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Fish with a side of civics

Traer Fire fish fry held in tandem with satellite voting

Members of the Traer Fire Department including Tristan Timmons (center), Chief Tyler Sell (second from right), and Brock Balvin (far right) serve up fish and fries to members of the public on Friday, Feb. 24 in the downtown fire station. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON
North Tama Schools Superintendent David Hill, left, speaks with a member of the public about the upcoming special election while hosting a booth in the Traer Fire Station on Feb. 24. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON
A sign outside Traer City Hall alerts the public to satellite voting on Friday, Feb. 24 as part of the upcoming March 7 special election. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER
North Tama School Board director Haley Blaine, left, hands her license to Buckingham/Perry precinct chair Marguerite Hulme last Friday in the conference room of Traer City Hall. Blaine, who is also Traer’s city clerk, cast her vote at the satellite site ahead of the March 7 special election. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER
The special election ballot for voters in the North Tama County Community School District on display at Traer City Hall on Feb. 24 during satellite voting. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER
Tama Co. Elections Administrator Karen Rohrs, left, watches as North Tama School Board director Haley Blaine completes paperwork to cast her ballot in Traer City Hall on Feb. 24 as part of satellite voting ahead of the March 7 special election. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER
The front of the new Traer Fire Dept. building pictured on Friday, Feb. 24 during the fish fry fundraiser. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON
A poster made in memory of firefighter Nick Riley who passed away on Feb. 17 hangs on the wall of the Traer Fire Station during the fish fry fundraiser. Riley joined Traer Fire in 2007. He was also president of the Iowa Firefighters Association from 2020 to 2021. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON
A pair of Girl Scouts smile for the camera (while their shy friend hides beneath the table) from behind their cookie booth in the Traer Fire Station on Friday, Feb. 24. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON
Firefighter Tristan Timmons, right, serves up some fish and fries to North Tama head wrestling coach Andrew Knaack during the Feb. 24 fish fry fundraiser held in the downtown fire station. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON

As a steady line of folks queued up last Friday evening in the Traer Fire station for a heaping helping of fish and fries, next door at City Hall another queue was forming to vote as part of the March 7 special election.

The idea to hold early satellite voting during the Feb. 24 fish fry fundraiser was the idea of North Tama Superintendent David Hill as he works to ‘get out the vote’ as much as possible ahead of the special election.

During the fish fry, Superintendent Hill staffed a table inside the fire station, providing information on how to vote early in the Traer City Hall conference room next door, as well as information about the upcoming special election as it pertains to North Tama’s two ballot measures.

The first measure would allow the district to issue up to $14.25 million in general obligation bonds in order to build, furnish, and equip a new addition at the high school – phase 1 of a planned four-phase facilities upgrade – while the second measure would allow the district to levy at a higher rate not exceeding $4.05 per $1,000 of the assessed value of taxable property in the school district.

With the line to the station front door steady all night during the three hour event, Superintendent Hill certainly had plenty of opportunities to engage with the public.

“Not sure how many we served [exactly],” Traer Chief Tyler Sell told the Telegraph. “Considering the ice and weather we were very pleased with the people that came to support us.”

Those who attended the fish fry and/or stopped by the satellite voting booth were also given the chance to view progress on the new fire station building currently being constructed on the empty lot between City Hall and the main fire station.

While progress on the building has been slower than anticipated – the original plan was to have the build completed before winter in order to store the department’s new aerial truck – Chief Sell said the build has been progressing as both “weather allows and materials arrive.”

As of the night of the fish fry, the external framing and the roof trusses were in place.