Page 8 The Advocate News (Wilton-Durant, Iowa) Thursday, June 4, 2015

OPINION
Trying to pick a party? 'Join a bowling team'

ast week ended a bit chaotically. On as a comedian. (Ive never watched the Daily
Thursday morning, May 28, I needed to Show.)
But I have seen him twice before at the
be in Des Moines for an annual meeting
University of Iowa and the Adler Theatre in
at the Iowa Newspaper Association.
After a four-hour meeting, I then made the Davenport.
Known for profanity and ranting, Black
trek to Ames, where the Durant boys golf team
always appears to be on the
and Jake Fratzke of Wilton
brink of sanity or insanwere getting ready to play
ity. Of course that leads
in the Class 2A state golf
him directly to criticizing
tournament May 29-30
politics and politicians.
at Ames Golf & Country
Yet unlike some comedic
Club.
voices, hes cut down the
The forecast said rain all
middle from the sense that
day Friday but thankfully,
By Derek Sawvell
he thinks all politicians are
after morning showers, the
golfers were able to get their rounds in. After nuts.
Hed argue neither political party has anyspending most of the day in Ames, I was due
thing or anyone to offer and that the gridlock
to be in Riverside by 8 p.m. that evening.
I was able to attend the first of two shows in Washington, D.C., where he was born and
by comedian Lewis Black. He was appearing raised, has gotten embarrassingly worse thanks
at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort. It was my to factions such as the Tea Party.
Ticket holders got more than their moneys
first experience attending an event at Riverside.
The venue was just the right size for a show worth Friday night as between Blacks opening
act, his stand-up and around 20 minutes of Q
like Blacks. Not a bad seat in the house.
Some may know him from his recurring & A at the end thanks to online questions (the
appearances on the Daily Show with Jon show was streaming on the Internet), the entire
Stewart and some, like me, know him strictly production lasted more than two hours. In the

Case
in
Point

Keeping higher education affordable

will strengthen Iowa economy
At our three state universities, there will
For many, school does not stop with high
school graduation. Increasingly, good jobs be a tuition freeze for in-state students for a
require higher education or worker training. third straight year under the Senates budget
Iowans of all ages and backgrounds need proposal. Senate Democrats also support an
access to college to build a better future for increase in tuition grants for Iowa students
attending our private colleges.
themselves and their families.
In contrast, the budget plan approved by the
Ideally, these opportunities should be as
House Republicans would
affordable as possible.
force students to pay even
Taking on massive student
more for their college edudebt is another roadblock
cation. The House budget
to achieving success, to
actually cuts funding for
strengthening our middle
the University of Iowa,
class and to growing our
Iowa State and need-based
economy.
grants to Iowans attending
Iowa students already
By Sen. Bob Dvorsky
our private colleges.
graduate with more student
The budget approved by the Senate
loan debt than in most other states. That leads
some graduates to leave the state in search Democrats proves we can invest in education
of higher paying jobs elsewhere. Yet the at all levels and balance the budget responsiRepublican House disagrees with us on the bly. We do it with an overall budget the same
size as the budget proposed by Republican
importance of college funding.
Community colleges work with employ- Governor Terry Branstad.
To contact Sen. Dvorsky during the week,
ers to address local skilled worker shortages
and provide an affordable path to a four-year call the Senate Switchboard at 515-281-3371.
degree. Senate Democrats propose investing Otherwise he can be reached at home at 319$8 million more in Iowas community colleges. 351-0988. Email him at bob.dvorsky@legis.
iowa.gov.
House Republicans oppose any increase.

The
Dvorsky
Report

Be careful of bug bites

When on safari you dont need to worry
about the lions, according to an old saying.
Its the bugs you need to be careful of.
Even in the Midwest, some of our most
dangerous creatures walk on six or more
tiny legs. This summer make sure you and
your family know when its time to see the
doctor for a bug bite.
Chiggers
These small hatchlings of mites inject
a fluid into skin that causes the skin cells
to rupture. Chigger bites result in the skin
becoming red, swollen and itchy. A visit to
the doctor can help determine if the cause is
indeed a chigger bite and get you started on
the right remedy for relieving the symptoms.
Ticks
Tick bites are capable of leading to infections, and the one most associated with deer
tick bites is a bacterial infection called Lyme
disease.
Check your skin after youve been in tall
grasses. Usually a tick needs to be attached
to your body for 24 hours or more before the
bacteria spreads to your blood.

If you experience symptoms like chills,

fever, headache, muscle pain, stiff neck, or
a rash, see your doctor to be tested for an
infection.
Spiders
Fortunately the two spiders in Iowa with
venom strong enough to pose a health threat
are rare.
A bite from a brown recluse spider may
go unnoticed. But the symptoms will go
from redness and blistering at first to pain
and itching a few hours later, eventually a
week later to an open sore that may begin
breaking down tissue around the site.
Be sure to have your doctor examine any
unexplained open sores in your skin.
A black widow spider bite has more serious consequences. The shiny black spider
has a half-inch of body length and is about
an inch and a half in diameter with its legs
extended. It has a red hourglass-shaped
marking on the underside of its body.
You will want to seek medical attention as
soon as possible to monitor your condition.

Paid for by UI Health Care Muscatine

world of comedians, thats quite a bit.

He lauded Iowa as being the most literate
state in the country yet blasted us for being
the dumbest thanks to our undying quest to
always be the first presidential primary state
due to the Iowa caucuses.
Im in the middle, said Black of his political affiliation. He later said he was a socialist.
He said its idiotic to be in either (political)
party. Just join a bowling team.
Theyre (candidates) showing up now and
its 70 weeks (from the election), he said.
Therefore, he suggested all Iowans needed a
vacation although he referred to Riverside
as the Tahiti of Iowa. Yet youd have to walk
five miles before you see anything, he said of
the casinos location.
While talking vacations, he spoke about a
trek through Europe. If you spend your whole
life here, you begin to think we know what
were doing, he said. Another country may
have a better idea than we do which is amazing because they dont even speak English,
he said to a roar.
He also said going to a restaurant where
everyone around you is speaking a language
you dont understand is bliss. Its great because then there are no a----les. Now thats a
vacation! he said.
After such a long couple days on the road,
following a shortened week due to Memorial
Day, those two hours were just what I needed
a break from the daily grind, which usually
involves the opposite of everything being said
in those moments.
For some its music; for some its movies;
for me its a good comedian.
***

Comedian Lewis Black performed at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort May 29-30.
Contributed photo

New digsThe Wilton baseball team opened

its new diamond with a doubleheader against
Wapello May 27. While the field is still a
work in progress from a grass standpoint, its
quite amazing how the place came together in
the final days prior to game time. Countless
volunteers spent several days/hours doing all
the little (and big) things to make the facility
operational.
Its going to be a wonderful complex. Now
all we need is to get Division Street paved
from Taylor Avenue to Highway 38. Yes its
a dream but why not dream big!
For more on the opening of baseball season,
turn to pages 14-15.

Legislative session in overtime

June 1 marks the first full month past ad- problem in our mental health regions. The
journment (and my 30th birthday). We were urban counties have not raised the adequate
scheduled to adjourn May 1, and any days we number of dollars for mental health services,
are in Des Moines after that is on our own dime while counties like Cedar and Muscatine have
as it should be. We are scheduled to head into been prepared and are meeting the needs of
session this week, I am hopeful we can have the people. If we do not do something to ala week-long marathon and adjourn Friday low the urban counties to raise their revenue,
or Saturday. In this column I will outline the it might actually fall to the rural counties that
main differences that need to be worked out should not be penalized because they/we have
done the right thing. We have some time to
before we adjourn.
Education funding This has been the work this out, but know that your officials in
most important issue that remains unresolved. the county are alerting me to this issue and
I was optimistic when House Republicans many other legislators as well.
Eminent Domain I continue to push
moved allowable growth at 1.25 percent in
the first couple weeks of session. I believed hard for property rights legislation that would
that the number should be higher but I was prohibit the abuse of eminent domain. Thank
you to all of you back
at least glad negotiations
home who have been so
were starting early. What
supportive and helpful in
transpired next is a series
contacting other legislators
of unfortunate situations
across the state to push for
caused by both parties.
this. Just the idea of having
(Be aware of analysis that
Rock Island Clean Line
places blame on one party
in Cedar County concerns
or person; that would not be
By Rep. Bobby Kaufmann
me. Not only the abuse of
analysis but rather political
rhetoric geared to condemn and not resolve a the basic rights of citizens of northern Cedar
County, but also having a company that acts in
problem.)
I was very disappointed when Senate the manner they do as a permanent neighbor.
Overall spending An overall deal on
Democrats took more than a month to consider
our initial bill and then sent us their own bill spending is within our grasp. This week,
instead of amending ours. Procedurally this budget chairs will work out the details for
added weeks to the process. I was then very each respective budget. My commitment is
disappointed when House Republicans refused to continue to ensure that we do not spend
to budge from their initial offer of 1.25 percent. more money than the state takes in, we balance
Both parties deserve criticism for those ac- ongoing revenue with ongoing expenses and
tions, including my own. Thankfully, we have we pay down state debt whenever possible.
reached some middle ground. It is certainly Let me be clear: We can (and will if I am a
not everything that everyone wanted but it is YES vote on the budget) increase education
funding and balance our budget. Period.
a solution.
Water quality/REAP I will continue to
There is a tentative agreement to set allowable growth at 1.25 percent for FY16 and then fight this week for as much funding as we can
send schools additional $55 million one-time afford for water quality, the Nutrient Reduction
dollars to make up the difference between the Strategy, and dollars to REAP for conservation.
two chambers, making the total dollars equal I have found there to be bipartisan support for
to the amount of the Senate number at 2.67 this funding. I can think of few things more
percent. One thing I am pushing hard for this important to the future of this beautiful state.
Contact Representative Kaufmann:
week is for the FY17 number to be set THIS
SESSION so schools do not go through this Call: 515-281-3221
Write: 1527 330th St. Wilton IA 52778
again next year.
Mental Health We have a very complex E-mail: bobby.kaufmann@legis.iowa.gov

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