Special to the Times Vedette

On March 1, ACGC FFA members competed at the SW District Contests at Greene County Schools. Members competed against approximately 30 other FFA chapters from southwest Iowa.

Two members earned the right to advance to the State FFA Leadership Conference for their officer book records and will take these to the conference April 13-15. Advancing to State are the Treasurer’s Book, by Blaise Tallman, which received first place and a gold rating, and the Chapter Scrapbook, by Lilah Heinz, which received second place and a gold rating.

Other contests of the chapter that received a gold rating were the Chapter Program presented by Lilah Heinz, Rylee Robson and Calleigh Wolfe, and the chapter Secretary’s Book, by Lucy Knutter.

Members who competed in individual contests and received silver ratings were Gavin Sloss in Ag Sales, Caydence Boals in Ag Broadcasting, Stella Largent with the Chapter Website, Stetson Ellis in Creed Speaking, Nora Langgaard in Extemporaneous Speaking, and Lucy Knutter in Public Speaking. Also, a silver rating was earned by Experience the Action with Meranda Gruber, Emmarae Ellis, Allison Drake, Montana Douglas, Laurin Davis, Lilly Rochholz and Cora Fluharty. Blaise Tallman and Will Kading also competed in the Ag Welding Event and received a bronze rating.

Belle Fagan and Mallory Schreck served as voting delegates for the chapter. Duties included listening to the balloted candidates’ speeches and voting on candidates to serve the district office for the 2025-2026 year.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

Author Jacqueline Reinig will be on hand at the Panora Library on Thursday, March 13 at 4 p.m. to talk about her book, “Faery Academy of Quillsnap: Night of the Purple Moon.”

The novel tells the story of Tansy, who exists in the Faery Realm. Tansy faces a cruel guardian and a dangerous enchanted forest to save her school but accidentally uncovers secrets of her mother’s disappearance and the realm itself.

The Panora Library owns one copy of the book. Additional copies will be available for purchase during the author talk.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

For the 2025-2026 school year, Panorama Elementary will offer preschool for 4-year-olds on four full days per week at no cost to families. To be eligible, the child must be 4 years old by Sept. 15. The program will run Mondays through Thursdays with an option for noon pick-up if desired.

More information and registration will be available as the 2025-2026 school year approaches. Elementary Principal Liz Ratcliff shared the reasoning behind launching this new program.

“We are excited to have our 4-year-old preschoolers come all day Monday through Thursday next year. Spending the whole day at preschool gives children more opportunities to interact with their peers. This extended time helps them develop important social, emotional and academic skills. Full-day programs often have the flexibility to include a variety of activities encouraging creativity and problem-solving skills,” Ratcliff said. “We are hopeful that the full-day program offers more consistency for families, as it minimizes the need for pickups and drop-offs during the day.”

Special to the Times Vedette

A 5-ton vehicle weight limit on Lake Panorama roads will begin Monday, March 10 due to roadbeds being soft and incapable of holding heavy loads. The 5-ton weight limit will continue until roadbeds dry out enough to support heavy loads.

“LPA (Lake Panorama Association) understands there is inconvenience involved and appreciates your cooperation,” the LPA stated in its Panorama Prompt email communication. “The cost to everyone for non-compliance is high, with seal-coat expense being above $40,000 per mile.”

UPS and FedEx have reviewed their compliance strategies with LPA and are utilizing acceptable vehicles. Although these vehicles have a high profile, LPA has determined them to be acceptable from a weight perspective. LPA members receiving routine deliveries from UPS and FedEx do not need to make special arrangements. LPA has also notified Panorama Schools and encourages lake residents to contact the school with any questions regarding pick-up and drop-off locations.

From the Iowa Department of Natural Resources

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) suggests immediately finishing pruning oak trees to prevent the spread of oak wilt.

“We typically suggest to stop pruning oaks around March 15,” Tivon Feeley, forest health program leader with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, explains. “The unseasonably warm February has moved up that date. Pruning oak trees should stop out of an abundance of caution.”

Oak wilt, caused by a fungus, has been present in Iowa for many years. Iowa’s red, black and pin oak are more susceptible to oak wilt, but it can also infect white and bur oak. Black, pin or red oak usually die within the same summer they are infected. White oak and bur oak can often take a number of years before they succumb to this disease.

A healthy tree can be infected through open wounds during the growing season where the fungus is carried from a diseased tree to a healthy tree by a small beetle or through root grafts between oak trees of the same species.

Feeley says symptoms of oak wilt on infected trees are usually visible in June or July.  Look for leaves turning a bronzed brown along the outer margins of the leaves. These leaves can often still have some green on them as they fall from the tree. The defoliation tends to start at the top of the tree.

The best way to prevent the spread of oak wilt is to prevent any wounding to oak trees during the growing season. If a tree is wounded from storm damage or pruning is required during the growing season, treat the wounds immediately with a wound dressing such as acrylic paint. Do not purchase pruning paints/sealants. Those products slow the tree’s ability to seal over the wound.

Learn more about oak wilt prevention and control at www.iowadnr.gov/oakwilt.