This past Monday the Marcus City Council met. Iowa DOT was at the meeting to update the Council on the Highway 143 and Highway 3 problem. Mayor Bunt sent a letter to DOT in January asking for a Round-about there. Since then, the DOT has approved an extended right lane to be started on in late August. Land had to be purchased from those bordering the extended lane making this a $400,000 plus project.
The DOT left with ten point suggestions for the Council to consider if they still want the round-about.
We went to the MMCRU Foundation Dinner Saturday, March 19. The graduating class of MMCRU served the “picnic style” supper of pork loin sandwich, broasted potato wedges, coleslaw (or macaroni salad) and a cookie. Plymouth County Pork Producers donated the meat. Thanks to them!
Those speech students who went to State gave their presentations to the audience. They were good and I could see why they went to State.
There was a silent auction with walls of the gym lined with donations people gave that enabled buyers to sign their name and what they wanted to give for the article. The stage had articles to be auctioned off with Chuck Ogren as the Auctioneer.
Stage items included lemon breads, pies, cupcakes, rolls, 2 packs of steaks (Jeff’s Foods), 200 gallons of Red Diesel (JW Fuel Co.), passes to several events, quilts, pillows, 2 of the Semi State Basketball with endorsements, pictures from 150 Marcus celebration, wood carvings, signs of all kinds, car washes passes and a wood toy box. These were just a few of the many items that people paid for with the result of the graduates having some money for scholarships.
Tickets drawn were given to Jamie Stevens $500); Brenda Bird ($150), Blake Letsche ($100) and Val Owens ($50).
Items around the gym included passes to Brown’s Theater, Okoboji Park, theaters in our area, swimming pool, Country Club as well as restaurants in Remsen and if you wanted to know how to sew, there was a class offered for this! O’Henry bars were there very tempting!, all kinds of Car Care products (Wyatt R.), as well as from Ames Body Shop and Hesse’s. Country Creations had several articles as well as Details, shampoo and conditioners were offered and a “nail” package for your nails. There were many baskets offered for your bid. And, what little boy (or maybe an adult?!) wouldn’t have liked the tractor sent by Wade and Kathy Berger? These were just a few of the many items there.
Marcus bid farewell to two of its citizens this past week that being Anna Alesch and Bonnie Husman. These ladies will be missed by those who knew them. May they rest in peace until we meet again.
I read where we might not have to change our clocks back or go forth anymore if this Day Light Savings bill goes through. Cows won’t have to change the time to be milked! This has been a big deal with farmers who have said that their cows aren’t used to this time change.
In a recent write-up, it was stated, “It’s times like thesea that excite scammers.” You see images from Ukraine and feel compassion and the need to give what you can to help civilians fleeing to safety. Con artists see the Russian invasion as a way to use your generosity against you. One woman reported she had received a call asking that she give to the relief effort to benefit Ukrainian children on behalf of an “international” charity whose name she didn’t recognize. She hung up on the caller.
If the stock market indexes are down and you worry about your investment not giving your anything, the con artist is ready to help you. They offer you a guaranteed way for you to invest and earn big money without any risk.
How about rising oil prices? Scammers will send you e-mails or text messages about where to find cheaper gas prices, or how to invest to take advantage of rising prices at the pump.
For one week of every year (March 6 to 12 this year) state, federal and local law endorsement agencies and consumers groups focus heavily on fraud as part of National Consumer Protection Week. The scammers are nearly impossible to eradicate because they’ve found a suitable environment to thrive such as social media platforms.
People reported losing $796 million to fraud initiated on social media in 2021, according to FTC. That’s up from $257 million in 2020. The FTC has great resources to help you avoid being victimized. Go to ftc.gov and subscribe to consumer alerts, or search for “National Consumer Protection Week” to find upcoming events on Twitter and Facebook.
If it looks to good to be true, it probably is and especially if it is from someone a person trusts. If you get a direct message and the greeting is general, such as “How are you?” or something similar, suspect it right away. Never send any money to anyone who reaches out to you via social media, even if it appears to be a desperate friend or family member. Scammers can easily steal a photo and bio information and create a fake account. Your e-mail account can be hijacked to look real. They can steal just enough personal information to make their con appear legit. Trust nothing. Verify everything. Paranoia is your protection from losing your hard-earned money.
I see in today’s Journal where people who have paraeducator certificates can now take the substitute teacher course offered by Northwest AEA. Prior to the pandemic, the AEA’s substitute authorization course was limited to those 21 years old with a bachelor’s degree, associate’s degree or 60 college credit hours. Now the last few months of courses, there has been a capacity with 32 each month and people ranging from 21 years to 70 years with a variety of different career backgrounds. In a five-day course, participants learn about ethics, diversity, learning strategies and behavior management. There is an acute shortage of substitute teachers in our region. If you could qualify, why not look into this?
Remember to keep in your thoughts and prayers those who have lost loved ones to death, are experiencing health problems, some of which are terminal, are trying to make ends meet even though they have a job, encourage those who are not working to find a job, to those who have a choice of one of two roads, to find the right road, and encourage those who have distanced themselves from friends or family to build a bridge rather than a wall. Count your blessings.
I will close with this quote from Mother Teresa (1910-1997) Albanian saint, “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”