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The
Official Newspaper of Anamosa, located in Jones County, Iowa
Anamosa News
Since 1855
 Thursday, February 25, 2010 |
Sheriff’s Sales Remain High in Year After Bailout
By Michelle Phillips |
Jones County Sheriff Mark Denniston is concerned about the number of foreclosures in the area and says that number has steadily increased. In the year since the bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, that hasn’t changed.
“I’ve got 25 pending right now, and that’s pretty much ongoing. It’s huge,” said Denniston.
In 2008, the department saw about 137 foreclosures, and although he didn’t have an exact figure for 2009, he said he knows it is on the rise.
The sheriff’s sale takes place when a home is in foreclosure. First, the homeowners are served a notice giving them 20 days to get their account out of arrears. If the mortgage is not paid up, the sheriff has 120 days to set a sale date. The property is then put up for auction.
“There’s a notice put in the paper, then we go out to the west side of the courthouse and read the notice verbatim,” he explained. “Most of the time, it’s the plaintiff in the case that bids.”
The sheriff said the plaintiff is typically a bank, and the bid is presented in writing through email, mail or fax. In a few cases, Denniston said there is an individual present at the auction and that person just needs to bid a dollar more to buy the property. “I can think of a handful that had more than one bidder,” the sheriff recalled.
Denniston said there has been property of all values in foreclosure in the past four or five years. |
Jones County Sheriff Mark Denniston looks over one of the 25 pending foreclosures sent to his office for auction. He said that there is about this number in the works at any given time. |
“The houses range in value from $40,000 to nearly a million dollars.”
Most of the time the houses are returned to the market, and Denniston said the judgments are often sold between lending institutions.
Although Denniston said some of the cases might be due to sub-rime loans, most can be credited to the economy and layoffs in the area. “If two people in the house are working and one loses their job, that can be enough to cause a foreclosure,” Denniston said.
In a county the size of Jones County the sheriff and his deputies often know the person to whom they are serving a foreclosure notice. “These are more personal to us than in a place like Chicago–we know these people. You just hate to see this happen to anyone,” he stated.
Denniston said his office is paid an average of $140 per foreclosure, said the amount doesn’t even cover the cost of processing the sales. He estimated that each sale takes about one full day of work, which is divided between himself, deputies and other employees at the sheriff’s office. He said he is expecting high numbers for 2010 as well. |
Roughriders Host Anamosa Night
By Michelle Phillips |
The Cedar Rapids Roughriders want to expand their fan base, so the hockey team is sponsoring an Anamosa night to bring in people from the community.
“This is the first time we’ve done an Anamosa Roughriders Day,” said Roughriders ticket executive Rob Schreurs. “I started doing this last year, and we had one for Mount Vernon and decided to expand to Anamosa this year.”
Those attending a game on Anamosa night will receive $3 off the admission price for the game against the Fargo Force on February 27. In addition, those who come early can take advantage of happy hour from 6-7 p.m., which incudes hot dogs, brats and peanuts for $1.50 and beer for $3.
February 27 is also Armed Services Day at the ice arena, so active duty and veterans can purchase a ticket for only $5.
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“We will also be swearing in new Army members on the ice that night,” Schreurs added. “Sports Clips will be giving away coupons for free haircuts, and we will be having an i-Pod drawing.” There will also be a t-shirt toss at intermission. He said they also hope to have a city leader drop out the first puck.
“We want people to come out and see the renovations,” Schreurs said. Those improvements include new paint, lights, sound, flat screens and plasma TVs.
The Roughriders are second in their division, USHL West, this year. The team has made Cedar Rapids its home for 11 years. For more information, contact the ticket office at 319-247-0340 or just grab a ticket at the door. |
Study Reveals Jones County Poverty Rate Up, Teen Pregnancy Doubles Since 2000
By Michelle Phillips |
The Child and Family Policy Center in Des Moines has released its annual Iowa Kids Count report, which highlights the financial, health and educational welfare of children in Iowa.
The report compares the status of kids in 2000 and 2008, revealing some surprising trends. For example, unemployment has risen by nearly 60% between 2000 and 2008, and 49% more families receive food assistance from the state. In Jones County, the figures seem to be down compared to the statewide numbers; however, teen pregnancy has doubled in the county.
“This year’s report provided more bad news than good news in terms of the well-being of Iowa’s children,” said Michael Crawford, Child and Family Policy Center Senior Associate and author of the report. “While the economic indicators mostly have shown a downturn since 2000, our health, education and welfare factors were mixed.”
The non-economic factors that showed improvement since 2000 were the infant mortality rate and child death rate, both by about 10%. At the same time, child abuse and neglect was up 19%, and low birth weight increased 9%.
The report, Iowa Kids Count 2008: Trends in the Well-being of Iowa Children, includes 18 different indicators of child welfare and is available to libraries, legislators, state agencies and the media. A copy of the report can be obtained by contacting Mike Crawford at 515-280-9027 or go online to order at www.cfpciowa.org.
Iowa and Jones County Percentage Change 2000 to 2008:
Child Abuse and Neglect (Reported Cases)
Iowa 19.4%
Jones County 12.7%
Child Poverty
Iowa 26.9%
Jones County 9.8%
Food Assistance
Iowa 48.8%
Jones County 39.5%
Free or Reduced Lunches
Iowa 26.3%
Jones County 18.5%
High School Graduation Rate
Iowa 0%
Jones County 2.5%
Low Birthweight
Iowa 8.8%
Jones County -36.4%
Teen Births
Iowa -1%
Jones County 100.8%
Unemployment
Iowa 59.6%
Jones County 89.3 % |
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Box 108, 208 W. Main Street, Anamosa, IA 52205
319-462-3511,
FAX 319-462-4540
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