By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on July 30 and discussed the next steps in efforts to create a countywide EMS service plan.

On behalf of Panora EMS, John DeLavergne shared that there seems to be confusion as to whether or not the supervisors have accepted or rejected the RFPs from the three EMS services that are being discussed (Stuart, Adair and Panora). The supervisors voted to formally accept the RFPs from the three services with negotiations continuing regarding geographic coverage areas and funding.

The supervisors had lengthy discussion about how to allocate the funds to each of the three services. The two measures suggested were population and call volume. After calculating the percentages of each service area compared to the county as a whole, Supervisor Maggie Armstrong shared what she found.

“Call volume and population are pretty closely correlated,” Armstrong said.

Supervisor Steve Smith pointed out that the expected revenues will not allow each of the three entities to receive the amount of funding each has requested, so more discussions are needed. The supervisors will communicate with each of the three entities to negotiate the proposed funding.          

The supervisors approved the public notice to voters on the EMS levy ballot measure, on a 4-1 vote, with Mike Dickson apposed.

Jason and Andrea Betts addressed the supervisors regarding their preliminary interest in opening a campground and ATV park in Bear Grove Township. Board Chair JD Kuster shared his opinion.

“I’ve traveled around to different states and taken the ATV and all the trails. A lot of people enjoy that,” Kuster said. “It would be great for Guthrie County to have that right here. I look forward to that.”

After discussion, the supervisors were generally in consensus about support for the idea and said a conditional use permit would be the most appropriate was to allow such a venture.

The next regular meeting of the supervisors will be Tuesday, Aug. 6. The public is welcome. Attendees may participate in person or by calling 323-792-6123 and inputting conference ID 547029216#.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

On the grounds of the Guthrie County Historical Village are several buildings along with two railroad cars. One of the railroad cars is a 1956 Milwaukee, one of 100 modern cabooses ordered by the Milwaukee Railroad.

Traditionally, the caboose was the last car of a train and was used as the headquarters of the train crew and office of the conductor. Earlier cabooses usually had a raised cupola where the crew could look ahead from above to check on the train, but as train cars were built taller, this became a problem. Therefore, the 1956 caboose was instead built with a protruding “bay window” so the crew could view the rest of the train from the side.

One of the main reasons the crew needed to check on the train as it moved was to detect “hot boxes,” which meant excess heat building up from friction of the axles if oil leaked away or dried out. These hot boxes could easily start a fire.

The 1956 caboose included a two-way radio, electricity, cook stove and a toilet. It ran on the Milwaukee and Soo lines until it was retired in 1990. In 1991, the caboose was moved to the Guthrie County Historical Village.

The Guthrie County Historical Village and Museum is located at 206 W. South St. in Panora.

 

Rural Linden man and his Ventura have enjoyed long days together and traveled many highways. 

 

By Rich Wicks | Panora Times

A 1972 hit song by the band America is titled “Ventura Highway,” and the lyrics state, “Ventura Highway in the sunshine, where the days are longer, the nights are stronger than moonshine.”

Those lyrics are fitting for Lenny Hemann, of rural Linden, and his 1973 Pontiac Ventura Custom, which he has owned and enjoyed for nearly half a century. Hemann and the Ventura have enjoyed long days together and traveled many highways. 

Hemann recalled how he came to own the car.

“I was driving my dad’s old 1968 Chevy, and you could throw a baby bull calf through the back fenders, it was rusted out that bad,” Hemann said.

Hemann was living in northern Iowa (Staceyville) at the time. He and his dad went to Holiday Cars in Austin, Minnesota, and traded the old Chevy in on the Ventura. Lenny paid his dad the difference.

“I bought this in August of 1976. It had 61,127 miles on it when I bought it.” Hemann said. “It’s got just over 144,000 on it now. At one time, there were three of us up in Staceyville that had Venturas: a ’72, ’73 and a ’74.”

With that many years and miles, any vehicle is bound to have a few issues, and Hemann told of a good news/bad news issue with his Ventura. The transmission has had a tendency to leak transmission fluid from time to time, but that’s helped keep the underside of the car from developing as much rust as it might have otherwise.

“It’s the plain Jane. No air conditioning. It’s got power steering, power brakes, no cruise control, no electric windows. I put new carpeting in there way back in the late 1980s.” 

Hemann explained the biggest problem he has had with the car was years ago when mice found it to be a comfortable home.

“They made a nest behind the seat, and they chewed on the new carpeting, but you can’t really tell it,” he said. “I don’t know how they got in. I always keep the vents shut.”

Popping the hood, Hemann showed the original color of the car. It was a drab olive green, but he has since painted it a shinier shade. He doesn’t drive the car at all during the winter but gets it out on the road fairly often during the warmer months. 

“I try to burn a tank of gas out of it every summer,” Hemann said. “I’ve had this car for 48 years, and it’s been a really good car. This is the car I was driving when I met my wife.”