Those Welcomed Into This World
David and Stacy Pithan announced the birth of their daughter, Emma Grace. Grandparents are Allan and Polly Pithan and Kirk and Julie Bollig. Great grandparents are Albert and Marian Sevening, Helen Pithan and Leo Bollig.
Nicole and Sean Shea announced the birth of their firstborn, Kristen Marie. Kristen's grandparents are Sheila Mefferd, Duane and Annette Brown, and John and Diane Shea. Her great grandparents are Marlene Schumann, Lloyd and Elaine Brown, Ernest Vander Heiden, and Arlo and Pearl Suhr.
Danielle Judith announced the arrival of her baby sister, Kennady Louise. The girls are daughters of Scott and Kenna Wendt. Their grandparents are Carla Wessling, the late Ken and Judy Wessling, and Jerry and Lois Wendt.
Those Who Departed This World
Vera A. Petersen, 82, died. She and her huband, Benny owned and operated Danbury Fertilizer. She loved to go golfing. She also bowled for many years. Survivors included 2 sons, Denny (Pat) Petersen and Dewey (Janine) Petersen; 4 daughters, Dianne (Tom) McBride, Darnell (Shawn) Dennehey, Dawn Jacoby, and Donna (Ken) LeFebvre; 16 grandchildren; 14 great grandchildren; 3 sisters, Kathleen Kinsella, Ardis Baker, and Kay Ehrhorn; a brother, Peter M. (Lois) Wolterman; 2 brothers-in-law, Don Uhl and Marvin Petersen; and 2 sisters-in-law, Mary Wolterman and Enid Petersen.
Myron D. Kunze, 52, died unexpectedly of a heart attack. He enjoyed fishing locally and knew all the best fishing ponds around. He joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and was a Gold Card Member of the P.R.C.A. Survivors included his wife, Pam; a son, Wade (Mary) Kunze; 3 daughters, Cassie Kunze, Megan (Jeremy) Doty, and Molly Tullis; a grandson; 2 brothers, Garlin (Betty) Kunze and Edward (Susan) Kunze; and 2 sisters, Susan (Paul) Sather and Letha (Dwight) Goslar; along with several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Perry K. O’Connor, 51, passed away. He really enjoyed following Nascar racing. He was known for his smile, quick wit, telling jokes and playing tricks on anyone around him. Those left to cherish their memories of Perry included his wife, Pamela; his daughter, Amanda (Steven) Kroll; 2 grandchildren; his father and mother, Darrell and Florence O’Connor; a brother, Freddie (Shari) O’Connor; 4 sisters, Lou Ann and the late Dean Venteicher, Darla (David) Schleis, Rita (David) Rose, and Jane Anderson; along with many nieces and nephews.
Robert E. "Bud" Larson, 86, passed away following a lengthy illness. He enjoyed antique and farm sales. He raised horses and organized trail rides. He also was one of the last to farm his land with a team of horses. He was survived by 4 sons, Keith and Marlene Larson, Kent Larson and Paula Duggan, Kevin Larson, and Robbie and Heidi Larson; 4 daughters, Patricia and Ed Welte, Gerri Breyfogle, Lindy Jessen and Brad Carlson, and Lorri Winterlin; 12 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and a sister, Helen Hardersen.
Alfred J. Uhl, 97, passed away. He was a faithful member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Mapleton for over 69 years. He enjoyed visiting with family and friends about his many farming experiences, and his interests in trains and traveling. Survivors included 2 daughters, Burnita Ankerstjerne, and Linda (Bob) Otto; 5 grandchildren; 4 great grandchildren; a sister, Helen (Leo) Weber; 2 brothers, Leo (Martha) and Charles (Irene); a brother-in-law, Delmond (Mary) Scheer; a sister-in-law Georgia Scheer; and several nieces and nephews.
Those Who Celebrated Special Occasions
Wayne Seuntjens celebrated his 90th birthday.
Kady Petrositch celebrated her 106th birthday.
Laura (Kennaley) Jones celebrated her 80th birthday.
At Iowa State University's commencement ceremonies, Kersha Bumsted received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology; Bridgett Lansink received her Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management; and Joe Zediker received his Bachelor of Science degree in Operations and Supply Chain Management.
Carolyn and Mel Frahm celebrated their 50th anniversary.
Other Local News
The team at Willow Dale announced that Jane Schrunk was employee of the month.
AOMV Hawks of the Month were Ashley VanCleave, Meagan Kerns, Megan Kirchgatter, Josh Hatler, Morgan Lewis, and Laura Perez.
First State Bank held a barbecue before the BCIG/MVAO basketball games. Proceeds went to the schools’ after prom committees.
Scott Yockey reached the 8 gallon donation milestone at the January blood drive. Mark Clausen and Karre Sexton made the 6 gallon mark.
Danbury Catholic School presented their Christmas program "Three Wee Kings." The program had been postponed from its original scheduled date (and the snow date) due to bad weather before Christmas break.
Elaine Peters returned to her home after rehabilitating at Willow Dale Wellness Village.
The annual Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest was held at Danbury Catholic School. First place winners were Mikayla Lansink, Sami Halbur, Hayley Seuntjens, Lindsey Brown, Travis McBride, Shawn Flanigan, Shane Dancso, and Beau Wolfe. Second place winners were Kendra Sexton, Summer Beery, Karly Treiber, Jamie Plautz, Conor Collins, and Derek Kollbaum.
Students named to the Morningside College Dean’s Honor List were Katie Hoaglund, daughter of Joan and Dave Hoaglund, a senior who was majoring in Elementary Education; Kristina McGrain, daughter of Trudy and Ron McGrain, a senior who was majoring in Elementary Education; and Preston Pierce, son of Sharon and Pat Pierce, a senior who was majoring in Business Administation. McGrain and Pierce had perfect 4.0 grade point averages.
The MVAO High School Quiz Bowl team of Justin Buth, Donna Habinck, Ethan Lloyd and Jesse Sturgeon competed in the 25th annual KTIV Quiz Bowl Competition. The team, coached by Ann Cox, earned the 13th seed in the 16 team-televised rounds.
Pastors Karen and Len Garrison invited all to an open house at St. John's United Methodist Church's parsonage in Mapleton. Pastor Karen is the reverend at St. John's in Mapleton, while Pastor Len is the officiant at Danbury United Methodist Church in Danbury.
Stacy Brown, Brianna Porter, Chase Weaver, and Jatessa Schrank were named to the Dean's List at Buena Vista University. Brown, Schrank, and Porter received perfect 4.0 grade point averages. Brown and Porter were seniors, while Schrank and Weaver were freshmen.
A wedding dance/open house was held to honor Sheri (Boyle) and David Jensen. The newlyweds were married in December in Las Vegas, NV.
The lower Maple Valley Elementary classes were busy with activity as they celebrated the 100th day of school. The children put together 100 piece puzzles, strung 100 piece necklaces, made handprints to count to 100 by fives, placed 100 items on a 100 chart, enjoyed cupcakes at a 100 Day party, made "100" sunglasses, rolled dice and added to tally 100 marks, made patterns using their names to fill 100 squares, reading "100" poems and writing how the kids would spend $100.
The Maple Valley superintendent's building got in the way of a vehicle and developed a little boo boo. Superintendent Steve Oberg said that the damage amounted to $15,000-$25,000 depending on whether or not ICN wiring needed replacement/repair. The ICN room is on the other side of the wall. The inside and outside wall and window needed replacing along with the carpet. Luckily, the contents in the room were undamaged.
The kindergarten and first/second grade classes from Danbury Catholic worked together to celebrate their 100th day of school. Fingers were counted to 100, a "dog" was made from boxes and given 100 spots, 100 edible items were compared and then combined for a special treat, good deed mittens were made, the book "100 Hungry Ants" was read with 100 rows of ants lined up, and writing 100 spelling words were included in the festivities. Mrs. Seuntjens' third/fourth grade class also celebrated, on a smaller scale. They wrote 100 math facts and 100 spelling words.
AOMV Middle School students Megan Kirchgatter, Jamie Plautz, Shelby Klaschen, Nikki Morrow, Allie Dose, Shayla Willits, Kristen Hatler, Abby Larson, Jessica Ingram, Kaylie Smeltzer, Ashley Kollbaum, Marinda Golden, Nicole Weber, Glen Hanson, Bryce Hatler, Josh Hatler, Shane Dancso, Logan Buth, Michael Bumsted, and Drew Boysen; and MVAO High School students Rick Maynard, Kris Rockdaschel, Tim Dougherty, Eric Koithan, Beau Wolfe, Jessica Hinrickson, Megan Weber, Molly Tullis, Elizabeth Sturgeon, Becca Marsh, and Laura Maynard participated in the first annual Western Valley Conference Honor Choir Festival-North. The conference was newly created over the summer when the Maple Valley Conference and the Boyer Valley Conference were rearranged.
Bishop Walker Nickless helped the Danbury Catholic School staff and students begin their week of celebration of Catholic Schools Week. The Bishop celebrated Mass for the student body and other parishioners, putting Mikayla Lansink and Mitchel Wolterman in the hot seats as he asked them questions about St. Paul, Sts. Titus and Timothy, and the readings.
Mark Dirksen and Brian Brinkman were named to Creighton University's Dean's Honor Roll.
Lisa Ortner, daughter of Sandy and Bill Ortner; Matt Boyle, son of Ellen and John Boyle; and McKenzie Sauser, daughter of Mag and Mickey Sauser were named to the dean's list at the University of Iowa.
In the past year, at least three Danbury residents were bit by dogs without provocation. In addition, other citizens who had been busy with their normal routines or working or playing in their own yards had been chased to safety by dogs running at large. Because of the growing issue with dogs, the council was forced to go to the next level - a live trap. Residents who were having a problem with other people's pets in their yard may check out the live trap from City Hall. It can be set up in that residential yard. If/When an animal is trapped in this humane trap, there would be an attempt to return the animal to the rightful owner (along with the possibility of fines for dogs running at large). If the owner could not be contacted, then the animal would be transported to the Humane Society in Sioux City. Owners would need to visit the Humane Society to claim their animal and pay the fees that ensue.
Doris Miller returned to her home after rehabilitating at Willow Dale Wellness Village.
Included on the Dean's List at ISU were Matthew Dirksen, a senior majoring in Agricultural Business; Timothy Chwirka, a senior majoring in Political Science; Daniel Hair, a senior majoring in Agricultural Studies; Christopher Yockey, a senior majoring in Aerospace Engineering; Cody Volkmann, a junior majoring in Agricultural Systems Technology; Nicholas Petersen, a senior majoring in Industrial Technology; Jared Bruhn, a senior majoring in Animal Science; and Kristen Westergaard, a freshman majoring in Veterinary Medicine.
The AOMV Middle School held a spelling bee. Laura Perez, daughter of Marcella and John Babl, was declared the winner. Matthew Jepsen, son of Tammey and Rick Jepsen, placed second. Todd Sherrill, son of Sonya Sherrill and Dave Sherrill, took the third place honor.
The week of prayer for Christian unity services was held at St. John's Methodist Church. The service was sponsored by the Maple Valley Clergy Association.
World Events
Nadya Suleman gave birth to eight babies; they are only the second set of octuplets ever to be born alive in America.
The Senate voted to release the second half of the Federal bailout money, $350 million, to aid President-elect Obama's economic plan.
After allegedly striking a flock of geese, US Airways Flight 1549, en route from La Guardia Airport, New York City, to Charlotte, NC, was forced to land in the Hudson River. All 150 passengers and 5 crew members survived.
Six people had been killed and over 470 sickened by a salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter. Following the recall of peanut butter by producer King Nut, many other companies recalled peanut butter products. King Nut peanut butter is not sold directly to consumers, but to other companies who may use it in their products. The recall led several grocery store chains to pull all products containing peanut butter from their shelves.
Microsoft announced it would lay off up to 5,000 employees.
January saw 598,000 jobs lost, the highest number since December 1974, which brought the total number of jobs lost to 1.8 million in just three months. The unemployment rate jumped to 7.6%, up from the 7.2% rate in December 2008.
Former actor on TV's "Sopranos," Lillo Brancato Jr., was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted burglary. He was involved in a 2005 shooting in New York City that left a police officer dead.
Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. Obama became the first African-American to be elected to the office of President in the history of the United States.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs was taking a leave of absence until June. In response to concern about his noticeable weight loss, Jobs announced that he was suffering from a hormone deficiency.
Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico withdrew his name as the Secretary of Commerce nominee under President-elect Barack Obama. Richardson cited a current investigation of a company with which the New Mexican government did business.
The nation's largest newspaper publisher, Gannett Company, asked its employees to take a week long furlough in an effort to save money and prevent large-scale layoffs. The company employed about 31,000 people in the U.S. and published newspapers across the country, including USA Today.
Citigroup divided into two businesses, Citicorp and Citi Holdings, after posting a loss of $8.29 billion in the fourth quarter.
Pulitzer Prize winning author John Updike known for such works as "Rabbit Run" and "Couples" died of lung cancer at the age of 76.
Timothy Geithner, President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for Treasury Secretary, failed to pay taxes from 2001 to 2004 on his salary from the International Monetary Fund, which was classified as self-employment. The matter was resolvedÑGeithner paid back the taxes, with interestÑbut it was an embarrassment for someone who would be the head of the Internal Revenue Service. .
Circuit City announced they would be shutting down their stores and liquidating. The company filed for bankruptcy in November.
Pfizer, one of the biggest drug companies in the world, bought the drug company Wyeth for $68 billion. The acquisition was one of the biggest ever inside the drug industry. This information came after Pfizer announced it would be laying off about 8,400 employees.
Actor Ricardo Montalban was best known for his role as Mr. Roarke on Fantasy Island. He died of congestive heart failure at age 88.
President Obama signed orders closing all secret prisons and detention camps run by the CIAÑincluding the infamous Guant‡namo Bay prison in CubaÑand banning coercive interrogation methods.
Embroiled in an alleged pay-for-play scheme, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was removed from office by the state of Illinois. Blagojevich was accused of attempting to sell President Barack Obama's vacant senate seat to the highest bidder. It's the first time in state history a governor has been forcibly removed from his seat, and only the eighth time in American history.
President-elect Barack Obama named Leon Panetta, the former U.S. representative from California and chief of staff to President Clinton, as the next head of the Central Intelligence Agency. The choice was met with surprise and criticism as Republicans and Democrats alike questioned whether Panetta's political experience prepared him for the role.
Jett Travolta, son of actor John Travolta and Kelly Preston, died after suffering a seizure. Jett was 16.
Those Welcomed Into This World
Justin and Stephanie Pawlowski welcomed their firstborn, Anthony Justin. Proud grandparents are John and Tammi Snow, Bob and Pat Schossow, Matt and Traci Pawlowski, and Rex and Tammy Germany.
Those Who Departed This World
Wilma E. Heinse, 89, passed away. Wilma was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church as well as the Ladies Aid. She enjoyed time spent quilting, reading, traveling, and gardening. She also loved playing cards. Survivors included a son, Kevin (Diane) Heinse; 7 grandchildren; 17 great grandchildren; 2 sisters, Maxine Johnson and Shirley (Williard) Lee; many nieces and nephews and special friends, Hildegard Ullrich and Carrie Henry.
Martha Ann "Marty" Halloran, 70 died. She taught in Holly Springs and Primghar in Iowa as well as in England and Denmark. In Chatfield, MN, she was a teacher and also a bookkeeper for Super Valu for 20 years. She enjoyed reading, crafts, and refinishing old furniture. She was survived by a daughter, Patricia (Kirk) Busta; a son, Gerald ‘Dan’ (Carol); 2 brothers, Leo (Helen) Weber and Vernal (Evonne) Weber; and 4 sisters, Irma Sokolowski; Helen (Tom) Thiel; Carole Barkley, and Alice Weber Other survivors include 6 grandchildren.
Carolyn Babl, 89, died. From 1939 until 1942, she taught elementary school in Castana. She loved reading, cooking, sewing, and tending her flower garden. She was a member of many Mapleton clubs and organization including St. Mary’s Guild, the Civic Club, and the Literature Club. She was survived by her 4 children: Bill (Margaret) Babl; Beverly (James) Hayney; Karen (Tom) Mowry; and John (Marcela) Babl. She was survived by 9 grandchildren and a great granddaughter. Carolyn was also survived by a sister, Betty Jean (Bill) Thomas, and a brother, Lynn (Jean) Royer.
Those Who Celebrated Special Occasions
Bernice Reimer turned 93 years old.
Vince Boyle celebrated his 80th birthday.
Other Local News
The Knights of Columbus cooked up omelets at the Mapleton Community Center. Some of the proceeds from the brunch were used to support the Confirmation candidates from the cluster.
Marilyn Boyle was crowned Willow Dale Wellness Village Assisted Living Sweetheart. Dorothy Petersen and Dale Tracy were crowned Willow Dale Wellness Village Valentine King and Queen.
Several area farmers earned top prizes in the 2008 National Corn Growers' Association's (NCGA) Corn Yield Contest in Iowa. Chris Maynard won first place in the Irrigated division. Mark Maynard won first place in the AA Non-Irrigated division. Brian W. Stickney won second place in the AA No Till/Strip Till Non-Irrigated division. Dan Burkhart won third place in the AA No Till/Strip Till Non-Irrigated division.
The Mapleton Starspinners 4-H Club newly elected officers were Isaac Jessen, Jeff Bruning, Andrea Bruning, Maura Matney, Paisley Conlon, Jamie Plautz, Amber VanCleave, and Megan Wimmer.
The parishioners at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Mapleton held their annual Valentine Luncheon. Chicken and noodles, salads, and dessert were served.
Things were a little fishy at the Mapleton Community Center as St. John’s Methodist Church held their annual fish fry.
Western Iowa Tech Community College (WITCC) hosted the third annual Lewis and Clark Jazz Festival. Among the jazz soloists who were named as outstanding soloist was MVAO's Molly Tullis, daughter of Denny Tullis and Pam and the late Myron Kunze.
A baby shower was held to honor Kristen Marie Shea, infant daughter of Nicole and Sean Shea.
James Brouillette, son of Carma and Doug Brouillette, spent time on the pitcher’s mound for the Morningside College Mustangs. James, a junior at Morningside this year, made an impressive season's debut when he blanked Friends on three hits with two walks and one strikeout over the first four innings in the Mustangs' 12-9 win on February 15th. He matched his entire 2008 victory total after he went 1-1 with a 4.16 ERA as the Mustangs' #4 starter last year.
Jason Bumsted was included on the Dean's List at Iowa Lakes Community College.
Kirkwood Community College students named to the Dean’s List included Ashley Mullicane who was earning her degree in Business Administration, and Alex Peterson who was earning his degree in Culinary Arts.
P A F Miss 004 Gem 83 won early junior heifer calf champion at the Iowa Beef Expo Angus Show and Sale. Jordan Paulsrud consigned the winning heifer. PAF 004 Neutron 804 won reserve senior bull calf champion at the Iowa Beef Expo Angus Show and Sale. Josiah Paulsrud consigned the winning bull.
The June E. Nylen Cancer Center honored Jan Wolterman at the STAR and ANGEL Winter Benefit. Jan was the 2009 ANGEL award winner. The ANGEL award recognizes a family member, caregiver, volunteer or medical professional who has provided hope and inspiration to a person with cancer.
Willow Dale Wellness Village staff and residents announced that Nicole Parr was selected as February Employee of the Month.
AOMV Hawks of the Month were Kelsey Morgan, Anna Duncan, Camryn Fitch, Cody McCormick, Kristen Hatler, and Paul Weber.
Gable Sohm, a fifth-grader from Battle Creek-Ida Grove Middle School, took home the top honor at the Northwest AEA regional spelling bee. Sohm won the event by correctly spelling the word, “lariat.” Gable is the son of Jenni and Ed Sohm and the grandson of Mary Ann and Marshall Sohm. The Anthon Oto-Maple Valley Middle School was represented by Laura Perez, Matthew Jepsen, and Todd Sherrill. All three placed in the top 15 students. The Danbury Catholic School was represented by Ali Boysen, Shayla Brown and Kendra Sexton.
Jack and Marion Modrell were honored as "Battle Creek Sweethearts" at the Annual Valentine Banquet at Willow Dale Wellness Village.
In honor of President’s Day, Valley Bank and Trust gave away a map of the United States which contained the quarter for each state.
The annual Chocolate Lover's Extravaganza was held at Willow Dale Wellness Village. Delectable chocolate desserts were made by The Inn, The Bread Box, The Little Red Hen, and several staff members.
The AOMV Jazz Band received 4th place at the N.W.I.B.A. Jazz Festival. Outstanding Soloist Awards were given to Cierra Boyer, Autumn Peterson, Anna Duncan, Kevin Bruning, Ryan Dougherty and Jamie Plautz.
Maple Valley-Anthon Oto High School students Joey Flanigan and Brandi Kerns were named school winners for the Wendy’s High School Heisman Award. Joey is the son of Mike and Tammy Flanigan. Brandi is the daughter of Dave and Jodi Kerns.
A variety of music from a variety of bands filled the MVAO High School as the annual parade of bands was held. Students from grade 5 through 12 took turns showing off their musical skills.
Mikayla Lansink, daughter of Dean and Diane Lansink, and Lindsey Brown, daughter of Brian and Brenda Brown advanced to the Regional Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest by placing first in their respective age groups at the district contest.
Zach Schoenfeld, son of Deb and the late Larry Schoenfeld, took his wrestling technique to the state tournament.
While it was snowy and cold outside, the MVAO High School was burning up as the MVAO Drill team held their annual dance clinic and show. The drill team members spent 3 hours after school teaching appoximately 50 younger students different dance moves. A special performance was featured by the Nuns on the Run.
Jordan Paulsrud, daughter of Theresa and Bob Paulsrud, was among Iowa junior Angus Association members who were presented with Iowa Angus Auxiliary major awards at the Iowa Angus Association Annual Banquet.
Forty-four sophomore, junior, and senior students from St. Joseph's Catholic Church of Anthon, St. Mary's Catholic Church of Oto, and St. Mary's Catholic Church of Danbury received the Sacrament of Confirmation.
The Anthon Oto-Maple Valley 7th and 8th grade instrumental music students performed at their solo and ensemble contest. Musicians receiving a Division 1+ and an Outstanding Performance were Lexie Boyle, Cierra Boyer, Autumn Peterson, Ryan Dougherty, Joel Ernst, Kendra Mullicane, Riley Ehlers, Sadie Wimmer, Anna Duncan, Morgan Koenigs, Kelli Schram, Kristen Hatler, Alex Boyle, Ben Weber, Adam Uhl, Brent Golden, and Amy Matney.
Eleven Maple Valley-Anthon Oto students competed in the District Individual Speech contest. Advancing to the state contest were Jeff Bruning, Ally Jo Lloyd, Molly Tullis, Elizabeth Sturgeon, Donna Habinck, Rebekah Sturgeon, Maddie Walsh, and Megan Wimmer. Students were coached by Mrs. Jean Conover.
The Danbury Catholic School gym and cafeteria were filled with people hopeful to make a little cash while enjoying the company of their fellow Bingo players. The big "loser" of the night was Mary Dykes whose card proved to be the worst in the loser's round. Donna Ganzhorn's card, on the other hand, proved to be the best as she won the blackout prize. She donated some of the winnings back to the school.
World Events
Turkish Airlines Flight 1951, carrying 135 passengers and crew members, crashed, killing at least 9 people and injuring 50.
President Barack Obama signed into law his $787 billion stimulus bill called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, designed to create or save 3.5 million jobs and end the worst US economic crisis since the 1930s.
Heath Ledger won Best Supporting Actor at the 81st Academy Awards.
Legendary broadcaster Paul Harvey died. Harvey was best known for his "The Rest of the Story" segments; he was 90.
Former Chicago Bulls head coach and broadcaster Johnny 'Red' Kerr died; he was 76. Kerr's death came just just hours after former Chicago Bulls fan favorite Norm Van Leir passed away.
In a demonstration of his willingness to work closely with members of the opposite party, President Obama named Judd Gregg, a Republican senator from New Hampshire, as his nominee for commerce secretary. Gregg withdrew his nomination for commerce secretary, citing fundamental differences with the Obama administration on the economic stimulus plan. Gregg was the fourth person nominated by Obama for a cabinet position to later end that bid. Former Washington governor Gary Locke, the third pick for the position, was the new nominee for President Obama's secretary of commerce position.
Former senator Tom Daschle, President Obama's pick for secretary of health and human services, ended his bid for the nomination. Daschle had failed to pay approximately $128,000 in taxes for using a friend's car service and had been under intense scrutiny. He was also stepping down as the nation's first health care czar. Kathleen Sebelius, governor of Kansas and longtime supporter of President Barack Obama, was the new pick for the cabinet position Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Acclaimed Yankees pitcher Alex Rodriguez admitted to using a performance-enhancing substance in the past.
Nine people were killed in Oklahoma following a strong tornado that tore through the town of Lone Grove.
Continental Connection Flight 3407 from Newark Airport to Buffalo, N.Y. crashed into a house in Clarence Center, N.Y., killing all passengers and crew on board, an off-duty pilot on the flight, and one person in the home. Two others in the home suffered minor injuries. Investigations into the cause of the crash suggested that crew error may have been at least partially to blame.
One time foe, Sen. Hillary Clinton accepted President Obama's offer to take the position as Secretary of State.
In tennis, American Serena Williams won her fourth Australian Open title against Russian Dinara Safina. Rafael Nadal, from Spain, pulled ahead of Swiss player Roger Federer, to win the final match.
In a tightly fought race for the title of Superbowl 43 Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23. The Cardinals came back from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter, only to lose in the final seconds to the Steelers. MVP nod went to Steelers' player Santonio Holmes, who caught the winning touchdown.
Macy's announced it would be cutting approximately 7,000 jobs in the coming weeksÑ4% of its workforce.
In a reversal from previous testimony about the Blagojevich impeachment proceedings, Roland Burris, now the junior senator from Illinois, admitted that the former governor's brother contacted him in a request for campaign funds. Republican lawmakers in the state of Illinois asked Burris to resign as senator and that an investigation be made into whether he committed perjury during his testimony at Blagojevich's impeachment trial.
Actor James Whitmore was an Academy Award-nominated, Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actor. He died of lung cancer at the age of 87.
Washington's federal appeals court stopped the release of 17 detainees from the Guat‡namo Bay prison in Cuba, overturning a judge's orders.
President Obama revealed his budget for the 2010 fiscal year, which totaled over $3 trillion. He claimed the aim of the budget was to halve the federal deficit by the end of his term in office. The budget included substantial spending in health care reform, education, and renewable energy, which were also the major focus of his first presidential address. The end of tax cuts for families making more than $250,000, which are set to expire in 2010, would be among the places Obama expects to see an increase in revenue.
President Obama announced his intention to withdraw most American troops out of Iraq by August 31, 2010. As many as 50,000 troops would remain there for smaller missions and to train Iraqi soldiers.
President Obama placed a $500,000 cap on executive salaries for those companies receiving bailout money. Executives would also be barred from receiving bonuses in the form of liquid assets. This announcement came after the revelation that companies receiving government money under the bailout package had awarded billions of dollars in bonuses to executives and employees.
American automaking giants General Motors and Chrysler asked for an additional $14 billion from the governmentÑbringing their total request to $39 billionÑto prevent them from going bankrupt.
President Obama announced his $75 billion plan to help struggling homeowners. The plan was intended to help homeowners refinance their mortgage and prevent foreclosure.
Unemployment in the U.S., which had been steadily growing for several months, reached 8.1% in February. This was the highest rate since 1983, and an additional .5% over January. There were 651,000 reported jobs lost last month, slightly down from 655,000 in January.
The Dow Industrial Average and the S & P 500, the two major indexes of the U.S. Stock Market, fell to their lowest levels since 1997. Investors were worrying the government's efforts to prevent the economy from crashing further weren't sufficient. The Dow dropped 3.4% and the S & P 500 fell 3.5%.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's Billy Powell died of an apparent heart attack. He was 56.
Those Welcomed Into This World
Chloe Grace Wanberg was born to Kim Willson and Rick Wanberg. She was welcomed by big sisters Chelsea Johnson and Emily Wanberg. Chloe's grandparents are Tootie and Tom Willson and Helen and France Wanberg.
Leighton Michael Davis was born to Sarah and Donald Davis.
Those Who Departed This World
Mary "Mae" O'Connell, 90, passed away. She baked pies for a local restaurant. She would be remembered for her love of cooking for her family. She also enjoyed being able to spend time with her brother and sisters. One of her favorite pastimes was watching The Lawrence Welk Show. Survivors left to cherish Mae's memory included 2 sons, John (Debra) and Robert (Sheila); 4 grandchildren; 2 great grandchildren; a sister, Veronica Cunningham and a sister-in-law, Pat Roark; as well as many nephews and nieces.
Vera T. Welte, 80, died. She enjoyed golfing, gardening, watching and feeding her birds, reading, crocheting, and most of all shopping. She was known best for being on time which was always fashionably late. She always remembered your birthday or special occasion but couldn’t remember where she tucked your gift away. She was survived by 4 sons Claire Jr. "Skip" and his wife Judy, Frank II and fiancee Diane, A. Robert and his wife Sherry, and David and his wife Melanie; 9 grandchildren; 19 great grandchildren; a great grandson; her special friend Sheryl Goodenow; 3 sisters Nell Vetter, Sophie Jensen, and Nancy (John) Overstreet; 3 brothers Ken (JoAnn) Pullis, Jack (Jean) Pullis, and Monte “Pat” Pullis; and her “special co-conspirator” and caretaker Gaylene Brouillette; along with numerous other relatives.
Beverly Ann Fredrickson, 75, passed away. She went to nursing school in Dallas, Texas and became a Licensed Practical Nurse shortly after high school. She liked to dance, read, do crossword puzzles and loved animals. Beverly often did baby-sitting. Survivors were her husband of 44 years, Kenneth; a son Deron; 3 brothers, Harold Jahn, Kenneth (JoAnn) Jahn, and James Jahn; a sister, Barbara (Ralph) Frese; and several nieces and nephews.
Helen E. Schrank, 89, died. While in high school she excelled as a talented soprano opera singer, winning multiple local and state contests. She spent hours on the phone talking to family and friends, referring to her personal phone directory as her “bible.” Survivors included a son, Rollie Schrank and his special friend, Nancy Teut; a daughter, Ruth “Peachie” Schrank; a daughter and her husband Robin and Tim Welte; 13 grandchildren,; 21 great grandchildren; and a very special friend, Hadley Waring.
Hadley Waring, 91, passed away. He started working for Fullerton Lumber Company in 1938, beginning his career in Danbury. He moved and traveled over a wide area for the lumber business, gaining the title of Regional Sales Manager. He retired from Fullerton after 30 years of service. After retirement, he owned and operated a Coast to Coast store in Minnesota for eight years. After his wife, Virginia’s death, Hadley continued to live at Crosslake, MN, until returning to Danbury in 1998 to care for a lifelong friend, Helen Schrank. Helen died on March 21, 2009, and Hadley died just eight days later. He was survived by his daughters, Nancy Winters and Connie Waring; 7 grandchildren; 20 great grandchildren; 3 great great grandchildren; a sister, Jean Spann; and his extended family, the Schranks and Weltes.
Margaret F. Twitchell, 90, died. She was the only child of Ross and Winnifred (Dougherty) Rampley. She was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church where she was a past president of the Rosary Society; The Royal Neighbors, the American Legion Auxiliary, and was on the Dana Association Board. An avid golfer, she belonged to Willow Vale Golf Club. She was survived by 3 sons, John and Karen Twitchell, Joe and Beverly Twitchell, and Jim Twitchell and JoLynne Reimert; a daughter, Jackie and Jim Wooster; 15 grandchildren; and 18 great grandchildren.
Mary L. Rosburg, 86, died. During her nursing career she worked for Dr. Ganzhorn’s medical office, a school nurse at Maple Valley Schools for 10 years and, lastly, Maple Heights Nursing Home. As a school nurse, Mary started the Future Nurses Club. Hobbies included card club, needlework, crosswords, quilting and gardening. Survivors included 3 sons, James (Linda) Rosburg, Thomas (Carman) Rosburg, and Raymond (Gaylene) Rosburg; 5 daughters, Linda Stedman, Nancy (Kenny) Bevins, Jeanne (Steve) Hasbrouck, Susan (Richard) Warren, and Rita (James) Rosburg; 16 grandchildren; and 5 great grandchildren. Survivors included her brothers Larry, Ron (Esther), Paul (Rosie), Bob (Audrey), Bud (Judy), Joe (Joann) and sister Charlene (Delmar) Lehner, and many nieces and nephews.
Those Who Celebrated Special Occasions
Roger Jochims celebrated his 60th birthday.
Other Local News
Willow Dale Wellness Village was excited to announce Kathy Hinojosa as the March employee of the month.
The stage and cafeteria at AOMV School were filled with Arrrrrs and Ayes as the 7th & 8th grade Concert Choir performed a musical called “Pirates! The Musical.” The lead characters were played by Logan Buth and Jacob Miller.
Philip J. Morrow held a land auction.
At the March blooddrive, Swede Ortner reached the 6 gallon milestone, Mark Lorenzen hit the 5 gallon mark, and Greg Pithan reached 3 gallons.
Separated by four decades and a distance of 1,600 miles, two Vietnam veterans were reunited in California. Chester Juarez of Irwindale, CA, and Robert "Bob" Tallman of Danbury and Jackson, NE, were both assigned to the 7th Motors Transport Battalion, First Marine Division, at Camp Pendleton and had been out of touch after seeing each other for the last time in 1968 in North Carolina when they returned from overseas. Through Chester’s persistence and the aid of a co-worker, he succeeded in finding his long lost Marine buddy on the internet and contacted Bob. Since then they have visited for many hours over the phone. They made plans to reunite in person and finally had the opportunity when Bob traveled to California.
Siouxland Aging Services announced the appointment of local representatives as members of their Advisory Council. Included on the council were Anne Beery and Kris Roggatz.
March AOMV Hawks of the Month were Cierra Boyer, Darbie Hancock, Shaley McDermott, Bryce Hatler, Anna DelaGarza, and Cailey Berndt.
The Woodbury County Sheriff's Office received a tip from a citizen concerning the welfare of dogs located at a rural Oto residence. The sheriff's office investigated the complaint and obtained a search warrant for the residence. The warrant was executed, and 17 dogs were removed from the residence located at 2560 Jewell Ave. The animals were placed with Sioux City Animal Control for safekeeping.
The MVAO After Prom Committee sold pork loins averaging 8-9 pounds.
Bill and Sandy Ortner, along with Julie and the late Randy Dibelka announced the engagement and upcoming marriage of their children, Carrie Ortner and Steven Dibelka.
The Danbury Community Club was awarded a $2,600 grant from the Fund for Siouxland toward the demolition of the deteriorating building on Main Street next to the post office as part of a multiphase City Beautification Project. The application stated that the area would be used as a Town Square.
The Anthon Oto-Maple Valley 6th grade instrumental music students performed at their solo and ensemble contest. Musicians receiving a Division 1+ and an Outstanding Performance were Jordan Trucke, Danielle Ortner, Laura Perez, Gabby Teet, Justin Aguirre, Chris Flannery, Tessah Lugsch-Long, Hannah Sadler, Luke Whitney, and Danielle Ortner, Caleb Sturgeon, Austin Hazard, and Derrik Kerns.
Nineteen students from Maple Valley and Anthon-Oto competed as three teams at the Regional Destination Imagination competition. The All three teams earned a trip to the State Destination Imagination competition. Students making up these teams were Logan Buth, Bryce Hatler, Josh Hatler, Morgan Hart, Matthew Jepsen, Jacob Miller Todd Sherrill, Madyson Hinkel, Sean Keiner, Alexa Lloyd, Laura Perez, Jordan Trucke, Ellie Walsh, Luke Whitney, Anna Duncan, Becca Herwig, Ethan Lloyd, Hailey Morgan and Kalli Weber. The team managers were Lynn Buth and Darla Lloyd.
Seven MVAO students presented a total of ten programs at Individual State Speech contest in Fort Dodge. Representing the senior class were Jeff Bruning, Ally Jo Lloyd, Elizabeth Sturgeon, and Molly Tullis. Juniors were represented by Donna Habinck and Rebekah Sturgeon. Megan Wimmer, freshman, also competed. Students were coached by Mrs. Jean Conover.
Pancakes were flipping off the the griddle and onto the plates as the Danbury Fire Association served pancakes, eggs and sausage.
Danbury Catholic School held Kindergarten Round-up.
Members of the Maple Valley-Anthon Oto Chapter of the National Honor Society played hosts to a crowd of senior citizens. The attendees and their hosts spent the evening playing Bingo and cards.
Dick Kingsbury was chosen to evaluate the officials at the NAIA National Wrestling Tournament in Oklahoma City. The national meet determined the All-American wrestlers in the NAIA college circuit. Dick's job was to evaluate each of the 15 officials who came from across the United States to find the 10 best officials. The 10 best were then asked to referee the national championship matches in each of the ten weight classes and would be asked back next year.
The MVAO High School Building was filled with music as 180 middle and high school band students from the 10 schools in the the Western Valley Conference put their musical talents together at the conference concert. Before 7:00 that evening parents of the students entered the high school to be escorted to an inner hallway as potentially fierce storms reached the area. Tornado warnings were sounded for various counties, and thunderstorm warnings plagued even more counties, including Woodbury and Monona. Because of the tornadic weather south and west of Monona County, the Mapleton Weather Spotters watched the sky, and the concert was put on hold for approximately 20 minutes. Eventually the sound of thunder was replaced by the sound of a variety of band instruments. AOMV Middle School students participating were Cierra Boyer, Morgan Koenigs, Kristen Hatler, Alex Boyle, Jaycee Hawkins, Ben Weber, Kelli Schram, Anna Duncan, Autumn Peterson, Jamie Plautz, Ryan Dougherty, Kevin Bruning, Jacob Miller, and Kaylie Smeltzer. MVAO High School students participating in the band were Augusta Nixon, Justin Buth, Jeff Bridgeman, Rebekah Sturgeon, Halie Edgington, Laura Maynard, Dylan Bailey, Beth Weber, Jamie Rusch, Tari Kay Schauer, Elizabeth Sturgeon, and Jessica Voigt.
Linda McDonald sold 141.42 acres of land at a public auction.
Matt Curtin was delivering papers in Anthon and noticed lights on in the basement of St. Joseph Catholic Church. He called church secretary Charlene Boyer who, along with her husband, Randy, and Eric O'Connell, checked out the building and called the police. An investigation which resulted in the arrest of 18-year-old Michael William Euchner and 18-year-old Dirk Aaron Dothage. Two juvenile females were also involved and were cited into juvenile court. The foursome allegedly discharged fire extinguishers throughout the church, took butane candle lighters, and partook in activities which resulted in a cigarette burn in the carpet.
The Maple Valley and Anthon-Oto School Boards held a second meeting at the Anthon Oto-Maple Valley Middle School Commons to discuss possible consolidation.
The ADMO (Anthon, Danbury, Mapleton, Oto) Catholic Church cluster began Re-Membering meetings/discussions to invite inactive Catholics back to the church.
The top 10 Maple Valley student readers for the third quarter were Tyler Gonlogson, Alisa Koithan, Sophia Merchant, Olivia Oberreuter, Tristian Wunschell, Katy Krohn, Alicia Beem, Adam Ehlers, Cedric Cogdill, and Karlee Wolf. The top 5 adult readers were Mrs. Cathy Heizelman, Mrs. Michelle Hart, Mrs. Bev McNamara, Mrs. Mary Jo Hanson, and Mrs. Ronda MacClure.
The prayer sevice of the Mapleton Zone Lutheran Women Missionary League (LWML) was held at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ida Grove.
The Maple Valley Elementary building and Anthon school buildings were invaded by three Bandits, but no one seemed at all concerned. Sioux City Bandits Kenny Ware, Michael Spriggs, and Darren Hudak visited the schools, encouraged the students to keep reading and listen to their parents, teachers, and even principals. The football players also assisted in special contests in each building. The Bandits spent time taking pictures with the kids, sharing high-fives, and even autographing the arms of some of the middle schoolers. The assemblies were a result of a team effort by the students and staff members in their respective buildings. At the beginning of the month, the Maple Valley Center was challenged to read 150,000 minutes; they read 182,675. The Anthon Center were challenged to reach 110,000 minutes in 28 days; they shattered the goal, reading 195,726 minutes.
Lindsey Brown, daughter of Brenda and Brian Brown, joined the other state qualifiers on the basketball court in the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest. She captured the second place honors.
The students, under the direction of Sharyl Bruning, at Danbury Catholic presented their spring program, "God's Earth, My Planet." In conjunction with their spring program, Mrs. Sharyl Bruning held a poster contest, challenging the students at Danbury Catholic to create posters encouraging people to recycle. First place winners were Dallas Knudsen, Brooke Boyle, Katrina Schmidt, and Ali Boysen.
Kara Linde and Mark Winker announced their engagement and upcoming marriage. Kara is the daughter of Steve and Dawn Ortner and Bob and Kim Linde. Mark is the son of Jan and the late Cletus "Red" Winker.
World Events
Detroit Pistons owner and Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Bill Davidson died at the age of 86.
One boater was found alive after a boat, owned by NFL player Marquis Cooper, capsized during a fishing trip. The others on the boat included NFL player Corey Smith and former college football player, William Bleakley and Nick Schuyler. Schuyler was found alive and still in the water, wearing a life vest and holding onto the overturned boat. The four men reportedly went fishing on calm waters but encountered high winds and waves later in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 379 points and the S. & P. 500 rose 6.4%. The biggest one-day trading growth of the year came after a memo from Citigroup revealed the bank was once again making money.
Ponzi scheme ring leader Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal offenses including securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and perjury.
The Central Intelligence Agency was accused of destroying 92 tapes recording harsh interrogation proceedings with suspected members of the al Qaeda terrorist organization. Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., former head of the agency's clandestine service, ordered the tapes destroyed.
Insurance giant American International Group reported a $99.3 billion loss in 2008. The federal government, which had already provided the company with a $60 billion loan, gave A.I.G. an additional $30 billion, making it the largest company loan the government has provided during the bailout. A.I.G. announced they would pay top executives more than $165 million in bonuses, despite having received $170 billion in bailout funds from the U.S. government. The company claimed the bonuses were promised in contracts and were no longer negotiable. President Obama asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to pursue all "legal avenues" in order to block the bonuses to A.I.G. executives. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo claimed most large bonuses paid to A.I.G. executives and top earners, totalling approximately $50 million, would be repaid.
British actress Natasha Richardson died after apparently suffering brain damage two days after a minor ski accident.
The government reported another 663,000 jobs lost in March, bringing the total jobs lost during the current recession to 5.1 million. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also announceed that unemployment in the U.S. reached 8.5%. January's job loss was 741,000, up from the original estimate of 655,000.
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed legislation to repeal the death penalty in his state. New Mexico was the second state to ban the death penalty since 1976, when the United States Supreme Court reinstated it.
Residents of a Fargo, ND, neighborhood were evacuating due to rising flood waters from the Red River. The water levels were at their highest levels in history. Thousands of National Guard members and local volunteers spent a few days building dikes of sandbags to prevent the river from destroying homes. Bitterly cold temperatures increased officials' concerns for the stability of the dikes.
Those Welcomed Into This World
Connor Wyatt Christensen announced the birth of his brother, Jathan James. The boys' parents are Jeremey and Brandi Christensen. Their grandparents are Dennis and Bonnie Boyle and Tom and Sharon Christensen. Their great grandparents are Vince and Dorothy Boyle, Barb Christensen, Esther Hybertsen, and the late Chuck and Joyce Parkhill.
Elijah Craig Oberreuter became the first child of Craig and Brandy Oberreuter. His grandparents are Irvin and Elleen Oberreuter and Pam Wetzel. His great grandparents are Ann Oberreuter, Phyllis Christie, and Alvie and Sandy Bald.
Henry Pithan was proud to present his little sister, Olivia Mary Ann. Proud parents of the two are Mike and Kathy Pithan. The kids' grandparents are Lowell and Judy Lee and Allan and Polly Pithan. Their great grandparents are Geri Hyman, Albert and Marian Sevening, and Helen Pithan.
Eliana Mae Creswell became the first child to Josh and Sabrina Creswell. Her grandparents are Jeff Creswell and Dianna and Anthony Gigaroa. Her great grandparents are Bill and Enid Creswell.
Those Who Departed This World
Frances M. Brummer, 91, passed away. She was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Mapleton along with St. Mary’s Guild. She was also a member of the Royal Neighbors of America, the American Legion Auxiliary, and the Thursday Club. Survivors left to cherish her’ memory included 4 daughters, Mauvis Money, Karen Brummer, Ruth Wasmund, and Barbara (Brent) Petersen; 13 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandson; a sister, Ellen Weber; and 4 brothers, Gene (Mary) Moser, Don (Katie) Moser, Dennis (Betty) Moser, and Loren (Bev) Moser; along with numerous other relatives.
Norma L. Burke, 85, died at her home in rural Danbury. She spent her entire life in the Danbury area. For 30 years the Burkes had at least one child in the school system. Norma took pride in improving the looks of furniture, and she upholstered for many years. She loved being outdoors as was evident by her beautiful gardens and her love to raise animals. She enjoyed doing puzzles in her spare time. Those left to treasure Norma’s memory included her children, Bonnie (Arthur R.) Holtz, Beverly (Tom) McNamara, Pat Burke and Charlotte Nagel, Rita (Rich) Strom, Tim (Sandy) Burke, Donna Burke, Robert (Mae) Burke, and Ed Burke; 26 grandchildren; and 33 great grandchildren; a son-in-law, James Palmer; a daughter-in-law, Doreen Burke, and siblings Jim (Jan) Treiber, Fern (Kendall) Sexton, Arlene Cameron, Louis (Mary) Treiber, and Jane (Richard) Uhl.
Charles Joseph Uhl, 89, passed away. He entered the army in September 1942 during World War II. He was in Japan for the signing of the Armistice. He was honorably discharged with a rank of Tech. 4 Sgt. He was an honorable member of the Knights of Columbus. In addition to his wife Irene, he was survived by his 5 children, Maurice (Judy) Uhl, Dr. Marilyn (Richard) Chalupa, Michael (Bonnie) Uhl, and Marc (Jolene) Uhl, Marcene (Rick) McBride; 10 grandchildren and step grandchildren; a sister, Helen (Leo) Weber; and a brother, Leo (Martha) Uhl.
Joan Hoagland, 49, passed away at her home in the presence of her loving husband, daughters, and sisters. She fought a courageous 2 1/2 year battle against breast cancer. She worked for Maple Valley Elementary School as a 3rd grade teacher for the past 9 years. She loved her annual summer trips to Okoboji with “the girls” going on boat rides and pretending to be young. She loved her shopping trips with her sisters and friends. She also enjoyed creating scrapbooks. She was survived by her husband, David Hoagland; her daughters, Katie and Laura; her siblings Nancy (Bob) Monroe, Brian (Susan) Kloberdanz, and Dianne (Bill) Klinker; her mother-in-law, Phyllis Franken; her brother-in-law, Gregg (Sherri) Hoagland; and her brother-in-law, Barry Hoagland.
Lloyd James Cronin, age 92, of Holstein, passed away. He was a member the Danbury Knights of Columbus Council #2839 for which he received his 50 year membership pin. He was past commander of the Holstein American Legion, past county commander of the American Legion, and spent countless hours in service to the Holstein American Legion Dessel-Schmidt Post 225. He was chosen to participate in the inaugural Siouxland Honor Flight to visit the WW II Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Survivors included his wife of 61 years, Germaine; children: Jim (Judy) Cronin, Jack Cronin, Alice (Lyle) Wittrock, Anita (Mike) Radke, Joe (Peg) Cronin, Janet (Steve) Witt, and Laura (Tom) Kofmehl; 22 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, a sister, Mary (Bob) Mai; a brother, Francis (Norma) Cronin; sisters-in-law Merlyn Cronin, Paula Cronin, Joan Cronin, Marvel (Mert) Pick, and Lorna Majeres, brother-in-law Milo (Margaret) Krogman, many nieces and nephews, and many special friends at the Good Samaritan Society of Holstein.
Those Who Celebrated Special Occasions
Butch and Kay Wessling celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Janet Pithan turned 50 years old.
Jeff Bruning celebrated his 18th birthday.
Christina Assam celebrated her First Holy Communion.
Other Local News
AOMV April Hawks of the Month were Kalli Weber, Jamie Plautz, TessaRayevich, Allie Dose, Karly Treiber, and Shawn Flanigan.
MVAO Girls Golf returning letterwinners were Alli Kirchgatter, Brittany Hesse, Abby McGrain, Brittany Hermsen, and Rebekah Benson.
MVAO Boys Golf returning letterwinners were Josh Boyer, Joey Collins, Shawn Pederson, and Alex Clausen.
MVAO Boys Track returning letterwinners were Eric Koithan, Tim Dougherty, Rick Maynard, Justin Hazard, Michael Sexton, Trevor Forch, Ben Koithan, Ethan Heinse, Chris Oberg, Brady Wright, Brandon Burkhart, and Bryon Utterback.
A bridal shower was held to honor Bree Kaser, bride-elect of Chris Yockey.
A large crowd enjoyed a heavenly shopping experience at the Danbury Catholic Gym as the Nuns on the Run hosted their third annual Heavenly Experience Ladies Morning Out event. The doors opened with plenty of time for shopping, wine and food tasting, and blood pressure checks. As the clock ticked closer to noon, the attendees enjoyed a luncheon. The Nuns entertained the crowd with some of their musical selections while the audience enjoyed their dessert. The stage cleared of the ladies dressed in black, and out came the guest speaker, Lisa Gunderson, a humorous motivational speaker.
MVAO Choir solo/ensemble entrants were AllyJo Lloyd, Elizabeth Sturgeon, Laura Maynard, Micah Vice, Jessica Voigt, Tari Kay Schauer, Ashley Clausen, Maura Matney, Nicole Boysen, Andrea Bruning, and Alicia Adkins.
MVAO band solo/ensemble entrants were Dylan Baley, Jillian Rhode, Zach Schoenfeld, Elizabeth Sturgeon, Ashley Clausen, Beth Weber, Augusta Nixon, Amber VanCleave, Paige Wright, Justin Buth, Rebekah Sturgeon, Tari Kay Schauer, Amanda Nelson, Aleesha Porter, Jessica Voigt and Jeff Bridgeman.
Danbury's clean up day was held. Instead of CHN picking up items which are normally not allowed or which exceed your normal garbage can's volume, they placed a dumpster at the maintenance shed on Second Street.
Nineteen MVAO students competed as 3 teams at the State Destination Imagination Tournament. The Middle School team of Madyson Hinkle, Sean Keiner, Alexa Lloyd, Laura Perez, Jordan Trucke, Ellie Walsh and Luke Whitney placed 6th in the Middle School Division of their challenge. The High School team of Anna Duncan, Becca Herwig, Ethan Lloyd, Hailey Morgan and Kalli Weber secured 6th place in the High School Division of their challenge. The Middle School team of Logan Buth, Morgan Hart, Bryce Hatler, Josh Hatler, Matthew Jepsen, Jacob Miller and Todd Sherrill secured 1st place in the Middle School Division and earned the right to compete in the Global Finals of Destination Imagination.
The First State Bank Board of Directors announced that longtime board member Linda Boerner advanced from her role as vice chairman and is now Chairman of the Board. After holding the position of Chairman for more than 20 years, Boerner’s father, Richard Bogue had chosen to step down.
Thirteen students from AOMV Middle School took part in a speech contest sponsored by Modern Woodmen of America. The winners were Autumn Peterson, daughter of Jana and Craig Peterson, first place; Morgan Hart, daughter of Michelle and Chris Hart, second place; and Morgan Koenigs, daughter of Carol and Jerry Koenigs, third place. Gold award pins were given to Anna Duncan, Kelli Schram, Kevin Bruning, and Adam Uhl.
A bridal shower was held to honor Carrie Ortner, bride-elect of Steven Dibelka.
The Maple Valley School District held its annual bus driver’s safety meeting and dinner. Bus drivers were Dan Cooper, Carl Barber, Al Strack, Kirk Bollig, Jerry Bumstead, Denny Weber, Laura Scott, Kathy Parr, Ben Pickel, and Les Goslar.
It was a pretty nice morning for early April at the Danbury Rec Center grounds. The wind was minimum, the sun was maximum, and the smiles were endless as the Easter Egg Hunt was held. The children were greeted by the Easter Bunny himself who gave hugs, high fives, and candy to children brave enough to visit him. At the starting sound, around 80 children aged 10 and under scattered to their respective hunting grounds to pick up plastic eggs filled with stickers, tattoos, candy and coins, and stuffed animal and inflated bunny rabbits. Each child also received a plastic cup filled with treasures to take home and enjoy.
The Most Reverend R. Walker Nickless, Bishop of the Sioux City Diocese announced the recipients of the 2009 Bishop’s Scholarship. Jeff Bruning and John Engler were this year’s winners. Bruning is the son of Sharyl and Dave Bruning.
Easter Break this school year was followed by another week-long break for the children at Danbury Catholic. While the kids enjoyed some time off, their teachers and the administration traveled to Anaheim, CA, for the National Catholic Education Association Convention.
David and Linda Colbert announced the engagement and upcoming marriage of their son, Jason Gerald Colbert to Krystal Amelia Beed, daughter of Duane and Lisa Beed.
Tom Barry, Danbury's Memorial Day Service coordinator for 40+ years, announced that he retired from the job this year.
Lyn Creswell and Dr. Meyer spent time in Tanzania on a medical mission. From this mission Lyn brought back many memories and a great story of her experience. She told her story at Danbury United Methodist Church during their worship hour. Along with her story, Lyn presented a video and some articles which she purchased in Tanzania.
Teresa Smith and Dana Flint joined forces to combine teaching life skills and giving kids a fun place to hang out locally. The former C&R Video was transformed into an oasis for children. Tanning and balloon bouquets were offered to purchase, and a number of arcade games were ready to play for a nominal fee. Beginning June 1st, a summer program would begin for children ages 6-13.
The Anthon Oto-Maple Valley Large Group Contest was held. The AOMV 7th/8th grade band scored a 1+, while the AOMV 6th grade band received a 1.
Erin Schrunk, a 2005 graduate of Spirit Lake High School, was admitted for fall semster of 2009 to Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa. Erin was enrolled as an honors student at the University of Northern Iowa majoring in biology with a biomedical honors research emphasis and a minor in chemistry. Erin is the daughter of Michael and Sharon Schrunk and the granddaughter of Deloris “Tenor” and the late Richard Schrunk and the late Bill and Virginia Forbes.
A small forest erupted at the north end of the city park. Around 40 volunteers spent a couple hours planting between 250 and 300 trees, transforming the section into a forest of fence posts with twigs growing beside them. Eventually the posts will be removed, leaving young trees to grow in a row. The tree planting party was under the direction of Danbury's tree-lover, Jim Twitchell. This was the third major tree-planting Twitch has conducted, the first being in 1985. While 300 trees were purchased for this year's party, not quite that many were planted because of space constrictions. Had the 300th tree been planted, Twitch would have celebrated the 1,000th tree planted under his direction.
Monona County 4-Hers had a successful year in their fruit sales, and with the help of area supporters, over $24,000.00 worth of fresh fruit was sold. Jamie Plautz was the second top salesperson with $1,109. Jamie is a member of the Mapleton Starspinners and daughter of Amanda and Brian Plautz.
Danbury Catholic 5th and 6th graders participated in a Famous Women in History Speech Contest. The first place winner was Kendra Sexton, summarizing Anne Frank's life. Shayla Brown took second place with her presentation on Juliette Gordon Low.
The Mapleton Zone [LWML] Spring Rally was held at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ida Grove with 94 in attendance. The speaker was Carole White, who serves as Vice President for the Lutheran Church Extension Fund for Iowa District West and East.
Siouxland Urology Center in Dakota Dunes was cited by the South Dakota Department of Health for a concern involving a procedural practice for routine cystoscopies. The concern involved the use of a bag of irrigation and tubing being used for multiple patients, raising the possibility of contamination between patients. This procedural practice had since been discontinued at the Center, and irrigation and tubing was now used only once on a single patient and then is discarded. Several of the news releases inferred that this practice was also occurring at outreach clinics of Siouxland Urology Center. Horn Memorial Hospital is an outreach clinic for Siouxland Urology Center. They assured their patients that it has always been the practice at Horn Memorial to use irrigation and tubing on one patient only, discarding all fluid and tubing after each procedure.
Several members from the Maple Valley FFA Chapter and their advisor attended the 81st Iowa State FFA Conference. Jeff Bruning received gold and placed 3rd overall in Ag. Broadcasting. Rebekah Benson received a proficiency award, and a Reporter Award which was a gold. The Maple Valley FFA Chapter as a whole received the ambassador award as a sponsor.
Danbury Catholic Preschool’s Destination Preschool Day was held at Danbury Catholic Elementary School.
MVAO Girls Track returning letterwinners were Steph Allen, Laura Maynard, Alli Kirchgatter, Janna Dose, Jessica Hinrickson, Nadine Lundgren, Becca Wilson, Adrienne Elmquist, Andrea Bernard, Avery Nepper, Megan Drenkhahn, Maddie Walsh, Sam Paulsen, Paisley Conlon, Andrea Bruning, and Katie Burkhart.
Students from the piano studio of Crista Else presented their spring piano recital at the MVAO High School music room.
Ruth Schmidt returned to her home after rehabilitating at Willow Dale Wellness Village.
The Knights of Columbus held their annual spelling bee at Danbury Catholic School. First place winners were Shayla Brown, Danielle Ortner, and Talon Brown. Second place winners were Ali Boysen, Maggie Rosburg, and Brad Ortner.
Alice Boysen returned to her home after rehabilitating at Willow Dale Wellness Village.
The Danbury Catholic fifth and sixth graders were visited by Barb Benson from Woodbury County Conservation.
Anthon held their citywide garage sales.
Maple Valley and Anthon Oto Elementary Students joined with thousands of schools, libraries and community groups nationwide to encourage millions of Americans to turn off their TV sets for a week. TV-Turnoff Week is a chance to turn off the TV and turn on life, to read, converse, think, create and do.
The women of St. John’s United Methodist Church held their annual salad luncheon in the Fellowship Hall.
The annual National Honor Society/Gold Club banquet was held. New NHS members were Brittany Hesse, Rebekah Benson, Shelby Wessling, Elizabeth Sturgeon, Laura Maynard, Tim Dougherty, Derek Brown, Zach Schoenfeld, Jeff Bruning, Jamie Rusch, Brittany Hermsen, Maggie Koenigs, Nadine Lundgren, and Alli Kirchgatter.
The Merry Murders at Montmarie was presented by Maple Valley-Anthon Oto High School students. The play, directed by Miss Jessica Rabe, was enjoyed by family and friends alike. Cast members were Eric Koithan, Laura Maynard, Megan Weber, Kristi Crilly, Tim Dougherty, Maddie Walsh, Maura Matney, Cassidy Bieler, Lynsey Seuntjens, Jamie Rusch, Ashley Clausen, Ally Jo Lloyd, Jessica Hinrickson, Andrea Bruning, Avery Nepper, Sophie Grabbert, Chris Oberg, Jeff Bruning, Adrienne Elmquist, Shelby Wessling, Sam Hanson, Rick Maynard, Ethan Lloyd, Rebekah Sturgeon, and Elizabeth Sturgeon. Tech crew members were Brandi Kerns, Maggie Koenigs, Jake Haworth, and Jeff Bridgeman.
James Sorenson returned to his home after rehabilitating at Willow Dale Wellness Village.
World Events
When asked by pageant judge Perez Hilton whether she believed in gay marriage, Miss California and Miss USA runner-up Carrie Prejean started what was to become months of celebrity gossip melee that included all the proper ingredients: lawsuits, tears, scandalous photos, an unreleased sex tape and a request for returned breast implants.
Singer/songwriter Vern Gosdin died. His hits include "Set 'Em Up Joe" and "Chiseled in Stone." He was 74.
Grammy-nominated gospel singer Rev. Timothy Wright died at the age of 61. He was critically injured in a car crash that killed his wife and grandson.
Golden Girl, Maude and all-around comic genius Bea Arthur, died. She was 86.
Sweden became the fifth European country to legalize same-sex marriage. The other countries with the same rights were The Netherlands, Norway, Belgium and Spain.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy of France said he would take Guant‡namo Bay detainees if necessary to close the prison.
North Korea launched a rocket in defiance of world leaders and resolutions from the United States, China, and the U.N. North Korea claimed the rocket launch was an effort to shoot a satellite into space, though most assumed it was actually an effort to demonstrate the country's capability to deploy long-range missiles.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck central Italy, killing at least 235 people with many still missing and leaving 17,000 people homeless. The town of L'Aquila was the epicenter of the earthquake, but as many as 26 towns were reportedly affected.
In the NCAA men's basketball tournament final, the North Carolina Tar Heels cruised to victory against the Michigan State Spartans. The final score was 89Ð72.
The Iowa Supreme Court unanimously rejected a state law banning same-sex marriage. Iowa would be the third state to allow same-sex marriages, after Massachusetts and Connecticut. California recently passed a similar measure, only to have a constitutional amendment disallowing same-sex marriage approved by voters in Nov. 2008.
Vermont became the fourth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage. The legislature voted to override Governor Jim Douglas's veto of a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry, nine years after the state became the first in the nation to allow civil unions.
In the final game of the women's NCAA basketball tournament, Connecticut beat Louisville 76Ð54. The University of Connecticut was undefeated for the season. This was their sixth national title.
For the first time, an American vessel was hijacked by Somali pirates off the Horn of Africa. Pirates took the ship's captain, Richard Phillips, hostage. The ship, the Maersk Alabama, was carrying food and other aid products for the World Food Program. U.S. Navy SEAL snipers killed three pirates and freed Capt. Richard Phillips, ending the five-day ordeal in the Indian Ocean.
General Motors announced it would cut 23,000 jobs by 2011, drop the Pontiac brand next year, and cut its dealer network by 40%. GM was taking these steps in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy.
Argentina's çngel Cabrera won the Masters golf tournament in a three-way playoff against Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry.
The swine flu in the U.S. claimed its first victim, a 22-month-old Mexican child visiting Texas with family. There were 91 cases of swine flu in the U.S., spread across 10 states. Several schools across the nation closed in an attempt to isolate those who were infected.
Senator Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania) announced he would run as a Democrat in the 2010 elections. A Republic senator for 29 years, Specter was known for his moderate views, often breaking from the party line.
After 19 years, Justice David H. Souter was retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court when the current term endedin June.
Student loan lender Sallie Mae announced it would be bringing 2,000 jobs currently overseas back to the United States. The lender planned to shift some of its overseas call centers, plus other technology positions, to U.S. locations.
David B. Kellermann, the chief financial officer at floundering mortgage giant Freddie Mac, hanged himself.
Struggling auto company Chrysler, the third largest in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy protection while entering into a partnership agreement with Fiat. It was the first time since 1933 that an American automaker was forced to restructure under bankruptcy protection.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 539,000 jobs were lost in April 2009, and unemployment hit 8.9%. Though both numbers were dreadfully high, they were slightly better than expected, leading experts to believe that the recession is nearing its end.
American adult film actor Marilyn Chambers was an adult film star and former Ivory Snow soap model. She was found dead from a cerebral hemorrhage and aneurysm related to heart disease in her home. She was 56.
The swine flu killed at least 150 people in Mexico, most likely the epicenter of the worldwide outbreak. Government officials outlawed gatherings of large groups of people in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus. Schools, churches, and stadiums were closed.
A Dutchman drove his car into a crowd of people, including Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, during a festival, leaving five dead. A dozen others were wounded. The man admitted he was trying to kill the royal family. He later died of injuries sustained in the crash.
Nick Adenhart #34 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim was killed in a car accident. He was 22.
Those Welcomed Into This World
Caden Christopher Maynard was born toTiffany and Chris Maynard, the firstborn for the couple. His grandparents Joanne and Mark Maynard and Joann and Tim Treiber. His great grandparents are Nora Flanigan and Ann and Joe Langenfeld.
Those Who Departed This World
Rosina Elizabeth Schimmer Corum died at her son's home in Southern California. Rosina was born the ninth child to Henry and Katherine (Erlemeier) Schimmer in the family home at Danbury. She was survived by her son Kenneth, and her sister Loretta Landrum.
Roger James Bjorholm, 49, of Marble Falls, TX, passed away at his residence. Roger was a press operator for the Montrose Daily Press from 2002 until 2007. He then was employed at Highland Publishing Company at Marble Falls. Family members left to remember Roger included his wife, Renee Clough-Bjorholm; his mother, Annetta Bjorholm; 2 daughters, Sr. Airman Erica Renee Bridges and husband SSGT John Bridges, and Dana Jeanne Gabbard and husband Josh Gabbard; a son, Jon Merriman; 4 brothers, Leo Bjorholm, Tom Bjorholm, Larry Bjorholm, and Neil Bjorholm; and 2 grandchildren.
Nevada L. Hinrickson, 60, passed away at her home in Danbury. She enjoyed painting and making afghans for her family and friends. She loved nature, camping, fishing, and watching after her plants and her “best friend”, Skeeter, her little dog. Those left to treasure her memory included her husband, Andrew Hinrickson; grandson, Dustin Ladd; children Charles Mills, Valarie Ladd, Dudley Ladd, Oliver Ladd, Jason Ladd, Tim Ladd, and Trixie Ladd; step children, Clyde, Maria, Steven, Mark, Brian, and Candy Hinrickson; grandchildren and great grandchildren; 3 brothers, Larry Mills, Walt Mills, and Marnard Mills; and a sister, Alice Crudaugh.
Carl A. Mohrhauser, 78, died. By profession, he was a carpenter and worked his entire career for various companies in the Mapleton area. Carl was a 50 year member of the American Legion Loren Hollister Post #496. He enjoyed reading, fishing, doing word searches, and working in his carpenter shop. He also enjoyed giving away the numerous items he made. Survivors left to cherish his memory included 2 daughters, LuAnn (Rick) Vogel and Karla (John) Butterbaugh; 4 grandchildren; 2 sisters, Arleen Hinrickson and Anna Marie Streeter; several nieces and nephews; along with devoted friend, Mark Lorenzen.
Those Who Celebrated Special Occasions
Chris Flannery, Mikayla Lansink, Maggie Rosburg, Kendra Sexton, and Danielle Ortner made their way through sixth grade at Danbury Catholic and would be moving up to seventh grade at AOMV next year.
Chuck Swanger celebrated his 80th birthday.
At Morningside College's commencement, Preston Pierce was recognized with the Dean’s Award in Professional Services and Influence. He received his Bachelor of Science degree and graduated Summa Cum Laude. Katie Hoaglund received her Bachelor of Science degree and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Kristina McGrain graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree. Samantha Silva received her Bachelor of Science degree. Nick Varner received his degree. Lisa Cunningham, Krista Elmquist, and Cathy Heizelman received their Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degrees.
At Iowa State University's spring commencement ceremonies, Matthew Dirksen received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business and graduated Magna Cum Laude; Timothy Chwirka received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science; Daniel Hair received his Bachelor of Science degree cum laude in Agricultural Studies as an Agronomy major; Megan Venteicher received her Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business where she majored in Economics; Nicholas Petersen received his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology; Jared Bruhn received his Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science and graduated Magna Cum Laude; Carrie Dirksen received her Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction; and Adam Ebert received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business where he majored in International Agriculture.
At Iowa Lakes Community College's commencement, Justin Maynard received his Associate degree in Applied Science, Farm Equipment, and Diesel Technology; and Jason Bumsted received his Associate degree in Applied Science, Wind Energy and Turbine Technology.
Seventy-seven seniors graduated from Maple Valley-Anthon Oto. The senior address was given by Laura Maynard. Head ushers were Tim Dougherty and Avery Nepper. The other ushers were Kelby Bruhn, Whitney Dose, Adrienne Elmquist, Ethan Heinse, Katie Longlee, and Rick Maynard.
Des Moines University (DMU) awarded Zane Patrick Forbes of Correctionville a D.O. degree. He is the son of Bill and Bonnie Forbes.
Sarah Watkins, daughter of Ben and Anita Watkins and granddaughter to Wilma and the late Norman Clausen and Jim and Betty Watkins, graduated with honors from Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls. She would be attending Minnesota State University, Mankato, in the fall. She would be majoring in Social Work.
Four second graders from Danbury Catholic School received their First Holy Communion. The students spent the school year learning about the Catholic Mass and the Eucharist before receiving the sacrament. The sr\tudents, taught by Mrs. Lisa Bruning, were Cameron Boyle, Amanda Grell, Brooke Boyle, and Adam Plautz.
Cousins Katelyn and Amy Boyle shared their commencement spotlight at Iowa State University. Katelyn is the daughter of Dick and Kelli Boyle. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing. Amy is the daughter of Mark and Marilyn Boyle. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies with a minor in Advertising.
Other Local News
A book about Castana by California author and journalist David Wilk was available to purchase from the Castana 76’ers women’s club. Only 100 copies were printed.
The Anthon Oto Elementary spring program was held. This year's program was entitled "Lights! Camera! Action!". It was a musical revue about movies and the famous characters that are in them. There were songs from movies and musicals.
Kallie Clausen was named to the Presidents Honor Roll at Iowa Western Community College. She is the daughter of Jackie and the late Paul Clausen and the granddaughter of Wilma and the late Norman Clausen and Babe and the late Tom Halterman. Kallie Completed her first year in the Sign Language Interpreter program.
St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Mapleton held a bake sale at Valley Bank in Mapleton.
A strange - or maybe not so strange - epidemic was invading the alleys of downtown Danbury, and a cure needed to be found. Garbage carts - the lovely green garbage cans furnished by CHN - had been "mysteriously" disappearing from various locations in town. While "borrowing" garbage carts for entertainment or personal use may seem relatively innocent, it is, indeed, theft and does cause problems with the victims who no longer have a container in which to dispose their garbage. The city was also cracking down on offenders who are using the city dumpsters for their own personal use. Because of the abuse of the dumpsters, the city was forced to place a lock on the one at Dana Hall, and the two at the park were being monitored to determined if they, too, need to be locked.
Willow Dale Wellness Village celebrated its 40th Anniversary. As a kick-off to this year-long celebration, Willow Dale Wellness Village hosted numerous activities throughout National Nursing Home Week to raise awareness of long-term care, and to honor residents, as well as their families, staff, volunteers and the community.
Missouri River Historical Development, Inc. (MRHD) awarded Danbury Ambulance Service a grant for $3,437.58 to replace furniture and equipment which the service lost in November when a water break flooded the building. It had turned out that the insurance coverage which both the ambulance department and the city council thought was covering the ambulance department's belongings was indeed only for the physical ambulance. Therefore, nothing that the ambulance owned was included in the insurance claim that the city had received, and the ambulance department needed to pay for the replacements.
A walkathon to help raise funds to fight Cystic Fibrosis was held at the AOMV Middle School.
Megan Wimmer, daughter of Brenda and Dale Wimmer of Mapleton, donated two 10" ponytails to Locks of Love.
Shawn Pederson was named to the first team all conference golf team. Named to the second team was Joey Collins and Josh Trucke.
Alan Johnson joined Barry Motor Co. as their New & Used Car/Truck Salesman. Alan formerly worked at Steineke Ford in Holstein. He had 24 years experience.
The Maple Valley FFA Banquet was held. New officers were Paige Wright, Megan Wimmer, Brittany Weber, Rebekah Benson, Maddie Walsh, Beth Weber, Nate Clausen, Augusta Nixon, and Paisley Conlon.
AOMV May Hawks of the Month were Amber Jacoby, Hannah Sadler, Toni Kafton, Brandee Petersen, Logan Buth, and Mollie McKibben.
Carlson Frum Post hosted their annual Memorial Day program to remember those veterans who took time from their daily lives to defend our country and fight for freedom. The morning began as the color guard and other available veterans held a 21-gun salute with Taps by Megan Doty in the Danbury cemeteries. The crowd then proceded to Dana Hall where Chaplin Bill Durst began the program with a prayer. Musical selections were performed by the MVAO High School Band and by Bob Barry during the program. Leon Ortner read the roll call of the dead members of Carlson Frum Post. The keynote speaker was Pastor Len Garrisen, pastor at Danbury United Methodist Church. The morning closed with the benediction by Chaplin Durst.
The Siouxland Community Blood Bank has named the 2009 Gift of Life Educational Scholarship Program recipient from Battle Creek-Ida Grove High School and from Maple Valley-Anthon Oto High School. Recipients were Dennis Groth, son of Roger and Phyllis Groth, and Alex Drea, daughter of Greg and Amy Drea.
The West Des Moines Valley Band’s Spring Fling Wing Ding was a very special, one time event in honor of Sue Kruse, a very devoted and longtime friend of the WDMV bands. Susan was the daughter of Clair and Tootie Seuntjens.
Numerous residents awoke on Friday to discover that there had been some mischief in town overnight. Graffiti was found on the back of Dana Hall and on traffic signs, and personal property was taken from a few yards.
The Rams stampeded into the district track meet, and 9 of the team members advanced to the state track meet. The boys distance medley team of Chris Oberg, Michael Sexton, Ethan Heinse, and Eric Koithan qualified with a time of 3:43.47. Their alternates are Bryon Utterback and Justin Hazard. Freshman Lindsey Brown earned a trip to the state meet in the 800 M run with a time of 2:32.48. The girls 4x800 relay team of Andrea Bernard, Lindsey Brown, Maddie Walsh, and Adrienne Elmquist and alternate Vika Hesse will run again, this time at state with their qualifying time of 10:09.08. Senior Laura Maynard will compete at state one last time. She qualified in the shot put with her distance of 35' 1." At the state meet, the MVAO Distance Medley team of Chris Oberg, Michael Sexton, Ethan Heinse, and Eric Koithan set a new school record while placing 9th overall..
The following AOMV students earned the Presidential Physicaly Fitness Award during the annual testing during their physical education classes: Cierra Boyer, Alexis Boyle, Becca Herwig, Lindsey Conlon, Morgan Koenigs, Hailey Morgan, Kelsey Morgan, Kalli Weber, Autumn Petersen, Charlie Spatz, Ashlynn Whiley, Danica Kafton, Derrik Kerns, Austin Hazard, Colton Frye, Marina Lacey, Alyssa Scott, Ellie Walsh, Shawn Flanigan, and Morgan Lewis.
An open bridal brown bag shower was held for Andy Boyle and Jennifer Kilker.
The Anthon Oto-Maple Valley Middle School Spring Concert was held.
The Maple Valley Elementary spring program was held. This year's program was entitled "Lights! Camera! Action!".
Many kids from Maple Valley Anthon Oto High School rode their tractors in to school. People lined the streets taking pictures as the tractors cruised the loop. It was even on the radio on 105.7! They didn’t know for sure what Tractor Day was all about, but they dedicated the song “International Harvester” to the students anyway. There was a little rivalry going on between the kids driving the Internationals and the John Deeres, whose tractor was worth more, and whose was the biggest. But, no matter what color, how much the tractors cost or how big they were, everyone had a great time and are looking forward to doing it again next year.
Danbury city council members approved the purchase of a couple surveillance cameras which could be moved around to record the goings on during the day and at night. These cameras would be small enough and moved around enough that people doing mischievous deeds (vandalizing, using public dumpsters, urinating in locations other than toilets, etc.) would not know where they are, but the cameras would have the quality required to identify someone if needed.
The American Legion Auxiliary Unit #336 in Danbury distributed veteran-made, handcrafted memorial poppies in exchange for a free-will contribution. The money collected for poppy distributions went directly to rehabilitation of veterans honorably discharged from service, for the welfare for the families of these same veterans, for rehabilitation of hospitalized servicemen and women awaiting discharge who require treatment in service hospitals.
The Destructive Implosion Destination Imagination team consisting of Todd Sherrill, Jacob Miller, Matt Jepsen, Josh Hatler, Bryce Hatler, Morgan Hart, and Logan Buth along with Team Manager Lynn Buth, TAG Instructor Ann Cox, and mom Michelle Hart logged over 2,200 miles (per van) during their trip to the Global Finals in Knoxville, TN. The experience was very amazing, and everyone came home with some great memories. The team placed 9th in their instant challenge and 30th overall.
Kristina McGrain, daughter of Trudy and Ron McGrain, was named a Dimmitt Scholar at Morningside College.
The popcorn popper which had been been well used downtown before migrating to the little league concession stand, lived a long, hard life, but the poor gears inside could not handle one more year of making, what many believe, the best popcorn in little league. It was replaced by a much smaller popper.
For decades Tom Barry took charge of the Carlson-Frum Legion Post's Memorial service. He made sure the flags were set up at the cemetery, found a speaker for the program, and ensured the usual participants were available for the big day. A couple months ago, Tom announced that he would no longer command the program. At this year's program, on behalf of the Carlson-Frum Post #336, Chaplin Bill Durst presented Tom with a plaque thanking him for his dedication to the community and to the legion. Along with tending to the Memorial Day event, Barry has been very involved in his community as mayor and as a member of a number of committees and volunteer.
The cream building between Twitchell Electric's brown building and the post office came to a crashing end as it was demolished. It was replaced with black dirt, but eventually grass will cover this land.
The last day of school has traditionally been an afternoon of fun and field events at the high school track for the Maple Valley Elementary students. This year, instead of plunging into the fun and games, the students were joined by family and friends of the late Joan Hoaglund. In memory of this teacher who passed away from cancer earlier this year, participants were led by her third grade class, husband Dave, and daughters Katie and Laura around the track.
Returning MVAO Baseball letterwinners were Riley McDonald, Kalvin Hinrickson, Tim Dougherty, Chris Oberg, Brandon Burkhart, Adam Kuhl, Joey Flanigan, and Michael Sexton.
Returning MVAO Softball letterwinners were Lynsey Seuntjens, Kristi Crilly, Adrienne Elquist, Steph Allen, Alli Kirchgatter, Janna Dose, Steph Petersen, Becca Wilson, Brittany Hesse, Alyssa Sulsberger, Sara Brouillette, Lindsey Brown, and Brittany Hermsen.
Among the students named as Roadman Scholars at Morningside College were Katie Hoaglund, daughter of Dave and the late Joan Hoaglund, and Preston Pierce, son of Pat and Sharon Pierce.
Named to the Dean's List at Iowa State University were Daniel Hair, Cody Volkmann, Jessica Bruning, Wade Sohm, and Kristen Westergaard.
Tim Chwirka, spent part of his summer as an intern in the Washington office of Iowa Congressman Tom Latham. Chwirka was a recent graduate from Iowa State University with a degree in political science.
The top Accelerated Readers at Maple Valley Elementary were Tyler Gunlogson, Tristian Wunschel, Adam Ehlers, Alicia Beem, Amanda Grell, Sophia Merchant, Cedric Cogdill, Michael Swanson, Kyle Drees, and Katy Krohn.
Visitors to the Danbury cemeteries may have noticed some relatively new additions at each entrance. The Nuns on the Run made a donation to the cemetery board to purchase signs to mark each entrance. These signs can be used when Mary Ann Sohm needs to guide a genealogist to the proper section of a cemetery or Welte Vault to a location where a new burial would occur.
AOMV perfect attendance awards went to Kevin Bruning, Derek Kollbaum, Kayla Morgan, Katie Samuelson, Glen Hanson, Josh Hatler, and Todd Sherrill. Excellent attendance was awarded to Jacob Dolezal, Jon Pickel, Frankie Hopkins, Sara Utterback, Ashley Kollbaum, Kelsey Morgan, and Alyssa Dose.
The National FFA Organization awarded a $1,000 Dodge Trucks scholarship to Jeffrey Bruning of Maple Valley FFA. Jeff plans to use the funds to pursue a degree at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City. He is the son of Sharyl and Dave Bruning.
Eighth grade writing contest winners were recognized.The first contest was called River of Words. Ashley Kollbaum won this contest. Her poem was displayed at the Cedar Rapids Art Museum, and Kollbaum was invited to attend a ceremony honoring the winners. The second contest was sponsored by the National Council of the Teachers of English. Morgan Koenigs was the selected winner. The third contest was for the local Harvest magazine published by the Area Education Agency. Three students’ writings were published: Hailey Morgan, Kalli Weber and Marah Lugsch-Long. The fourth and fifth contests consisted of writing poetry to be published into books. One of the books was called “Anthology of Poetry” in which Kelsey Morgan, Autumn Peterson and Ashley Van Cleave had their poems selected to be published. The other book was the “Celebrate-Young Poets Speak Out” in which the following students’ poetry were selected to be published in this annual book: Cierra Boyer, Kayla Bruhn, Joel Ernst, Marcus Eyer, Darbie Hancock, Amy Matney, Kelsey Morgan, Kayla Perkins, Brandee Petersen, Autumn Peterson, Trevor Silva, Charlie Spatz, David Templeton, Amanda Thies, and Jackie Westphal.
The MVAO High School Music Department, under the direction of Brian Smeltzer and Dennis Freking, presented their Spring Awards Concert. The program included performances by the concert choir, concert band, chamber choir and jazz choir. Also, awards were given to students and groups for their accomplishments throughout the school year. Band letterwinners were Ted Hanson, Ashley Clausen, Beth Weber, Augusta Nixon, Amber VanCleave, Paige Wright, Rebekah Sturgeon, Jamie Rusch, Jon Wimmer, Amanda Nelson, Ally Jo Lloyd, Aleesha Porter, Laura Maynard, Bryan Livermore, Lindsey Brown, Tari Kay Schauer, Jessica Voigt, Jillian Rhode, Jeff Bridgeman, Brent Gigaroa, Zach Schoenfeld, Elizabeth Sturgeon, and Shelby Wessling. Choir letterwinners were Aleisha Berry, Kristi Crilly, Ally Jo Lloyd, Kassandra Deeds, Joel Barry, Sam Hanson, Kris Rockdaschel, Ethan Trucke, Jeff Bridegeman, Micah Vice, Junior Reyes-Searls, Heather Morgan, Stephanie Jessen, Molly Tullis, Sam Timmerman, Megan Daws, Amanda Nelson, Jessica Hinrickson, Molly Rosauer, Laura Maynard, Becca Marsh, Brianne Rickert, Rachel Clancy, Sophie Grabbert, Shelby Wessling, Elizabeth Sturgeon, Megan Weber, Ashley Clausen, Emily Larson, Jamie Rusch, Tim Dougherty, Rick Maynard, Alicia Adkins, Kristina Dolezal, Jenny Seuntjens, Lindsey Brown, Tari Kay Schauer, Maura Matney, Melanie Boysen, Halie Edgington, Beau Wolfe, Ethan Lloyd, Nicole Boysen, Brittany Hesse, Liz Harkins, Lynsey Seuntjens, Augusta Nixon, Rebekah Benson, Eric Koithan, Curtis Timmerman, and Andrea Bruning. Outstanding band members were Ethan Lloyd, Lindsey Brown, Beth Weber, Augusta Nixon, Rebekah Sturgeon, Jamie Rusch, Bryan Livermore, and Laura Maynard. Elizabeth Sturgeon and Bryan Livermore received high honors. Outstanding choir members were Rick Maynard, Andrea Bruning, Nicole Boysen, Laura Maynard, Molly Tullis, and Sam Hanson.
Even when Joan Hoaglund was sick with cancer, she kept an upbeat tone and worried about her family. When she was hospitalized, she expressed her concern about her home's roof to MVAO shop teacher Dennis Miller. Miller had the knowledge and desire to lead a crew onto the Hoaglund roof and fulfill Joan's wish of reshingling. After her death on April 18th, Miller discussed his plan to school staff who were very open to climbing on a roof and helping out the Hoaglunds. Over the weekend, a crew of school staff, family members, and friends turned this shingling task into a weekend project. Thanks to their caring, Joan's wish was granted.
World Events
Slumdog Millionaire, the little film that could, may have cleaned up at the Academy Awards, but it wasn't a fairy tale ending for everyone involved. In May, the shanties of child actors Azharuddin Ismail and Rubiana Ali were demolished as apart of slum clearance by the Civic Authorities in Central Mumbai.
The TLC reality TV series 'Jon & Kate Plus 8' started innocent enough, but over the course of a year, off-air plot lines such as divorce proceedings, new girlfriends and money squabbles took the couple from to endearing to unbearable.
Jay Leno took his final bow at the end of his 17-year-long run as host of The Tonight Show in May, only to return to the air in September with The Jay Leno Show.
Basketball player turned musician Wayman Tisdale lost his battle with cancer. He was 44. Tisdale starred at Oklahoma before heading to the NBA for 12 seasons with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns.
Legendary NBA coach Chuck Daly died at the age of 78. Daly coached the Dream Team to the Olympic gold medal in 1992 after winning back-to-back NBA championships with the Pistons.
Former Olympic snowboarder Karine Ruby died during a climbing accident on Mont Blanc. She was 31.
Former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun jumped to his death while hiking. Mired in a corruption scandal threatening to tarnish his image, the politician was 62.
An American soldier being treated at a counseling center in Baghdad killed 5 fellow servicemen. The shooter, Sgt. John M. Russell, was serving his third tour in Iraq and had been ordered to undergo psychological counseling and relinquish his gun. The shooting occurred at Camp Liberty, a large American military base.
A 50Ð1 longshot, Mine That Bird, ridden by jockey Calvin Borel, won the Kentucky Derby. The team took 2 minutes 2.66 seconds to finish the 1.25 mile race. It's the second-biggest upset in Kentucky Derby history.
Gov. John Baldacci of Maine signed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, despite his earlier position against the law. The governor cited a desire to uphold constitutional rights as his reason for signing the bill. Baldacci supported the people's right to decide.
Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist arrested in Iran in January, was released from prison. She was arrested on charges of spying for Washington and initially sentenced to eight years in prison, but her sentence was reduced to a two-year suspended sentence. She was allowed to leave Iran immediately, if she desired.
Gen. David McKiernan, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, was fired and replaced by Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
Rachel Alexandra, ridden by Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Calvin Borel, won the Preakness by a length. She is the first filly to win the race in 85 years.
President Obama announced his nomination of New York federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. If confirmed, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.
The California Supreme Court upheld the ban on same-sex marriage, solidifying the vote made by California residents.
George Tiller, a doctor famous for being one of of a few physicians in the U.S. who performs late-term abortions, was killed while in his Kansas church. He was shot while handing out bulletins in the church foyer. A suspect was arrested soon after the shooting.
The Food and Drug Administration warned dieters to stop using Hydroxycut immediately due to serious health problems associated with the weight-loss drug. Almost two dozen cases of serious liver damage and one death were been attributed to the drug.
Chrysler automotive company announced plans to shut down a quarter of its dealers across the country. In total, 789 dealers would be closed, which represented 187,000 jobs.
Car maker General Motors announced it would not be renewing the franchises of 1,100 of its dealers across the country in an attempt to cut costs and avoid bankruptcy.
Scientists unveiled the fossilized remains of a 47-million-year-old primate, allegedly the ancestor of humans, as well as other modern primates. Nicknamed "Ida" after a scientist's daughter, the fossil is the first discovery of its kindÑit is almost completely intact. The fossil was discovered in Germany in 1983, but was kept in private collections and only recently analyzed by scientists.
Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse & Disney Legend Honoree died from complications due to diabetes. He was 62.
Dom DeLuise, comedian, movie star and book author died from kidney failure and respiratory complications from cancer. DeLuise was 75.
Jack Kemp, a former NFL quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, went on to serve in Congress and in President George H.W. Bush's cabinet as Housing Secretary. He died of cancer. Kemp was 73.
Those Welcomed Into This World
Karlye Lund presented her baby sister, Riley Marie. The girls' parents are Jared and Shannon Lund. Their grandparents are John and Darla Rosenau and Larry and Susan Lund. Great grandparents are Carolyn Witter, the Rev. Stan and Marion Rosenau, and Laura Fitzpatrick and the late Daniel Fitzpatrick.
Those Who Celebrated Special Occasions
In honor of the 60th Anniversary for Anthon’s 1949 State Baseball Champions, Earl Petersen organized a reunion and encouraged others in the area to join in celebrating the great national sport of baseball, especially those who were competing in the 40’s, and those who were rivals of the Anthon team. Those included Oto, Cushing, Danbury, Mapleton, Kingsley, Washta, Charter Oak, Battle Creek, Ida Grove, Pierson, Lawton, Bronson, Smithland, Quimby, Newell, and Storm Lake.
Chuck and Donna Kreymborg celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Maple Valley and Anthon Oto district staff members who retired were high school teacher Jean Conover, custodian Betty Kuhlman, and bus driver Gary Bumsted. Staff who celebrated anniversaries were the following: Matt Drees, Holly Phillips, and Julie Bollig for 10 years; Cindy Herrick, Barb Ketelsen, Jill Swanson, Ben Pickel, and Lynette Larson for 20 years; and Margie Walsted and Dennis Benson for 30 years.
Sr. Mary Joseph (Phyllis Wessling) of the Monastery of Poor Clares celebrated her Golden Jubilee.
Dean and Barb Moser celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary.
Fr. Raymond Wieling celebrated his 60th anniversary to the priesthood.
Laura Fitzpatrick celebrated her 80th birthday.
Jared Clausen, son of Janelle and Mark Clausen, graduated with honors from Ellsworth Community College. Jared earned an Associate in Arts degree in Conservation Technology. He was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society.
Other Local News
Alex Paulsrud won pee wee showmanship honors at the Iowa Angus Summer Junior Show.
After weeks of no rain, early Saturday brought some much needed precipitation along with some much unneeded wind. The wind shifted around 6:30 Saturday morning, and a tree along East Street was caught off guard and snapped off near the ground. The tree not only hit an apartment building at East Street, but the gazebo and a pine tree were demolished. More rain and storms came through. While no damage was found in town, hail was observed in other areas, including at Salix. Thunder and lightning did wake up some people trying to get a good night's sleep. Between the two storm systems we received nearly 1.5" of rain with smaller bouts of rain popping up every once in awhile.
For the past 8 years, the Mapleton Heart Walk team had been the top town team at the annual Siouxland Heart Walk. The team received local and national recognition within the American Heart Association for their efforts. The community recruited 60 walkers. Mapleton and Danbury communities walked in memory of Perry O’Connor who passed away from heart disease in January. Perry’s wife Pam, and Perry’s sisters Rita Rose, Darla Schleis, and Jane Anderson and brother Freddie helped organize their families who walked in his memory. They were able to raise over $4,000.
The MVAO Powerade Team consisting of Emalee Fundermann, Marissa Ferris, Bailey Wessling, Gabby Todd, Alyssa Scott, Hannah Sadler, Marina Lacey, Kendra Sexton, Summer Beery, and Mikayla Lansink finished 2nd in the Sibley Rec Tourney, falling short in the finals to Hull Western Christian.
Together with their parents, Ashley Gosch and Kyle Hobbs announced their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the bride are Patti and Mike Manthorne and Shawn and Paige Gosch. Her grandmother is Jan Wolterman, and her great grandmothers are Mary Wolterman and Maxine Arney. Parents of the groom are Peggy and Scott Hobbs.
The sound of birds singing on a peaceful Saturday afternoon was interrupted in the downtown Danbury area by the sounds of motorcycles as they made their way to Schrank's Bar and Grill as one of the Awesome Biker Nights Poker Run stops. The main business block was closed off to all vehicles except the two-wheeled variety. The bikers enjoyed taverns and hot dogs with their beverages before heading off to the next stop in the poker run.
Bruce and Shelly Sadler announced the engagement of their daughter, Lindsey to Garret LeFebvre, son of Tom and Susan LeFebvre.
Linda Dirksen was slowly but surely recovering in Omaha from a recent bout with respiratory problems. She would be in rehab for quite awhile.
The season ended for the Danbury-Anthon-Oto Minis Softball Team as they played in their tournament. The ladies played hard and found themselves in the championship game. However, their competitor was just a little more determined and took the championship, leaving our local team with the second place medals. Members of the team were Haley Drenkhahn, Brooke Handke, Briley Boetcher, Jayce Ingram, Alyssa Thies, Hayley Knudsen, Brenna Lansink, and Cassidy Widman. In the back row are Kenedee Bubke, Danielle Yockey, and Haylee Halbur. The coaches were Dean Bubke and Steve Halbur.
Named to the Dean’s Honor List at Morningside College were Katie Hoaglund, daughter of Dave and the late Joan Hoaglund of Mapleton and a Morningside graduate who majored in Elementary Education; Kristina McGrain, daughter of Trudy and Ron McGrain of Mapleton and a Morningside graduate who majored in Elementary Education; Preston Pierce, son of Sharon and Pat Pierce of Anthon and a Morningside graduate who majored in Business Administation; Samantha Silva, daughter of Joel and Sandy Bubke of Mapleton and a Morningside graduate who majored in Elementary Education; and Jamie VanCleave, daughter of James VanCleave and Sue Wessling of Mapleton and a sophoore who was majoring in Elementary Education. McGrain and Pierce had perfect 4.0 GPAs.
The lifeguards at the Mapleton swimming pool were Eric Koithan, Laura Hoaglund, Megan Drenkhahn, Aleesha Porter, Tyler Reed, Austin Gothier, Erica Elmquist, Avery Nepper, Nadine Lundgren, Laura Maynard, Shelby Jensen, Bryan Livermore, Jacy Jochims, Brittany Weber, Adrienne Elmquist, Jon Wimmer, Jason Deaton, Steven Schafer, Megan Weber, and Rick Maynard. Jill Bollig was the manager.
The Danbury Majors placed third in the Northwest Iowa Softball League which was played in Mapleton. The ladies ended their season with a record of 12-1-1. Team members were Amanda Downing, Katie Downing, Hayley Seuntjens, Darbie Hancock, Jessie Ingram, Morgan Hart, Kendra Sexton, Mikayla Lansink, Karly Treiber, Sam Halbur, Shayla Willits, and Kaylee Bubke. The coach was Tammy Kafton.
David Dirksen, son of Fanchon and Fred Dirksen and a senior in the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department at Iowa State University, was selected to receive the AGCO Scholarship in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering. Dirksen, who is specializing in Agricultural Systems Technology and plans to graduate in May 2010, will be recognized at the department's Fall awards banquet.
Calvin Grant Armstrong, son of Cindy and Grant Armstrong; and Matthew John Boyle, son of Ellen and John Boyle; were named to the dean’s list at the University of Iowa.
The Hoffman Agency was appointed by John Deere Risk Protection (JDRP), the Managing General Agent for crop insurance for The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, as an authorized general agency.
World Events
Ponzi scheme ring leader Bernard Madoff, 71, was sentenced to the maximum 150 years in prison.
General Motors filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.
James von Brunn, an 88-year-old white supremacist, entered the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, and opened fire, killing a security guard. Brunn was also shot but survived.
Michael Jackson was pronounced dead after collapsing at his rented mansion. It was later determined that Jackson had been administered a dangerous amount of prescription drugs prior to his collapse.
After a week's worth of questions and inconsistent answers, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford admitted to having an affair with a woman from Argentina.
Analog TV officially became a thing of the past as the country finally transitioned to digital broadcasting after months of delays.
After a long battle with cancer, Farrah Fawcett of 'Charlies Angels' fame died at the age of 62.
Billy Mays, the burly, bearded television pitchman known for his boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo and OxiClean, died at the age of 50.
Harve Presnell, whose booming baritone graced such Broadway musicals as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" and "Annie," died. He was 75.
Ed McMahon, probably best known as Johnny Carson's sidekick on 'The Tonight Show' died at 86.
Actor David Carradine was found dead in his Bangkok hotel room. Carradine was known for his roles in "Kung Fu" and "Kill Bill." He was 73.
Legendary journalist John Callaway passed away from an apparent heart attack. He was 72.
Impressionist Fred Travalena, a headliner in Vegas showrooms and a regular on late-night talk shows with his takes on presidents, crooners and screen stars, died in Los Angeles. He was 66.
Karl Malden, one of Hollywood's strongest and most versatile supporting actors, who won an Oscar playing his Broadway-originated role as Marlon Brando's bachelor pal Mitch in "A Streetcar Named Desire," died. He was 97.
In the worst aviation disaster since 2001, Air France Flight 447 disappeared somewhere off the northeast coast of Brazil with 228 people on board, en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. Brazilian crews discovered the bodies of two men, plus personal items, in the Atlantic Ocean about 40 miles from where the cockpit last reported its position. This debris appears to be the first evidence of the missing plane.
In a surprising trip to the Confederations Cup final, the United States men's soccer team lost 3Ð2 to five-time World Cup champion Brazil. The U.S. team handed top-ranked Spain a shocking upset the previous week. This was the first trip to a FIFA tournament final for the United States.
Yemenia Flight 626, on its way to Comoros, crashed into the Indian Ocean in an attempt to land, leaving only one survivor, a 14-year-old girl. Severe weather and turbulence were believed to be the cause of the crash.
As a signal of the United States' diminishing role in Iraq, and in compliance with the status of forces agreement between the U.S. and Iraq, U.S. troops completed their withdrawal from Iraqi cities, including Baghdad, and transferred the responsibility of securing the cities to Iraqi troops. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki named June 30 "National Sovereignty Day" and declared a public holiday.
The Labor Department reported an unemployment increases from 9.4% in May to 9.5% in June 2009. There were 467,000 jobs lost in June, topping estimates by 100,000.
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 99Ð86, winning their 15th NBA championship title. Lakers star Kobe Bryant took home the M.V.P. trophy after scoring 30 points in the winning game.
Lucas Glover won his first U.S. Open victory, beating fan favorite Phil Mickelson.
At least nine people were killed and 75 others wounded in a crash involving two subway trains in the Washington, D.C. Metro public transportation system. This was the deadliest crash in Metro history. One train reportedly rear-ended a stopped train, both on the subway's Red Line.
Nearly eight months after the election and a long battle over a recount, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Al Franken (Dem.) won the U.S. senate seat for Minnesota.
General Motors filed for bankruptcy and announced it would close 14 plants in the United States. G.M. celebrated its 100th anniversary last year and is still the largest automaker in the U.S.
Gale Storm, who shot to the top on television as the vivacious star of two popular 1950s situation comedies, "My Little Margie" and "The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna," died. She was 87.
New Hampshire governor John Lynch signed legislation allowing same-sex marriage. The law stipulated that religious organizations and their employees would not be required to participate in the ceremonies. New Hampshire was the sixth state in the nation to allow same-sex marriage.
Summer Bird and jockey Kent Desormeaux won the Belmont Stakes, disrupting jockey Calvin Borel's streak of wins in the other two legs of the Triple Crown.
Co-pilot Charles Donald Albury died from congestive heart failure at the age of 88. He was a member of the crew of the United States Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortress 'Bockscar', which dropped the atomic bomb 'Fat Man' on the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed a bill that would allow the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products. The FDA would be able to set product standards and also ban some chemical additives in cigarettes.
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged former Countrywide chief executive, Angelo R. Mozilo, with fraud due to improper mortgage lending practices and illegal insider trading.
After passing their government-applied stress tests and lobbying the government, the Treasury Department gave 10 banks permission to start repaying funds given to them during the federal bailout.
Those Welcomed Into This World
Bill and Franny Mohrhauser welcomed the birth of their son, Bennett William Mohrhauser. Bennett's grandparents are Tom and Donna Mohrhauser, Julie Miller, and Greg Miller. Great grandparents are Devilda Collins and Doug and Veronica Chase.
Those Who Departed This World
John ‘Jack’ A. Slavin, 86, died. He was a United States Army veteran of World War II and Korea, attaining the rank of 1st Lieutenant. He was an avid golfer, hunter and fisherman. He was survived by his wife, Elaine Slavin; 5 children, Patricia Slavin, John N. (Patti) Slavin, Jeanne Cullen, Michael A. (Diane) Slavin, and Jeffrey A. (Mary) Slavin; 11 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren; and 3 sisters, Rosemary, Peggy and Kathleen.
Dorothy "Babe" Halterman, 85, passed away. Babe was a homemaker and worked part-time at Reinbold Trucking along with her husband. She was a lifelong member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Mapleton. Survivors included her children, Judy Wooster, Bob (Betty) Halterman, Jane Corley, Kathy Wacheldorf, Pat Halterman, Jackie Clausen, and Tom Halterman; 14 grandchildren; 15 great grandchildren; her sister Rita Bode; and 5 sisters-in-law, Loretta Schleis, Rita Schwartz, Betty Pierson, Dorothy Nicotero and Mary Dickenson; and her dear friend, Ruth Hesse.
Robert "Bob" Ernst, 63, passed away. He was raised on the family farm where he became an outdoor enthusiast at an early age. Bob also developed a strong desire to travel the world after reading the National Geographic magazines. Upon graduation from Iowa State University he was employed by NASA and Martin Marietta in Denver, Colorado, working in the Propulsion Department on Titan Launch Vehicles. He was survived by his wife Celesta; 2 daughters Courtney and future son-in-law Miguel Tobon, and Morgan; his mother, Juanita Thies; a sister, Linda Roesler and her husband Curt; and numerous other relatives.
Viola S. Lundt, 84, passed away. Vi loved music, dancing, and traveling. She was a wonderful cook and will be remembered for her banana cream pie. She also enjoyed being with Chris Schable, for whom who she had a special place in her heart. She was survived by her daughter Barbara (Gary) Carstens, and 2 grandsons; her extended family of her best friend, Allie Schable, Mary Ann, Carl, David, Don, Ray, and Travis and Chris along with their spouses and families; and a sister-in-law Jean Steinbach.
Lucille M. Uhl, 89, died. She was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and St. Mary’s Guild in Mapleton. She was also one of the original members of the Red Hat Society of Mapleton. Survivors included 8 children and their spouses, Francis (Sharry) Uhl, Janice (Gary) Pithan, Elaine (Rich) Daniels, Arlis (John) Bahnsen, Lois (Dwight) Moser, Cheryl (Fred) Krueger, JoAnn (Alan) Nielsen, and Dennis (Karla) Uhl; 34 grandchildren; 50 great grandchildren; 4 brothers, Gilbert Zeimen, Bob Zeimen, Joe (Jan) Zeimen, and Ray (Bev) Zeimen; 4 sisters, Sr. Marcie Zeimen, Mary (Marty) Lally, Ann (Dewey) Whited, and Sr. Maria Zeimen; and a brother-in-law, Wesley Freml; along with numerous other relatives.
Raymond C. Croxdale, 79, passed at his home after a long illness. He was a telegrapher for the Milwaukee Rail Road. He was an Army veteran of the Korean War. He was a member of the California Correctional Officers Association and the Napa Genealogical Society. He coached baseball and basketball at St. John’s Catholic School. As hobbies, he enjoyed reading, gardening (he was especially proud of his huge tomatoes), traveling, bluegrass music and following high school and college sports. He was survived by his wife of 54 years, Lois Collins Croxdale; 4 sons: John Croxdale, Joe Croxdale, Jim (Barb) Croxdale, and Jerry (Katie) Croxdale; a daughter: Jeanne Croxdale; 4 grandchildren; brother and sister-in-law Tom and Marge Collins; and sister-in-law Barbara Collins.
Rita Mae Wessling, 83, died unexpectedly at her home. She was active in AWBA and was chosen Woman of the Year in 1971. She was a prayerful person and an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and St. Mary’s Rosary Society in Danbury. She could always be counted on to volunteer her time to make the calls necessary to get salads donated to every funeral luncheon provided by the Rosary Society. After retirement, she became an avid card player and treasured her lady friendships. She was a member of the Red Hat Society. Survivors included a sister, Janice (Warren) Plummer; 3 sisters-in-law Wilma Clausen, Verna (Dick) Setran, and Dorothy Wessling; and numerous nieces and nephews.
James L. “Jim” Collins, 82, passed away. He farmed until 1966 when he started Collins Feed Store in Danbury which he continued to own and operate until he retired in 1994. He went parasailing in Cancun at the age of 68. Survivors included DeVilda, his wife of 58 years; 4 children, Ed (Deb) Collins, Donna (Tom) Mohrhauser, Ted (Ann) Collins, and Tim (Joan) Collins; 9 grandchildren; 5 great grandchildren; and a great grandson; a sister-in-law Ernestine Collins; a brother-in-law, Jim Stanton; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Richard Harding Bejune Jr. passed away at his home. He was survived by his wife, Nancy (Oberreuter) Bejune, his children, Stephanie and Rick, mother Margaret Swiss, sisters Margaret Boucher, Maurita Choiniere, and Meloney Campbell, as well as many extended family members. He was a constant presence at Rancho San Antonio Boys Town as a member of the Board of Directors. He was involved with the San Fernando Valley Catholic Swim League as a Swim Meet Director and League Chairman.
Those Who Celebrated Special Occasions
Bill and Shirley Kinney celebrated their 50th anniversary.
Other Local News
Justin Buth, a student at Maple Valley-Anthon Oto High School, attended the 2009 Congressional Student Leadership Conference on Engineering & Robotics at Olin College of Engineering. He is the son of Michael and Lynn Buth and will be a senior at MVAO this fall.
The Horn Memorial Hospital (HMH) Board of Trustees accepted the resignation of Dan Ellis, who has served as the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer since 1996.
The Monona County Soil and Water Conservation District held their annual contest during the Monona County Fair. Raymond Jepsen, son of Tammy and Rick Jepsen, and Olivia Oberreuter, daughter of Lisa and Mike Oberreuter, received second place in their respective classes.
A benefit was held on July 4th for Ashton Feddersen at the fire station in Battle Creek. Ashton is the 5 year old daughter of Kevin and Kristine Feddersen of rural Battle Creek. She was diagnosed with leukemia of February 23, 2009. The benefit was being held to raise money to pay for expenses due to the continuing leukemia treatments. There was a bake sale that morning, a lunch following the parade, and a silent auction during both events.
Cord Memorial Library was open on July 15th for the annual bike safety course held by the Woodbury County Sheriff's Department. Deputy Kevin West gave Mikayla Lansink's bike a good inspection report and got the kids, especially Collin Lansink who nearly fell off his chair with laughter, laughing with his descriptive stories. The children also learned how to help make sure they are visible to drivers. The children were each given a bike helmet by the Mercy Child Advocacy Centers Safe Kids Program. The kids then were invited to grab their bike and go through an obstacle course. Each student made it through the obstacles without incident.
Tricia Miller, daughter of Lorainne and Dennis Miller, and Rebekah Benson, daughter of Laurie and Dennis Benson, members of the Maple Valley FFA Chapter, attended the 2009 Washington Leadership Conference (WLC) in the nation’s capital. The conference is an activity of the National FFA Organization as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.
The second annual Clausen Memorial Classic was held at the Anthon Golf Club. The classic featured a golf tournament which was followed by a meal. All proceeds benefited the Iowa Donor Network and Hospice of Siouxland.
Jordan Paulsrud, daughter of Theresa and Bob Paulsrud represented Iowa at the National Junior Angus Show.
Brian Seuntjens reached the 3 gallon donation milestone at the blood drive.
The "hippy chicks" from Anthon, Danbury, Mapleton, River Valley, and Onawa took home 1st place medals at a 12U tourney in Akron. They were coached by Scott and Tammy Fundermann and Chuck Ferris. Included on the team were Gabby Todd, Morgan Todd, Haylee Halbur, Courtnee Lester, Bailey Wessling, Bella Schull, Emalee Fundermann, Marissa Ferris, and Taylor Lawrence.
The descendants and relatives of Catherine and Peter Ortner held the Ortner Reunion. Catherine and Peter Ortner had 12 children, and 9 of those children were represented at the reunion that day. Total attendance for the day’s event was around 70. Many relatives traveled quite a distance from Indiana, Wisconsin, Nevada, Illinois, California, Texas, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa.
Jeri Matt, wife of Louie Matt, spent part of her Independence Day running in the annual Kansas City 4K Run. Jeri had lots of competition in the race, around 1,300 competitors to be exact. She stayed focused and captured first place, beating out the second place runner by just 5 seconds.
The 13th annual Junior Golf Tournament was held at Willow Vale Golf Course. The top golfers in their respective age groups were Syndy Fundermann, Dillon Blake, Sara Pederson, Kyle Sexton, Kendra Sexton, Austin Reitz, Cameron Sexton, Ashley Powers, and Ryan Sulsberger.
The 28th annual Nebraska Summer Music Olympics was held. Students from the piano studio of Crista Else who performed were Michael Swanson and Maria Swanson, children of Jill and Tom Swanson, and Nicole Weber, daughter of Kathy and Alan Weber They all received a superior rating.
Five MV-AO wrestlers participated in the Iowa Games held. Tim Jessen, competing in the over 30 class, and Nolan Kafton, in the high school division, qualified to move on to the American Games which will be held in San Diego, California in 2011.
The past week found Danbury Public School and Danbury Catholic School graduates driving around Danbury, checking out their hometown, getting together with friends and former classmates, and sharing lots and lots of stories as hundreds of alumni invaded Danbury for the all school reunions. While classmates met throughout the week and weekend, the event officially commenced on Friday, July 17th at the city park with an evening of remembrances. The fire department grilled the meat, and and children of alumni kept the buffet tables full. Before the former students bade farewell for the evening, countless old memories, new memories, and updates on families were shared. Saturday morning, alumni, other family members, and area people hungry for omelets converged at Danbury Catholic to enjoy omelets made by the Knights of Columbus. A special Mass was held at St. Mary's Catholic Church before the two schools divided for their own banquets. The classmates filled the banquet halls with laughter before they enjoyed their catered meals. Each had their own meeting and recognized graduating classes celebrating milestone years. Following the meetings, the two schools combined at Dana Hall for more reminiscing. Cord Memorial Library had its share of visitors seeking pictures to bring more memories to light. On Sunday the Danbury United Methodist Church parishioners served breakfast to alumni and all who wished to enjoy the brunch. The parishioners stayed busy keeping the serving tables full. They held a special service after their brunch, officially ending the alumni reunion festivities. Family reunions replaced class reunions in the afternoon. The oldest alumnus from DCHS was Alice (Welte) Paulsen from the class of ‘42. The oldest alumnus from DHS was Arlene (LeFebvre) Albers from the class of ‘34.
A potluck family reunion for all the kin folk of the Brenner -Boyle-Fleischmann- Meier- Wielings was planned at Crawford Creek Park.
A Seuntjens family reunion was held.
The Iowa Shrine Bowl Game recognizes high school football athletes and cheerleaders who excel in their sport. MVAO was represented by a football player and a cheerleader, Adam Kuhl and Ally Jo Lloyd. The school hasn’t sent anyone to the Shrine Bowl since Marshall Goslar was chosen; Marshall currently has children in the Maple Valley school system. There has never been a cheerleader from MVAO chosen to participate in the Shrine Bowl. Adam is the son of Brigit and Dave Kuhl played as defensive lineman and long snapper. Ally Jo is the daughter of Darla and Travis Lloyd.
Arlene Wright successfully finished her rehabilitation at Willow Dale Wellness Village.
Mark Vermeersch, son of Liz and Tom Vermeersch and grandson of Tootie and Clair Seuntjens and Ray and the late Marcella Vermeersch, ran in the San FranciscoMarathon. He finished in 9th place (2nd place in the males age 20-24 group). While 6 hours were allowed to finish the race, Mark used 2 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds to cross the finish line.
There was a lot of activity at the Lou Treiber farm 2 miles south of Danbury. The house, which had been home to Norma Burke until the time of her death, was sitting so close to the water table that the sump pump was running constantly. The decision was made to raise the house 5'. Dale Hoefling was hired to do the job, and a series of hydraulic jacks were all connected to one control with 10,000 pounds of pressure, and up it went! The machine lifted the home at a rate of 1' per hour.
The friends and family of Mike Kluver held a benefit at the Mapleton Community Center. Mike was injured in November of 2008 when he was involved in a tree accident. Subsequently with the inability to work, or even walk for a long period, medical bills have piled high on his desk.
Ali Irwin, daughter of Jim and Lori Irwin, was crowned the Ida County Fair Queen. 4-Hers who received champion or reserve champion honors included Shiliah Spaulding, daughter of Lois and Roger Spaulding; Patrick Eason, son of Melanie and Terry Eason; Gable Sohm, son of Jenni and Ed Sohm; Nick Sohm, son of Tonya and Bernie Sohm; Katie Boyle, daughter of Martha and Marty Boyle; Elizabeth Verschoor, daughter of Joan and Kelly Verschoor; Paige Sohm, daughter of Tonya and Bernie Sohm; Rachel Boyle, daughter of Martha and Marty Boyle; Molly Tullis, daughter of Pam Kunze and Dennis Tullis; Grace Boyle, daughter of Martha and Marty Boyle; Nicole Boyle, daughter of Martha and Marty Boyle; Danielle Ortner, daughter of Michelle and Andy Ortner; Trent Boyle, son of Sherrie and Craig Boyle; and Tonya Johnson, daughter of Linda and Johnny Johnson.
Paisley Conlon was crowned Monona County Fair Queen, and Emmalee Scott was crowned the Monona County Fair Princess. 4-Hers who received champion or reserve champion honors at the fair included Sonya Masters; Glen Hanson; Kevin Bruning; Paisley Conlon; Donna Habinck; Alexa Lloyd; Megan Wimmer; Kendra Hart,; Ethan Lloyd; Ashley VanCleave; Amber VanCleave; Alyssa Scott; Andrea Bruning; Rebekah Benson; Isaac Jessen; Jon Wimmer; and Ally Jo Lloyd. Sharyl Bruning placed second in the Adult Livestock Judging contest.
Woodbury County 4-H members who exhibited champion or reserve champion exhibits included Beth Weber, Andrea Bernard, Kalli Weber, Brittany Weber, Drew Conover; Bailey Petersen, Cody Conover, Judd Hoy, Kelli Schram, Summer Beery, Tye Petersen, Jake Parker, McKenzie Lewis, Morgan Lewis, Emily Todd, Alli Kirchgatter, Jenna Ingram, Shelby Weber, Ethan Todd, and Alex Pulford.
Cord Memorial Library held story hour. The theme, Be Creative @ the Library, had 26 children listening to books and creating sound shakers, caterpillars, coloring books, sun catchers, and pinwheels. Children attaining perfect attendance were Collin Lansink, Caden Mahrt, Alex Toombs, Joseph Hopkins, Dawson Hamann, Kalvin Prell, Maurianna Jepsen, Ronni Jepsen, Brenna Lansink, and Haylee Halbur.
In 1963, St. Mary’s parishioners decided to build a new grade school and parish hall on the same site as the 3-story wooden school which had faithfully served its staff and students. Clarence "Pood" Ortner and his crew were hired to demolish the old school. Ortner retained an arched, stained glass window, which had been above the main doors on the south side of the building. It had been in the possession of Pood's family since the fateful day that it was removed. The currently living children of Pood and Louise, Suzy Hahn, Larry Ortner, Sarah Sheehan, and Mike Ortner have decided to return this window to its hometown. The window was given to the Danbury Catholic School alumni who were hoping to restore the window and display it somewhere on the church grounds. Thee alumni were searching for ideas for this project.
World Events
General Motors emerged from bankruptcy thanks to the sale of Hummer, Saturn, and Saab brands.
The hugely popular 'Cash for Clunkers' program offered owners of aging cars and trucks incentives up to $4,500 toward a new, more-efficient vehicle. The program aimed at boosting auto sales, getting more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road and revving up economic activity.
Serena Williams beat her sister, Venus, in the final match of the Wimbledon women's tennis tournament, claiming her third Grand Slam victory. The American sisters won the doubles portion of the Wimbledon women's tournament against Australian teammates Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin delivered her farewell speech, officially resigning. Palin told supporters that she could do more for the state away from the office. Palin would go on to write a book that would be a New York Times best seller.
Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Police Sergeant James Crowley and the president and vice president sat down for a beer at the White House after Crowley arrested Gates for reportedly breaking into his own home. The arrest began the first real race debate of President Obama's administration. The meeting was dubbed the 'Beer Summit'.
Walter Cronkite, the "most trusted man in America" died age 92.
Mark Buehrle, left handed pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, took 116 pitches and an amazing catch by Dwayne Wise to set down all 27 Tampa Bay Rays for only the 18th perfect game in Major League history.
Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair was shot and killed. McNair played 13 seasons in the NFL and led the Tennessee Titans within a yard of forcing overtime in the 2000 Super Bowl.
Police found former boxing champion Arturo Gatti dead in a hotel room in Brazil. It's unclear how the 37-year-old Canadian died.
Former boxing champion Vernon Forrest was shot and killed during an apparent robbery in Atlanta. Forrest, 38, took two wins over Sugar Shane Mosley in 2002 and in 2008 reclaimed his WBC 154-pound title by beating Sergio Mora.
Former President Corazon Aquino, who swept away a dictator with a "people power" revolt and then sustained democracy by fighting off seven coup attempts in six years, died. She was 76.
Swiss tennis champ Roger Federer beat American Andy Roddick for the Wimbledon men's tennis title. This was his 15th Grand Slam title, breaking Pete Sampras's record.
Rioting in Urumqi, China between two ethnic groupsÑMuslim Uighurs and Han ChineseÑkilled at least 156 people. Riot police locked down the Uighur portion of the city to stop the protests.
Major technology companies Microsoft and Yahoo made a deal to collaborate on Internet search and advertising in the hopes of more effectively competing with their biggest rival, Google.
Actress Beverly Roberts was a Silver screen star of The Singing Kid and Two Around the World. She died of natural causes at age 96.
Music enterpreneur Allen Klein, famous for his involvment with The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, died of Alzheimers at the age of 77.
Those Welcomed Into This World
Josh and Jenny Nichols announced the arrival of their son, Carson Jon Nichols. He was welcomed home by his big sister, McKenna Grace. The children's grandparents are Rick and Becky Nichols and Kevin and Becky McCarville. Their great grandparents are Arlene Nichols, Bob and Mary McCarville, and Edith Holub.
Cadence Koenigs announced the arrival of her baby sister, Caitlee Rae Koenigs. Proud parents are Josh and Abby Koenigs. Grandparents are Dave and Kay Koenigs and Scott and Peggy Low. Great grandparents are Bette Koenigs, Ray and Charlotte Low, and Helen Pecha.
Those Who Departed This World
Cynthia Kay (Rohde) Watterson, 51, passed away. She loved music in general but especially country music. Survivors included 2 sons, Nick Swearingen and his wife Amanda and Jason Watterson and his fiancee Kalyn; 4 grandchildren; a sister, Jeannie Boisen; and 2 brothers, Jeff and Craig Rohde.
Henry J. Petersen, Jr., 83, died. He designed rocket engines for the Apollo Program, worked at Chrysler Co. on the Jupiter Program, then went to Cape Kennedy where he designed air conditioning for LEM/SLA (Lunar Excursion Module/Service Limb Adaptor), and then Pan Am Airways at the Cape. He worked on the Shuttle Program, became drafting supervisor for runways, and worked on guided missiles. He was survived by his wife, Gloria; sons Michael (Phyllis) Petersen and Mark Petersen; stepson James (Angel) Estes; stepdaughter Kristi Quicksall; brother, Dick (Duby) Petersen; sisters, Marion (Jim) Southworth, Wilma (Bill) Hartleben, Gwen (Lyle) Pfleeger, and Raona (Don) West; 3 grandchildren; and 5 great grandchildren.
Those Who Celebrated Special Occasions
The Jim Mullin family farm near Danbury was honored as a century farm.
Irvin and Elleen Oberreuter celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
At Iowa State University's summer commencement ceremonies, Ashley Marie Gosch received her bachelor of science degree in Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management. She is the daughter of Patti and Mike Manthorne and Shawn and Paige Gosch. Her grandmother is Jan Wolterman, and her great grandmothers are Mary Wolterman and Maxine Arney.
Navy Seaman Apprentice Tucker Bieler, a 2008 graduate of Maple Valley-Anthon Oto High School, completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill.
Leo and Martha Uhl celebrated their 40th anniversary.
Matt Lacey celebrated his 40th birthday.
Tom and Carol (Clausen) Swanger celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.
Mark and Janelle (Kluver) Clausen celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.
Other Local News
Students and parents alike enjoyed the cool water and fun activities at the Maple Valley Back to School Splash at the Mapleton city pool. The day of the event brought sunny skies and hot weather Ð a perfect combination for a pool party.
This past summer, the Woodbury County Sheriff's Office conducted bicycle safety courses for children in the rural town. Children who attended the course were eligible to register to win a bicycle at a drawing which was held at the Woodbury County Fair. Haylee Halbur, daughter of Stacie and Steve Halbur of Danbury, was the winner of the girls' bike.
Steph Allen, Steph Petersen, and Brittany Hermsen were named to the 1st team all conference team. Kristi Crilly and Lindsey Brown were chosen for the 2nd team all conference team. Janna Dose and Alli Kirchgatter were named to the honorable mention team. Steph Allen and Kirchgatter were also named to the 1st all district team.
The MVAO returning cross country letterwinners were Adrienne Elmquist, Cody Conover, Alex Clausen, Trevor Forch, Ryan Sulsberger, Ted Hanson, Beau Wolfe, Ryan Trucke, Eric Koithan, Austin Gothier, Bryon Utterback, Brittany Hermsen, Andrea Bruning, and Vika Hesse.
A Sharkey cousin reunion was held at Cobb Park in Ida Grove. There were approximately 96 in attendance. The relatives were all descendants of James and Catherine Sharkey who farmed in the Danbury and Ida Grove areas all their lives. The guest of honor was Rose (Sharkey) Franzkowiak. She is the last surviving child of the 11 children of James and Catherine Sharkey.
The gym at Danbury Catholic was bustling and filled with people who flocked to the school eager to enjoy a chicken dinner hosted by St. Mary's Rosary Society.
Joey Flanigan and Chris Oberg were chosen for the 1st team all conference baseball team. Adam Kuhl and Kalvin Hinrickson were named to the 2nd team. Michael Sexton and Riley McDonald were named on the honorable mention team. Flanigan was also named to the 2nd team all district team and 1st team Omaha-World Herald All Western team. Oberg was also chosen for the 2nd team Omaha-World Herald All Western Team.
The meteorologists were forecasting cooler temps for the weekend, but the weekend turned out very nice for Corn Days. Plenty of sun and blue sky warmed the air and hearts of those participating in the Corn Day activities. New to Corn Days was a contest for the tallest cornstalk. Participants brought in their entries in hopes of receiving top honors. First place went to Beth Weber with her 12' 8 1/4" cornstalk. Second place was awarded to Matt and Pete Seuntjens with their 12' 3" cornstalk Caden Maynard and James Oberreuter tied for third with their 12' 1/4 cornstalks. Also new was a block of carnival games hosted by a variety of non-profit organizations including Danbury Catholic School, Danbury Diggers, Knights of Columbus, Mapleton Starspinners 4-H Club, MVAO Cheerleaders, MVAO Drill Team, and Nuns on the Run. Ducks, fishing, face painting, horse races, and throwing games were among the events. First place winners of the pedal tractor pull were Elizabeth Hamann, Drew Oberreuter, Alexis Bell, Landon Treiber, Landon Mohr, Patrick Paulsrud, Haylee Halbur, Colby Seuntjens, and Max Melcher. Second place winners were Liam Jacobsen, Jaxson Welte, Beau Mohr, Ryan Weber, Adam Plautz, Parker Bell, Kyle Sexton, Kurtis Oberreuter, and Brittany Hamann. The Danbury Fire Department ended the Saturday activities with their annual street dance. The music took a break to announce the winners of the tallest cornstalk contest and to crown the new Gem City royalty. Cousins Melanie Boysen and Brittany McBride were crowned Gem City queen and princess respectively. Boysen is the daughter of Kim and Ken Boysen, and McBride is the daughter of Babe and Jerry McBride. The contest was very close this year, with 4 girls within 4 votes of each other for the princess honor.
Piccaddilly Circus in Mapleton was sold at an auction. B&R's Pizza Post purchased the building.
St. Matthew Lutheran Church of Mapleton invited all members and visitors of all denominations to the annual Mission Festival at the Mission Central. Mapleton native Gary Thies was the featured speaker sharing his mission travels from throughout the world. The service was held in his interesting, renovated barn at Mission Central.
The MVAO returning football letterwinners were Codey Weber, Tim Dougherty, Ethan Heinse, Seth Smith, Nate Clausen, Zach Goslar, Chase Collins, Trevor Friedel, Josh Trucke, Chris Oberg, Kelby Bruhn, Nolan Kafton, Rick Maynard, Eric Koithan, Brandon Burkhart, Drew Conover, and Brady Wright.
The MVAO returning volleyball letterwinners were Brittany Hesse, Maggie Koenigs, Avery Nepper, Whitney Dose, and Jamie Rusch.
The MVAO Football Cheerleaders were Ashley Clausen, Ashley Buth, Halie Edgington, Lorissa Mauch, Becca Wenger, Robin Schmidt, Cassie Livermore, Chelsea Johnson, and Morgan Fitch.
The Maple Valley School Foundation held its golf tournament fundraiser at the Willow Vale Golf Course. The tournament raised over $10,000.00 to be used for student scholarships. Champions were Ann Sextro, Austin Ewell, Dave Sextro, and Betty Kimmen.
The teachers were joined by the students for the first day of school. While they may not admit it, most kids were more than ready to get back to school.
Joanne Maynard was the lone new teacher at AOMV Middle School. She was teaching 7/8 Grade science and 8th Grade American History. She was also the middle school cheerleading coach.
New teachers at Maple Valley Elementary were Larry Sessions who was directing Alternative School, and Kathy Pithan who was the new preschool teacher.
St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Danbury held its annual auction.
World Events
Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee arrive were released by North Korean authorities. Ling and Lee, of San Francisco based Current TV, were both arrested by North Korea in March for illegally entering the country on the Chinese border. They were pardoned by President Kim Jong-Il after a meeting with former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Ling and Lee had been sentenced to 12 years in prison in June.
Budd Schulberg, the son of a studio boss who defined the Hollywood hustle with his novel "What Makes Sammy Run?" and later proved himself a player with his Oscar-winning screenplay for "On the Waterfront," died. He was 95.
Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, the Libyan terrorist convicted of bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 and killed 270 people, was freed from prison on compassionate grounds by Scotland's Justice Minister, Kenny MacAskill. He was suffering from terminal prostate cancer and was expected to die within three months. The White House opposed this decision, stating that Megrahi should finish his sentence in Scotland.
Special Olympics founder and Honorary Chairperson Eunice Kennedy Shriver died at the age of 88.
Senator Edward Kennedy died after a year-long battle with brain cancer. He was 77.
Town hall meetings on health care reform hit a boiling point as the federal government considered a plan to institute a public health option for uninsured people. Several town hall meetings were disrupted by the audience, some even turned violent.
Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped by a sex offender when she was 11 years old in 1991. Eighteen years later she was found at the home of Phillip Craig Garrido and his wife Nancy Garrido who were arrested. Dugard is reported to be the mother of a 15 and 11 year old from her captor.
Director of 1980's cult classic movies like 'The Breakfast Club' and 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', John Hughes, died at the age of 59.
After a seven year run on the hit reality show 'American Idol' Paula Abdul's contract talks stalled, and she claimedshe was off the show. Ellen DeGeneres was named her replacement.
Andy Kessler, a trailblazer during New York City's nascent 1970s skateboarding scene and a designer of skate parks who was admired by boarders on both coasts, died. He was 48.
Guitar legend Les Paul passed away at age 94.
Celebrity disc jockey DJ AM was found dead in a New York City apartment. He was 36.
Reality TV star Ryan Jenkins was found dead in a Canadian motel. Jenkins reportedly hung himself as police wanted to talk to him about the murder of his ex-wife.
The Senate approved the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. She's the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice and the third woman to serve on the Court.
"King of Pop" Michael Jackson's death was ruled a homicide by drug overdose. Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal physician, gave him the powerful anesthetic propofol and the sedative lorazepam on the day of his death.
Dominick Dunne, a writer and investigative journalist, died bladder cancer. He was 83.
Those Welcomed Into This World
Brayden Doty presented his identical twin sisters, Ainsley Ann and Kylee Katherine. The children's parents are Megan and Jeremy Doty. Their grandparents are Winifred and Cecil Doty, Dennis Tullis, and Pam Kunze.
Daniel and Carol Koithan announced the adoption of their son, Joseph Gabriel Koithan. He was welcomed by his parents as well as four brothers and a sister, David, Jeff, Ben, Eric, and Alisa. His grandparents are Adele Sorensen and George and Irene Koithan.
Those Who Departed This World
Thomas B. Barry, 85, passed away. He owned and operated Tom’s Place until the early 1970’s. He was appointed Postmaster by JFK and served in the Danbury Post Office until he retired in 1987. He enjoyed working for his brother, Bill Barry and Barry Motor Company on parts runs, car exchanges, or whatever the day required, often doing favors for others while he was in Sioux City. He was an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church where he became founder and long-term member of St. Mary’s Church Choir. He was a 68 year member of the Knights of Columbus and a 64 year member of the American Legion Carlson-Frum Post #336. He served on the Danbury City Council for 38 years, was the Mayor for years, a member of the Danbury Fire Department, and the Danbury Community Club. He was active in Corn Days and helped revive the celebration in 1975. He was instrumental in the establishment of Cord Memorial Library and gave of himself collecting for the Danbury Kid’s Christmas Program. He took it upon himself to decorate the graves of each veteran at the Danbury Cemetery for Memorial Day. Loving survivors included his wife, Pat; his children, Betsy (Larry) Hubert, Kathleen (Rick) Friedman, Bob (Pam) Barry, and Jean Barry; 8 grandchildren; 3 step grandchildren; 2 great grandchildren; 5 step great grandchildren; 2 sisters-in-law, Midge Barry and Ramona Barry; a special nephew, Mike “Chops” (Jean) Barry and their family; and legions of other relatives.
Darlene Jacobson Burke, 88, died. She was a member of St. John’s United Methodist Church, the Senior Citizens, Mapleton Rotary, Mapleton Community Club, the Mapleton Camping Club, the Rebecca’s, the Neighborhood Coffee Club, and the last surviving member of the Mapleton Civic Club. She truly enjoyed her family, crocheting afghans for family friends, and the missions, reading, and knitting. Music was always a part of her life, and she loved her flowers and house plants and found pleasure in traveling and camping. Survivors left to cherish their memories of Darlene included her children, Donna (John) Mininger, Duane (Carol) Jacobson, Dee Ann (Ted) Paulsrud, and Debra (Randy) Ernst; 8 grandsons; 3 granddaughters; 13 great grandchildren; 2 step great grandchildren; a sister, Dorothy (Kenneth) Slentz; 2 brothers, Martin Sawin and Oren Sawin; along with many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
James J. “Jim” Mohrhauser, 57, died at his home. He enjoyed road racing, car shows, researching genealogy and smoking fine cigars. He also enjoyed working on computers. He was survived by his wife, Patty D. Mohrhauser; a daughter, Michele Simpson; 2 brothers, Robert Mohrhauser and Thomas Mohrhauser; 3 sisters, Mae Jean Barron, Laura Danaher, and Rosie Wenger, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Mel Woodward, 86, passed away, ending a lengthy battle with late stage prostate cancer. He joined the United States Marine Corps as the country became embroiled in WWII. He was sent to Iwo Jima where he was seriously wounded. He witnessed the raising of the first American flag on Iowa Jima. During his younger years, and during his years in the Marines, Mel was a baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher for the "town team" as he called it and was sought out and hired to pitch for other teams. While he was stationed in Hawaii, he pitched for the Marine Corps baseball league. Mel was one of the fortunate WWII Vets who was flown to Washington DC through Honor Flight to view the WWII memorial. Following that trip, Mel became instrumental in getting other local Vets signed up so that they also could participate in Honor Flight. He was survived by his 2 daughters, Patricia A. Woodward and Pamela K. Heinemann; his step-children, Lynn, Laurel (Gary) Armstrong, and Kim; 6 grandchildren; his brothers and their wives, Joe (June), Bid (Darlene), Jerry (Jean), and Don (Sue); his sister-in-law Mary; and many more relatives. Shirley A. Wagoner, 66, died. She worked as a day care provider and then started at Reed’s Furniture. She and a small staff of talented ladies started the drapery department of Carpet Specialists. She worked at the Mapleton Press, primarily managing the production of embroidered apparel items. She was employed at Casey’s General Store, working in food service and keeping the books, an employment that spanned over 20 years. She enjoyed playing cards with her family, Bingo, and participating weekly with the Mapleton ladies in the “Casino Club.” Survivors included Lowell, her husband of 48 years; a son, Cary (Judy) Wagoner, Stacey (Jeff) Brandt, and Kelly (Dan) Freed; 9 grandchildren; her mother, Beatrice Rector; siblings Lola Ehen and her husband Charlie, Ed Rector and his wife Dee, Sandra Graham and her special friend, Jimmy, and Allen Rector and his wife, Karen; along with numerous nieces and nephews; and many other relatives.
LaVerna F. Hamann, 87, peacefully passed into the arms of God. She and her husband John farmed east of Anthon until retirement to Anthon where they built their dream home in the 80’s. Those left to cherish her memory were her 3 children, Rev. Sheryl (Brian) Ashley, Bryan Hamann and his fiancee Martha Lanyon, Vicky (Steve) Mead; and a daughter of the heart, Pat Hamann. Other survivors included 10 grandchildren; 18 great grandchildren; 3 sisters-in-law, Mildred Fitchner, Margaret Milligan, and Margaret Hamann; and a brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Alvin and Marian Rippke.
Those Who Celebrated Special Occasions
Jody and Lloyd Parker celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.
Cherie Sohm celebrated her 60th birthday.
Dorene Wonder celebrated her 80th birthday.
Kali A. Dose, daughter of Jo and Andy Dose, graduated and received an associate of arts degree in business administration university transfer at Iowa Western Community College (IWCC).
Other Local News
Rita Dirksen and John Treiber both reached the 3 gallon donation milestone at the blood drive. Bethene Barclay and Mike Oberreuter both hit the gallon mark.
Bill and Sandy Ortner hosted their annual Pioneer Seed Plot Tour.
A year ago Little Red Hen opened its doors in Battle Creek. A year later, owner Dana.
Uneventful elections were held in the Maple Valley and Anthon Oto school board elections. In the Maple Valley Director District 3, Mindi Reed was re-elected by a write-in campaign with 29 votes. There were no candidates on the ballot. In Director District 4, Dale Wimmer ran unopposed and was reelected with 70 votes. Along with Reed and Wimmer who was also reelected as president, the Maple Valley board was made of Diane Lansin, Tammy Flanigan, and Kevin Goslar. In the Anthon-Oto Director District 1, Eric O'Connell was re-elected with 106 votes. Director District 4, previously served by Daniel Brant, and Director District 5, previously served by Kirk Feddersen, were write-in votes as no candidates were on the ballot. Pat Maguire and Troy Putzier were elected for the seats. Along with Feddersen, Maguire, and Putzier, the Anthon Oto board is made of President Pat Pierce, Bob Clausen, and Eric O’Connell.
The Uhl family farm was sold at an auction.
The Hawk groups at AOMV spent some of their Hawk time creating costumes and cheers and decorating scarecrows in preparation for the annual Hawk Olympics. They all collided in the gym for their annual Hawk Olympic competition.
Fifty-two National Guard members from the former Mapleton and Ida Grove units and past and present members of the Dension unit participated in an activity-filled weekend reunion at Little Sioux Campground. This is only the second time this reunion has been held since the closing of the Ida Grove unit in 1983 and the Mapleton unit in 2004.
Even though it was raining, Valley Bank & Trust of Mapleton and Danbury served a tailgate party before the big football game between the MVAO Rams and the IKM-Manning Wolves. The proceeds from the supper were donated to the MVAO athletic department.
Danbury Catholic School celebrated their usual Mass, but this week, they had a couple special guests. Bishop Walker Nickless celebrated the Mass with Fr. Terry Roder and Deacon Ray Rosburg. Joining the congregation was Dan Ryan, new superintendent of schools for the diocese.
The council seats currently filled by Mike Barry and Dave Colbert were up for grabs. Two people officially filed their papers for those two seats. Barry and Colbert both chose to run for re-election. No other papers were filed.
The intellectual property law firm of McKee, Voorhees & Sease, PLC welcomed Luke Mohrhauser. His practice will concentrate on patent prosecution for the firm’s Mechanical/Electrical Group.
The Mapleton Zone LWML [Lutheran Women Missionary League] Rally was hosted by St. Matthew in Mapleton with 82 in attendance. The speaker was Mark Gerken, Executive Assistant for Mission with the theme “M and Ms: Gotta Have Em.”
Jan Wolterman held a Tastefully Simple Customer Appreciation day.
The C.R. Brown and Carolyn Babl estates were sold at a combined auction.
MVAO Homecoming Coronation was held, and Avery Nepper, daughter of Linda and the late Mike Nepper, was crowned queen. Nathan Clausen, son of Janelle and Mark Clausen, was crowned king. Other senior candidates were Stephanie Petersen, Adrienne Elmquist, Whitney Dose, Tim Dougherty, Rick Maynard, and Ethan Heinse. Emcees were Brittany McBride and Eric Koithan. Attendants were Juniors Sam Paulsen and Cody Conover, Sophomores Shelby Christensen and Beau Wolfe, and Freshmen Lexie Boyle and Ryan Dougherty.
Sue Bruning, president of the Castana Jr. 76ers GFWC presented the Kind News certificate to Maple Valley School First Grade Teacher Sue Woodward and to Danbury Catholic School First and Second Grade Teacher Lisa Bruning. Kind News is a publication from the Humane Society used to teach students about pet care and how to treat animals. The Castana Jr. 76ers have been sponsoring teachers for a number of years.
The churches of the MVAO Ecumenical Churches participated in a CROP WALK.
People looking for some good deals checked out select garages in Anthon. The city held their fall citywide garage sales.
Mary Jo Hanson was one of three grand prize winners in a drawing which was held by the Professional Educators of Iowa at the Iowa State Fair. The money was to be used for her classroom to give her students a better learning environment.
Leah Garner, daughter of Cindy and Arlen Kuehl, was living a normal life in Minnesota. She and her husband Aaron were enjoying seeing their 9-month old son, Gavan growing and learning new things; all was well. Until the visit to the doctor's office. Leah was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Now their lives have changed. Medical intervention has its side effects, including draining the family's finances. To help Leah and her family pay for the mounting medical bills, a co-ed softball tournament was held at the Alvis Wessling Memorial Park. Nineteen teams filled the ballpark. Along with lots of ball, lots of food was served, all for Leah's benefit. The weekend was almost perfect for ballgames. It was a little windy Sunday, but no rain fell.
World Events
Libyan leader Colonel Moamer Kadhafi spoke during the United Nations General Assemblyat UN headquarters. Saturday Night Live writers had a tough time topping his wacky speech.
Kanye West jumped onstage during the MTV Video Music Awards, stealing the spotlight away from 19-year-old Taylor Swift as she won the 'Best Female Video' award.
Actor Patrick Swayze of 'Ghost' and 'Dirty Dancing' fame, succumbed to Stage IV pancreatic cancer and died at the age of 57.
The Federal Reserve releases a survey that concludes that the economy was showing signs of slow recovery. Credit conditions and retail sales remained down, but other aspects of the economy, such as employer hiring in some markets, were improving.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer went toe-to-toe in the Australian Open. Nadal was able to secure a victory after five grueling sets over more than four hours.
Nobel prize winner Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, known as the "father of the green revolution" died at his home near Dallas. He was 95.
Larry Gelbart, the comedy writer famed for his work on "M-A-S-H" and "Tootsie," died after a long battle with cancer. He was 81.
Canadian producer Pierre Cossette died in Montreal. The "father of the Grammy Awards" produced the televised awards show for 35 years until 2005.
Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary died at age 72 from complications arising from chemotherapy.
Jim Carroll, the poet and punk rocker who wrote "The Basketball Diaries," died. He was 60.
About 60 people died when a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit the island of Java, the most populous area of the country.
The UK government convicted three men for a 2006 plot to blow up an airplane using plastic soda bottles. Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Tanvir Hussain, and Assad Sarwar were found guilty of conspiring to kill passengers and crew members aboard seven trans-Atlantic flights. The specifics of this plot are the cause of the recent change to airline safety regulations, which forbids passengers from bringing bottles of liquid greater than 3 oz through airport security.
More than 30 people were killed when fast-moving floods caused by heavy rain sweep through Istanbul.
Almost 90 people died in and around Manila in flooding caused by Tropical Storm Ketsana, which dropped about 17 inches of rain in 12 hours. The floods were Manila's worst in about 50 years.
NFL football player Brett Favre came out of retirement - again - and joined the Minnesota Vikings as their quarterback. The 40 year old has a history of retiring at the end of seasons and had tearfully stated that he would not come out of retirement this time.
An underwater 8.0-magnitude earthquake caused a tsunami in Samoa and American Samoa that killed more than 115 people.
A 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit the island of Sumatra, leaving more than 700 people dead and thousands trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings in the city of Padang.
Following national criticism over the fee programs for debit card users, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase announced they would reduce or eliminate fees, adjust credit schedules, and allow customers to opt out of overdraft protection.
For the first time, scientists created a vaccine that seemed to reduce the risk of contracting the AIDS virus.
Though financial experts maintained that the recession was recovering, the economy shed 263,000 jobs in September. Unemployment increased from 9.7% to 9.8%. However, the rate at which the economy is worsening lightened significantly over the year.
Oscar winning director Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland on a U.S. warrant for the 1977 sexual assault of a minor. Polanski was jailed until December 4th, where he was released on bail, and remains under house arrest at his Swiss chalet.
The Detroit Lions lost every game they played in 2008, and the last game they played in 2007, and the first two games they played in 2009. All told, they were 0 for their last 19 when they defeated the Washington Redskins 19-14 for their first win since December 23rd, 2007.
Those Welcomed Into This World
Grant and Ali Patera became the parents of Blake Matthew Patera. He was welcomed home by his big sister Alexis. The children's grandparents are Rick and Becky Nichols and Diane and the late Dr. Daniel Patera. Their great grandparents are Arlene Nichols, Jim and Mary Patera, and Don and Gladys Kestel.
Peggy and Frank Bechtold presented their baby boy, Noah Jones Bechtold. His grandparents are Angie and Bob Jones and the late Lola and John Bechtold.
Those Who Departed This World
Esther J. Schlinz, 94, passed away. She lived on a farm near Danbury for 69 years where she was a dedicated farm wife and mother. She was survived by 5 daughters, Marlene (Bob) Valley, Jean (Rob) Norberg, Jane (Tom) Zebus, Sharon (Ray) Bowles, and Shirley (Warren) Raab; 8 grandchildren; 7 great grandchildren; and Ronnie Coyle, who was like the son she never had, and his family.
Beverly Jean “Bubbles” Hupke, 78, died. She could be found at her desk in Del’s 66 and Hupke’s Service Station keeping the books and helping with the day to day business. Many times she rode in the Battle Creek school bus when Delbert "Blackie" was the driver. Survivors included 2 sons, Tim (Kris) and Scott (Bobbi); 7 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren; a brother, Jim Schumacher; a sister, Judee (Wayne) Schumann; nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Harold F. McDermott, 92, passed away. He loved his life’s work as a farmer. He also found pleasure in playing cards, painting, and telling jokes, utilizing his Irish sense of humor. He enjoyed working with the Schleis and Feddersen Auction Company as their ringman. Survivors included Loy, his bride of 70 years; a daughter, Donna Hoag; 2 sons, Lyn McDermott and Larry (Geanie) McDermott; 9 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren; 5 great great grandchildren; 2 sisters, Leona Busby-Slausen and Irene Gardia; a special cousin, Joseph McDermott; nieces; nephews; and other cousins.
Jane C. Ortner, 60, died. She liked animals, taking long walks with her dog and loved to decorate for the holidays, especially the Christmas season. She was a loving wife and mother and cherished the time with family and friends. She is missed by her husband of 37 years, John; sons John (Nicole) and Josh; mother Nancy Kooker; sisters Kate (Ted) Starostka and Lucy (Bob) Anderson; brother Ned Rood and many other family members.
Those Who Celebrated Special Occasions
Vincent and Dorothy Boyle celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
Other Local News
The youngest pumpkins at Danbury Catholic had a date with the pumpkin patch at the Janelle and Mark Clausen house behind the school. However, instead of walking through the school yard, the kids and their teachers climbed onto a hay rack and were chauffered to the Clausen residence by James Oberreuter. The kids were each able to choose a pumpkin which would be used in the classroom for a variety of activities.
The official enrollment count in Iowa schools for funding purposes is the first school day in October. The number of students counted in the Maple Valley Community School and the Anthon-Oto Community School that day was 540.5 for MV and 244.7 for A-O. This was a decrease of .2 full time equivalent resident students for Maple Valley and 26.8 student decrease for Anthon-Oto. Total enrollment for the A-O and MV school systems was 785.2 students.
Lin Christiansen, Willow Dale Wellness Village Independent & Assisted Living manager, was selected as October Employee of the Month.
AOMV October Hawks of the Month were Laura Perez, Austin Hazard, Madyson Hinkel, Conor Collins, Riley Ehlers, and Derik Bailey.
The Woodbury County Chapter of Pheasants Forever hosted their annual Youth Day at Little Sioux Park in Correctionville.
Rebekah Sturgeon, daughter of Christine and Robin Sturgeon, and Justin Buth, son of Lynn and Michael Buth were named Commended Students in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program. Justin and Rebekah were the first MVAO high school students to receive this honor in many years.
Every three years the students at MVAO focus on their future during a career/transition fair in the school. The day began with a guest speaker. Interest and transition topic sessions along with college rep panel presentations followed the opening ceremony. Over 80 business professionals from a variety of careers then spoke in special sessions of their job and their educational background and answered the questions of the students in their group to give the students some insight into their career.
Dean Lansink, Brian Plautz, Matt Seuntjens, and Jay Sexton from Danbury Fire Department paid a visit to the children at Danbury Catholic in recognition of Fire Prevention Week. Along with showing the children the truck, squad members demonstrated how to use a fire extinguisher in case they ever needed to. They also talked about fire escape plans and meeting places. As is tradition, the younger students were given a ride.
The Iowa Sports Foundation challenged schools to design a 30 minute activity to promote wellness, and Danbury Catholic Physical Education Instructor Jerry Klindt ran with the challenge. The 3rd through 6th graders designed placards to wear, and the entire school spent an hour walking the streets. Because 100% of the school participated, DC was eligible to win money targeted for the PE program.
The Horn Memorial Hospital Board of Directors announced that Marc Augsburger accepted the position of CEO/Administrator.
St. Peter's United Church of Christ held their annual soup luncheon. Homemade vegetable beef soup, homemade chicken noodle soup, ham sandwiches and taverns were the integral part of the entree. Pie and cake gave the sweet touch to the meal.
St. Mary's Guild of Mapleton held their annual turkey supper. Staley's Catering Service furnished the majority of the meal with the Guild ladies preparing the balance of the meal.
With just one more game in the regular season, the Ram football team had a pretty good season. Their current record, 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the district, put the team in the sub-state playoff game. The top four teams in each district qualify for this playoff. If the Rams win the game, they will advance to the state playoff game. The last time the Rams qualified for the playoffs was in 1995.
Staff Sgt. Douglas Boren competed against 12 Airmen from other Air Mobility Commnand bases, plus one competitor from an AMC affiliate unit’s Icon contest, based loosely on the TV show American Idol. He finished 4th and was still to try out for the Tops in Blue, the Air Force's premier touring performance ensemble. Doug is the son of Beth (Wright) and David Boren and the grandson of Shirley and the late Merle Wright. He is currently stationed in Kansas. He is married to Suzanne and the father of Austin, Neveah and Aaron. Sergeant Boren is an instructor boom operator for the 384th Air Refueling Squadron.
Danbury Catholic held its annual craft show.
The MVAO High School Pops Concert was held. Illness took some students out of the choirs, but the technical problems with the lighting were a larger challenge. The singers still made beautiful music despite the darkness.
"Healthy Choices Every Day" was the theme for Healthy Choices Week at Maple Valley Elementary School. Students participated in activities and had some special events that promoted healthy choices we can make each day.
Students at Danbury Catholic School participated in Red Ribbon Week with special activities. Among the activities, kids made and decorated paper airplanes and had a contest to see which flew farthest. The winners by grade of the airplane contest were Even Van Houten, Destiny Roling, Brooke Boyle, and Brad Ortner. Second place winners were Nathaniel Tarr, Zach Craig, Haylee Halbur, and Ali Boysen.
The Battle Creek Medical Auxiliary hosted their annual Fall Luncheon and Card Party. There was a chance table, door prize, and great food. Card games were 500, Bridge, Pinochle, and Euchre. Proceeds went to help the Battle Creek Ambulance and Willow Dale Wellness Village.
Maple Valley Elementary students participated in a bookmark contest, with the theme "Books Can Take You Anywhere!" The students that participated had their bookmarks displayed at Barnes and Noble during their book fair, and then they were returned to Maple Valley Elementary. A committee looked them over, and picked one winner at each grade level. The winners were Sophie Krusen, Mia Welte, Haden Kuhl, Clayton Coleman, and Jaicey Rhode.
The top ten accelerated readers for the first quarter at Maple Valley were Tyler Gunlogson, Sophia Merchant, Adam Ehlers, Jacob Schaffer, Cameron Brenner, Olivia Oberreuter, Avery Ehlers, Ben Sadler, Karlee Wolf, and Jack Stockton.
Willow Dale Wellness Village Independent & Assisted Living community remained deficiency free for their third consecutive survey based on a Recertification Monitoring Evaluation conducted by the Iowa Department of Inspections & Appeals.
Over two dozen men and women braved the chilly temps and wind to unite and recite the Rosary. The less-than-perfect weather was very fitting as the Rosary Rally was held to pray for Christianity in this less-than-perfect world. For the last few decades non-christian organizations have stepped up their mission to try to wipe out religion in the public. This rally was to make it publically known that Christians would fight for their beliefs.
The new Mapleton Starspinners 4-H Club officers were President: Paisley Conlon, Vice President: Jamie Plautz, Secretary: Amber Van Cleave, Treasurer: Morgan Hart, Reporter: Megan Wimmer, Historian: Maura Matney, Photographer: Hannah Sadler, and Recreational Leaders: Kevin Bruning and Isaac Jessen.
The high school cheerleaders switched roles as they changed into teachers from their usual student status. The high schoolers held a cheer clinic before the final home football game. During halftime, the future cheerleaders led the crowd in a number of cheers with the present cheerleaders.
P A F Jackson Focus 90 won reserve junior bull calf champion at the American Royal Super Point Roll of Victory (ROV) Angus Show in Kansas City, MO. Robert Paulsrud owned the winning bull.
Johnson Propane distributed propane safety information to area schools during Fire Prevention Week. Schools that received information were Odebolt-Arthur-Battle Creek-Ida Grove, Danbury Catholic, Galva-Holstein, Maple Valley-Anthon Oto, River Valley, and Schleswig. The information was handed out to the elementary students.
The Rams played in their first football playoff game in 14 years. The 5-4 Rams faced 7-2 Bondurant Farrar who ended MVAO's trip to the state tournament. B-F was knocked out in the substate round by IKM-Manning who lost in the state semi-final game.
Danbury Catholic School was filled with guests as they celebrated Grandparents Day. Grandparents (and some "honorary grandparents") met their grandchildren and attended Mass together. They then enjoyed lunch before the kids performed a number of songs and poems for their guests. The day ended with the tradition of singing "Young and Old."
The AOMV Middle School Fall Concert was held in the AOMV Gym. While it was evident, particularly in the bands, that many children were absent because of the flu, the groups sounded great with blended voices and musical instruments in the choirs and bands, respectively.
New AOMV Hawk Reading Club members were Danielle Ortner, Morgan Hart, Shaley McDermott, Luke Whitney, Laura Perez, Hayley Seuntjens, Ellie Walsh, Nicole Weber, Jerico Trucke, Paul Weber, Jordan Trucke, Kendra Sexton, and Amanda Downing.
World Events
'Late Night Show' host David Letterman revealed to viewers that he had become tangled up in an attempted extortion case with a man who claimed Letterman was having an affair. Letterman admitted to the affair, and even joked about it on his show.
All the buildup over Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics Summer Games came to a suspense-free end after the Windy City was the first to be eliminated from consideration. President Jacques Rogge announce the name of winning city: Rio de Janeiro.
Falcon Heene, 6, was found hiding in the attic of his home after his siblings had erroneously reported that he was riding aboard an experimental balloon built by his father Richard Heene. The Larimer County Sheriff's department determined that the Heenes created the hoax in an attempt to sign a deal for a reality show.
The U.S. gross national product grew at an annual rate of 3.5% in the third quarter, the first growth the nation has seen in over a year.
Unemployment reached the highest rate in 26 years, hitting 10.2% in October. While many economists claimed the recession was ending, and the G.D.P. grew in the third quarter for the first time in a year, the number of jobless in the U.S. continued to rise. A broader measure of unemployment, which includes unemployed, underemployed, and discourage workers, stood at 17.5%.
Just a year after losing to Detroit in six games in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Pittsburgh Penguins were back in the finals again, rematches against the Red Wings. This time the series went seven games and the Penguins prevailed to take home their first cup since 1992 .
Shiloh Pepin, a girl who was born with fused legs, a rare condition often called "mermaid syndrome," and gained a wide following on the Internet and national television, died at the age of 10.
Soupy Sales died from cancer. He was best known for his children's TV show, Lunch with Soupy Sales. He was 83.
Vic Mizzy, the pop songwriter who is most well-known for writing the theme songs for the 1960s sitcoms "Green Acres" and "The Addams Family," died at the age of 93.
Grammy Award-winning Argentine folk singer Mercedes Sosa, known as the “Voice of Latin America,” died at a Buenos Aires hospital. She was 74.
Stephen Gately, a singer with the Irish boy band Boyzone who made headlines when he came out as gay a decade ago, died while on vacationing in Spain. He was 33. The cause of death remains unclear.
Captain Lou Albano, the charismatic professional wrestler who appeared in Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" video, died. He was 76.
Herta MŸller, a Romanian-born German novelist and essayist won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her writing focuses on the oppression in her native country and the difficulties of political exile.
President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.
Fourteen AmericansÑeleven American troops and three civiliansÑwere killed in two separate helicopter crashes in Afghanistan. The casualities contributed to one of the deadliest days of the 8-year war. Eight U.S. troops were killed during several bomb attacks. Three U.N. staff members were also killed in separate attacks. These deaths made October 2009 the deadliest month for Americans for the entirety of the war.
The federal government announced it would no longer prosecute those who use or sell marijuana for medical reasons, if they are complying with state law. There are 14 states that currently allow medical marijuana to some extent.
A fossil skeleton of the species Ardipithecus ramidus, has been discovered. Nicknamed "Ardi," its age was estimated at 4.4 million years, making it older than Lucy (the next-oldest and best-preserved skeleton of a hominid, and 3.2 million years old) and the oldest specimen from the human branch of the primate group categorization. Ardi, an adult female, was four-feet tall, 120 pounds, and walked upright on two legs.
General Motors announced it would shut down the Saturn line of cars after Penske Automotive Group cut off talks to acquire the automotive brand. Saturn's 350 dealerships around the country would close.
Americans Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their research on the connections between chromosomes and cancer. Only 10 women have ever won the prize in medicine.
Three Americans, Charles K. Kao, Willard S. Boyle, and George E. Smith, won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work developing fiber-optic cable and inventing the "eye" in digital cameras.
Two Americans were awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics: Elinor Ostrom for "her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons," and Oliver E. Williamson for "his analysis of economic governance, especially the boundaries of the firm."
President Obama declared the outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus, also called swine flu, a national emergency. This step would allow hospitals and local governments to execute disaster preparation plans and set up alternative treatment locations if they should face a rapid influx of patients sick with the disease.
Those Welcomed Into This World
Rob and Teresa (Sohm) McMillen announced the birth of their daughter, Nina Lea. She was welcomed home by her sisters, Lauren and Margo. The girls' grandparents are Marshall and Mary Ann Sohm and Don and the late Patricia McMillen. Their great grandparents are Agnes and Norman Swensen.
Those Who Departed This World
Elizabeth "Betty" Jean Collins Jung, 72, died. She and her husband, Bob traveled extensively throughout the United States and Europe during their marriage due to his position as a Senior Master Sergeant with the U.S. Air Force. They then worked with the U.S. Embassy Service and were stationed in Vienna, Austria, Budapest, Hungary and Romania. She loved to write, read, garden, go to the movies, go antiquing, spend time with the Aquabelles, play bridge, and teach “Dog” new tricks. She was a published author. Those left to cherish her memory were 2 sons, Mark (Vicki) Jung and Matthew Jung; a daughter, Susan Jung; 2 grandchildren, her brother Roger Collins, 2 sisters, Marilyn (Chuck) Everett and Carole (Bob) Hebel, 2 sisters-in-law, Mavis Sullivan and Hugette Collins; her “adopted” children David Daniels and Dora Soria, many nieces and nephews, and her little white dog Blossom.
Fred A. Paulsrud, 85, died. He served in the United States Army during World War II occupations in Nuernberg, Germany. He was a guard during the Nuernberg trials and met Elfriede while managing the Caramella Officers Club. He was involved in the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Order of Eastern Star, Ida County Farm Bureau, Ida County Cattleman’s Association, Ida County 4-H, and Faith Community Church. He enjoyed his livestock and grain crops. He loved coffee at 4 p.m. and going out for afternoon drives. Survivors included his wife of 62 years, Elfriede; 3 children, Ted (DeeAnn) Paulsrud and Robert (Theresa) Paulsrud, and Margaret "Mag" (Mickey) Sauser; a daughter-in-law, Pam Paulsrud; 15 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by a sister-in-law, Paula (Hans) Schwaiger; and cousins.
Mark “Harpo” Brenner, 58, died. He enjoyed family trips to Vegas and the local casinos with his two sisters and going to car shows and races with his son. He especially enjoyed driving his Corvette around town, visiting with people and telling stories about the old days. Those left to cherish his memory were his son, Robbie Brenner; 2 sisters, Maureen Sitzman and Sarah (Lloyd) Grenier; a nephew; 2 nieces; 4 great nieces; 2 great nephews; 2 great great nieces; an aunt, Ruth Martin; along with many cousins and extended family
Arthur W. Pierce, 81, passed away. He was survived by his brother Harold Pierce; 4 stepdaughters, Deborah Berbaum, Judy Solose, Linda Adkins, and Paula Storer; 10 grandchildren; 6 great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Art served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. He retired from the airline industry.
Ronald Kelley, 84, died. He worked for Chicago-Northwestern Railroad as a station agent, first at Kiron and later in Battle Creek. When the railroad shut down, he accepted employment in the Battle Creek school district as bus driver and chief mechanic. He served as an EMT on the Battle Creek ambulance crew for many years. He was active in the Battle Creek Lions Club and, in earlier years, served on the Battle Creek City Council. Survivors included 2 children, Stuart (Kate) Kelley and Rhonda (Richard) Segebart; 8 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; as well as many extended family members.
Douglas J. Uhl, 55, passed away at his home surrounded by his family. He farmed his entire life and in recent years was also employed at Gomaco. In his free time he enjoyed spending time with family, tractor pulls and being a part of the Monona County Fair Board. Survivors included 2 sons, Todd and his special friend Shelly Bruxvort, and Steven and his wife Amanda; a daughter, Jessica; 4 grandchildren; his father Donald Uhl; 3 brothers Greg (Judy) Uhl, Jerry (Sharon) Uhl, and Tom (Deb) Uhl; and a sister, Jean Uhl; and many nieces and nephews.
Those Who Celebrated Special Occasions
Ona Weary celebrated her 96th birthday.
Dick and Sharon (Uhl) Juelfs celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary.
Dick Kingsbury celebrated his 70th birthday.
Anna Oberreuter celebrated her 95th birthday.
Mary Petrositch celebrated her 95th birthday.
Jim and Cec Karhoff celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Other Local News
Battle Creek Presbyterian Church held its annual Harvest Turkey Dinner.
The St. John’s Methodist UMW held their annual Election Day luncheon. The parishioners served ham balls, hot potatoes, salad bar, rolls, desserts, and coffee.
Iowa reported 14 confirmed H1N1 deaths in Iowa, including 13 adults and one child. Two of these deaths hit close to home as one victim was from Woodbury County and one was from Monona County. The number of people in the area which have been confirmed as to having the H1N1 virus continued to climb.
The Northwest Iowa Choral Association’s Junior High Honor Choir Festival was held. Students from the AOMV Middle School who participated were Kristen Hatler, Shaley McDermott, Jessica Ingram, Nicole Webe, Bryce Hatler, Austin Hazard, Logan Buth and Joshua Hatler.
At the November Community Club meeting, a motion was passed unanimously to conduct an extensive membership drive to recruit new members. What facilitated this response was a report given by President David Colbert that described the dire need to replace the roof of the Gymnasium at the Danbury Rec Center, (i.e. The Public School Gym).
Confirmation students Ashley Buth, Becca Wenger, Lexie Boyle, Kaylee Bubke, and Jamie Plautz raked the leaves at the Danbury Catholic School, the church, and the rectory Sunday afternoon. The girls, with some parental help, cleared the lawns and gardens on a gorgeous day.
MVAO High School sponsored two informational meetings for high school students and parents. The annual Junior College Planning Night for juniors and their parents, and the annual Financial Aid Night for seniors and their parents were both held.
Bert Wessling's semi was well known in the area as the "Jesus Freak" semi. Wessling, a born again Christian, proudly displayed his love of the Lord on his truck where any passer-by would know of his faith. The semi, a utility pole, and a shed were involved in a fire at Bert's rural home. A passerby noticed the blaze and called 911. Personnel from Danbury Fire Department, Danbury Ambulance Service, Battle Creek Fire Department, and Woodbury County Emergency Services responded to the call for help.
The students in the Maple Valley Elementary building enjoyed participating in a Reading Carnival. The students earned the celebration by meeting their November Reading Challenge goal of 130,000 minutes. Throughout the morning, the students participated in approximately a dozen carnival games and received a small snack and prize when they finished.
Veterans Neal Seuntjens, Donna Shaw, Leo Dose, John Jacobs, and George Waller, legion members from the Loren Hollister Post in Mapleton, went to Danbury Catholic where they talked of the founding of Veterans Day, the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and some of the equipment they used during their respective wars.
In celebration of National Diabetes Month, Horn Memorial Hospital offered a Diabetes Health Fair open to the public.
Danbury men Dick Anderson and Dick Kingsbury officiated at the state volleyball tournament. The two officiated the first round game between Class 1A teams Southern Cal and Treynor. Combined, the two have officiated volleyball for 61 years. Kingsbury has been an official for 31 years, and Anderson has officiated for 30 years.
St. Mary's Rosary Society sponsored a shopping trip to Omaha. A chartered bus took the shoppers to the mall and back home.
Pancakes were flipping off the the griddle and onto the plates as the Danbury firemen held their pancake breakfast.
Eight youth from St. Mary's Catholic Church, Haylee Halbur, Lexie Boyle, Becca Wenger, Sami Halbur, Mikayla Lansink, Nikki Boysen, Kyle Hardisty, and Andy Seuntjens visited homes in Danbury who cleaned out their cupboards a little to help add some food to 9 families in Danbury who may find their cupboards a little bare. The youth, under the direction of Stacie Halbur and Sherrie Boyle, picked up the food, sorted it, and redistributed it to the less fortunate.
The MVAO National Honor Society sponsored a winter clothing drive. They collected new and gently used hats, mittens, scarves, boots, coats, snow pants, or any other winter clothing items for those in need this winter. Collectionboxes were placed at various locations in the MVAO communities. Many bags of clothing were donated by the generous people of our communities. Some children’s coats, snow pants and several hats and pairs of gloves/mittens were given to each of the elementary schools to give to children who needed them. The other clothing items were taken to West Central Development/Food Bank in Mapleton.
World Events
Tareq Salahi and Michaele Salahi arrived for the State Dinner at the White House. However according to the US Secret Service, the couple was not on the guest list, but still managed to meet and shake hands with President Obama, and Vice President Biden.
Tiger Woods was rushed to the hospital with cuts to his face after crashing his SUV into a fire hydrant and tree outside of his home. When the news of the event unfolded, it became clear that the crash was the result of a fight with his wife. Five days later Woods admitted to having affairs with several women while married.
Twilight fever hit the U.S. as the second movie in the series "New Moon" opened in theaters. The book-based movie grossed $140 million in its opening weekend, making it the third highest in history.
Talk show queen Oprah announced that she would be ending her program at the conclusion of her 25th season.
Irish balladeer Liam Clancy, last of the Clancy Brothers troupe whose sentimental songs of old Ireland spearheaded a 1960s folk revival worldwide, died in a Cork hospital at the age of 74.
John Allen Muhammad, known as the D.C. sniper who killed 10 people in shooting spree in the nation's capital in 2002, was executed in a Virginia prison.
Actor Dennis Cole died at age 69. Cole began his Hollywood career as a stuntman before landing roles on TV. He married Jacklyn Smith in 1978 and divorced three years later. The murder of his son in 1991 led Cole to speak out on violence in television.
Ken Ober spent the last several years behind the scenes of shows like The New Adventures of Old Christine but will be remembered most for his time in front of the camera as host of the MTV show Remote Control. He passed away at age 52.
Actor Edward Woodward, star of 80's TV show The Equalizer and the film Wicker Man among other projects, died at his home in England following a long illness. He was 79.
Famed horse trainer Bobby Frankel, who led Empire Maker to a Belmont Stakes win in 2003, died at age 68.
Patriarch Pavle, who led Serbia's Christian Orthodox Church through its post-Communist revival and called for peace and conciliation during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, died. He was 95.
According to a new study, researchers now recommend that women wait until the age of 50 to begin breast cancer screening with mammograms, instead of age 40, as has been recommended in the past.
The New York Yankees won their 27th World Series title, and their first since 2000, against the Philadelphia Phillies. Yankees' left fielder, Hideki Matsui, won the Most Valuable Player award. The 2009 season was the Yankees first in their new stadium.
Former Miami Heat center Alan Ogg died in his native Alabama, after an infection reached his heart.
A shooting at the Fort Hood army post in Texas left 13 dead and 31 injured. Ten of those killed were military personnel, while two were civilians. The alleged shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an army psychiatrist, was shot four times by an officer on the scene, but he survived the attack. Hasan's motive was unknown, though he was slated to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan soon.
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-professed organizer of the September 11 attacks on the U.S. that killed 3,000 people, would stand trial in criminal court in Manhattan. Attorney General Eric Holder would ask prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Mohammed and four co-conspirators. Five other detainees would be tried in military court.
Governor Mark Sanford, who in June 2009 made headlines after a brief disappearance from office and then the admittance of an extramarital affair, was facing 37 counts of using his office for personal financial gain.
In a surprising piece of good news, the unemployment rate in November fell to 10%, down from its peak of 10.2% in October. Employers shed only 11,000 jobs in November as well. This jobs report is the strongest since the recession began over two years ago.
Scientists found water on the moon during NASA's Lcross satellite. At least 26 gallons of water were found. These findings demonstrate the possibility of sustainable human life there.
Actor Carl Ballantine passed away. He is best known for his role as crewman Lester Gruber in McHale's Navy, but he began his career as a comedian and magician. He was 92.
Claude Levi-Strauss, the French anthropologist who transformed Western understanding of what was once called "primitive man" and who towered over the French intellectual scene in the 1960s and '70s, died at 100.
Maine voters overturned a law allowing same-sex marriage, which had been instated by the governor of the state in May 2009. Maine is the 31st state to block same-sex marriage through a public referendum. All of the five states that currently allow same-sex marriage instituted the law via legislative action and court rulings.
Those Who Departed This World
Mary Petrositch, 95, of Danbury entered her eternal rest. She and her husband owned and operated the family farm north of Danbury until Butch’s death. She continued the farming business with her son, Bill until she retired. She was an avid card player and belonged to many card clubs during her “shuffling” career. She also spent much time quilting and gardening. She was survived by her 2 daughters, Ann (Alvin) Christophersen, and Jan Petrositch; 5 grandchildren: 6 great grandchildren; 3 sisters, Alice (John) Holck, Rose Ann (Herchul) Tice, and Joan Hamann; and one sister-in-law, Adele Brenner.
Ronald Allison Jones, 85, passed away. He was an accountant in Omaha for International Harvester and later transferred to the Kansas City office and retired in 1986. He was a proud grandfather, avid golfer, and sports fan. He and his wife, Laura enjoyed traveling, and made many trips south in the winter. He was survived by his wife of 60 yrs, Laura; his 3 children, Michael (Rhonda), Jay (Lea) and Lauri, 6 grandchildren; a brother, Jerry Jones (Carol); a sister, Phillis Johnson; and 5 great-grandchildren.
Daryl E. Scheer, 61, died unexpectedly. He worked at Bill’s Skelly Service Station, and since 1972 worked at the Walter Funeral Home and Armstrong Funeral Home in Mapleton. He also worked at Maple Valley School as a bus driver for 19 years, all while being a full time farmer. He served his church over the years. He was also a member of the Mapleton Flying Club. Daryl enjoyed visiting with his friends in the area and in Canada, fishing year round, and reading his farm magazines on his leather recliner. He was survived by Connie, his wife of 39 years; a daughter, Amy Scheer and Tue Nguyen; a son, Bryan Scheer and Betsy Tucker; a grandson; a sister-in-law, Vickie Merriman and her husband, Corky; 2 brothers-in-law, Howard Watson and Lloyd Hamman and his wife, Linda; and mother-in-law, Anna Marie Hamman; along with several nieces and nephews.
Sherman B. Williams, 78, passed away following an extended illness. He joined the United States Air Force and served for twenty years. Sherman then worked for the United States Postal Service, retiring after twenty years. An avid sports fan, Sherman was always rooting for the Dallas Cowboys. He also had a fondness for model trains. Survivors included his wife of 56 years, Jo; 3 children, Sharen (Jim) Thompson, Donna (Chris) Kallas, and Gary (Lorie) Williams; 5 grandchildren; and 7 great-grandchildren. He was also survived by his mother, Edyth Hayton Ratliff; a sister, Gay Bruner; and many nieces, nephews, and other extended family members.
Gregory D. Uhl, 59, died. He started in the Paint Department at GOMACO. He was named the department’s leadperson and served as the supervisor until the paint rooms were consolidated and moved to GOMACO’s Plant #2. At that time, he again began serving as the department’s leadperson and was instrumental in reopening the Paint Department at GOMACO Plant #1. Greg was the 2009 H.W. Godbersen Award winner. Survivors included his wife, Judy; 2 children, Dennis (Lori) Uhl and Ann (James) Kelly; 3 grandchildren; his father, Donald Uhl; 2 brothers, Jerry (Sharon) Uhl and Tom (Deb) Uhl; and a sister, Jean Uhl. He was also survived by his mother-in-law, Cecelia Hamann; brothers- and sisters-in-law, Dick (Connie) Hamann, Don (Jane) Hamann, and Linda (Paul) Crom; as well as many nieces, nephews, and other extended family members.
Those Who Celebrated Special Occasions
Nina Lea McMillen, daughter of Teresa and Rob McMillen, was baptized at Sacred heart Catholic Church in Ida Grove. Her Godparents are Berny and Tonya Sohm.
Vera Gosch celebrated her 90th birthday.
Iowa State University (ISU) Extension-Woodbury County graduated 19 from their fall master gardener class. Included in the graduates was Janeal Holmes.
Other Local News
The students at Danbury Catholic paid a visit to Valley Bank in Danbury to help deck their halls for the holidays.
The Anthon Oto Elementary winter concert was held at the Anthon Oto gymnasium. Following the band, the student body presented the play "Elfis and the Sleigh Riders" which featured fifth graders Brett Weaver, Abby Sturgeon, Shaylee Ames, Cole Alioth, Taylor Hayes, Anne Weber, brooke Bailey, Brandon Todd, Brady Gothier, Kyler McDermott, Bekah Schram, Mason Morones, Dylan Feller, Allison Hoy, Kylee McDermott, Skyler McDermott, Morgan Todd, Loren Todd, Juan DelaGarza, and Dalton Kollbaum.
Tom Vermeersch, a public health veterinarian with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service in Springfield, IL, volunteered to serve a 13-month assignment in Afghanistan to help rebuild that country’s agricultural sector.
Danbury United Methodist Church held their annual smorgasbord. The feast, featuring chicken, ham, and meatballs along with a wide variety of salads and pies, filled the bellies of hundreds of patrons. Those leaving Dana Hall with any space in their stomach either had excellent willpower or was just too picky.
A tour of homes was sponsored by the committee planning St. Mary's celebration for the 100th anniversary of the church. Fr. Terry Roder, Sandy and Bill Ortner, Lisa and Tony Wenger, Mary Ann and Marshall Sohm, Tootie and Clair Seuntjens, and Sue and Harlan Ham, with the help of some decorating elves, opened their doors to display their Christmas cheer. A vendor fair gave people a chance to do a little shopping without leaving town.
Approximately 153 acres of land belonging to Hans and Lavone Witzel was sold at an auction.
Ida County farmer Dee Ann Paulsrud won the 2009 Iowa Farm Bureau Woman in Agriculture Award. Paulsrud’s efforts to serve agriculture and her community have earned recognition from Farm Bureau (including the Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award), her home parish, Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and U.S. Rep. Steve King. Dee Ann and Ted were also recently honored by the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, for their role in reviving Iowa’s “Beef’n Up the Troops” campaign. Known as “the Beef Stick Lady,” Dee Ann has helped send a total of 75,000 beef sticks over the past three years to Iowa troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other military bases overseas.
Ray and Pat Cloud of Placerville, California, were looking at a potential white Christmas as they received snow. In his email, Ray said that they were without power for about 12 hours. He wrote, "We have been here 30 years in 4 days and we haven't had this much since we've lived here. Usually we only get snow once in 3 or 4 years and only lasts 1 day at the most. Was cold last night, in the mid to low 20s and that is not normal.
The Maple Valley Anthon Oto High School Music Department presented their Winter Concert in the high school gym.
First State Bank held its Christmas open house.
The Maple Valley Elementary winter concert was held at the MVAO High School gymnasium. The vocal program was called "Elfis and the Sleigh Riders." Featured cast members were Adam Ehlers, Mitchell Elmquist, Karlee Wolf, Jonah Thompson, Rebecca Whitney, Nikayla Aguirre, Kendra Hart, Maurianna Jepsen, Maeci Eyer, Jaycee Gray, Norma Jean McEntee, Lauren Green, Jacob Schaffer, Tanya Hanks, Sophia Merchant, Randall Stockton, and Jaicey Rhode.
The Danbury Catholic School Christmas Program was held. This year the students performed "Miracle at Midnight." The program was under the direction of Mrs. Sharyl Bruning.
Valley Bank and Trust held its Christmas open house.
Willow Dale Wellness Village held its Christmas open house.
Maple Valley-Anthon Oto High School seniors Brittany Hesse and Tim Dougherty were named school winners for the Wendy’s High School Heisman Award. Brittany is the daughter of Tracy and Dan Castle and Dr. Curtis Hesse. Tim is the son of Dan and Mary Joan Dougherty.
Frozen mist which turned to ice may have forced school to start a couple hours late on Monday, but it didn't deter the kindergarten and fifth and sixth grade students from Danbury Catholic and their teachers and chaperones to wander from business to business and visit some shut-ins to sing Christmas carols. The caroling tradition filled the air with Christmas music as the kids skated to their destinations. The children returned to school in time to enjoy hot chocolate and cookies.
Michelle Kane and Connie Christiansen filled a truck with donations for Sioux City Animal Control and Siouxland Humane Society.
Rebekah Benson was accepted for admission to Buena Vista University. Benson, daughter of Laurie and Dennis Benson, was awarded Merit and Loyal Hays scholarships. She planned to major in environmental science at BVU.
Brianna Wilcke was accepted for admission to Buena Vista University. Wilcke, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jon Wilcke, was named a President’s scholar and was awarded a Loyal Hays scholarship. She planned to major in pre-dentistry at BVU.
For the past several years, Mrs. McNamara’s 4th and 5th Multiage class at Maple Valley Elementary School has collected and donated hats, mittens, scarves, and socks to the West Central Development Agency to be distributed to those families who could make use of these items. Students bring clothing items in place of a typical classroom gift exchange.
The rec center was a busy location as a very special visitor arrived to talk to the youngsters and hand out gifts. Santa Claus was greeted by a large crowd who packed the bleachers. The children had a chance to see the Jolly Old Elf and receive a gift. They were also able to decorate cookies and make a craft before going home.
Despite freezing rain threatening the area, the AOMV Middle School Winter Concert was held. Featured jazz band soloists were Laura Perez, Shawn Flanigan, Josh Hatler, Kristen Hatler, Riley Ehlers, Shaley McDermott, and Logan Buth.
Dick Anderson reached the 7 gallon milestone at the blood drive held in Danbury. Jean Barry hit the 5 gallon mark, Linda Colbert made it to the 4 gallon point, and Jan Wolterman reached the 2 gallon milestone.
Former Danbury resident Bryan Uhl, a member of The United States Military Academy Band, performed with the New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet in New York City for the second time. Bryan, the son of Leo and Martha Uhl, resides in Cornwall, NY with his wife, Diana. They have three children; Anna, Simon, and Gabriella.
Twitchell Electric held its annual orphan party.
World Events
President Barack Obama laid out his plan for an initial increase of some 30,000 troops in an effort to eventually begin to transition U.S. forces out of Afghanistan starting in July 2011.
On Christmas Day, 2009, Nigerian native Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to set off an explosive on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan. The explosives attached to his body failed to detonate properly, burning the terror suspect. The event caused widespread delays in international air travel and set off a massive investigation into the United States' anti-terror security measures.
Brittany Murphy, the actress who got her start in the sleeper hit ''Clueless'' and rose to stardom in ''8 Mile'' died. She was 32.
Percy Sutton, the pioneering civil rights attorney who represented Malcolm X before launching successful careers as a political power broker and media mogul died. He was 89.
Singer/songwriter Vic Chesnutt died. He was 45.
Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry died from injuries he suffered after falling out of a moving truck. He was 26.
Alaina Reed-Amini, the Broadway star and TV actress best known for her long-running roles on "Sesame Street" and "227," died. She was 63.
Arnold Stang, the voice of Top Cat, died of pneumonia. He was 91.
Jennifer Jones, the actress who won an Academy Award for her luminous performance in the 1943 film "The Song of Bernadette" died at her home in Beverly Hills. She was 90.
Yvonne King Burch, who gained early fame as one of the singing King Sisters during the big band era before launching her entire extended musical clan into show business as the King Family, died. She was 89.
Evangelist and university founder Oral Roberts died. He was 91.
Gene Barry, who played the well-dressed man of action in the television series Bat Masterson, Burke's Law and The Name of the Game, died at age 90 of unknown causes.
Singer, songwriter and Alan Parsons Project co-founder, Eric Woolfson, died after battling cancer. He was 64.
The General Electric Company (G.E.) sold NBC Universal to Comcast.