The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 11

ST FRIDAY September 22, 2006 KATHY A. BOLTEN, Metro Communities Editor, 515-284-8283'e-mail; kboltenfidmreg com Synagogue's new year SI(Bk has more orthodox zeal IHBSI1D 2V lira JUoinrj itrpbtrr METROS IOWA diss Rabbi returning Beth El Jacob to traditional Jewish roots Governor making a second trip to the Granite State By JANE NORMAN REGISTER WASHINGTON BUREAU Manchester, N.H. Among the throngs of "leaf-peepers" here to enjoy the changing colors of a New England autumn is an Iowa politician with a different quest. Gov. Tom Vilsack arrived Thursday in New Hampshire, as he winds down the last months of his term as Iowa's chief executive and possibly begins a bid for the Democratic Sen.

John Edwards, a 2004 candidate and then a running mate to John Kerry and now a possible candidate all over again, never decamped the Granite State. So Vilsack is hardly rushing the election with two trips under his belt, said Wayne Lesperance, associate professor of political science at New England College in Henniker. "New Hampshire is great for a person like Tom Vilsack, because it's a small enough state he can have a credible campaign without spending a whole lot of money," said Lesperance. That will sound familiar to Iowans, who have made the same argument repeatedly to national Democratic leaders who want to juggle the calendar and let larger states with more substantial minority populations move to the front of the line. National Democrats in Au- See VILSACK, Page 4B presidential Vilsack nomination.

It is Vilsack's second trip to the state that hosts the nation's first presidential primary in January 2008. New Hampshire is attracting the same early crush of potential candidates in the wide-open presidential race as Iowa, home of the first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. The standard joke is that By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE BtljISIl Oil IGUJtt I DIIOH At sundown today, members of Beth El Jacob Synagogue will begin their celebration of Rosh Hashana. the Jewish new year, with new fervor. "The Beth El Jacob congregation is returning to its roots," said Rabbi Aaron Schwar-zbaum.

"The synagogue is returning to what it was when it was first founded 70 years ago." Taking a new direction to become "more orthodox" has been Schwarzbaum's goal since he became rabbi at the Cummins Parkway synagogue in August 2004. "I told the congregation that if they wanted to be a great social club, then we have a beautiful building and wonderful facilities," Schwarz-baum said. The congregation responded to his spiritual wake-up call and embraced several changes in the past year. The membership boasts a record of more than 430 days of morning and evening prayer services attended by a "min-yan," the quorum required for Jewish worship. It is an achievement accomplished by only two Jewish congregations in the state.

The synagogue has returned to the Orthodox Jewish tradition of separate seating for men and women. In August, Beth El Jacob welcomed the first class to TAG Academy, its Jewish day school. Based on Montessori education methods, the school provides "serious Orthodox See ROSH HASHANA, Page 4B What is Rosh Hashana? Rosh Hashana is the beginning of the Jewish calendar. The Jewish holy day begins at sundown today. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashana means "head of the year," or "first of the year." Unlike the secular New Year holiday Jan.

1, the Jewish holiday is a period of solemn reflection on the past year and of resolutions for the coming year. A ram's horn, called the Shofar, is blown to signal the beginning of the new year. Rosh Hashana begins the 10-day observance of the most holy days of the Jewish year. The observance ends with the celebration of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which begins at sunset Oct. 1.

For more information Beth El Jacob Synagogue Ex-investigator: No proof photos aren't of Gosch zYMfj --y JbsAfA On the Web See a copy of the letter that Des Moines police received tipping them to a Florida connection to the photos at DesMoinesRegister.com. A Florida sheriffs office can't prove they predate the 1980s D.M. case. By LEE ROOD REGISTER STAFF WRITER She made news around the globe, telling how the photos of three youths who were bound and gagged arrived on her doorstep in late August tor publicly debunked her theory last week. But that investigator now admits that the Hillsborough County sheriff's office cannot find any evidence proving the photos were actually from a case he worked in 1979, as he recalled.

"It's been like searching for a needle in a haystack," former detective Nelson Zalva said Thursday. "We're talking cases that were kept See GOSCH, Page 5B 24 years after her son Johnny disap Gosch peared. DAVID PETERSONTHE REGISTER Some doubt 954 Cummins Parkway Des Moines, IA 50312 (515) 274-1551 www.betheljacob.org Meir Klein covers his face with his shawl as he prays during a Wednesday morning service at Beth El Jacob Synagogue in Des Moines. The congregation is returning to more ancient Jewish traditions under Rabbi Aaron Schwarzbaum's leadership. ed Noreen Gosch's claims that the photos included images of her long-lost 12-year- old after a Florida investiga- Graceland takes on world in talent, pride New licenses cost drivers money, time, state says 1 vV- that mobilizes university students to create economic opportunity for others while discovering their own potential." What that means is 86 students at Graceland signed up to join SIFE and discuss business ethics and entrepreneurship and to work with existing companies, helping make them more successful.

The Graceland students, working with SIFE director Andy Simpson, come up with projects that fit the criteria and benefit businesses and team members. See CARLSON, Page 4B things. All of Graceland is celebrating the SIFE team. Which last week finished second. In the world, their trophy presented in front of 2,000 friends and competitors on a stage in Paris.

And just what is SIFE, you ask? The letters stand for Students in Free Enterprise, and it is a very big deal at this small southern Iowa college and, it turns out, some 1,400 other institutions of higher learning around the world. Graceland officially describes SIFE as a "global nonprofit organization By JOHN CARLSON REGISTER STAFF WRITER It was just after midnight when the busload of jet-lagged students pulled into the parking lot at Graceland University. But it wasn't dark. And it wasn't quiet. There was a bonfire and 200 cheering fans welcoming their friends back to Lamoni after a marvelous victory.

It wasn't about football, although the Yellowjackets are ranked eighth in the nation in their division and look to be having a fine year. This time it was about academics and business, of all JohnCARLSOVS I 0 A integrity of state driver's licenses and identification cards, we are all deeply concerned that the implementation of the congressionally-mandated Real ID Act poses significant operational and financial challenges for Iowa and our citizens," said Gov. Tom Vilsack. The federal law creates national standards for issuing state driver's licenses and identification cards, helping to address anti-terrorism recommendations by the Sept. 1 1 See DOT, Page 4B Coming requirements will extend the wait for a license, the DOT says.

By WILLIAM PETR0SKI REGISTER STAFF WRITER Iowa motorists will wait nearly twice as long to obtain driver's licenses, and costs to state taxpayers will increase by at least $22 million annually to comply with the "Real ID Act" approved last year by Congress, state officials said Thursday. "While I am committed to increasing the security and ABC mm mmm.