Under the Water Tower Lovilia News

The August 8th supper had about 125 people served and raised in donations about $1800.  That is great.  The committee appreciates all the donated food, labor, and of course the contributions.

The airconditioning was on and made for a comfortable supper.  If you missed this one, keep your eyes open for the next shindig to finish paying for the new improvements.

Weller Reunion August 8th

People gathered at the Weller church and hall site and enjoyed the company of old friends who grew up and went to church there.  They came back from DesMoines and too many places to mention.  Gayle Hastings said it was a good crowd and people had a good visit.

This week in August

Sprint car nationals in Knoxville, state fair in Des Moines, and parents scrambling to get kids ready for school to start will keep the cars on the roads this week.  It is nice gas prices are $2 plus this year instead of the $4 plus we had last August.  Enjoy it everyone as cooler weather will soon be approaching with the fall……………and winter…………..

Saturday, July 18th at their home west of Lovilia Cecil and Sandra had a picnic and welcomed family and friends to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.  They remembered their wedding day as being 95 degrees but this year it was cool and pleasant.

Helping them celebrate was their best man, Bill Ballalatak and their three bridesmaids, Donna Beary, Linda (Kurimski) Franzen, and Murph (Slofkosky) Robinson.  Relatives as far away as Texas and Chicago came as well as many local relatives and friends.

May you continue to be blessed with love and friendship for each other. Happy Anniversary!

St. Peter’s Church Annual Parish Picnic Sunday, July 26th

Mass is at 10:30am followed by dinner at the parish hall.  The public is invited. Dinner serving begins at 11:30 am-1:30pm.  Tickets are $8 for adults, $4 for ages 4-12 and free for children under 3 years of age.  Menu includes:  choice of roast beef or ham, mashed potatoes, homemade noodles, green beans, corn, salads, rolls, and homemade pie. Beverages are iced tea, lemonade, coffee included in the ticket price( or you can purchase soda pop at the outdoor stand).

There will also be a Country Store with home baked goods, garden produce, etc. open from10am-12:30pm

1:30pm will be an auction with all kinds of items for sale. Following the auction will be the drawing for the raffle prizes.  Raffle tickets can be purchased until the auction begins. Raffle first prize is $500 cash, then $300 cash, and next $200 cash. Also, there will be five $100 give certificates to the following area businesses:  Caseys, Gas-N-Go, Jim & Charlies, Hy-Vee , and Fareway.  Proceeds from the raffle go to the Parish Council and women’s parish Altar & Rosary group.

Crafts and Games for kids of all ages will be going on during the other events.

Hope to see you there for the food, fun, auction, and all that jazz!!

Descendants of the late Edwin and Mary (Helebrant) Kraber met at the Lovilia Community Building on Sunday, June 14, 2009.

Approximately 40 people were in attendance from Colorado, Illinois, and Iowa.  Iowans came form Ankeny, DesMoines, Knoxville, Attica, Bussey, Oskaloosa, Moravia, Albia and of course Lovilia.

The family has planned the next reunion for the second Saturday of June 2010.

Due to the July 4th holiday, the recycle trailer will be in Lovilia on July 11th, Saturday but the time will be changed.  The trailer will only be here in the afternoon from 2-4 pm.

Be sure to mark the change on your calendar. Be there 2-4 pm.

This is only for the month of July.  Then the time is to return to normal.

Tom Chamberlain, owner of Lovilia Gas N Go, announced this week that he will have jumped through the necessary redtape to have new pumps at his station to market the new fuels.

He will continue to carry 10% ethanol blend and unleaded gas as well as add a premium fuel.

He believes that his station will be the first in the county to offer both fuels.

This sounds good for Tom, good for environment, and good for Iowa alternative fuel producers.

The present heating system is the age of the community building which is approximately 30 years old.  The only air conditioning is in the small meeting room at the front of the building.

The Lovilia Community Betterment Committee has launched a fundraising effort to accomplish the goal of air conditioning the entire building and installing new energy efficient furnaces.  There will be a separate furnace/air conditioner for the large meeting room that is used for suppers and school reunions,etc. Then a second furnace/air conditioner for the small meeting room, kitchen, hall and bathrooms.  The new heating units will be 95% efficient.  The cost is about $20,440 plus $1,105 in sales tax and an extra $850 for additional electrical work and labor to the new units.  The bid accepted for the job was from Nolan Air Conditioning and Heating of Albia.

Work is to begin next week with an expected completion date of July 31, 2009.

The estate of Yvonne Miletich left money of which the Community Building received $7,000.  This is a generous bequest from her and we sincerely appreciate it.

The Community Betterment Committee has already sent a letter asking Lovilia school alumni to send donations for the project and to date have received about $4,000.  So a big thank you to the alumni for your loyal support.

All Lovilia residents and friends have been sent a letter asking for donations also.  We still need about $12,000 to finish the project.  To send a check make it out to “Lovilia Community Betterment” and mail it to Lovilia Community Betterment, % Paul Ansley, P.O.Box 152, Lovilia, IA 50150.

The committee will take out a loan if necessary to pay off the project and then hold fundraisers to pay off the loan.

August 8, 2009 will be the first fundraiser supper.  It will be a bake potato with toppins, salad bar, and homemade desserts.  If the project is completed as planned you can eat in air conditioned comfort!!!!!!

Mark your calendar now for the August 8, Saturday, supper in cool comfort and send your checks (big or small).  If you would like to volunteer to work and clean up at the supper call Janice Ansley 641-946-8258.

Recently the sheriff’s dept., Pamida store, and Monroe CountyHospital sponsored a bicycle safety rodeo which was held in the parking lot of the Albia high school.  One of the three winners was Taryn Brown, daughter of Brownie and Deb Brown of Lovilia.  She is one proud little girl.  Congratulations Taryn!

Thelma Smith Died June 6, 2009

She was a long time resident first as a farmer’s wife and retired to Lovilia.  Former Lovilia school students may remember her as working in the school cafeteria.   Her one child is Ilene Pottorff of Lovilia.  She has three grandchildren: Steve Pottorff of Lovilia, Vicki Frost of Bussey, and Sharon Ryan of Knoxville.  She also has nine great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.  Funeral was at the Gilbert Funeral Home and burial  was in Lovilia Woodlawn Cemetery. We extend our prayers to the family.

Two New Baby Girls

Two pretty little girls have blessed two familes who both happen to live west of town.

Kirk and Susan McAninch  have Millie Kathryn.  Lovilia grandparents are Susan’s parents Jerry and Camilla Wynn. Millie joins two older brothers Hunter and Jer.

Chad and Alina McIntyre have Maeve Christina.  Lovilia grandparents are Alina’s parents Tim and Sandy Welsh. Maeve joins older sister Bridget.

City Wide Clean Up Day a Success

The city had three dumpsters of junk collected that day.  People paid for the special items like appliances and it ran smoothly according to Leonard Geery, city maintenance dept. head.  We want to thank the city council for voting to budget the money for the cost of hauling all the junk to the landfill.  Councilmen are Bob Beary, Tom Chamberlain, Pat Gilbert, Scott Hugen, and Jim Toopes. Thanks to the citizens for waiting patiently to be unloaded and for participating.

St Peter’s Welcomes New Priest July 1st

Current priest Fr. Lathrop will be transferring to Keokuk, Iowa.  Fr. Patrick Lumsden will serve the three parishes of Lovilia, Georgetown, and Melrose.  Since the other two churches are both called St. Patricks we hope he won’t hold that against us!

Academics

One person was in the top 7% of the graduating class, Clayton Brady.

Two of the four Della Vedova Scholarship winners were from Lovilia, Clayton Brady and Devon Gottschalk.

Three achieved a 3.5 grade point average and did well in reading and math on the ACT and received the citizenship award, Shelby Wuebker, Clayton Brady, and Devon Gottschalk.

Shelby and Devon earned many scholarships and can be proud of their efforts through their high school years.

Shelby also won an elite letter which means the student earned 10 fine arts or 10 athletic letters or 15 letters between the two.  That is lots of sports and band practices etc. Congratulations!

Sports

Kile Overmyer qualified for the state track meet.  He finished third in the state in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.26. He also ran in the distance medley relay which landed in seventh place. Later running in the 4X200 he and his three team mates broke the Albia school record but were able to only get a ninth place finish at state.  Finally, he ran in the 4×100 and his team came in fifteenth place. Kile’s mom is Angie, and his grandparents are Ron and Judy Conner.

The 4×400 relay team included Clayton Brady and they finished twelfth in the race.

Katie Curran was the only girl from Albia’s track team to qualify for the state meet.  She competed in the 100-meter dash but did not make the finals.  Katie’s mom is Mary Lou and her grandparents are Jim and Shirley Beary.

Congratulations to you all for your great showing!

First Communion

Valerie Beary celebrated First Communion in May at  St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Albia. Her mother A.J. was one of the three teachers.  Her father is Pat Beary.  May God bless  you always Valerie.

Shirley Plum honored with service award

Shirley Plum was recently awarded a ten year service award for her work at the Albia Community Schools.

Congratulations Shirley!

Lovilia Clean up the City day

This will be Saturday, June 13, from 7am-11am.  A dumpster will be placed on the street near the post office.  Items must be delivered to the dumpster during those hours.

Go to city hall this week to buy tags for items that are charged for at the landfill.  This includes appliances, TVs, computers, water heaters.  If you are not sure if you need a tag stop at city hall.

The City Code of Ordinances (laws) allows for nuisance abatement and residents who do not clean up their property could be fined or other costs charged to them.  A copy of the ordinance can be viewed in the city hall window and the post office.

Reminder: no one will come to pick up your trash.  You must take it to the dumpster yourself.

Let’s make our town an attractive place to live.

The first case of Swine Flu in Kobe was confirmed this past Saturday.  Schools were ordered by the government to close for 1 week including mine.

So how has life changed since this scare. Mostly everyone rushed to get masks from the store. The shelves quickly emptied. Even local pharmaceutical companies couldn’t keep up with the supply.

While business has slowed in the city things haven’t completely died down. Business men and women still make their way to work and children are still playing outside. All workers wear masks and ask their customers to wash and sanitize their hands before coming inside. Special sanitizer stations have been set up in some shops.

Things will probably return to normal after this coming weekend. Until then I am enjoying my mandatory vacation day .

swine flu masks

Japanese shrine carried during Golden Week

It’s nice to hear from you. Concerning my life in Japan, perhaps it’s getting “normal” these days but currently in Japan we are celebrating three holidays which occur within one week.  This week is called Golden Week. From the balcony of my apartment building I witnessed a festival in which young men dress traditionally and carry a 2 ton shrine through the neighborhood while beating drums and chanting. In addition, I enjoyed a BBQ Party with about 40 of my friends from all over the world along the moat of the famous Osaka Castle in Osaka, Japan. BBQ parties are common in Spring. They begin with the blooming of cherry blossoms and last until fall. You can always find friends and families enjoying their weekends this way.