Candidates discuss city, hospital issues
Approximately 75 citizens braved a wet and chilly Thursday evening to attend the Candidates’ Forum at Newton City Hall, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Jasper County.
First to face off were the two candidates for the at large seat on the Newton City Council, Jeremy Heaberlin and Harold Martin.
Both candidates expressed interest in finding ways to ensure that the young people of this community have something to keep them busy.
“I want to provide a safe place to raise kids and to create something extra for them to do after school,” Heaberlin said.
“One goal of mine is the youth of this town. I want to make sure they stay here,” Martin said. “They have some things, but no major area like a full skate park.”
Both candidates felt that something needed to be done to preserve the Maytag Bowl. Martin said he would work to find ways to secure the bowl area to deter the vandalism that has gone on there in the past. Heaberlin said he felt the bowl needed to be brought up to code and conduct other improvements.
Both candidates seemed cool to the idea of a dog park on city property.
“The problem is not the noise but the design,” Martin said. “A common problem is dog fights and the park should be located away from private housing. Heaberlin said he felt it was not the city’s responsibility to create a park such as that, and he worried about spending taxpayer dollars on maintenance.
Next on the evening’s agenda for debate were the six candidates vying for the two open seats on the Skiff Medical Center Board of Trustees. Bill Ward, Lonnie White, Linda Ross, Lois Vogel and Dr. Gary Richardson debated in person, and Dr. Larry DeCook participated via telephone.
Bill Ward is a lifelong resident of Newton, and is married to Barbara for the past 52 years. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Ward started at Maytag in 1950, retiring in 1996 as director of employee benefits. He has served on the Newton school board and the Jasper County Board of Supervisors and served on many clubs and organizations.
Linda Ross has been a receptionist in doctors’ offices, and has figured time sheets for payroll at Newton Village. She is president of her P.E.O. chapter, and has served three years as treasurer. She has been on the Hospital Auxiliary for 25 years, working in the hospital gift shop for 18 years.
Larry DeCook has been a Newton resident since 1965, and currently has an optometrist business. He served six years on the board of optometry for the state of Iowa and elected president of American Optometric Association in 1988.
Lonnie White has lived in Newton for 41 years and has worked as a union representative at Maytag from 1968, and he also worked on the international servicing staff. He has negotiated many contracts, he said.
Lois Vogel has lived in Newton for more than 40 years. She is a registered nurse with a bachelor’s in health arts and a master’s in Health Care Administration. She worked at Skiff Medical Center for 34 years, from 1969 to 2004, with the last 30 years serving as director of nursing/vice-president of patient care services.
Dr. Gary Richardson has been a resident of Newton for the past 20 years, with an independent practice in general surgery during that time, with privileges at Skiff.
The recurring theme through all the candidates remarks was communication, morale and trust. The candidates agreed that communication has been lacking at the hospital for the past few months, and that more transparency is needed on the board.
“I’ve heard a lot of things from the employees,” Ward said. “There are problems with morale, communication and management is top-heavy.” Ward said if elected he would hold a meeting with all employees to air all the problems and try to improve communications.
Ross said she didn’t know why it was necessary to bring in outside consultants. Vogel said she felt the problems began when many long-time leaders left the hospital, as well as the closing of Maytag.
“We need to hire a good group of leaders and maintain financial stability,” Vogel said.
Richardson said he agreed that further scrutiny needs to be made of the consultants, B.E. Smith.
“They hired B.E. Smith for $70,000 and they came up with 110 items that need correction,” Richardson said. “Nobody knows what they are but the board felt they couldn’t do it so now they’re paying B.E. Smith employees $185,000 per month. We need to look at that.”
The candidates agreed that the short-term goal of the board should be to hire a competent CEO. For long-term goals, Richardson felt that returning the hospital to financial stability was needed, as well as physician recruitment and updating equipment. DeCook said he would like to improve employee morale and decrease the financial deficit. White said he hoped to increase morale at the hospital and bring back profitability. Vogel’s long-term goal would be to increase Medicare reimbursements.
John Jennings can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 425 or via e-mail at jjennings@newtondailynews.com.
