Franklin County 4-H Fun Run/Walk will be May 2

HAMPTON — Franklin Coun-ty 4-H Foundation and Franklin County 4-H Youth Councils in-vite the public to participate in a 4-H’ers for 4-H 5K Fun Run/Walk, Sunday, May 2, at Maynes Grove Park, Hampton. Check in begins at 2 p.m. It’s easy to participate! 4-H Clubs that donate $3 per member to 4-H’ers for 4-H fund get to partic-ipate FREE! This includes family members too! All other youth in grades 4-12 can participate for $5 each. Youth younger than fourth grade must be accompanied by an adult. Adults can participate for $10. All participants must fill out/turn in a permission agreement, release and waiver of liability at check-in. The waiver can be found at: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/franklin/4h Participants should be re-spectful of others and maintain COVID-19 social distancing where

possible. Bottled drinks, pre-pack-aged snacks, and fruit will be avail-able to participants. This is an untimed event. Test your knowl-edge on Franklin County wildlife or 4-H and win a prize! Prizes for best “wildlife” costume too!! Listen to KLMJ 104.9 FM ra-dio for cancellation due to weath-er. For more information contact Jackie Dohlman, County Youth Coordinator, Franklin County ISU Extension & Outreach at jackied@iastate.edu

SERVING CERRO GORDO COUNTY AND THE COMMUNITIES OF ROCKWELL, SWALEDALE, MESERVEY, THORNTON & DOUGHERTY

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West Fork Stages 2021 Prom

Rockwell City Council hosts reception for Rick Whitney

BY DICK FRIDLEY ROCKWELL — Following a farewell reception for retiring Chief of Police Rick Whitney last Wednesday, the Rockwell City Council conducted a regular meeting. Mayor Mike Flatness thanked Whitney for his 20 years of service to the community. “With Chief Whitney’s retire-ment, we have advertised in sever-al places and are hoping to find a good fit for our community,” Flat-ness said. Flatness noted that badges will need to be ordered when the posi-tion is filled, with the Council then approving that idea. Linn Grove Country Club Janelle Nuehring was on hand on behalf of the Linn Grove Coun-try Club of Rockwell. She thanked the Council for their support and noted that this past year was the first that they have used the $5,000 the Council had allotted them. Councilman Brian Koob moved to allow $5,000 from local op-tion funds to be used for watering the course. That motion passed unanimously.Town celebration The Council discussed the up-coming Rockwell 151st anniversary celebration. Councilman Tom Worley, one of the event organizers, talked about the sale of food during the weekend event. Councilman Ran-dy Meyer indicated the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts would be selling food during the street dance — one of the opening events of the

weekend. Worley asked for anyone wanting to be a part of the parade to contact him or City Hall.Playground Koob said that with donations coming from Cerro Gordo County in July, there will be $51,000 raised for the Rockwell Playground. He noted that the structure cost was about $67,700 and the surface is $96,400, with the cost to be going up May 1. Following discussion, the Coun-cil approved allowing $100,000 of local option money to see this proj-ect through.Swimming pool Koob reported cleanup day for the Swimming Pool area will take place May 1. The hiring process of employees has been complet-ed, according to Koob, with the facility set to open Memorial Day weekend.Other business In other business, the Council: • Approved the minutes of the previous meeting. • Approved the Library report. • Noted that work on tearing down the nuisance building locat-ed at 213 East Main was scheduled to begin Monday, May 3. • Discussed the respective area road work projects for the summer months. Additional information regard-ing funding for the projects will be discussed at the next Council meeting. • Approved doing necessary re-pair work to the south water tower. Total estimated cost for the project, which will also include installing a chlorine detector, will be $14,800.

Rockwell bids farewell to Chief WhitneyFriends and colleagues gathered at the Rockwell Community

Center to bid farewell to Police Chief Rick Whitney and honor his 20 years of serving the Rockwell Community. To commemorate the event, Mayor Michael Flatness presented Whitney with a handcrafted shadow box displaying his badge and patch.

“To say thank you sometimes is just not enough,” said Mayor Flatness. “But, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for all that you’ve done.”

Pictured: Mike Flatness, Jay Siefken, and Jay Thompson celebrated Police Chief Rick Whitney’s retirement from the Rockwell Police Department on Wednesday, April 21.

Sukup acquires certain assets of Global Fabrication

SHEFFIELD — Sukup Manufacturing Co. is has announced the company is acquiring certain assets of Global Fabrication, Inc., a full service fabrication facility located in Hampton. This expansion will al-low Sukup to double its manufacturing capacity for cat walks, towers, and other structural products while maintaining a commitment to employment in North Central Iowa. The existing facility is approximately 70,000-square feet. Sukup is currently accepting appli-cations for immediate hires at this location, and plans to have the facility fully operational this month. Steve Sukup, president and CEO of Sukup Manu-facturing, said, “This is the second facility expansion Sukup has announced in 2021, and we believe this in-vestment in our manufacturing facilities is a positive sign of continued growth as a company. Ultimately,

our goal is to create products that help farmers feed and fuel the world, and this additional space and per-sonnel is necessary to meet demand. One of our top priorities in this acquisition is to retain many of Global Fab’s current employees. We look forward to a smooth transition, and adding manufacturing capacity for our material handling products.” “Sukup is a trusted employer in North Central Iowa,” said Todd Hall of Global Fabrication. “We ap-preciate Steve Sukup’s leadership through this pro-cess, and are confident the employee transition will go smoothly. It’s great to know that Global Fab will be part of Sukup’s positive impact on the agriculture industry moving forward.” NCP, Inc., acting as exclusive financial advisor, and BrownWinick, acting as legal counsel, advised Sukup on the transaction.

West Fork Board of Education approves calendar

BY DICK FRIDLEY SHEFFIELD — During its reg-ular meeting on Monday, April 19, the West Fork Board of Education approved the 2021-2022 school year calendar as presented. The first day of school will be Aug. 23. The main changes to the calendar will be a one-week spring break (March 14-18) and a one-hour early out on Wednesdays rather than a one-hour late start.Senior Class trip The Board approved the Senior Class trip for May 7-9 to Kansas City, following a presentation by several class members.Contracts The Board approved the 2021-2022 Master Contract Agreement with the West Fork Education Association. Other contracts approved were to the Support Staff, Lacey Pueggel as the School Business Official and for Middle School/High School Princi-

pal Bobby Willms and Elementary School Principal Ashley Flatebo.Personnel In personnel matters, the Board approved the following resignations: Jessica Barnes as para educator, Jen Otten as Middle School Student Council advisor, Myrna Hallman as a retiring cook at the Rockwell cam-pus, John Stevens as a bus driver and Matt Nuehring as High School Drama coach. Contracts were approved for Erika Nielsen as a kindergarten teacher, Emily Greimann as assis-tant softball coach, Abbie Emhoff as a sixth grade teacher and Martina Smith as a volunteer track coach. Other business In other business, the Board: • Approved the Consent Agenda items, which included: Approval of Agenda; Approve minutes of previ-ous meetings; Approval of financial reports; and Approval of bills and claims. • Heard reports from Willms,

Flatebo and Superintendent Mike Kruger. In his report, Kruger discussed the fact that bus cameras have been installed. • Approved the Area Educa-tion Agency (AEA) Purchasing agreement. “This is something that we do annually which allows us to pur-chase things at a reduced rate,” said Kruger. • Approved the Fiscal Year 2020 Audit. • Approved two open enrollment out requests and denied one other one. Four open enrollment in re-quests were approved. “Our hope for the fall is to have 100 percent on-site instruction. Un-less there is a spike in COVID-19 cases, that remains our goal,” said Kruger. • Approved the FEMA Project Resolution. • Reviewed Athletic Travel poli-cies for other area schools.

Featured in this photo during the Grand March are Kacie Eisentrager and Holden Willratt.(Dick Fridley photos)

Prom dates taking part in the Grand March included Carson Nuehring and Morgan Grady.(Dick Fridley photos)

West Fork High School conducted its 2021 Prom Saturday at Sheffield. Beginning the festivities was the Grand March in the gymnasium. This photo shows the staging area where the Grand March began.(Dick Fridley photos)