(LE MARS)–Ten students from Le Mars Community and Gehlen Catholic are vocalists for the Opus Honor Choir Festival.
More than three-thousand students auditioned for the 720 positions in four honor choirs.
At Le Mars Community, students of instructors Nancy Ewing or Randy Ewing selected for the honor choirs include David Barker, Trevor Kliever, Josh Sluiter, Austin Mack, and Karter Ewing.
Gehlen Catholic vocal directors Terra Goplen and Beverly Evans had five students selected. They are Sara Roder Ben Fuentes, Carlyn Bretey, Kaitlyn Norfolk and Carter Sitzmann.
Red Cross tours homes in Country Club area
(SIOUX CITY)–Homes on Sioux City’s north side will be featured during the American Red Cross Holiday Tour of Homes this month.
The 20th annual event November 17th through November 20th features the Country Club area of Sioux City. Four homes are on the tour along with a special 20th anniversary boutique home.
The Holiday Tour of Homes provides significant support for the American Red Cross Disaster Services, Health and Safety Services, Armed Forces Emergency Services and Youth Services.
Reservations are being accepted for the Holiday Tour of Homes by calling the Red Cross in Sioux City or by registered through the Siouxland Chapter’s web site www.siouxlandredcross.org.
Ticket options include tours, tours with lunch or a Dinner Tour. Dinner Tour guests dine at the Sioux City Country Club, hear live music and may participate in a live auction.
Honor Society raises funds to feed school age children
(SIOUX CITY)–An international honor society will raise funds for the Food Bank of Siouxland’s BackPack program which feeds children with needs. The program is also offered in Le Mars.
Beta Zeta Mu, the WITCC chapter of Phi Theta Kappa is hosting a silent auction tomorrow (November 1) through November fourth.
The auction will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day and located in front of the college bookstore.
Among the more than 100 auction items are a desktop computer and packages at Siouxland hotels. There are also numerous gift certificates from area businesses for items including tattoos and piercings, special events, collectibles, and restaurant meals.
The auction forms part of Beta Zeta Mu’s honors-in-action project, an annual effort to achieve Phi Theta Kappa honors at the regional and international levels through community activities.
Vlllage steps into more shoe business
(SHELDON)–The shoe business is growing for a Sheldon group that provides services to adults with special needs. Village Northwest Unlimited will process all footwear given to Soles4Souls from west of the Mississippi River.
Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects new and used shoes. The charity distributes these shoes to people in need nationally and internationally.
Village Northwest Unlimited began processing for Soles4Souls in September of last year. So far, more than 335-thousand pairs of shoes donated by churches, businesses and individuals have been processed.
Village C-E-O Barry Whitsell says the new level of involvement is due to the quality of work performed by the people of Village Northwest Unlimited.
Ag program opens doors to students
(SIOUX CENTER)-Students and staff from a top enrollment program at Dordt College are opening their doors for a visit.
The Ag Visit Day at Dordt College begins with registration in the Campus Center at 8:15 Friday morning. Tours will follow of both the Dordt campus and agricultural production facilities, a time to meet the professors and a lunch.
Dordt offers seven degrees in Agriculture including agri-business, agriculture education, animal science, plant science, ag missions, biotechnology and general agriculture as well as a two-year associate degree program and a pre-veterinary medicine program.
Wells Fargo job cuts fewer than original estimate
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A spokeswoman for Wells Fargo Financial says the company is eliminating 250 jobs, including 150 in Des Moines.
Diana Rodriguez of Wells Fargo Co. told the Des Moines Register the number of job losses will be fewer than originally announced because some workers moved into open posts.
The layoffs that started last week are part of a restructuring that folded the business unit into Wells Fargo mortgage and banking operations.
The final number of layoffs is expected to be around 3,400 with up to 350 of those in the Des Moines area.
Oskaloosa chiropractor guilty in abuse case
OSKALOOSA, Iowa (AP) Jurors have convicted an Oskaloosa chiropractor accused of sexually abusing patients.
The jury convicted Jason Ebelsheiser on Friday of one count of third-degree sexual abuse, two counts of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, and one count of tampering with medical records.
KCCI-TV reports the jury found Ebelsheiser not guilty of two counts of third-degree sexual abuse and couldn’t reach a verdict on two other sexual abuse counts.
The conviction came after a two-week trial in which seven female patients testified they had sought treatment and were shocked when Ebelsheiser touched their genitals.
Ebelsheiser testified he never touched the woman inappropriately.
Sentencing is set for Jan. 6.
Crash on I-80 in West Des Moines closes lanes
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) West Des Moines police say they’re investigating a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 80, which closed part of the highway.
Four people have been taken to area hospitals with unknown injuries.
Police say a Ford 150 pickup was traveling east on I-80 when it crossed the median and struck a Honda CR-V. Two males were in the pickup. The Honda was driven by a female who was accompanied by a male passenger.
The crash occurred around 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
No more homeroom for Keokuk high school students
KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) Starting in late November there will be no more homeroom for high schoolers in Keokuk.
Keokuk High School principal Larry Frakes asked the school board to remove homeroom from the school’s schedule starting Nov. 29 and the board voted to approve the idea. Associate principal Gary Benda says some students are skipping out on homeroom. He says they are late to their next class or don’t come back to school at all.
The Daily Gate City newspaper in Keokuk reports that students are required to attend homeroom every day from 10:42 a.m. to 10:59 a.m.
A curriculum had been developed last year for teachers to use during homeroom periods but Benda says teachers have been reluctant to use it.
Homeroom time will be added to other classes and lunch periods.
Dubuque couple honors Halloween-loving grandmother
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) A Dubuque couple says a Halloween-loving grandmother gets the credit for their over-the-top spooky house.
Cathy and Ross Salwolke tell the Telegraph Herald newspaper they spend about a month getting ready for Halloween, which they say has crossed from tradition to obsession.
The yard is filled with a plethora of ghosts, ghouls and gargoyles and half-eaten torsos and decaying limbs.
Cathy Salwolke says it started when her grandmother died 17 years ago on Halloween.
To honor her, they built a giant black spider to decorate the roof. She says it looked too bare, so they added a graveyard and it grew from there.
The Salwolke’s display is open to visitors through Oct. 31. There’s no charge, but visitors are asked to bring a nonperishable food item for the Dubuque Food Pantry.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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