Farmland values in Ringgold county slipped back by less than one percent after increasing rapidly since 2002, according to the annual survey of farmland value conducted by Iowa State University.

While the average acre of farmland across the state showed a 2.84 percent decrease in value, Ringgold county farmland decreased at a slower rate, the survey said.

The average acre of farmland in Ringgold county is now worth $2,339, down from the all-time record of $2,361 set last year, a decline of .94 percent or $22.

The land value is 18.4 times the $127 an acre recorded in 1950 and more than six times the $386 recorded in 1986 when farm land values bottomed out after the previous run-up.

With the change, Ringgold county -- which had the second lowest farmland value in the state behind Decatur county for years -- remained ahead of several other counties passed in the past three years. Decatur county’s value was estimated at $1,957, the lowest in the state. Ringgold county remained ahead of Appanoose county with a $2,061 an acre value, Wayne with a $2,074 an acre value, Lucas with a $2,163 an acre value and Clarke with a $2,258 an acre value.

Ringgold county’s decline was down from last year’s 11 percent hike.

In terms of dollars, the county’s $22 an acre decline was one of the smallest in the state. Only 19 counties had increases or smaller declines than Ringgold county.

Allmakee county’s 5.65 percent increase of $166 was the largest increase in the state and one of only 11 counties that showed increases.   Black Hawk county’s decline of 6.6 percent or $384 an acre was the largest loss in value in the state. 

Land values in Ringgold county have now almost doubled over the past five years.

Across the state, the average value of an acre of farmland was pegged at a $4,371, down from the all-time record of $4,468 last year. With the average decrease of $97 an acre, the total value of the state’s 32.6 million acres of farmland is now $142.5 billion. 

The decline was the first since the statewide average dropped in 1999, when the survey found the state average to be $1,781 an acre, or $20 less than in 1998.  In the decade since 1999, farmland has increased in value by an average of 145 percent. The figure for Ringgold county is an increase of 226 percent.

In 2008 values in all 99 Iowa counties had topped $2,000 for the first time, but Decatur county slipped back below that mark in the latest value estimates. After breaking into $4,000 territory for the first time four years ago, the average value in Scott county this year was $6,361 an acre, an all-time record and the state’s leader. O’Brien and Sioux counties remained in the $6,000 or more an acre club. O’Brien county had a value of $6,153 and Sioux county a value of $6,028 per acre.

Surrounding county increases

In surrounding counties, there were decreases in value from 2.84 percent in Union county to just .09 of a percent in Taylor county. Union county  remained in the lead in surrounding counties as the highest valued farmland.

The decreases in Adams, Taylor and Clarke county would have shown up as being greater, but the 2008 figures for these counties were revised downward to more accurately reflect the procedure used across the state, according to Mike Duffy, who did the study.

Adams county land prices were estimated at $2,764 an acre, down six dollars or $2,770 from the revised figure for 2008. Last year the estimate of value had been $3,094 an acre and, if that figure had stood, the decrease would have shown up to be much greater. The new average is still the second best on record. Lowest land value since 1950 came in 1954 with a price of $151 an acre. After reaching a high of $1,372 in 1981, land prices slipped to $519 in 1986 before rebounding to current levels. Land values have more than doubled over the last seven years there.

Clarke county land values slipped to  $2,258 an acre this year, down $32 an acre or 1.42  percent from 2008, which was the previous record. The new 2008 figure was revised down from the $2,444 estimated last year. Lowest land value since 1950 was the $114 an acre recorded in 1954. The values in Clarke county reached a peak of $1,114 in 1981 before falling back to $399 in 1986 and then climbing to today’s levels. Land values in Clarke county have doubled over the last seven years.

In Decatur county, prices fell back to $1,957, according to the survey. This is a decrease of $45 an acre or 2.23  percent from $2,002 in 2008. The values in Decatur county reached a low of $91 an acre in 1954 before rising to $922 in 1981, then falling back to $326 an acre in 1986. Land values in Decatur county have  doubled in the last seven years.

In Taylor county a total of $2,530 an acre was reported, down $2 an acre or .9 percent from last year’s record. Last year the figure from the report has been $2,733, which was revised down to $2,573 in this year’s study or the difference would have been much greater. Lowest land value since 1950 came in 1954 at $138 an acre. Prices there reached a peak of $1,203 an acre in 1981 before slipping back to $446 in 1986 and then rebounding to today’s prices. Land values there have doubled in the last nine years.

Union county land values were estimated at $2,826 an acre, down $83 an acre or a decrease of 2.84 percent from the record set last year. Lowest land value since 1950 came in 1954 at $141 an acre. Land values there received a peak of $1,433 in 1983 before falling off to $682 in 1986 and then rebounding to the new highs. Land values have doubled in the last seven years there.

Regional results

When looking at results across the south central Iowa crop reporting district which includes Ringgold county, the area had the third smallers percentage change in value and in terms of dollars per acre in the state.

Land in the area averaged $2,537 an acre, down $36 an acre or 1.4 percent from 2008.

The northwest area of the state edged out the central district  to have the highest land values again. Values in the northwest district had average values of $5,364 an acre, ahead of the $5,026 recorded in the central district.

East central values jumped $53 an acre, the only part of the state where land values went up.

The accompanying chart shows other details about the changes in the crop reporting districts across the state.

When looking at land across the state by grade, low grade farmland fell 2.8 percent or $83 over the previous year to $2,884 an acre. Medium grade land averaged $4,076 an acre, a 2.8 percent or $119 an acre decrease. High grade farmland averaged $5,321 an acre, a decrease of $60 or 1.1 percent an acre.

Other survey results

In interpreting the results, Mike Duffy,  ISU Extension farm economist who conducts the survey, said the indicators toward the end of the year imply the decrease in land values appears to have stopped, or at least stabilized. “For how long is unknown,” Duffy said.

Declines in land value reported on surveys earlier in the year show declines of as much as 7.6 percent.

The one area of the state where land values went up was the east  central, where the 2008 flooding held down gains shown in other parts of the state last year.

Duffy said that recent trends in the value of Iowa land are not surprising given the relative change in the value of crops produced in Iowa over the past few years.

“The value of corn production in Iowa increased 64 percent from 2006 to 2007, but decreased 15 percent from 2007 to 2008, based on year-end summaries by the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” Duffy said. “The value of the soybean crop increased 40 percent two years ago and then decreased nine percent last year. Year-end reports are likely to show additional declines in total crop income, based on crop prices and the difficult harvest.”

The survey also found a major decrease in the amount of land sold during the past year. There were more than  60 percent of respondents reporting fewer sales than in 2008. The trend toward greater demand for higher quality land continued and there was also an increase in land being purchased by existing farmers, correlating with a decline in investor land purchases.

The south central part of the state, including Ringgold county, was where investor sales remained the highest.  Some 32 percent of the sales in 2009 were said to be investor sales in this part of the state, compared to just 15 percent in the west central region of Iowa.

Positive factors for land value increases were listed as low interest rates, high commodity prices, high yields and a limited supply of land for sale.

Negative factors for prices included declining grain prices, high input costs and the poor general economy. Livestock losses of the past year and weather were other negative impacts listed.

Data on farmland sales has been collected by Iowa State University annually since 1941. About 1,100 copies of the survey are mailed each year to licensed real estate brokers, ag lenders and others knowledgeable of Iowa land values. Respondents are asked to report values as of November 1. This year 457 usable surveys were returned, providing 571 individual county estimates, including land values in nearby counties if they had knowledge of values in those counties.

  A new way forward on a jail project for Ringgold county was approved by the Ringgold county board of supervisors at a meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Jail building decision

The board has been meeting with two competing groups seeking to build the jail in a lease-purchase agreement and had met again Thursday, Dec. 17 with Kelly Main and the architect for his proposal. Joe Murphy and Kelly Richards met with the board at their meeting Tuesday,  Dec. 22, to answer more questions about their plan.

The supervisors had received proposals from the two groups at an earlier meeting for getting the jail built.

The big difference in the plans for some of the board was the cost as the financing for the project proposed by Murphy was at 4.14 percent versus a higher financing rate originally proposed by Main. Mains original plan called for a $450,000 payment upon completion of the project, a payment the supervisors were not comfortable with.

While Murphy proposed some ways that he felt his project could more easily meet board requirements, Main presented new financing proposals at the meeting.

Both proposals scrap the plans worked on with the Durant architectural firm which drew up the plans for the jail to begin with and which never could be built for the amount of money the county has access to from the one-cent sales tax. The dispatch facilities and sheriff’s office are part of the new plans being developed.

Murphy had been working with the board trying to get the Durant plans built earlier and has spent a good deal of time working out ways to finance the lease-purchase project which were reflected in his presentation.

Main had more specific floor plans and specifications for the building he would offer to the board.

When it came to voting on who would go forward with the project, board member Kurt Shaha abstained because he is the brother-in-law of Main.

Larry Ford and Dale Walters then voted 2-0 to choose Murphy to work with on moving ahead on the project.

Ford cited the financing and not having to come up with a big downpayment as the Main financing plans called for as one of the main reasons for choosing the Murphy plan.

Murphy told the board that he felt the first step in the process now would be to develop a contract which would be more specific in what would be provided in the building.

When the decision was made, Main said, “I’m not sure how you can write someone a blank check like this for this project.”

In other business at the meeting Tuesday the board received a request from the Rural Iowa Crisis Center for an increase in budget from $2,000 to $3,000 for the coming budget year, met with department heads, were visited by Ringgold County Supportive Service clients who were caroling around the business district and postponed a secondary roads update meeting with Rod Shields because of preparations being made for another winter storm.

Records review policy set

At the December 17 meeting, the board set a new policy for secondary roads employees to view their personnel files, talked with Farm Bureau representatives, discussed courthouse closure in inclement weather and talked about building energy efficiency.

After a question was raised about viewing employee records on company time, the board of supervisors set a new policy on a 2-1 vote.

The new policy says that secondary roads employees, and a witness if requested by the employee, can view their personnel files during working hours with employees being paid not more than 30 minutes of the time.

The question had arisen because time to review files had previously been stated to be done outside of working hours.

The measure passed with Larry Ford voting against the new policy.

Other topics discussed with Rod Shields and Lizzie Hanawalt included equipment, roads, employees and budget concerns.

Jim Goins and Raymond Shields, representatives of the Ringgold County Farm Bureau, met with the board to discuss budgeting, taxes and the status of the jail project. Also at the meeting were sheriff Mike Sobotka, assessor Neil Morgan, custodian Spencer Lumbard and Wendell Sollars.

Chief deputy Rob Haley met with the board to discuss courthouse closure during inclement weather. 

Employees of offices other than the sheriff and secondary roads are sometimes excused from reporting for work by the weather and receive pay for the day. The board was asked if there could be a way that employees who work when other employees are excused could have a day off later. No decision was made.

Julie Hudson, representing the Energy Group, met with supervisors to give a presentation regarding their company’s building efficiency programs. Custodian Spencer Lumbard also attended the meeting. Supervisors made no decision to use the group and questioned whether services offered by Alliant Energy might be similar.

  Special church services are planned at several area churches for Christmas Eve this year.

A Christmas Eve mass is planned at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mount Ayr at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 24.

A Christmas Eve mass will be held at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 24, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Grand River.

Two Christmas Eve services will be offered in Mount Ayr by the First Christian Church and the United Methodist Church as well.

The First Christian Church service with the traditional lighting of the candles and singing of carols will be held at 5 p.m.

The United Methodist Church will be offering a song-filled candlelight service at 11 p.m.

Everyone is invited to attend these services.

A Christmas Eve service is also planned at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 24, at the Mount Ayr Assembly of God on Highway 2 in Mount Ayr.

Bill Armstrong will be bringing the message and the public is invited to attend.

 New photo galleries from the Festival of Trees 2009 and of the hoarfrost landscapes from Sunday, Dec. 20, are now available for viewing. New photos including sports shots from this past week are also available in the photo purchase are of the website. If there is a photo in the Mount Ayr Record-News that you would like to have a print of that is not available in the photo area, please let the Mount Ayr Record-News staff know and we will upload it.  

Christmas holiday activities begin to wind down this week in preparation for the holiday set Friday, Dec. 25.

Christmas lighting contest

The Mount Ayr Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring its annual lighting contest in hopes that Mount Ayr will light up for the holidays. 

Residents can enter their own residence or nominate a residence. Prizes are $25, $10 and $5 in Mount Ayr Chamber Money for the top three winners. Lights were to be in place by Saturday, Dec. 5. 

Judging will be Sunday, Dec. 20, with winning pictures included in next week’s Mount Ayr Record-News.

Just fill out an entry form published in last week’s Mount Ayr Record-News and send it to: Christmas Lighting Contest, Mount Ayr Record-News, P.O. Box 346, Mount Ayr, IA 50854 or drop it by the Mount Ayr Record-News office at 122 W. Madison Street by Friday, Dec. 19. Nominations may also be made until 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 25, by calling the Mount Ayr Record-News at 641-464-2440.

Kellerton event Dec. 19

The Kellerton Volunteer Fire Department will be having a ham and turkey raffle soup supper on Saturday, Dec. 19, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Kellerton Community Center for a freewill donation. Santa will make a visit after the raffle.

School concerts

The holiday concerts at schools in the area are winding down this coming week.

The winter vocal music concert for middle school and high school choirs will be held Monday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m. at the Mount Ayr Community high school auditorium.

The fifth grade, sixth grade and middle school choir will sing four songs for the concert -- “Hi-Ho It’s Christmas,” “I Am A Small Part of the World” featuring Abbey Adams, Matthew Poore and Allison Wallace; “Santa Clause, Santa Clause (You Are Much Too Fat), and “Believe.”

The high school choir will sing “Wintertime Aglow,” “Night of Wonder,” “Do You Hear What I Hear,” “One Candle,” “Feliz Navidad,” “I’ll Be There,” “What A Wonderful World,” “Somewhere Out There,” “Bring Him Home” and “All I Ask of You.”

There will also be soloists and small groups presenting holiday music.

The Clearfield Community elementary school concert will be held Monday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m.

Dance Connection program

The Dance Connection will be presenting a Christmas dance program Saturday and Sunday,  Dec. 19-20 at the Princess Theater in Mount Ayr.

The program will be held at 5 p.m. both evenings and tickets are available at the door.

Santa visits

Several special visits to Mount Ayr by Santa Claus are planned during the Christmas season.

Pamida will be hosting a visit Saturday, Dec. 19 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Mount Ayr Lions Club members will be taking pictures with Santa Claus there. 

Church concerts

First Things First will be presenting a Christmas concert on Sunday morning, Dec. 20 at 9 a.m. during the Wishard Chapel worship hour. 

A complimentary pancake and sausage breakfast will follow. The public is invited.

Special church services

Special church services are planned at several area churches for Christmas.

A Christmas Eve mass is planned at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mount Ayr at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 24.

A Christmas Eve mass will be held at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 24, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Grand River.

Two Christmas Eve services will be offered in Mount Ayr by the First Christian Church and the United Methodist Church as well.

The First Christian Church service with the traditional lighting of the candles and singing of carols will be held at 5 p.m.

The United Methodist Church will be offering a song-filled candlelight service at 11 p.m.

Everyone is invited to attend these services.

Steak drawings

Sign up for drawings for packages of four ribeye steaks came to an end this week and the winners are announced in today’s Mount Ayr Record-News.

Two proposals for building a lease-purchase jail project, a new deputy auditor and naming county compensation board members were topics of discussion for the Ringgold county board of supervisors at their regular meetings this past week.

At the meeting Tuesday, Dec. 15, proposals for building a new jail that would be lease-purchased by the county were opened.

One proposal was from Joe Murphy and another proposal was from Kelly Main.

Both proposals would lease the building for a total in the range of $2.5 million, the money that the county has to spend.

The proposals give general parameters for what each building would be constructed of as well as the firms that would be used to design and build the project.

The board of supervisors must now chose from the two proposals the one they feel will be the best, based on a number of factors.

Board members indicated  they would be working on making the decision in conjunction with sheriff Mike Sobotka.

A date for making the decision has not been set, but board chairman Larry Ford said the decision would be made “sooner rather than later.”

Sheriff Mike Sobotka had brought concerns to the attention of the board of supervisors on whether policy had been followed in the hiring process for the new deputy auditor.

Board members said that nothing illegal had been done but noted that the process could possibly have been handled differently.

After questioning whether they should go ahead and approve the recommendation of county auditor Laurie Greenman earlier in the meeting, they went ahead and gave approval to her selection when it was formally discussed later in the day.

Amanda Waske was hired as the new deputy auditor and will begin work in the auditor’s office on January 4, the board voted.

The only major action in the board’s meeting Thursday, Dec. 10, was appointing two people to represent the supervisors on the county compensation board.

Named to the board by the supervisors were Craig Elliott and Monte Akers.

The county compensation board makes recommendations to the board of supervisors on any increases in salary for county officials.

The supervisors cannot raise salaries more than the recommended amount.

If a reduction is made, the same percentage reduction must be made in each of the salaries below the cap the compensation board sets.

  A new era in healthcare delivery for Ringgold county begins in the next week as Ringgold County Hospital moves to its new facility on the east edge of Mount Ayr.

Area residents will have an opportunity to tour the new facilities Sunday,
Dec. 10 from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., then they will be cleaned again to make ready for the patients, who will move to the hospital Sunday, Dec. 20.

It’s been a three year process of analyzing information, developing plans, looking at financial feasibility and then constructing the new facility.

There have been many changes in the delivery of healthcare since the current hospital facility was built in 1951 and then added on to over the years.

“Our 1951 hospital could not be appropriately remodeled to meet the needs of our patients or meet current building and healthcare regulatory standards,” hospital administrator Gordon Winkler said.

The hospital site was landlocked with no place to go for expansion. The new facility is built on 22 acres of land that will allow expansion as services grow and change.

The building itself is set up so that wings can be extended should the need arise somewhere down the road to meet community needs.

More space, more efficient arrangement of space, more convenience and a pleasant environment are all part of the new facility.

Just a few of the new or expanded features in the new facility include:

-- a two-story atrium area with a registration center for all services.

-- a large surgical suite to meet the needs of the general, orthopedic and visiting surgeons.

-- a fully equipped gym area and aquatic therapy pool for the hospital’s rehabilitation programs.

-- new digital mammography equipment.

-- quiet private patient rooms with their own bathrooms that provide space and a healing environment.

Interest in the hospital’s design and the planning that brought it to a successful opening has attracted other healthcare professionals from around the state.

Representatives of four Iowa hospitals and one in Nebraska have been down to view the facilities and ask questions about how it was designed and financed.

A hospital group from the state of Nevada was so interested in what is being done in Ringgold county that a group of people plan to come back to Iowa for Sunday’s open house to see the facility first hand.

There have been tours of the facility as it was being constructed for many groups and politicians.

Emergency response personnnel from ambulance services, law enforcement and the like had a tour Monday and hospital staff and their families were to have a tour Wednesday night. The public open house Sunday will be the last opportunity for a behind-the-scenes view of all the new facilities.

Moving plans

The actual move to the new hospital will be a four-day process beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 16.

Services have to be offered without a gap so a move of this magnitude is a major undertaking.

Health Care Relocation, a firm that specializes in moves like these, has been working with the hospital on the planning for the move.

As well as having expertise in how such a move should be done, they have specialized equipment that makes moving more efficient and safer for the items being moved.

“Some of the departments can be moved all in one day,” Winkler noted. “Others will have to be moved over several days to phase out services in one building and into the new one.”

The Mount Ayr Medical Clinic will be closed Thursday and Friday, Dec. 17 and 18, for the move. Emergencies can be handled by the emergency room those days.

The emergency room facilities will open at the new hospital at 7a.m. Sunday, Dec. 20, and the patients in the hospital will be moved to the new facility at 8 a.m. that day.

Meanwhile the work at the hospital facility continues at a quick pace to have everything in place by the switchover date, Winkler said.

Monday the digital mammography equipment and the equipment for the radiology room were being installed.

Five semiloads of furniture and equipment arrived Tuesday and will be installed during the rest of the week.

“The open house will give area residents an opportunity to see as much of the hospital as possible before we actually begin operations and many of the areas are off limits to the public,” Winkler said. “We invite everyone to come and see how healthcare will be delivered for area residents for years to come.”

  This will be another big week for Christmas music around Ringgold county with several concerts planned.

School concerts in the Diagonal and Mount Ayr Community school district and the annual Ringgold Singers Christmas concert are all planned this week.

Diagonal program Dec. 10

“Greetings from the Heart” will be the theme of the Diagonal Community school annual Christmas concert to be held Thursday, Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m. in the north gym. (This was postponed because of no school).

Vocal instructor Mary Lange will be directing a variety of songs including elementary students singing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “There’s Someone in the Chimney” and “Reindeer on the Roof.” 

Middle and high school students will be performing “Sing We All Noel,” “Hush My Babe” and “Rockin’ Jerusalem”.

Instrumental instructor Pat Oswald will lead fourth through 12th grade band students in performing selections such as “Good King Wenceslas,” “Rockin’ Jingle Bells” and “Jingle Bell Rock.”

The concert will conclude with a visit from Santa and open house in the Diagonal Elementary Building.

Ringgold Singers Dec. 12

The Ringgold Singers will present their annual Christmas concert “Christmas Inspirations” Saturday, Dec. 12, a 7:30 p.m. at the United Baptist-Presbyterian Church in Mount Ayr.

“Christmas Time Is Here,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Santa Baby” with soloist Pat Meester with Santa; “Grown Up Chrismas List,” “I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day” with reader Dana Gibson, “Bell Carol,” “A Baby Changes Everything” with solo by Carol McCreary, “Joseph’s Lullaby” sun by Jodi Lawrence, “Winds Through the Olive Trees” with flute soloist Carol Cason and “O Holy Night” are planned.

There will also be time for caroling with the audience on “Silent Night,” “Joy to the World” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” A bell choir will also be part of the program.

MAC band concert Dec. 14

A combined concert of fourth through 12th grade band students will be held for the Christmas concert at Mount Ayr Community high school Monday, Dec. 14.

The fifth grade band will play “A Mozart Melody,” “Jingle Bells” and “My Dreydl.”

The sixth grade band will play “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!” “Advent Carol” and “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.”

The middle school band will play “Christmas March,” “Jewish Folk Medley” and “Cartoon Christmas.”

The high school concert band will play “A Fresh Aire Christmas” featuring “Deck the Halls,” “Lo How A Rose E’re Blooming,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Stille Night” and “Good King Wenceslas”; “Joyous Christmas Spirit,” featuring “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day,” “The First Noel,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “What Child Is This” and “Joy to the World,” and “Themes From the Nutcracker Suite” featuring “Marche,” “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” “Arabian Dance,” “Waltz of the Flowers” and “Russian Dance.”
Presentation of fall awards will be made by MAC Band Booster president Tracy Giles. A cookie sale will be held before and after the concert.

Greg Storhoff and Dana Morris direct the Mount Ayr Community school bands.

 A Michigan hunter was injured in a hunting accident Sunday, Dec. 27, it section one of Liberty township southwest of Ellston.

Allen Steimel reported to Ringgold county sheriff’s officers that his son, Jason, had been shot while hunting deer and needed an ambulance.

Jason Steimel was walking back to the vehicle between 5:15 and 5:30 p.m. when Ray Howell of Michigan, another member of the hunting party, accidently shot him.

Ray saw what he believed to be a deer and shot Steimel with a 50 caliber muzzleloader.

Steimel had a non-life threatening flesh wound to the back side of his body, according to the incident report.

He was transported to Ringgold County Hospital and held over there after treatment.

The Ringgold County Sheriff’s Department and Iowa Department of Natural Resources investigated the accident.

State money woes are hitting the clerk of court’s office in Ringgold county especially hard after the latest cuts announced by state court administrator David Boyd.

Ringgold county’s clerk of court office will be open for 18 hours a week under the new plan, the fewest number of hours of any county in the fifth district.

The office will be open here Monday, Thursday and Friday each week from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m.

Donna Stephens, acting clerk of court, will be the sole employee at the office in the Ringgold county courthouse after Michelle Byer’s position was eliminated with the cuts.

Byer was one of 105 employees laid off with the changes in schedules.

Ringgold county will have district court services here every other Monday, magistrate court on Thursday and juvenile court every second Friday.

Unpaid day closures

In addition, the clerk of court’s office will be closed on several days during the next few months in unpaid court closure days.

These include Friday, Dec. 4, Thursday, Dec. 24; Thursday, Dec. 31;  Friday, Jan. 15; Monday, Feb. 15; Friday, March 12; Friday, March 26; Friday, April 2; Friday, May 28; and Friday, June 18.

Since all of the closure dates are on the three days a week that the office is open here, it will cut service to two days a week for several of the weeks and one day a week for Christmas and New Year’s weeks.

Hours a week for having the clerk’s office open in other Fifth district offices include 40 hour weeks in Clarke, Union, Guthrie, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion and Warren counties.

Decatur county will have a 37.5 hour week, Adair county a 34 hour week, Lucas county a 32 hour week, Wayne county a 24 hour week, Adams county a 22 hour week, Taylor county a 20 hour week and Ringgold county an 18 hour week.

“Regrettably the closures will disrupt and reduce public access to the courts,” state court administrator Boyd said. “There will be gaps in services and more delays and backlogs will grow. But under the circumstances these problems are unavoidable. The state’s budget crisis demands drastic action.”

The first big week of Christmas activities is planned across Ringgold county this weekend with events like the lighted Christmas parade and Window Walk in Mount Ayr Saturday some of the highlights.

The first of the Christmas concerts are also on tap as well as deadlines for decorating trees for the Festival of Trees and setting up light displays for the Mount Ayr lighting contest. Santa visits are also planned this week.

Blockton event Dec. 5

The Blockton children’s Christmas party will be held Saturday, Dec. 5, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the community building with Santa Claus on hand from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Parents are asked to bring a plate of goodies.

There will be crafts, wagon rides and Santa’s visit. Parents are asked to dress children appropriately for the weather.

Donations to help with the party can be given at the Blockton Post Office or at the door.

Parade, Window Walk Saturday

There are a host of activities planned for Saturday night in Mount Ayr.

The fifth annual Christmas concert by Simply Voices will be held Saturday, Dec. 5, at 4 p.m. at the Mount Ayr United Methodist Church prior to the lighted Christmas parade and Window Walk.

The group of women from the United Methodist Church in Mount Ayr will be sharing music  to welcome the season and celebrate the birth of the Savior. 

A freewill offering will be taken.

The Ringgold County Tourism annual lighted Christmas parade will be held Saturday, Dec. 5, this year. Line-up will be at the Depot Museum at 5:30 p.m. and the parade will start at 6 p.m.

Theme this year will be “Music in the Ayr” and participants are asked to play or sing their favorite Christmas carol as they proceed around the parade route.

Ringgold County Tourism is joining with the First Christian Church in serving beef burgers, chips, relishes, drinks and dessert at the church from 5 to 7 p.m. before and after the parade for a freewill offering. The Mount Ayr Lions Club will have their Christmas candy and cookie plates available for $5 each.

Also taking place on Saturday, Dec. 5, will be the Christmas Window Walk, where live scenes will be on display in business windows.

Carol Ann McCreary and Barbie Belzer are helping organize the window walk portion of the evening.

Groups and windows that will be participating include:

In the windows: Sweet Escapes  will have the Moonlighters Theater Group, the Iowa Roadhouse will have the SOS group and Ringgold County Hospital, Aunt Jennie’s Attic will have a nativity scene from the Mount Ayr Restoration Branch, Hospice will have a Hospice group, US Bank will feature bank employees, Tyler Insurance will ahve Ellen Powell, McDonnell Appliance  will feature The Dance Connection dancers, NAPA will have Leslie’s Dance Emporium dancers, Mount Ayr Vision will have the First Christian Church, Daggett’s Law Office will have Robin and Randy McDonnell’s Precious Moments display, LaVerne’s will have a display, the Princess Theater wil offer free popcorn, the Mount Ayr Chamber of Commerce window will have a Judge Lewis Park group, and Shafer Insurance will have a Shafer Insurance group, Many other windows will be decorated around the square as well.

The Mount Ayr Lions Club will be serving hot cider and cookies in the courthouse lobby. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there to greet everyone. The Wishard Chapel childrens bell choir will play at 6:30 p.m. and the Ringgold Singers will be caroling on the steps.

The Mount Ayr Public Library will be open for anyone who would like to come in and watch the lighted parade from their windows.

During the evening, the Senior Citizen Activity Center will also have an open house from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

Cookies and coffee will be served and silent auction gift baskets will be on display.

Festival of Trees set

The Mount Ayr Depot Museum will have their annual Festival of Trees at the depot again this year. Any business, group, club, organization or individual may decorate and display a Christmas tree.

The museum has several trees available to be decorated if a group does not have their own.

The depot will be open during daylight hours from November 27 through December 5 so that trees can be brought in and decorated. All trees should be in place by December 5.

The trees will be on display during the lighted Christmas parade and Window Walk on Saturday, Dec. 5, and during the Christmas tour of homes on Saturday, Dec. 12, as well as at other times as requested.

Lighting contest deadline

Saturday night is also the deadline for people to have their Christmas lighting displays set up if they wan to be part of the Mount Ayr Chamber of Commerce’s Christmas lighting contest.

Church  events

The United Methodist churches of Wishard Chapel, Tingley and Ellston have combined voices to present “King of Glory, King of Love,” a powerful Christmas musical that combines Christmas favorites, praise and worship choruses and new songs on Sunday, Dec. 6, at the Wishard Chapel Church at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m

Both performances are free and open to the public.

The 40-member choir, led by Cathy Brause, will be presenting the musical.

The LA.M.B.S. group at the First Christian Church in Mount Ayr will give a presentation on The Birth of Christ Sunday, Dec. 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the church.