A print shop, Hometown Press, has opened in Sully on the northeast corner of the square at 301 7th Ave. Ste. 101 with Co-Line Welding, Inc. as its parent company. Services typical of a print shop will be offered, including but not limited to, black and white and color printing and copying, document scanning (pdf, OCR pdf, and jpg), spiral coil binding books, large and small laminations, office supplies, various types of paper by the sheet, ream or case, carbonless paper forms, booklets, newsletters, greeting cards, and more.

In conjunction with the print shop, a weekly publication, Hometown Press, was launched Nov. 19, 2010, with a blanket mailing to mailboxes in the area for 2-4 weeks with a Thursday publication day. Copies will also be available for sale at various businesses.

On Tuesday, November 4th city elections were held across the state.  In Sully the polls opened at Noon with the office of Mayor and three Council Member positions on the ballot.  Gordon Yarrington was re-elected to a 2-year term as Mayor; Brent Vander Molen, Wesley Van Wyk and Robert Nikkel were all re-elected to 4-year terms as Council Members.  These results will not be official until the Jasper County Board of Supervisors meet on Tuesday, November 10th to canvass the election.  A summary report of election results for Sully and the entire county can be found on the Jasper County website at www.co.jasper.ia.us

Mark Saturday, December 5th  to attend Sully’s 4th Haulin In Christmas parade and activities.  Persons and businesses inside and outside the community of Sully are encouraged to have a parade entry.  The only requirement for an entry is that it have a Christmas theme and be lighted.  Entries ARE NOT restricted to just trucks, tractors, and ATV’s.  Families and neighbors are encouraged to join together in creating and decorating floats, garden tractors, pick-ups, or your car for the parade.  The parade will begin at 7pm.  Parade entry registration will be from 5:30-6:30 pm and judging at 6:30pm.

The evening’s activities will start at 4:30 pm.  Persons can walk from business to business that are open to meet and greet friends, drink and eat “goodies” and sign-up for prizes. From 4:30-7:30pm, the Sully Christian School Circle will be serving a variety of food items in the Sully Community Center.  A Cookie Walk will be held in the Sully Council Chambers starting at 4:30 pm and throughout the evening.

f you have questions about the parade or the evening’s activities, contact Wes Van Wyk (641-990-1339) or Marty Vander Molen (641-891-8720).  If you have an activity or display that be added to the Haulin’ In Christmas event, contact Wes or Marty.  A decision on next year’s event will be determined based upon the participation and interest of this year’s event.

A new building brings new potential. Since the start of the recession at the end of 2007, many businesses and people have been affected by the declining economy. Fast Trax in Sully is one of those businesses that were affected a bit by the recession.

“Business has gone downhill the last 3 years due to the economy,” said Fast Trax owner Craig Maasdam.

According to Maasdam, Fast Trax was incorporated in November 1994, and was established by Maasdam. Fast Trax sells and services Motorsports, watercrafts, ATV and utility vehicles, recreational vehicles, a full line of clothing and gear, and much more. The two brands affiliated with Fast Trax are Kawasaki and Bombardier. Since its establishment, there have been only minor improvements to the business until the construction of a new building this year.

Students are the reason schools succeed, and when the school-age population of a district declines, it can cause the school a lot of problems. Without enough students, teachers would be out of a job. Student enrollment is key in order for a school to function properly.

According to Superintendent Mr. Duane Willhite, last year’s student enrollment was 479 students. This year the enrollment number is 462. Part of this decline is due to the amount of incoming kindergarten students. Last year, there were 38 students entering kindergarten and there are only 27 students this year. Over the past few years, the enrollment numbers have been leveling off, but the recession could be a factor in enrollment numbers.

“I still think enrollment numbers will level off, but the way the economy is, we might have to lower that enrollment level that we were expecting,” said Willhite.

According to Willhite, other schools in Jasper County are showing the same things. Newton, Baxter, and Colfax-Mingo are down about the same percentage as L-S.

“Declining enrollments are going to hurt us more this year due to budget cuts and a greater impact next year when planning the budget,” said Willhite. By Taylor Van De Krol-L-S Journalism 11-09

Last month the City Council adopted a new process to handle complaint issues and city code violations. Why did Sully need to adopt this process? Since the City of Sully no longer has local law enforcement we needed a way to address violation issues and enforce rules covered by City Code. Examples would be blocking alleys, burning in the ditches, animal control, etc. For each of these items Sully has a city code that requires the citizens to act in ways that are respectful of their neighbors. Sully does have a 28E agreement with the Jasper County Sherriff’s Department which covers enforcement of State and County codes, but not enforcement of codes at the city level. The reason being cities within Jasper County all have their own codes that in many cases are written differently with different expectations.

When Co-Line Welding first opened its doors in Mahaska County, the employees primarily manufactured and repaired livestock equipment out of a small, 1,000 square-foot welding shop. Now, the family-owned business started by Dale and Tana Brand has evolved into a state-of-the art 180,000 square foot facility that houses metal stamping, tool & die, metal fabrication, laser cutting, and robotic and manual welding. Co-Line Welding’s 130 employees produce products for Fortune 500 companies, height adjustable Goalsetter basketball goals that are distributed nationwide, and M-16 gun clips for the Department of Defense.