Tammy R. Lawson

May 15, 2008

By Tammy R. Lawson

MC Sun Staff Writer

Likened to a baseball game, five candidates stepped up to the plate last week, and one was able to hit it out of the park.

The Marshalltown Community School District Board of Education unanimously voted Monday to appoint Dr. Marvin L. Wade as new superintendent effective July 1st, replacing Dr. Harrison Cass who will step down the end of June.

Wade, a former Iowa resident, has been a superintendent for eight years in Keenesburg, Colorado, with a total of 13 years in the Weld Re-3J Community School District. As well, he served as principal for the Clay County School District in Kansas from 1992-1995 and as a special education advisor from 1990-1992. Wade earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Colorado State University in 1979, an Educational Specialist Degree in School Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado in 1983, and his Doctorate in Educational Administration from Kansas State University in 1995.

Board President Adrienne Macmillan said even though all five candidates were extremely qualified, communicative skill was one of the differentials between Dr. Wade and the others.

“We felt he was a very effective communicator, and not just with a singular group, but with multiple groups,” she said. “One of the criteria for the Board of Education was to find [someone] that could lead the District through a strategic planning process, and when it came to that part of our interviewing, Dr. Wade, by far, pretty much hit a home run as to how he was going to approach that, along with the experiences he had to support it.”

“I am very happy about it,” Wade stated by telephone from his home in Colorado, thrilled to be the chosen one out of 18 applicants. “I’m sure that the other candidates were good and I wish them the best of luck in whatever they’re doing, but at the same time, I really wanted this position, and I want to be a part of the Marshalltown Community School District. My wife Kathy and I are looking forward to being part of the Marshalltown community.”

Wade added he was very impressed that the Board has very high expectations, and “not only are they going to expect a lot from me, but from the community and themselves to step up so we can accomplish some great things for the betterment of the students. I’m really excited about it.”

The process to find the new super was done in collaborated fashion over three months which included hiring the search firm McPherson & Jacobson to collect applications and put them through vigorous interviews in order to narrow the field to five finalists. In the home stretch, several focus groups (represented by community members, parents, teaching staff, students, businesses, central office staff, and building administrators) interviewed the five candidates in five days before the Board rendered its final choice Saturday afternoon.

But some in the community questioned why the District engaged a search firm to assist in finding a new superintendent instead of initiating the selection locally.

“As Board members, we all do other things; we have full time jobs out there that we attend to, we raise kids, and so forth,” remarked Macmillan. “The expertise and professionalism that McPherson & Jacobson brought into this process was phenomenal. They really made themselves an extension of our educational community and worked with us in a very detailed level to help work through our selection criteria. It really made our job very easy in the fact that we got 18 total candidates at this time of the year and with the vast majority having solid superintendent experience, it is a credit to their firm.”

In all, the Board was pleased how the community and focus groups rallied around choosing the new leader, exhibiting a team effort, as well as spirit. Macmillan concluded, “It truly demonstrates that whole adage about how it takes a village to raise a child, and this was it.”

Marshall County Sun© Copyright 2008

Members of The Iowa Utilities Board voted 2-1 in favor of Alliant Energy’s plan to build a 630-megawatt coal plant in Marshalltown.

May 8, 2008

By Tammy R. Lawson

MC Sun Staff Writer

For three hours, you could have heard a pin drop anywhere in the room.

Fate lay in the hands of the Iowa Utilities Board, which after much deliberation on everything from greenhouse gasses to economic growth, was sealed in a 2-1 favored victory for Interstate Power and Light Company (a subsidiary of Alliant Energy) to proceed with construction of its 630-megawatt coal/biomass plant in Marshalltown.

But unlike corn stalks the facility would burn, the April 30th decision wasn’t as cut and dried.

Board Chairman John Norris attached stipulations to the approved permit:

*Five percent of the plant’s electric generation must be derived from biomass within two years and 10 percent stemming from biomass within five years;

*Alliant must generate 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2013 (the projected start of service) and another 25 percent from renewable sources by 2028;

*If regulations are passed by Congress for the capture of carbon dioxide emissions, Alliant would be totally responsible for those emission costs without executing rate increases.

“I do think it would be a wise decision to wait a couple of years and see what strides have been made in carbon capturing,” Norris said. “But in looking at the big picture, I don’t know if all that much will change during that time.”

Board member Darrell Hanson, who voted against granting the certificate, had reservations. “I think the company may have aimed unrealistically high in assuming the cost alternatives for carbon constraints. We could approve this, but what happens if we’re wrong? You have to look at the risks and the consequences. It’s a matter of, which risk are we willing to take?”

“I think these conditions are reasonable,” said Board member Krista Tanner. “I also think as far as renewable energy goes, this application satisfies that.”

Norris added that the stipulations would reduce the burden of higher rates. “Consumers do have a lot of financial risk here, and this will add generation for the company’s customer base to support reliability, while providing continued incentive for wind/renewable energy-not only at this plant, but throughout the entire fleet in Iowa.”

IPL President Tom Aller said it was understandable for the regulatory body to add what ever conditions they wanted to the decision. “They represent our customers and the people of our state, so that’s what their job is. We take no issue whatsoever with the board wanting to condition the first part of this case.”

Mayor Gene Beach, also in attendance, was satisfied. “I believe that this is just the first step on many good announcements to come as a result of IPL selecting Marshalltown as its site for the most efficient plant in the Midwest.”

The following day, Beach received a phone call from Newton Mayor Chaz Allen, who’s city is constructing a 1.5 megawatt wind turbine facility, congratulating Marshalltown on its accomplishment.

“We discussed how the proposed plant will benefit all of us with jobs during construction, as well as the generation fees that will be coming in once generation starts,” Beach said. “We also discussed how the new TPI blade plant in Newton will fit nicely with Alliant’s wind generation plans…this means a great deal for the city, the area, and the state.”

But while the celebrating commenced for some, disappointment ensued for others, bringing the old saying “it ain’t over ’til it’s over” into play.

Speculation is high that Plains Justice attorneys Carrie La Seur and Jana Linderman, who represented five environmental organizations opposing the plant during January’s IUB hearing, may appeal the decision and block the necessary air quality permit from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources which is due by September, and contingent upon the final written decision expected in a few weeks.

“We believe that we prevailed on most factual issues and are very disappointed that the IUB didn’t rule in our favor,” La Seur said. “We are pleased with the Board’s recognition of its obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, we remain concerned with the negative environmental impacts of this plant, and it is far from clear that this ruling will do anything to meaningfully reduce [those] emissions all the members identified as a problem.”

Linderman added, “While we had asked that the Board deny the certificate, their approval is subject to a number of major conditions, and we will have to review the final written order carefully before making a firm decision how to respond.”

Denison native Jim Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, also testified in January and was equally disappointed with the vote. “The decision makes no sense for the people of Iowa and the creatures of the planet. It especially short changes our children and grandchildren for the short term benefit of a small number of special interests who benefit by the burning of a cheap, dirty fuel.”

He continued, “Coal serves the interest of only a handful of oligarchs, but our officials are letting these special interests ride roughshod over the public, our planet, and creation. This is a case of cutting the baby in half-a dastardly deed. Somebody had better object real soon.”

Until the DNR decision is handed down on air quality, plant supporters like local Alliant representative Kenn Vinson are basking in the after-vote, for now. “An extremely big hurdle has been cleared.”

Marshall County Sun© Copyright 2008