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CSi Weather…
REST OF TODAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE MID 70S. SOUTHEAST
WINDS AROUND 5 MPH.
.TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE MID 50S. SOUTHEAST WINDS
AROUND 5 MPH.
.FRIDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 70S. SOUTH WINDS 5 TO
15 MPH.
.FRIDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE UPPER 50S. SOUTH WINDS
10 TO 15 MPH.
.SATURDAY…SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 80S. SOUTH WINDS 15 TO
20 MPH.
.SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE UPPER
50S. HIGHS IN THE MID 70S TO LOWER 80S.
.SUNDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE UPPER 40S.
.MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF
RAIN SHOWERS. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 60S. LOWS IN THE UPPER 40S.
.TUESDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 60S.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE LOWER
40S. HIGHS IN THE MID 60S.
THURSDAY PRECIPITAION VALLEY CITY 2NW (BARNES)……………………………….. 0.41
ON FRIDAY…FOG WILL LINGER INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS BEFORE
DISSIPATING
TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO WARM INTO SATURDAY…WITH
WIDESPREAD HIGHS IN THE 80S POSSIBLE SATURDAY AHEAD OF A STRONG
COLD FRONT FORECAST ACROSS THE STATE SATURDAY NIGHT
INTO SUNDAY.
RETURN TO COOLER BUT STILL NEAR NORMAL HIGHS IN THE 60S ARE EXPECTED NEXT WEEK, WITH MAINLY DRY CONDITIONS
Jamestown (CSi) The Jamestown Public School Board has approved a Special Election for September 29, 2015, for $19 million in general obligation school-building bonds for school construction and renovations at elementary and middle schools.
If approved, Superintendent Rob Lech says, the proposal would continue the 21.1 mills currently levied to help pay for building Jamestown High School and remodeling Jamestown Middle School that is slated to expire this year. The proposal would also add another 3.71 mills or roughly a $19 per-year property tax increase beyond the current levy.
If voters turn down the referendum, then the current high school levy drops off when it’s repaid in August and property owners would see an approximately $96 annual reduction in property taxes.
On Thursday’s Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2, Superintendent Lech addressed some of the more frequently asked questions of residents of the Jamestown Public School District.
He pointed out that the Tuesday September 29, 2015 vote is open to eligible voters in the Jamestown Public School District.
This includes both city and rural families within the school district boundaries.
He talked about the need for air conditioning in school buildings.
He said it’s important to understand that air conditioning is not just air cooling. The process alters both the temperature and the humidity. When coupled with enhanced ventilation, an upgraded system will improve the air quality through increased oxygenation with fewer allergens. These systems enhance the learning environment for all students.
He noted that when only considering air cooling, it is not unusual to see classroom temperatures ranging from 85-95 degrees on very hot days. With continued heat, many students would begin the day with low to mid 80’s in their classrooms. Very little learning is taking place during these times due to the conditions.
He said, it’s accurate to say that there are not a significant number of days each year that see excessive heat, but context is important. For example a Roosevelt Kindergartener with an average of 5 days of excessive heat per year as an example. By the end of his/her 8th grade year, that student would have essentially lost 45 days or just over 25% of one school year. This change would help us maximize learning time.
Currently the middle school, Gussner, and Lincoln have partial air conditioning and no a/c at Roosevelt.
If voters pass the referendum on September 29th, Washington Elementary School in Northwest Jamestown will be decommissioned.
Lech said that Washington Elementary, in the short-term, will provide a level of security for any overflow beyond the school district’s expected growth. Washington Elementary would also, in the short-term, continue to house some administrative spaces, such as the after school program.
Greater discussions still needs to be held on Washington Elementary in the long-term, however, it is no longer ideal as an educational setting.
He added that an educational demongrapher would redraw the school building boundaries, should Washington School be closed.
He said, that at this time there are no plans to change the location of Ernie Gates Field, and he decommissioning of Washington Elementary would not impact the football facility.
On our show Superintendent Lech addressed,Louis L’Amour can accommodate 360 students with 2 sections of each grade level.
He said that unlike the West Fargo School District, which recently announced a $95 million referendum, or the schools in western North Dakota, the Jamestown School District is projecting a moderate growth cycle.
Because of this moderate growth, there will not be an “explosion” of new students in Jamestown, but rather a upward trend for a number of years. Because of this, the plan for Louis L’Amour needs to fit both the present need as well as the future need.
The map of the Louis L’Amour proposal shows 2 sections as well as flexible learning spaces, which are identified by the green classroom areas. The district has the ability to transition these spaces, as needed, into classrooms to accommodate future growth.
He also explained what is meant by deferred maintenance and how the school district has $45 million in deferred maintenance.
He went on to explain that facility maintenance is either considered deferred or preventative. Preventative maintenance items are things like patching the roof, annual boiler maintenance, etc. When considering deferred maintenance, the school district is looking at areas that have a life span from a usability/efficiency standpoint or facility improvements.
An example, is that at some point, the boiler at Washington is going to need to be replaced, so it is a deferred maintenance item. That does not mean that the boiler is in danger of failing, but rather that the district needs to be prepared to replace the equipment in the future.
He said it shouldn’t be assumed that deferred maintenance is emergency maintenance or work that has been put off, but rather work that needs to be accounted for and be completed in the future to maintain the highest quality facilities.
He pointed out that some of the items are very basic, such as lighting changes, and others are more significant, such as boiler replacement.
He added that the school district monitors maintenance needs (both preventative and deferred) through the district’s building fund. For deferred maintenance, a priority list is created each year and approved by the Board of Education for summer projects. There are five levels (1 being the biggest needs and 5 being the lowest priority). In a typical year, the district will fund at least levels 1-3, so each year we are able to target the largest needs. The annual building fund budget ranges from $450,000 – $650,000.
He reminded voters that Early Voting and Absentee Voting continues at the Stutsman County Courthouse through Monday September 28, 2015.
Voting takes place on Tuesday September 29, 2015 from 7-a.m., to 7-p.m., at the Jamestown Civic Center, at the west lobby.
More information at JPS web site
Jamestown (CSi) A reminder, following the Jamestown City Council meeting, on Monday October 5,2015, the City Council will hold a public hearing to consider the 2016 city budget and increasing the 2015 City of Jamestown property tax levy by %6.29.
At that time citizens will have the opportunity to present oral or written comments regarding the Property Tax Levy or 2016 City Budget.
The Regular Jamestown City Council meeting precedes the Public at 5-p.m. at City Hall.
The meeting will be covered by CSi Cable 67, followed by replays.
GILBY, N.D. (AP) – A 45-year-old woman in northeast North Dakota has been transported to a burn unit following an early Thursday morning house fire.
Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Lt. B.J. Maxson says authorities were called to the home of Tom and Robyn Brusegaard around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday. Maxson says officers could see the fire from several miles away.
Maxson says they believe lit candles in a bedroom started a piece of cardboard on fire, which then spread. Tom Brusegaard pulled his wife out of bed and went outside along with their two children.
Robyn Brusegaard was transported to Altru Hospital in Grand Forks and later taken by helicopter to a burn unit.
The children were not hurt. Tom Brusegaard suffered a cut to his arm.
Maxson says the home is a total loss.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) – Two researchers at North Dakota State University have received a $1.2 million grant to combat prostate cancer.
Sanku Mallik and Bin Guo in the school’s pharmaceutical sciences department are receiving the money from a National Institutes of Health research project grant. They plan to study ways of using tiny polymer spheres to deliver anticancer drugs to prostate cancers.
North Dakota State President Dean Bresciani says the work by Mallik and Guo will make a difference, and this type of research will lead to saving lives.
The tiny spheres known as nanocarriers will contain conventional anticancer drugs and air bubbles. The air bubbles provide a means of tracking the nanocarriers through the blood stream via high-frequency ultrasound imaging.
TIOGA, N.D. (AP) – The North Dakota Public Service Commission will hold a public hearing in Tioga next month on a proposal to build a wind farm in Williams County.
Lindahl Wind Project has filed an application for the 150 megawatt farm that will feature up to 75 wind turbine generators about four miles north of Tioga. The project will include access roads, electrical collection and communication systems and cabling, an operation and maintenance building, permanent meteorological towers and a substation.
The wind farm will encompass about 13,000 acres. The company has a power purchase agreement with Basin Electric for the entire output of the project.
The meeting is planned for 9 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, at Neset Consulting Service.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota regulators are deciding whether to extend a Jan. 1, 2016, target for the reduction of wasteful flaring of natural gas.
The oil industry wants more time to meet the target, but environmental groups say the benchmark should be enforced. The state Industrial Commission is taking up the matter Thursday afternoon.
Natural gas is a byproduct of oil production. Some of it gets burned off because the infrastructure isn’t in place to move all of it to market.
The oil industry is required to capture 85 percent of natural gas by Jan. 1. Right now, about 80 percent is being captured.
State Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms has recommended a compromise date of Oct. 1, 2016, to meet the 85 percent threshold. Environmental groups say an extension isn’t warranted.
In sports…
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Nearly 1,000 fall wild turkey licenses for the 2015 season are still available in eight units following this year’s lottery.
The remaining 990 licenses will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Sept. 30. Hunters are allowed a maximum of 15 licenses for the fall season.
Resident and nonresident hunters will be able to apply online, or print out an application to mail, at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website. Paper applications will also be available at license vendors. Licenses remain in units: 03, 13, 19, 25, 30, 31, 45 and 51.
The fall turkey season runs Oct. 10 through Jan. 3.
Unsuccessful applicants who applied online will have a refund issued directly to their credit card.
In world and national news…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Pope Francis is wrapping up his visit to Washington after delivering a historic address to Congress and visiting with a group of homeless and needy people who are fed by Catholic Charities. In his speech at the Capitol, the pope called for action on behalf of immigrants, an end to the death penalty and protection for human life “at every stage of its development.” The pope’s next stop is New York City.
MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) – The Saudi king has expressed his condolences after a horrific stampede killed at least 717 pilgrims and injured hundreds more on the outskirts of the holy city of Mecca. King Salman is also promising a speedy investigation into the second major disaster to strike during this year’s pilgrimage season. A crane collapse in Mecca less than two weeks ago killed 111 people.
NEW YORK (AP) – New York City public schools were closed Thursday to observe the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha (eed ahl-AHD’-hah). It’s the first time the schools serving 1.1 million pupils have closed for a Muslim holiday. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this year that the city’s public schools would observe two Muslim holy days. New York City schools were also closed Wednesday for the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – The mayor of Charleston, South Carolina say a fund set up after the deadly shootings at a historic black church has raised about $2.8 million. Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. says donations came from 6,500 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and four foreign nations. He says $300,000 went to pay for funerals and to Emanuel AME church for the needs of the victims in the days immediately following the shootings. The rest will be distributed to the families of those killed and to survivors.
GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania judge has ruled that a teen charged with stabbing 20 fellow students and a security guard at his high school must move from a juvenile detention center to the county jail when he turns 18. Alex Hribal (RY’-buhl) of Murrysville is charged as an adult in the April 2014 rampage at Franklin Regional High School. He turns 18 on Oct. 1.
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