Household Hazardous Waste Collection Today in Perry
The City of Perry is hosting a household hazardous waste collection event this weekend and everyone’s invited to take part.
The potentially dangerous items can be dropped off free of charge between 9am and noon Saturday at the police and fire station parking lot at 908 Willis Avenue.
Items that will be accepted include Aerosol Cleaners/Paints, Acids/Bases, Antifreeze, Batteries (only rechargeable), Cell Phones Cleaners, Fertilizers, Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs), Floor Care Products, Glues, Gasoline and Kerosene, Motor Oil (used), Oil Filters (used), Oven Cleaner, Oil Based Paint, Petroleum-Based Adhesives, Pesticides, Poison, Pool Chemicals, Roofing Tar, Rust Removers, Shellac, Stains, Varnishes, Thermostats, Thermometers (mercury), Vegetable Oil, Weed Killers and Windshield Fluid.
However, things like ammunition, asbestos, electronics, explosives, fire extinguishers, medications, propane tanks and radioactive materials will not be accepted.
Anyone who has questions can call City Hall at 465-2481.
Celebrate National Berry Day Tomorrow at the Forest Park Museum
The Dallas County ISU Extension Office and Conservation Board invite everyone to the Forest Park Museum this weekend as they talk about the importance of eating your fruits and vegetables.
Sunday they will celebrate National Berry Day, highlighting the benefits and pleasures of eating Iowa-grown berries.
The event is open to all ages, in fact parents are invited to bring their kids to taste a variety of berries and make a healthy fruit pizza.
Participants will also be set home with berry recipes, selection tips and storage ideas.
It’s free but registration is required. To reserve your spot call 957-5787 or 465-3577.
State Climatologist Says Polar Vortex is Over, For Now
“Polar vortex”, a word many of us have heard in the media this past week as temperatures dropped to near record lows for July.
So what is a polar vortex and why has it become such a buzz word? We asked Iowa State Climatologist Harry Hillaker to share his expertise.
“Basically it’s just a low pressure system in the upper atmosphere. It has been there forever but it’s just a case of where somebody picked up on that term last winter when we had that really long winter that didn’t seem like it wanted to end. It became all of the sudden a very popular term, although most of the weather folks, meteorologists and climatologists, we don’t really use that term at all. It’s one of those things that for whatever reason it just caught on and all of the sudden people have been talking about it” says Hillaker.
And while some of us enjoyed the nice little break from the summer heat, Hillaker says it won’t be sticking around.
“This week has been quite dry around the state but on the cool side so there hasn’t been a lot of impact with that dry air. Next week might be quite on the dry side as well with the heat and humidity coming back but at the moment it doesn’t look like that pattern is going to persist maybe much more than a week. Then the week after next we might be back into the more seasonal pattern with you know the occasional thunderstorm and temperatures closer to the usual level.”
Good news is, Hillaker says we’re in much better shape this summer than we were last year in terms of drought conditions after a wet spring.
Jefferson Receives Almost Two Inches of Rain, While Guthrie Center Remains Dry
The amount of rain that fell in the Raccoon River Valley this past week differs greatly depending on where you are at.
According to the National Weather Service, Jefferson had the most rainfall this week with 1.9 inches. That brings them to a total of 4.17 inches in the past two and a half weeks.
Perry received just over half an inch of rain since our last report for a total of just under three inches so far this month.
Guthrie Center saw no precipitation this week and has only received two inches of rain halfway through July, marking the first completely dry week in several months.
All three local weather reporting areas typically see between 4.4 and 4.8 inches of rain in July.
Superintendent Ubben Praises Perry Staff For Success on Iowa Assessment
The Perry School district made progress in several areas this past school year, as evidenced by the improvement made on the Iowa Assessment.
Superintendent Lynn Ubben attributes the success to a unified effort by staff in the district.
“The staff has worked really hard this year and I know the elementary staff especially on reading strategies, there’s an instructional coach. They’ve really put in some hours and worked hard. That doesn’t mean we haven’t always done a good job and we haven’t always worked hard, because we have. That’s not it at all. But what they’re trying to do as a group is become more focused on the assessment and more focused on, ‘what is it that we want all children in each grade to know and be able to do in all classes?”
Plus Ubben adds that this process is teaching not only the students, but the staff as well.
“Whether you’ve taught one year or twenty years, we’re all learners. So they’ve worked hard, done a great job and seen some real success so I want to commend all our teachers.”