no parking on Main Street.
I didn’t realize that RAGBRAI paid people until I read in the Chronicle that Cherokee was going to be paid $10,000 to help cover expenses. I would expect the places like Le Mars and Sac City that kept them overnight would even be getting more than the $10,000. Remember when they came and literally went through Marcus without really stopping? I was in Cherokee on Friday afternoon and already bikers were headed for their destination ahead of time. Like a former RAGBRAI bikers said, “You cannot stop at every pie or food stand and eat something. You would be sick and financially broke !” I wonder how many of these people really are ready to eat from the short distance from Le Mars to Cherokee? Perhaps they will open up the vehicle trunk, put the bike in it, and head for a cooler place! (I have seen this when they passed by the Junction area one year.) When this group started out, it was meant to be an interesting ride to see some of Iowa. Now it has expanded to so many, it just isn’t the same. Maybe that is why some prefer to start out early and avoid this. On Sunday, already someone had a seizure (by Hoefling’s corner) and was taken away by helicopter. Le Mars had their share of people passing out on Saturday night. If already people are having trouble, what is going to happen during the day when the temperature is really hot?
A couple of weeks ago I turned into Channel 9 on a Tuesday night. I got the last of a speaker telling about his part in the Vietnam War. It was George Englebritson! (Probably not spelled right!) What I did hear was very interesting. We know this was the war or conflict that should never have been. He did talk about it unlike some that will not talk about their part in any war. For some it can be too painful.
The ballot boxes are out and waiting for your vote as to will be King and Queen of the 150th celebration! Candidates for King are Ray Drefke, Abe Smith, Kim Hoefling, Ric Collins, and Clark Rainboth. Queen candidates are Julie Sand, Bonnie Means, Bonnie Collins, Sharon Rupp, and Vickie Rainboth. Do your part and vote!
Did you read in Saturday’s paper about the nursing home in Sioux City that is eligible for a list of the nation’s worst? The long list of alleged violations included staff ignoring residents’ cries for help is among the nation’s worst, according to a government agency. This care center is one of only 10 Iowa care facilities now eligible to be placed on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Special-Focus Facility List. The national list identifies facilities with “repeated cycles of serious deficiencies, which pose risks to residents’ health and safety.
The care center was cited for 25 federal violations and one state violation following a April 16 state inspection consisting of interviews with the 33 residents and the staff, on-site observations and document reviews. An average nursing home will have 6 to 7 deficiencies per inspection, but this care center went well over this number.
There were examples of how long residents had to wait for someone to come to answer their call as well as waiting over 40 minutes before performing CPR on an individual without a pulse despite documentation stating basic life support.
In 2019, they were fined $59,346 from two separate inspections. This time they are fined $58,095. The home is owned by Propco, a New York-based real estate firm. We can be very proud of HEARTLAND CARE CENTER! I cannot see any of these employees doing what is happening in that care center in Sioux City.
I want to thank all of you that have remembered me after my surgery. I appreciated all phone calls, cards, and concerns. I wouldn’t want to go through this again but I had no choice. I’m on the mend now after having a vacation since May 28!
Keep those who have lost ones to death in your prayers and concerns, those that are struggling with an illness, those financially affected due to the virus, getting back into the work force, and those who are trying to shorten their distancing from family and friends. Don’t put off making amends until tomorrow as tomorrow might not come for you.
I will leave you with this ‘food for thought’ from a Happy Siesta cookbook (1889-1989:
Is anybody happier because you passed this way? Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today. The day is almost over and its toiling is through; Is there anyone to utter now a kindly word to you? Can you say tonight in parting with the day that’s slipping past, that you helped a single being of the many that you passed? Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said? Does the man whose hopes were fading now with courage look ahead? Did you waste the day or lose it; was it well or poorly spent? Did you leave a trail of kindness, or a scar of discontent? As you close your eyes in slumber, do you thing that God will say, “You have earned one more tomorrow, by the work you did today?”