By Susan Thompson | Times Vedette

On Wednesday afternoon, April 15, members of the Panora Women’s Service Organization (WSO) hosted their annual senior tea for Panorama Community Schools senior girls. The girls were encouraged to invite as many women guests as they wanted. The group of 89 included 26 senior girls plus their mothers, grandmothers, aunts and family friends.

Mary Jane Sprague, WSO president, welcomed the girls and their guests to the Panora Church of the Brethren sanctuary at 2 p.m. She asked each senior to stand and introduce herself and her guests, and tell something about her future plans.

The afternoon’s guest speakers were Kylee Boettcher and her daughter, Tyme Boettcher. Kylee is a Panora native and graduated from Panorama Schools. She graduated from Buena Vista University (BVU) in Storm Lake in 2002. She joined the faculty at Panorama in 2007 and was the head women’s basketball coach for five years before taking the same position at BVU in 2024.

Tyme Boettcher graduated from Panorama Schools in 2024 and enrolled at BVU, where she is a member of the women’s basketball team.  

Their speech focused on the strength of supporting women. They described this through a team scenario, supporting each teammate, no matter their role. They also used scenarios of general life situations, suggesting that positive outcomes come from success of women friends and coworkers. Through the examples shared, the mother-daughter team encouraged the seniors to be there for other women, during both good days and rough days.

Following the guest speakers, photos of the seniors were taken as the WSO women made final preparations in the Fellowship Hall for finger sandwiches, cookies, candy, tea, coffee and lemonade. Once seated, WSO members served drinks and the guests helped themselves to the food displayed on their tables.

Funds raised by WSO with an annual home tour in June and a salad luncheon in December are used for a variety of community causes. One is an annual scholarship presented to a Panorama senior girl each spring. This will be the 44^thyear this WSO scholarship has been given.

Twenty-six young women in the 2026 Panorama Community Schools graduating class attended the annual senior tea April 15 hosted by the Panora Women’s Service Organization.

Kylee Boettcher and her daughter Tyme were guest speakers at the WSO annual senior tea. Kylee graduated from Panorama Schools in 1998. Tyme graduated from Panorama in 2024. Their family moved from Panora to Storm Lake in 2024 when Kylee was hired as the head women’s basketball coach at Buena Vista University. Tyme is attending Buena Vista and is a member of the basketball team.

Special to the Times Vedette 

On April 13, a total of 10 players participated. Chet Vaughan, Wayne Nickel and Sue Mozingo each got a 16; Bill Sheeder got a 21; Rhonda Titus, who is back from the snowy east with drifts way above her head, got a 20; and lucky Dave Richter got a 28. 

The Guthrie Center cribbage players generally meet at Guthrie Center Library, 400 Grand St., on Mondays at 8 a.m. and at the New Homestead independent living dining hall, 2306 State St., at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays and 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.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

During the April 13 regular monthly meeting of the Panorama School Board, a public hearing was held regarding the 2026-2027 Public Tax Notice. No written nor verbal comments were received, so the hearing was promptly closed.

The board unanimously approved a contract of $590,523 with Rigid Edge Exteriors LLC for the roof repair at the elementary school building.

As part of the consent agenda, the board unanimously approved contract recommendations including the resignations of Danielle Beasley (effective 3/10/2026); Girls Basketball Coach Randy Miller (effective end of this school year); Dean of Students and Football Coach Taylor Morris (contract not returned for 2026-27 year); Driver Scott Calmer (effective end of this school year); Driver Michael Artist (effective end of this school year); and Basketball Scorer Amy Block (effective end of this school year).

Contract recommendations approved for the 2026-2027 school year included Wyatt Clark (PE teacher, Assistant Football Coach); Jim Demers (Dean of Students, Head Football Coach); Angela Mincy (Head Volleyball Coach); Maddison Lynch (Assistant Volleyball Coach); and Aly Dalhauser (Head Girls Basketball Coach).

The board also approved 10 to 15 speech/drama students and three chaperones for an overnight trip to see “Wicked” in Omaha on July 12.

The board went into a closed session to discuss the superintendent’s contract, then reconvened in open session and approved a two-year continuing contract with Superintendent Huebner (July 1, 2026 through July 30, 2028) with a 2.1% raise in salary to $157,775 effective July 1.

Graduation for the class of 2026 is set for 1 p.m. on May 17. The board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is set for Monday, May 11 at 5:30 p.m. The public is welcome.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

During the April 15 joint meeting of the Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center school boards, members discussed for an hour the possibility of the two districts merging.

In late 2024 and early 2025, the AC and GC boards were moving to preliminary steps of consolidation. However, the state’s reorganizational incentives expired at the end of fiscal year 2024. The districts would lose out on a combined total of approximately $400,000 in operation sharing after consolidation, making the plan no longer financially viable.

AC board member Randy Carney said he doubts the Iowa Legislature will restore funding for the reorganization incentive previously factored into consolidation plans. He said that because most of Iowa’s population lives in larger urban districts, there is likely little legislative support for funding that would primarily benefit small rural districts.

Carney, who has served on the AC board for many years, also expressed frustration that the boards have not formally discussed consolidation in more than a year. He recommended the topic be addressed at least quarterly.

“With the steady to declining enrollment and the amount of new money we get, we’re going to start tapping into our savings,” Carney said. “It worries me a little bit. I don’t want this to go under the rug. I don’t want to wait too long.”

GC board member Matt Van Meter said both districts’ enrollment has declined significantly since 2000.

“The walls are closing in faster than people might realize,” he said.

Van Meter said that because the $400,000 in incentive funding is no longer available and may not return, the districts should look for ways to reduce expenses by that amount.

Superintendent Josh Rasmussen emphasized the importance of fully evaluating all options to help ensure a successful outcome.

“You want to measure multiple times before you cut,” he said.

The boards reached a consensus to revisit the topic at their July meeting.

The Guthrie Center board voted unanimously to return to a five-block master schedule for the high school next school year.

As part of the consent agenda, the board accepted resignations from Daniel Woods, social studies teacher and wrestling and cross-country coach, and Jess Fridley, speech coach. Approved contract recommendations included Tyler Merical, physical education; Joe Bennett, custodian; Kellie Lewis, counselor; and Eric West, business teacher.

Students Cam Richter and Ava Sneller, with support from teachers Jen and Joel Betterton, shared a slideshow and details from the recent senior trip to Washington, D.C. Thirty-two of the 43 seniors participated in the trip, traveling through seven states. They departed March 15 and returned March 22. Students described their favorite historic sites and said the trip was enjoyable.

Upcoming dates include graduation on May 17 at 1 p.m. and the last day of school on May 22.

The next regular meeting — a joint meeting of the Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center school boards — will be held Wednesday, May 20, at 7 p.m. at ACGC High School in Guthrie Center. The public is welcome.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

The Panorama boys track and field team earned ninth place at the Ram Early Bird in Jefferson on Friday, April 10. Panorama scored 40 points on the night to place 11^th. Southeast Valley won the meet with 120 points.

The Panther boys left the meet with two gold medals — one by Syler Shaffer in the 400-meter hurdles and the other by Reed Draper in the long jump. Cristian Monrroy-Nunez was close to joining them, earning silver in the shot put. The Panthers next-closest finish was fifth in the 4×800-meter relay. Read the full results HERE.

Panorama returns to the track today, Tuesday, April 14, for the Earlham Varsity Coed Track Meet. Panorama faces ACGC, Atlantic, Clarinda, Colfax-Mingo, Coon Rapids-Bayard, Des Moines Christian, Earlham, Greene County, Nodaway Valley, Ogden, South Hamilton, Van Meter, West Central Valley and Winterset.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors met in regular session April 14. No citizens addressed the supervisors during the Public Comments portion of the meeting.

Health Services Director Jotham Arber provided an update on the department he leads.

“We are rolling out our community health needs assessment,” Arber said. “I’m ordering 10,000 door hangers.”

Arber went on to explain that the assessment was most recently completed in 2023, when approximately 1,200 completed surveys were received. He hopes to exceed that number this year.

Arber shared details on other happenings in the department.

“We’ve done a lot of radon testing,” he said. “And we are going to be getting out there to do pool testing.”

Arber shared information on a new magnet being used at the Transfer Station to collect and remove metal. He said the county will turn in scrap metal collected for revenue, but he speculated that the main benefit will likely be fewer flat tires experienced by visitors to the Transfer Station.

The supervisors meet regularly on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. The public is welcome to attend in person at the courthouse or via remote technology. To join remotely, call 323-792-6123, then use meeting code 547029216#