03/25/21: Community Calendar

Easter egg hunt planned in Hartley

An Easter egg hunt will be held on Saturday, April 3 at 10 a.m., at Community Memorial Health Center in Hartley.

All children ages 0-10 are welcome. Participants will be divided into age brackets, with special prizes awarded in each division. Bring your basket or sack to collect eggs.

Park at Grace Fellowship Church (formerly Hartley United Methodist Church). Attendees will also have a chance to get their pictures taken with the Easter bunny.

Get your house egged for Easter

The I.E.F. Club is "egging" local homes this year with candy-filled plastic eggs for Easter. Cost is $10 per dozen for any home located within a 15-mile radius of Hartley.

Orders are due by Tuesday, March 30. See the ad on Page 3 for more details.

Chamber hosting Cabin Fever Golf

The Hartley Chamber of Commerce is bringing back Cabin Fever Golf. The event will be held on Friday, April 9 from 4:30-7 p.m., at various local businesses.

See the ad on Page 3 for more details.

Trinity Beef Supper is April 7

Trinity United Church of Christ will hold its annual beef supper on Wednesday, April 7 from 5-7 p.m. It will be drive-through only.

See the ad on Page 5 for more details.

Red's serving Easter takeout meal

Red's Catering in Hartley will be serving a carryout Easter meal on Sunday, April 4 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. See the ad on Page 5 for more details.

H-M-S menus

Monday, March 29: Breakfast – Cereal, granola bites (9-12), fruit, juice; Lunch – French bread pizza, baby carrots, celery, pears.

Tuesday, March 30: Breakfast – Egg/cheese biscuit, fruit, juice; Lunch – Chicken patty/bun, mashed potatoes, cooked carrots, apples.

Wednesday, March 31: Breakfast – Breakfast pizza, fruit, juice; Lunch – Softshell taco, lettuce/cheese, refried beans, tomatoes/rice (9-12), bananas.

Milk served with each meal. Fruit/veggie bar served with lunch.

Track teams to compete in early outdoor meets

Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn's track and field teams are scheduled to get an early start to the spring season with a pair of outdoor meets during the coming week.

West Sioux will host a meet involving all War Eagle Conference schools, except South O'Brien, on Thursday, March 25 at 4:30 p.m.

South O'Brien will host H-M-S along with Cherokee, Okoboji, Ridge View and Whiting in a meet on Monday, March 29, also at 4:30 p.m.

The teams will also compete in a meet hosted by MOC-Floyd Valley, on April 6 at Orange City.

• Golfers to hit links April 6

H-M-S golf teams are scheduled to begin competition on April 6, when they host Hinton at Sanborn Golf and Country Club.

Between the Covers to meet next Tuesday

Between the Covers will be meeting at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 30, in the front room of Hartley Public Library to discuss William Kent Krueger's "This Tender Land."

When circumstances intervene, orphans Odie O'Banion and his brother Albert flee boarding school and take off with their best friend, Mose, and Emmy, a brokenhearted little girl, heading down the Mississippi to what will hopefully be a better life with Odie and Albert's aunt in St. Louis and Odie's dream of at last finding a home.

Along the way they encounter a number of struggling souls also searching for their way in the American landscape. It is a story of lost and found connections, the search for childhood dreams and redemption at last set in the Depression era.

Krueger is an American author who currently lives in St. Paul, Minn. He is best known as the author of the Cork O'Conner series with Cork being part Ojibwe and part Irish. In college Krueger wanted to become a cultural anthropologist and became intrigued by the Ojibwe culture. Much of this information is woven into his books and his settings are often in and around Native American reservations.

Free virtual series helps build financial wellbeing

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will host "Money Smart: Prioritizing Bills, Managing Debt and Improving Credit" virtually on Wednesdays, April 7, 14 and 21, from noon-1 p.m. Participation in any of the three sessions is free and open to the public.

The Money Smart workshop series can help individuals grow their financial knowledge with research-based information and enable them to explore strategies for making wise choices when money is short, income has dropped or unexpected expenses happen.

Sessions are free to participate in, but pre-registration is required online at http://bit.ly/smart17633. Once an individual has registered, they will receive an email confirmation with the Zoom link and class information. Questions can be directed to Mary Weinand at [email protected], Carol Ehlers at [email protected], or Jeannette Mukayisire at [email protected].

Nature Nut series begins March 25

Join in-person or adventure on your own with family or friends as you become an O'Brien County Conservation "Nature Nut" this year!

Once a month participants will explore a different topic guided by the O'Brien County Conservation Board naturalist. These programs will be hosted each month at an O'Brien County Conservation park or the Prairie Heritage Center. Or you can do them at your own pace and download materials from http://www.prairieheritagecenter.org.

Programs will consist of a presentation on the topic and a hands-on activity. In-person programs will be 45-60 minutes in length. Participants can do a mix of in-person or virtual programs to participate. Those who choose to join virtually will find all materials posted at http://www.prairieheritagecenter.org after the in-person presentation.

March's Nature Nut topic is Composting 101. This program will be hosted at the Prairie Heritage Center on Thursday, March 25 at 6:30 p.m. Participants will learn the ins and outs of composting, take home plans to build their own outdoor compost bin and make a kitchen compost bin to take home. COVID-19 precautions are in place for all in-person programs.

This program is available at no cost and is open to people of all ages. Registration is required. To register visit http://www.prairieheritagecenter.org.

When you have completed the topic for the month, get a stamp in your passport and you are on your way to becoming an official "Nature Nut." Do one or do them all! For more information about the Nature Nut series and monthly topics visit http://www.prairieheritagecenter.org or contact Naturalist Abbie Parker at (712) 295-7200.

April pick for virtual nature book club

O'Brien County Conservation Board and the Hartley Public Library are proud to offer a virtual book club that will focus on nature and conservation.

A variety of books, both non-fiction and fiction, have been chosen to discuss in a virtual platform from the comfort of your own home. This book club will meet on the second Tuesday of every other month at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Discussion questions put together by Hartley Library Director Heather Skoglund will help lead the conversation.

It is hoped this exciting reading opportunity will increase your love for the outdoors, connect you to others who are also passionate about reading and conservation efforts, and spark quality conversations. The 2021 monthly book pick schedule can be found at http://www.prairieheritagecenter.org.

Participants will meet on Tuesday, April 13 for the second book pick, "The Overstory" by Richard Powers.

To register for the nature and conservation book club email Naturalist Abbie Parker at [email protected]. Once registered, you will get the Zoom link for that month. Please email by 4 p.m. on the day of the book club meeting to gain access to the Zoom link.

CC/E menus

Monday, March 29: Breakfast – Cold cereal, fruit, juice; Lunch – Chicken patty, French fries, baked beans, oranges.

Tuesday, March 30: Breakfast – Mini pancakes, fruit, juice; Lunch – Meatloaf in gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, peaches, dinner roll.

Wednesday, March 31: Breakfast – Blueberry muffin, fruit, juice; Lunch – Sloppy joe, celery stick, baby carrots, pears.

Milk is served with each meal.

Blood drive March 26 at Southpark Mall in Spencer

LifeServe Blood Center is conducting a blood drive at Southpark Mall, 901 11th Street SW in Spencer, on Friday, March 26, from 12:30 p.m.-6 p.m.

Appointments are required. Donors who do not have an appointment will not be able to give blood. Donors should pre-screen themselves for fever prior to appointments and must wear a mask for the duration of their appointment. Those who do not have masks will be provided with one.

Schedule a donation appointment online at lifeservebloodcenter.org or call (800) 287-4903.

Property tax installments due March 31

The second half installment of property taxes is due Wednesday, March 31. In Clay County, payments may be made by mail or dropped off in the boxes on the north and south side of the Administration Building.

Property tax information may be obtained online at http://www.iowatreasurers.org or by calling the Clay County treasurer's office at (712) 262-2179. Transaction fees apply to payments made online by E-check or with the use of debit and credit cards. Payments may also be made in the treasurer's office at 300 West 4th Street in Spencer, from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

According to Treasurer LeAnn Black, payment of the second installment of property taxes must be received in the treasurer's office or postmarked by March 31 in order to avoid penalty.

Expanded hours at Royal library

The Royal Public Library has expanded its hours. New hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 3-5 p.m .; and Tuesday and Saturday, 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Due to COVID-19, the library will remain locked. Please call (712) 933-5500 or knock at the door during open hours. Social distancing practices will remain and masks will be required.

Food pantry hours at Hope Lutheran

Current hours for the food pantry at Hope Lutheran Church in Everly are Mondays, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and Wednesdays, 1-5 p.m. Please knock on the church door and food will be brought out to you.

Al Anon meetings scheduled in Royal, Spencer, Sheldon

Al Anon meetings are held at the following locations each week:

Wednesday, 8 p.m., 511 Southmoor, Spencer; Thursday, 8 p.m., Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Royal; Sunday, 7 p.m., Sanford Medical Center, 118 N 7th Ave., Sheldon.

Winter moratorium on utility disconnections ends April 1

Iowa's annual winter moratorium regarding utility service disconnection ends April 1. According to the Iowa Utilities Board, energy assistance customers currently protected from service disconnection for nonpayment should contact their local utility company to discuss payment plans options and avoid disconnection as soon as April 2.

Under Iowa's winter moratorium law, customers who qualify for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or Weatherization Assistance Program are protected from the shutoff of natural gas and electric service from Nov. 1 to April 1.

To avoid disconnection, Iowa customers who have fallen behind on utility payments are encouraged to review the customer rights and responsibilities information for electric and natural gas service and contact their utility provider to arrange a payment plan. If customers are experiencing difficulty paying their energy bills, they may be eligible for LIHEAP financial assistance and should contact their local community action agency to apply for assistance before April 30.

The LIHEAP program pays only a portion of utility bills to qualified low-income customers. Customers who are not sure where to apply can visit https://humanrights.iowa.gov/dcaa/where-apply.

All utility customers, including those who do not qualify for energy assistance, may be eligible to enter into a reasonable payment agreement with their utility company that allows them to pay accumulated debt over time and to maintain utility service.

If customers cannot reach a payment agreement with their utility, they may contact the IUB Customer Service toll-free at (877) 565-4450 or email [email protected] with questions about disconnection or other issues that are not resolved directly with their utility company.

For more information, visit the LIHEAP page on the IUB website.