March 28, 2024

Cardinal Creek efforts applauded

I’d like to thank Newton Daily News writer David Dolmage for his recent article about Cardinal Creek. Newton High School biology teacher Courtney Wolken and her students deserve all the credit for their efforts to submit a successful application to the U.S. Geological Survey to officially rename the creek from its former name, Sewer Creek, to a positive name with deep meaning in the Newton community.

I wanted to point out that the idea to rename the creek “Cardinal Creek” originally came from Keri Van Zante, Director of the Jasper County Conservation Board. After Keri suggested “Cardinal” as the new creek name, Ms. Wolken’s class immediately embraced it and took ownership of the renaming application process. The class obtained support letters for the name change from the Newton City Council, Jasper County Conservation Board, Jasper County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Newton School Board, as well as from the students and several of their parents. This local support is what secured official approval for the name change by the U.S. Geological Survey.

I’d also like to clarify a few minor inaccuracies in the article. Although our family has enjoyed living in the Newton area for 23 years, I’m not a native of Newton. Also, our two sons both attended Newton schools and graduated from Newton High School, but we do not have children currently attending Newton High School.

Thank you, again, for the positive article.

Steve Hopkins

Newton