School board ratifies 4.5 percent increase with education union

    The New Hampton Community School Board approved several employee contracts at Monday night’s meeting.
    They ratified a two-year contract with the education support group comprised of non-teaching employees, cooks, janitors, bus drivers, etc. The board and the union negotiated a 4.5 percent increase for each of the two years.
    The board also granted a 4.5 percent increase to school administrators and non-union employees. They included principals, office personnel and department heads.

    Thirty-two New Hampton students recently participated in a Battle of the Books in the school cafeteria.
    Students had the opportunity to compete in an academic contest, read quality literature, become familiar with great authors, work as a team, perform in front of an audience, develop interest to read for pleasure, polish and reinforce skills, and have fun.

    The Chickasaw County Rescue Squad got to experience firsthand what it’s like to be swallowed by grain, and how to rescue people who find themselves in that emergency.
    Training Officer Jeff Kuehn set up the training exercise on May 10 through Professional Rescue Innovators out of Fort Dodge. The company oversees these types of training exercises throughout the state and arranged for Iowa Fire Training Bureau out of Ames to come to New Hampton to conduct the training for squad members.
    Chickasaw Emergency Management Director Ken Rasing said 14 members of the rescue squad participated in the grain bin rescue exercise.

Students show enthusiastic support for U.S.A.

    Chants of “USA, USA, USA”  could be heard when the students representing our nation came forward as New Hampton got a taste of the upcoming 2008 Olympics on Friday afternoon, May 9 at the Chickasaw football stadium when the middle school students presented their version of an  “Olympic Celebration”.  The event, attended by elementary classes, teachers, parents and others, included the fanfare and color of the opening ceremonies, with the Parade of Nations and the presentation of countries.  The 2008 Summer Olympics will be held in Beijing, China.

    The new Character Counts Pocket Park on the walking trail near the Chickasaw Wellness Complex was dedicated Friday, May 9, and marked the end of Character Counts week-long activities.
    The pocket park is a gazebo-style shelter located east of the CWC and provides TriMark Freedom Trail users with a place to escape inclement weather or merely stop for a rest.

    New Hampton girls’ golf team again scored a school record low score while winning a quad meet with Cresco, Charles City and Decorah last Thursday night.