Iowa City Press-Citizen du lieu suivant : Iowa City, Iowa • Page 9

Have a local news tip? Give us a call at 337-3181 and ask for Martens Perrin, the city editor TUESDAY, AUGUST 28 1990 OCAI Weather Deaths 2B Iowa pity Press-Citizen Page IB SCHOOL BUS (2B Immmmi i vu 8 1 i'- ii 'l ii- iiiiiimwmwt jftni i ifhr- ffiinrinrfKifi n-ijiir----- affVr-rMi rtiii inMifltift-fcu'in miMriinrranii intimi iTrtrti-gi tfiftrriwiTi Norm Sold on school More than 100 realty signs greet West High students on the first day of class. The signs were in the median of Melrose Avenue on Monday. School districts get 4 new superintendents gree from Northwest Missouri State University, master's degree from Northeast Mis By Stacy Swadish The Press-Citizen Area school districts have four new superintendents ready to work when school starts this week. AmanaClear Creek Craig Okerberg, 47. Hometown: Marathon.

Education: Bachelor's degree from Iowa State University, master's degree in science education from the Uni souri State University, and an ed-ucation specialist degree from the University of Iowa. Started work on a sit a rt State College; educa tion specialist degree from Drake University. Previous iob: West Liberty High School principal, 1986-1990. Salary: $50,000. Family: Wife, Diana; two sons, Thad, a freshman at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, and Trent, a high school freshman.

First-year goal: Meeting the space needs for a growing school district. Williamsburg William Thompson, 42. Hometown: Oakland. Education: Bachelor's degree from Simpson College, master's degree in education administration from Iowa CITY BRIEFS Schools dismiss because of heat Heat and humidity meant short days for area schoolchildren today and Monday. Several districts sent children home as temperatures soared into the 90s.

Iowa City schools dismissed at 1 p.m. both days. There were no afternoon kindergarten classes. Solon schools, which dismissed at 2 p.m. Monday, were dismissed at 1:10 p.m.

today. Clear Creek schools let out at 1:30 p.m. Monday, but had made no decision this morning about an early release today. Lone Tree schools had classes all day Monday, but were to release children at 2 p.m. today.

Cooler temperatures are expected to move into the state tonight. Local woman killed in car-truck crash One woman was killed and another injured when a car and a garbage truck collided in Iowa City Monday. Sharon Jones, 36, of 3211 Lakeside Drive was killed when the car she was driving collided with a garbage truck driven by Michael Covington of Cedar Rapids at the intersection of Highway 1 and Mormon Trek Boulevard. The Iowa State Patrol said Jones was southbound on Mormon Trek at 11:25 a.m., and apparently failed to stop for a stop sign. Her car hit the garbage truck, which was westbound on Highway 1.

A passenger in Jones' car, Barbara Engels, 30, of Oxford, was taken to University Hospitals, where she was listed in fair condition. County gets grants to stop drug traffic Three Johnson County law enforcement agencies have a state grant to help them track down on drugs. The Governor's Alliance on Substance Abuse awarded $26,148 to Coralville to form a narcotics task force. The task force will include officers from the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, and Coralville and Iowa City police departments. The task force will work with agencies on county, state and federal levels.

The result should be an increase in drug-related arrests, Iowa City Police Chief R. J. Winkelhake said. The task force will be able to do things individual agencies are not able to do by themselves, he said. "For us, I think it's going to be an exciting time." The grant is renewable for three years.

Yearbooks available The 1990 West High yearbooks are available at the school's journalism department. Students can pick up yearbooks today at noon and after school. I versity of Iowa and credentials from UI. Previous job: Superintendent of the Melcher- Cunningham Last job: High school superintendent at Paris, for seven years. Salary: $50,000.

Family: Wife, Senna; five children, Tiffany, 20; Toi, 19; Tjader, 16, Tjerrett, 10, and Joshua, 10. First-year goal: Uniting the people in the district behind the School Board on use of school buildings. West Liberty evenly between three choices: keeping a kindergarten to sixth-grade elementary school in both towns, having kindergarten to third or fourth grade in each town and a new middle school built near the high school, or a completely centralized district. The Highland district is about 20 miles long and five miles across. It includes the towns of Riverside and Ainsworth.

The high school is in a rural halfway between the two towns. "I heard a lot of people felt left out of this project," Cunningham said. "Everyone who wants to have a voice can." Cunningham wants to have a consultant work out a building proposal and then have a study committee review the options. Cunningham said people should understand that a first-class school would cost money. He wants to have a bond pro-! posal ready to go before voters in January or February.

Highland decided to have district patrons vote on the instructional support levy. "What you do above and beyond the state standards is what is important," he said. Money from that will be used to pay for an elementary guidance counselor and an elementary media specialist. "It's important to me to get this behind us instead of going over the same steps again and again," Cunningham said. "If everyone pulls in the same direction, wonderful things can happen." Cunningham said anyone could step into a good district and keep it at the same level.

The challenge comes from taking a good school district and making it into an excellent one. "I don't know why a superintendent wouldn't give his eye-teeth for this job." By Stacy Swadish The Press-Citizen Ira Cunningham isn't the kind of person who takes things slow and easy. At his first School Board meeting in July, Cunningham explained the new instructional support levy, told the board he wanted to conduct a district-wide survey and asked the board to approve all-day, every-day kindergarten. And, he had to decipher layers of state education rules new rules for him. Cunningham, the new superintendent of the Highland School District, came to Iowa from Paris, where he was a superintendent for seven years.

At Highland, he's supervised maintenance at the district's three buildings and set up a latch-key program. So far, about 30 students have signed up for before and after school care. Now, he's looking into a breakfast program and somehow has managed to find and buy a home in Ainsworth that is big enough for him, his wife and their five children. Cunningham, 46, started work in a district that had a stormy year. Angry parents confronted School Board members to protest a busing plan designed to reduce overcrowding at Riverside Elementary School.

When school starts Wednesday, all first-, second- and third-grade students will attend Ainsworth Elementary School. All fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students will attend Riverside Elementary School. One of Cunningham's first jobs was to order two-way radios for all bus drivers. "I feel very strongly that we should be in district-wide communication," he said. "It's important to be fiscally conserva- 4 i if State University, started doctoral work at University of Iowa.

Previous job: Mid-Prairie high school principal. Family: Okerberg Scnool dis. trict in south central Iowa from 1985-1990. Family: Wife, Sharon; three children; Mickey, 20, a student at UI, Melinda, 11, and Christopher, 9. Salary: $55,000.

First year goal: Working on the two districts' whole-grade sharing arrangement to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible. Highland Ira Cunningham, 46. Hometown: Albia. Education: Bachelor's de- Thompson Lee Hoover, 45. Hometown Rembrandt.

a-tion: Bachelor's degree from University of Northern Wife, Carol; two sons, Billy, 8, and Michael 6. Salary: $52,000. First year goal: Balancing contact with students with the administrative duties of running a school district. Hoover ter's degree Iowa; Mankato, tive, but children's safety is important too." He also has parents and grandparents signed up to ride the buses for the first few days of school. "There is nothing better than a grandmother-type to calm some fears," he said.

Cunningham said some good came of last year's problems. "There are pluses to having 50 people show up for a board meeting. It forces boards and teachers to assess their positions. Because of the controversy, we can become a much better school district." Some changes Cunningham has made will be visible the first day of school. Others will take longer to see.

Cunningham said he had about a 25 percent response on his districtwide survey of building needs. So far, people are divided 1st day of class brings new faces in new places 1 By Stacy Swadish The Press-Citizen TIFFIN The first day of school Monday brought a new name and new students to Clear Creek-Amana High School. A whole-grade sharing agreement between the Amana and Clear Creek districts was approved in January. All high school students living in the two districts attend school in Tiffin. All middle school students attend school in Amana.

Most high schools have orientation for new freshman and a handful of students whose families moved into the district. Monday, Clear Creek-Amana High School was the exception. More than half of the students were new, principal Tom McAreavy said. The freshman class has about 60 students. About 50 students in all high school grades came from Amana, and about 10 students moved into the district.

The entire school enrollment is about 210 students. "It's amazing," McAreavy said. "It hasn't been that hectic." McAreavy stood in the hallway and direqted students between classes. "If you're in chorus only, go to lunch now," he said. Beth Kellenberger and Heat her Gnewikow, both sophomores, said their first day was confusing.

"It's easy to get lost when you're not used to a big school," Gnewikow said. Kellenberger's school day is longer. She lives across the street from the Amana school. Now, she won't get home until 4:30 p.m. Students and teachers were enthusiastic about the changes.

The school went from a seven-period day to eight periods. That let students take more courses and gave teachers a chance to add new classes. Amana students brought some of their cultural heritage with them as well. Clear Creek-Amana now offers German and Spanish as foreign languages. "It's really helped expand our curriculum," McAreavy said.

The principal wasn't the only person excited about new options for students. Band director Tom Frantz led his percussion section through pep band drills outside the school. "We're planning on doing half-time shows. That's new for all the kids," Frantz said. Clear Creek-Amana will field a football team this year.

It's the first time Amana students have had the opportunity to play EYE ON Ul Professors to talk about Persian Gulf Three professors will talk about the crisis in the Persian Gulf Wednesday at the University of Iowa College of Law. The discussion, sponsored by the Iowa Society of International Law and Affairs, will be from 1:45 to 3 p.m. in the student lounge on the fourth floor of Boyd Law Building. It is open to the public. Participants will be Steven Burton, a law professor, formerly of the State Department; James Lindberg, professor of geography and associate dean of academic programs for the College of Liberal Arts; and Burns Weston, Bessie Dutton Murray professor of law, who specializes in international law.

nn.ni m. -m-n-mii i Jig .1 Prt-Citi2W)Rodnay While Former Amana student Chuck Miller (right) plays during band practice at Clear CreelcAmana High School. football. To a band director, football games mean pep band music and half-time drills. Frantz hasn't planned a half-time show in 10 years.

The high school band has about 50 members. Combining set down his drums to play linebacker. After lettering in basketball, golf and baseball, Berger is playing football for the first time. "Football's a welcome change," he said. "It shouldn't be a problem." Clear Creek and Amana filled out some sections.

"It will really help the flutes," Frantz said. Some band members will be doing double-duty band and football. Jeremy Berger, a senior, will.