(Radio Iowa) – The U.S. Post Office in downtown Clarinda now bears the name of a woman who’s been called the “mother of 4-H clubs.” Jessie Field Shambaugh was a school teacher in Page County when she formed the Boys Corn Club and the Girls Home Club in 1901. Seth Watkins is a farmer in the Clarinda area and Shambaugh’s youngest grandson.  “This honor is very special to our family, but it’s also for all of us. I mean, 4H touched the lives of so many people,” he said. “I guess I hope that when we go by and see our name on the building, it just reminds all of us to continue to make our best better and follow that motto. It’s just a good rule for life.”

Mark Talbott, district manager, for the Iowa-Nebraska-South Dakota region of the Postal Service, says Shambaugh left a lasting legacy for youth throughout the country. “In 1910, she designed a three-leaf clover pin with the letter H on each one of the leaves, representing Head, Hands and Heart. She added the fourth leaf for Home which later became known as Health,” he said. “The pin was used as an award medal for outstanding club work.”

Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines was the lead sponsor of the bill that renamed the Clarinda Post Office in Shambaugh’s honor. Axne was a 4-Her.  “It was about being a part of your community, bringing something to your community that you could share together and teaching people new things and growing together and how I met a lot of my friends,” Axne says, “so it really means a lot to me.”

Axne was in 4th grade when her family moved to West Des Moines and her mother told Axne and her sisters they were going to start a 4-H club. “We just remember getting our girlfriends together and starting up this club and then learning stuff we thought was really pretty cool,” Axne says.

A dedication ceremony was held at the Clarinda post office earlier this week. Shambaugh died in Clarinda in 1971 at the age of 89.

The Atlantic Community School District will be working on getting back to normal, as much as possible, with regard to COVID-19. During Wednesday’s meeting of the School Board, Superintendent Steve Barber said the Health and Safety Committee met, “I think with the new standards from the Iowa Department of Public Health, in defining COVID as a child illness, early was a standard that we had to keep at the forefront in discussing all these modifications.”

That fact that we’ve been living with COVID for over a year, and “all of the sudden, now we’re going to treat it like something else,” according to Barber, “was big challenge.” The H&S team looked at ways to handle mitigation strategies as it it were for chicken pox, including “Would you do that, for this.” The answer, he said, “Would be no.”

He said it was their decision then, to go back to a normal way of doing school. “One piece of the mitigation strategies the committee felt very strongly in maintaining,” according the Mr. Barber, “was how we were disinfecting and using hygiene.”

His, and the H&S recommendations for the start of the 2021-22 School Year in August, are as follows:

• Classrooms will be back to normal, there’s no social distancing, no mask mandate, and the water fountains will be turned back on.
• There will be no remote learning, based upon the definition of COVID at this point in time. If there are students whose health prevents them from being in school for an extended period of time, the district would explore the available options. Barber thinks “There won’t be many students who fall into that category.” Atlantic does have the Home School Assistance Program, which is another option for parents to take advantage of.
• Visitors will be allowed back in the buildings
• No more travel restrictions, especially with some of the workshops returning to in-person.
• Trips and assemblies, a few of which were added in the fourth quarter, will be allowed again, with permission procedures resuming as normal.
• There will be no more screening in the buildings, including staff temperature checks. As was customary before COVID, staff and students who are genuinely sick, should stay home.
• If a child tests positive for COVID, the return to school process would be similar to what it is right now, per IDPH & CDC guidelines. It will be  the student and parents’ decision on whether or not to quarantine their student who comes in close contact with a positive case.
• The isolation room will be eliminated.
• and, cleaning processes will continue with regard to buses, the lunch room tables and kitchen. Teachers may wipe down desks at least once during the day if they choose, but it is not mandated.

Superintendent Barber said in conclusion, “We are excited to get back to normal. A lot of those different things have created a lot of grey hairs for some of us, and I know the teachers are excited about being able to do that, and do some of that moving, next week.”

The Atlantic School Board, Wednesday evening, approved three resignations (previously mentioned on our news). Superintendent Steve Barber said school policy requires the positions to be filled with a suitable replacement unless there are unusual circumstances. With regard to the resignations of Susan Wedemeyer, High School Art Teacher, Jeff Ebling, Middle School Social Studies Teacher and Head Boys Basketball Coach, and Erin Ebling, Middle School English Language Arts, Teacher and Student Council Sponsor, Barber said “We have advertised anticipated openings and received applicants for all but a Special Education” position.

And, while there hasn’t been time to determine their suitable replacements just yet, he still recommended approval. The Board also acted on approving contract recommendations for the following:

• Vanessa Perkins and Sarah Rose, Middle School Summer Teachers
• Minden Jones, Washington Secretary
• Susannah O’Dette, Washington Paraeducator,
• and Bryce Smith, Alternative Education Teacher.

The latter two were late additions to the agenda. The school board also reviewed a handful of upcoming dates. Mr. Barber said the last day of school is Friday May 28, with a 90-minute early dismissal. The end of year reception/employee recognition is scheduled for June 3rd, and 8:00 a.m., and the next regular Board meeting is June 9th, at 6:00 p.m.