Special to the Times Vedette

The Iowa Film Critic Association, which include film critics from across the state, has announced its choices for the best films and performances of 2024.

Michael C. Woody, who writes film reviews for Lake Panorama Times, Panora Times and Guthrie Center Times, is one of five critics for the association. Woody also reviews movies on “The Murph & Andy Show” podcast. He and his wife, Susan, are residents at Lake Panorama.

Other members of the association include:

• Linda Cook with WHBF and OurQuadCities.com, Davenport.
• James Frazier with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
• Sean Patrick Kernan with Regional Media Virden Broadcasting in the Quad Cities
• Bruce Miller with the Sioux City Journal

Their choices for best movies of 2024 are as follows:

• BEST PICTURE: “Anora” (sweep)
• BEST DIRECTOR: Sean Baker
• BEST ACTOR: Adrien Brody
• BEST ACTRESS: Mikey Madison (sweep)
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Kieran Culkin (sweep)
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Isabella Rossellini or Ariana Grande
• BEST ANIMATED FILM: “The Wild Robot”
• BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” (sweep)
• BEST SONG “Kiss the Sky” from “The Wild Robot” (sweep)

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

The ACGC Dance team recently competed at the state competition. Coach Brooke Boals shared her thoughts.

“This is the first year that ACGC has had a dance team since 2020,” Boals said. “We performed a lyrical piece at the Iowa State Dance Team Association Competition on Dec. 5 and earned a Division 1 rating and ranked eighth in our class. There are seven members: Addison Laughery, Emmarae Ellis, Gracie Hodges, Kaylee Oberholtz, Karylnn Wetzel, Kiera Boals and Kelsie Steensen.”

Senior team member Addison Laughery added her perspective.

 “It’s really great for our school to finally have a dance team again,” Laughery said. “We’re here to show everyone what we can do and what we’ve been working toward.”

Coach Boals added her appreciation for the team’s dedication.

“From a coach perspective, I am so proud of the girls and the amount of effort they put toward preparing our state piece. They are all very talented, and I love being able to showcase their talents at competition, as well as at school events,” Boals said.

Photos by Mark Reno from performance earlier this year.

Guthrie Center School Board President Matt Van Meter swears in Vice President Cara Underwood.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

The Dec. 18 regular meeting of the Guthrie Center School Board included the board’s annual organizational meeting, in which board leadership and committee assignments were decided, along with several annual designations. Matt Van Meter will continue as president of the board with Cara Underwood to serve as vice president.

High School Principal Brian Sauser gave a report on his area. He pointed out the trend regarding very few failing grades has remained steady.

“At the high school, things are going really well,” Sauser said. “Our F list at the high school continues to be in the single digits, and there are almost 500 As. For those that struggle, we’ve got a lot of interventions in place to help them.”

Superintendent Josh Rasmussen gave an update on how the district’s safety grant funds have or are being used.

“All of our phones have been installed. They work; we’ve got intercom,” Rasmussen said. “Next steps, we are seeking approval to finish up some of our key fobs so we can monitor where people are coming in and out of the building.”

Rasmussen explained that classroom door locks will allow anyone inside a classroom to quickly lock the door as needed for safety. Later in the meeting, the board approved Rasmussen’s recommendation for door lock upgrades to use the remaining grant funds.

Rasmussen shared praise for the service given by Paul Downing, who is resigning from his position as bus driver.

As part of the consent agenda, the board approved contract recommendations for Justin Slaybaugh and Ryan Cline as volunteer wrestling coaches.

Superintendent Josh Rasmussen explained his recommendation for the board to approve a stipend to be paid to the person(s) serving as the “substitute teacher finder” when a staff member calls to report being unable to work. Rasmussen said the calls to find a substitute teacher usually happen outside of normal scheduled work hours. Rasmussen suggested a total stipend of around $600 per semester for this work. After some discussion, the board approved this recommendation.

The board voted to keep the regular schedule of meetings the same as it has been (third Wednesday of each month starting at 7 p.m. with the location to alternate monthly between Adair-Casey Junior High and Guthrie Center High School). Most meetings will be held jointly with the Adair-Casey School Board but may be held separately as needed.

The next regular meeting is set for Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. The public is welcome.

New Adair-Casey Scholl Board President Blair Carney swears in Vice President Justin Crawford.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

The Dec. 18 regular meeting of the Adair-Casey School Board included the board’s annual organizational meeting, in which board leadership and committee assignments were decided, along with several annual designations. Blair Carney was voted as president of the board with Justin Crawford to serve as vice president.

Pre-kindergarten through grade 8 principal, Ed Den Beste, gave a report on his area.

“An exciting thing, we had an hour of coding last week, starting with kindergarten and going up through sixth grade…kids had a lot of fun getting on computers, learning how to code, how to program different robots and things like that,” Den Beste said. “A lot of good information, and kids really had a good time with that.”

Den Beste also shared an update on a safety upgrade in the works.

“Mr. Rasmussen and I have been working on school safety. We’ve looked at door locks and things like that around the building, securing the doors in the junior high and elementary,” Den Beste said.

The board approved the consent agenda items including contract recommendations for Erin Dillon (junior high science teacher), Cade Suhr and Jacob Joliet (junior high track coaches), Leroy White (substitute bus driver), and Dave Farley (part-time custodian).

Superintendent Josh Rasmussen explained his recommendation for the board to approve a stipend to be paid to the person(s) serving as the “substitute teacher finder” when a staff member calls to report being unable to work. Rasmussen said the calls to find a substitute teacher usually happen outside of normal scheduled work hours. Rasmussen suggested a total stipend of around $600 per semester for this work. The board approved this recommendation.

The board voted to keep the regular schedule of meetings the same as it has been (third Wednesday of each month starting at 7 p.m. with the location to alternate monthly between Adair-Casey Junior High and Guthrie Center High School). Most meetings will be held jointly with the Guthrie Center School Board but may be held separately as needed.

The next regular meeting is set for Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. The public is welcome.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

At 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve, the Guthrie Center Fire Department will escort Santa Claus through Guthrie Center before Santa starts his long night of deliveries. The route will begin at the fire station, beginning through the city park before looping through the city, as shown on the attached map. Well-wishers are invited to cheer on Saint Nick near the swimming pool or anywhere along the route.

Special to the Times Vedette

On Wednesday, Dec. 18, a total of five players participated.

• Sandra Rumelhart – 16
• Dan Webb – 16
• Chet Vaughan – two 16s
• Dick Ellis – 20
• Dave Kading – 24

The Guthrie Center cribbage players generally meet at Guthrie Center Library on Mondays at 8 a.m., at the New Homestead independent living rec room at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays, and at the Guthrie Center Activity Center at 1 p.m. on Fridays. Organizers say there is always room for more, and they will be glad to teach you how to play. They play for quarters on Wednesday and Friday.