Special to the Times Vedette

Holy Week weeknight services will be held March 25-29 with a light meal served at 6:30 p.m. and services beginning at 7 p.m. Dates and locations are as follows:

• Monday, March 25: St. Cecilia Catholic Church, 220 N. First St., Panora
• Tuesday, March 26: Calvary Chapel of the Raccoon River Valley, 604 E. Main St., Panora
• Wednesday, March 27: Panora United Methodist Church, 119 E. Main St., Panora
• Thursday, March 28: First Christian Church (with the help of the Panora Church of the Brethren), 102 E Church St., Panora
• Friday, March 29: Faith Bible Church (no meal), 2096 Highway 4, Panora

Special to the Times Vedette

Students from ACGC drove tractors to school this morning in Guthrie Center as part of Drive Your Tractor to School Day. Video is courtesy of ACGC Agriculture Education Teacher and FFA Advisor Skie Schull.

Jonetta Long, Ellen Betzer and Sharon Neel serve the community as part of Faith Bible Church’s fellowship.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

Once each month, Faith Bible Church in Panora offers a community meal. Senior Pastor Trevor Nunn said although donations are accepted, it’s not a fundraiser but rather an opportunity to welcome everyone for food and fellowship.

The meals are regularly scheduled on the third Wednesday of each month, serving from 5:30-6:30 p.m. The next meal will be March 20 and will include baked potato bar and toppings, tossed salad, carrots, celery, and cookie bars. On April 17, the meal will be sliced ham, cheesy potatoes, smothered green beans and cupcakes.

A hungry crowd enjoys the meal at Faith Bible Church on Feb. 21.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

During the Feb. 22 meeting of the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors, Conservation Director Brad Halterman addressed the supervisors about the proposed 28E agreement with the Iowa DNR regarding the Middle Raccoon River access. The supervisors approved the agreement, pending review by the county attorney.

The bulk of the meeting was a review of budgetary numbers for the upcoming fiscal year. Supervisor Mike Dickson again questioned the revenue numbers for the sheriff’s department, saying the yearly number looks unrealistically large based on the current year-to-date actual revenue.

County Auditor Dani Fink agreed with the idea of budgeting revenues conservatively.

“If they bring in $378,000, great. But it’s going to hurt us if we overbudget that revenue and don’t have it,” Fink said.

Dickson questioned whether or not housing inmates from other counties is truly beneficial financially for the county.

“There’s seven jailers, and the only reason we need seven jailers is because we’re contracting with other counties to bring in inmates,” Dickson said. “And if that’s costing us $200,000, after benefits and other things,…it’s costing us to house other peoples’ inmates. We either up our rate, or we stop it.”

The consensus among the supervisors was to request more detail on the revenues and expenses.

Agenda item No. 3 (Strategic Plan Agreement with Region XII) was tabled so the supervisors could have more time to review the document.

The next regular meeting of the supervisors will be Tuesday, Feb. 26. Attendees may participate in person at the courthouse or by calling 323-792-6123 and inputting conference ID 547029216#.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

The Guthrie Center School Board announced the appointment of Tandem Eischeid as the new PK-6 Principal for Guthrie Center Elementary. With a total of 16 years of teaching experience, Eischeid has spent the last seven as a fourth-grade classroom teacher at Grant Ragan Elementary School in the Waukee Community School District. He holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Iowa State University, and a master’s degree in administration and special education, also from Iowa State University. Eischeid will replace current principal, Diane Flanery, who is retiring at the end of this school year after 37 years in education.