The number of young people contracting the sexually transmitted disease Chlamydia is going up in Cerro Gordo County, according to statistics from the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health.
    Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. It can be transmitted during vaginal, anal, or oral sex, or passed from an infected mother to her baby during vaginal childbirth. Any sexually active person can be infected with Chlamydia. The greater the number of sex partners, the greater the risk of infection.
    “We are seeing an increase in STDs nationwide and Cerro Gordo County is no exception,” said Betty Krones, Disease Prevention Specialist.  For example, in Cerro Gordo County, there were: 72 cases of Chlamydia in 2004, 78 cases in 2005, and  85 cases in 2006.
    Those were confirmed cases.  “Imagine how many people go untested,” Krones said. “Statistics for 2007 are not available from the state yet. However, just in my own clinic at the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health, I saw 29 cases in 2007. That’s just the number of people who came to my clinic. That does not include any other practice in Cerro Gordo County. We are facing unusually high numbers of Chlamydia in Cerro Gordo County.”
    Even though data is not available for 2008, the trend continues to go up. “As for 2008, I have already seen more cases than I did by this time in 2007,” said Krones. 

On Thursday, March 13, the Clear Lake Police Department will participate in “Operation Avenue of the Saints.”  
    Law Enforcement officers from 14 counties in Iowa and 13 counties in Missouri will concentrate extra enforcement efforts on impaired driving and seat belt laws. The ultimate goal of this special project is to reduce serious injuries and fatalities. Enforcement efforts will be directed at traffic on the Avenue and adjacent or connecting highways.  The Avenue of the Saints does not run through Clear Lake.  Clear Lake officers will concentrate their efforts on Interstate 35 and Highway 18 within the Clear Lake City limits.
    This operation has been organized in Iowa by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau.

    With the success the Ventura basketball team had in its 2007-08 season, it’s no surprise that four players were selected to Cornbelt All-Conference teams. The Vikings finished their season as co-champions of the Cornbelt Conference, along with Ruthven-Ayrshire. Both teams finished with a 9-1 record.
    Senior Cody Kadolph and junior Tyler Betz were named to the First Team All-Conference.
    Kadolph led the team and was second in the conference for points. He scored a total of 355 points in the 2007-08 season, for a 16.9 point average per game. Kadolph ranked number one in the conference in steals with 50. He was also a leader in three-point shots, connecting on 39. Under the boards, he collected 138 total rebounds for a 6.57 average per game. He ranked third in the conference in assists.
    “Cody led our team in a lot of categories this year and he scored over 1,000 points for his career,” said Coach Nick Schauf. “He is a special kid that worked extremely hard to achieve his success.”
    Betz, Ventura’s post player, was the second leading scorer on the Ventura team and he ranked fifth in the conference with 335 points. He ranked second for field goal percentage with 56.90 percent in the conference. He was a leading rebounder in the conference with 173 total rebounds and an 8.24 per game average. Betz ranked fourth in the league for blocked shot with 28 and he was in the top 10 in steals with 39.

The Clear Lake wrestling program celebrated an outstanding year with a banquet last week.  Coach Gary Weber said he was pleased to share a number of achievements and honors with his wrestlers.
    The 2007-08 team earned its place in school history with a record 22 wins.  The Lions finished the season with a 22-5 mark.
    Joe Colon, a junior, also set two school records during the season.  He earned the program’s most wins (44) and most pins (30).
    The Lions also won their third straight North Central Conference Tournament title and were conference dual champs for the second straight year.
    Varsity wrestlers posting winning records this season included: Jacob Colon (31-5), Joe Colon (44-1), Tucker Weber (40-4), Joe Bieber (25-10), Jake Kopriva (23-14), Christian Trebil (24-9), Rudy Wieck (29-8), Spencer Rollefson (20-17), Patrick Kolker (37-5) and Zach Lindquist (31-6).
    Three memorial awards were presented at the wrestling banquet.
    The Dustin Palmer Courage Award was given to Ryan Wilcke.  The Ryan Boeshart Scrambler Award was earned by Joe Colon.  New this year is the Kyle DeVries Love, Laugh and Live Award.  This year’s recipient was Jake Kopriva.

    Clear Lake’s Sean McChesney has received Second Team All-North Central Conference basketball honors.
    McChesney blocked 23 shots during his senior season, ranking him fifth in school history for blocks in a season. He also finished his career with 42 total blocks, placing him second in school history for blocks in a career.
    This season McChesney scored 225 points and had 108 total rebounds this season for an average of 10.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. He averaged 59 percent shooting from the field and 60 percent from the free throw line.
    “Sean gave us great effort night in and night out,” said Coach Kavin Kahler. “His defense, more than anything, was what really separated him. He often defended the other team’s best offensive player whether it was a guard or a post player. He, along with the other seniors, provided great leadership all season long.”

    It wasn’t exactly the Academy Awards, but Iowa’s version of the red carpet event had a distinctly local flavor this year.
    Greg Schmidt, of Clear Lake, accepted the Best Actor award at the inaugural Midwest Studio Showcase Awards Thursday night at a gala black-tie affair in Lamoni (Graceland College).
    Schmidt, originally of Garner, returned to Iowa in the mid-1970s after studying the film industry in Los Angeles, Miami, New York and London. Among his first local projects was “Michael, My Brother,” the story of his brother, a resident of Opportunity Village in Clear Lake. Through the years he has led summer theater offerings, a “Godspell” production for a local church, and numerous promotional videos and documentaries, including the story of the local men who built the Alaska Highway.
    Aside from filming projects, he continues to produce festivals throughout the Midwest.
    Schmidt explained the awards night in Lamoni was established to honor the most promising TV/film production studio in the region. This year’s recipient went to DAF Studios of Bondurant, Iowa. Special recognition went to producer Joe Leto and director Neil Wells who had recently made three episodes of a pilot TV series for national distribution (“Out of the Static”), a variety of short subject movies, and comedy commercial spoofs. This summer they will be shooting their first full-length feature movie in Iowa.
    At the awards presentation there were seven categories for honors to actors from the 39 nominees who had appeared in the various DAF Studios productions shot over the past 16 months. At the top of the ceremonies, Schmidt was given the overall Best “Ghost Town.”

Future of Administrative Office, Lincoln School to be discussed
The Clear Lake School Board said Monday night it will consider the future of two district buildings-- Lincoln School and the downtown Administrative Office.
Earlier this year the Board held a public input session to hear ideas for the future of Lincoln School, which will be vacated at the end of the school year, but Monday night’s meeting was the first time the board has discussed selling its Administrative Office at 306 1st Ave. N.
“The district bought this (administrative office) at a bargain basement price of less than $30 per square foot, but the board may want to look at what the building might bring today,” said Superintendent Dwight Pierson, adding that the building houses approximately one-half of the staff it did when the building was purchased for $120,000 in 1999.
Re-location of personnel at the administrative office might also provide greater staff support at other buildings, he said, meaning secretaries could be more easily shared and he could assist principals, in turn making them more available to teachers in classrooms.
“At the time we bought this building we needed space and it made sense to locate the business office downtown. But now our buildings have more room and we’re not using (the administrative building) to its full advantage anymore,” said Board member Sandy Christ.
Members also noted the voter approved local option sales tax has provided steady funding for building projects which have expanded space at the schools.