Clear Lake’s fourth annual Harvest Fest celebrated the fall season in a big way Saturday.     The Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce estimated more than 2,500 persons enjoyed the event, blending wine, art and relaxing live jazz music.  An expanded Farmer’s Market near the entrance of Main Avenue set the stage for a downtown filled with stores and stands to explore.
    The Chamber reports people from as far away as San Angelo, Texas,  Congress, Ariz., and Sebastian, Fla. attended the event.
    Winners from the various Harvest Fest competitions included:
    Pole Decorating: Humorous: first place, Bob Swanson/Beverly Clapsaddle.  Overall: first place (tie), Clear Lake Bank & Trust and Red Geranium. Best Wine Theme: first place, Larson’s Mercantile
    Guess the Corks: Nancy Suby guessed 326 with actual corks at 331 to win  a $25 gift certificate to Back Alley Wine.  Susan Ashley guessed 683, actual 680, to win a $25 gift certificate to Lake Liquors.
     Salsa Contest: Mild Category: first place, Angela Zimmerman; second, Alexis Snyder; third, Vicki Warner.  Medium Category: first, Alexis Snyder; second, Butcher’s Steakhouse; third, (tie) John Diaz and Robin Doppler.  Hot Category: first, Margaret Dickens; second, Mike Nelson; third, Bill Tarr.  Etc. Category: first, Pam Dwight; second, Robin Doppler; third, Kim McDowell.

    Clear Lake Interim School Superintendent Dwight Pierson has informed the School Board of his willingness to continue to serve the district.
    Board members agreed Monday night to suspend their search for a new superintendent.
    “Dwight has agreed to stay at least one more year to give us the continuity that in the last few years we have been lacking,” said Board President Sandy Christ.  She said the Board will work out compensation arrangements with Pierson.
    Christ said the Board recognized the advantage in identifying superintendent candidates early in the school year, but said the group has been busy with other issues which have shifted their focus.  The sale of two school buildings, relocation of the administrative office, decisions made regarding the acceptance of two large trusts to the district, and regular school maintenance issues have required considerable Board input, she noted.
    “Dwight’s really helped us do some strategic planning and there’s more work to do,” said Christ.  “It’s very good news that he is willing to continue to serve.”
    Pierson retired as superintendent of the Forest City School  District in June 2007.  He stepped into the interim position in Clear Lake the following month after Mike Wright resigned as superintendent.  He initially agreed to spend two years with the district.  Pierson was honored as the 2007 Iowa Superintendent of the Year by the School Administrators of Iowa organization.

    A Ventura woman was sentenced  to four consecutive 10-year prison terms for striking her mother with a frying pan and reporting to authorities that she was murdered.  
    Valerie Hasbrouck, 47, was initally charged with attempted murder; she later pleaded guilty to four counts of willful injury.  Willful injury is a Class C felony which carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
    Monday, Judge John S. Mackey sentenced Hasbrouck  to four consecutive independent terms not to exceed 10 years. The consecutive sentences were representative of the separate blows Hasbrouck inflicted upon her mother, the judge noted.  Restitution of $2,650 to cover her mother’s medical costs while hospitalized and anger management treatment were also included in the sentence.
    “I have deep regrets and I’ll have to live with them and I hope to make some changes,” Hasbrouck told the court.
    According to authorities, Hasbrouck attacked her mother, 81-year-old Tressa Waddingham, on Dec. 3. 2007, at the mother’s rural Ventura home. Authorities say Hasbrouck struck her mother four times with a cast-iron frying pan. Waddingham, was knocked to the ground during the attack.  She told authorities she played dead, holding her breath when her daughter came near her.  Meanwhile, Hasbrouck arranged her mother’s house to look like it had been burglarized and then called 911, authorities said.
    During her 911 call Hasbrouck told authorities that she had just come to the house at 1:55 p.m. and that she found the house burglarized and her mother dead.
    When authorities arrived, Waddingham wasn’t dead and she identified her daughter as the person who had attacked her, stated the complaint filed in Hancock County District Court.

by Marianne Morf
    As the nation anxiously watches the turbulent financial markets, local bankers calmly say it’s “business as usual” here.
    “There’s lots of nervousness and anxiety out there-- and we can’t pretend it isn’t real, but the truth is banking-- and community banking-- remain safe,” said Mark Hewitt, president/CEO of Clear Lake Bank & Trust.
    Tim Esbeck, community president at Manufacturer’s Bank & Trust in Clear Lake agreed.  
    “I encourage people who are worried about their finances to come in and visit.  I think they will feel better when they understand how safe their bank accounts are.  No one’s going to lose a dime with their money in the bank.”
    “We’re the custodian of peoples’ money and we take that very seriously,” said Kent Thoe, community bank executive for Bank of America in Clear Lake.  “We invite people to  come in and visit so we can find out what’s best for their needs.”
    Each of the men pointed to the strengthening of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as a positive coming out of these difficult economic times.   Monday, the FDIC limit was  temporarily raised from $100,000 to $250,000.
    “The FDIC is the mother of all guarantees,” pointed out Hewitt, who earlier this year was named to the Federal Reserve Board of Chicago.  “I feel very good that the Federal Reserve is using every tool available.”
    Congress created the FDIC in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation’s banking system.  The FDIC insures deposits, now up to $250,000 per account.  The bankers pointed out that a couple’s deposits could be insured for up to $750,000 provided they each held an account in their own names, and one joint account.