(LE MARS)–The Class of 2011’s top students in academics are being recognized by the Le Mars Community School District Foundation.
At the annual banquet Tuesday night. Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt highlighted the seniors excellence.
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The students are Kristen Ahlers; Michael Ahlers; Hannah Barrett; Andrea Kelly; Palani Permeswaran; Mariah Ketelsen; Mackenzie DeJong; and Emily Morrison.
Dr. Wendt also recognized Roy “Red” Messerole, the district’s retired superintendent who brought the Foundation Concept to the Board of Education.
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Larry Petersen is President of the Foundation Board of Trustees. The Foundation Board has representatives from the District’s Alumni Association; Board of Education; Administration and community members.
(LE MARS)–
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These are the thoughts Le Mars Community Teacher of the Year Curt Ohrlund uses with his students each day. Ohrlund repeated them last night when he was asked to lead the audience at the School Foundation Awards Banquet.
(Janice Renken, left, Le Mars Community Alumni President and Tom Bjorge, Le Mars Community Foundation member join “Teacher of the Year” Curt Ohrlund, center, for a photo reflecting his award and $500 gifts from the Foundation and Alumni Association)
Dr. Tom Bjorge of the Foundation said Ohrlund’s classroom and career success drew testimonials crediting him with traits including being hardworking.
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Bjorge recalled the Decades of Excellence Crystal Bell winner’s band students weren’t distracted from his directing when 30 people walked into his classroom to surprise him with the teacher of the year announcement.
Ohrlund reflected on his children’s letters of support for their father’s selection as Teacher of the Year in accepting the award.
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Through the foundation and the school’s Alumni Association, Ohrlund received five hundred dollars to be used in his classroom and an identical gift for his own use.
CHEROKEE, Iowa (AP) An early morning fire heavily damaged a recycling business in Cherokee.
Firefighters were called to Filter Friend Recycling about 12:45 Tuesday morning. Crews from five different fire departments responded to the blaze.
It took crews four hours to bring the fire under control.
Fire officials say the fire appears to have started in the building’s office but oil filters behind the building helped the fire spread. Several explosions also were reported.
No one was hurt.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
(LE MARS)–Le Mars Police report a Le Mars man was injured in a scooter accident late Tuesday afternoon.
According to the report, 72-year-old Ronald Charlson was driving west on Park Lane and lost control after striking the outside curb of the road. Both the scooter and Charlson landed on the concrete entrance to the upper parking lot at the Municipal Park.
Charlson had injuries to his head, legs, back and arms which were NOT listed as incapacitating. He was taken to Floyd Valley Hospital by Le Mars Ambulance.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The American Red Cross says at least 225 homes were damaged by the tornadoes in four area counties.
Tammie Pech is a Red Cross spokeswoman in Sioux City. She says 20 homes were destroyed and an equal number had major damage. Pech also said Red Cross volunteers are still surveying the counties for damage.
No deaths were reported from Saturday’s spate of twisters in western Iowa.
The Red Cross reported 142 homes and businesses were damaged in the hard-hit town of Mapleton.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
NEWELL, Iowa (AP) Some northwest Iowa farmers eager to begin planting are getting extra help this year because of the hazards strewn about by the weekend’s tornadoes.
One twister touched down southwest of Nemaha and roared toward Newell.
Dozens of local students have pitched in to clean up the fields.
Farmer Kevin Wells said that the kids have been a big help. He says he’d have to be out in the fields for three or four days “trying to clean all of this up if the schools haven’t stepped in and gave us a hand.”
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) A South Sioux City man has been sentenced to more than seven months in jail after pleading no contest to a reduced charge in the death of a baby.
Lorenzo Guzman pleaded no contest to misdemeanor negligent child abuse on Monday for in the August death of 2-month-old Abrieana Rene Mace.
The 35-year-old Guzman had faced a felony manslaughter charge.
Following his plea, a Dakota County District judge sentenced Guzman to 218 days in jail, with credit for 117 days already served.
An autopsy shows the baby asphyxiated after rolling over and lying face down in a recliner. Police say she was propped up in the chair and wasn’t checked for hours.
The baby’s mother is serving a 160-day jail sentence for the girl’s death.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
GUTHRIE CENTER, Iowa (AP) Students, coaches and a bus driver were treated for minor injuries after a school bus ran off a state highway and rolled in west-central Iowa.
Guthrie County authorities say the bus was headed north back to a school in Carroll from an athletic event in Creston a little after 8 p.m. CDT Tuesday.
The sheriff’s department told Des Moines television station KCCI that the driver lost control of the bus when it hit some debris on state Highway 25, about five miles north of Guthrie Center. The bus ran into the west roadside ditch and rolled onto the driver’s side.
Officials say 23 students, two coaches and the driver were taken to Guthrie County Hospital for treatment. They were all released.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A study by Iowa State University researchers shows that heavy rains in recent years eroded away the state’s soil at much higher rates than what is considered sustainable by the government.
Iowa State researchers analyzed data from nearly 18,000 samples across the state between 2002 and 2010 to compare how erosion rates varied from statewide averages reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The study reported in The Des Moines Register on Wednesday shows that in parts of Iowa, soil as eroded by as much as 12 times the rate the government considers sustainable.
The findings raise concerns among scientists and environmentalists about Iowa’s ability to maintain and increase production of corn and other crops as demand rises.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) Federal prosecutors say a former manager at a kosher slaughterhouse in Iowa has been arrested in Israel and may be extradited to the U.S. to face charges that he harbored illegal immigrants for profit.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Cedar Rapids says Hosam Amara was arrested March 31 by Israeli authorities acting on a U.S. request for extradition. A statement from the office said he is in custody pending extradition proceedings in Israel, with a hearing scheduled for May 2.
A superseding indictment in 2009 charged Amara with several counts related to harboring undocumented workers for profit and document fraud for his role as a poultry manager at Agriprocessors Inc. The meatpacking company filed bankruptcy in November 2008 after a massive immigration raid at its Postville plant.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) The trial for a Johnson County man charged with slaying a 34-year-old woman at a trailer park has been delayed for months.
Eric S. Osborn has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder in the death of 34-year-old Sarah McKay in March 2010, at the Modern Manor Mobile Home Park.
The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports the 27-year-old was scheduled to go trial next month. Instead, a pretrial conference in the case has been reset for Nov. 3 and a new trial date has not been set.
Authorities say Osborn and McKay drank, did drugs, played video games and had sex before going to bed. They say Osborn woke up in the middle of the night, hit her with a baseball bat and choked her to death.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Iowa has been awarded $13 million in federal transportation funds to help repair roads damaged during severe weather in 2010.
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded two grants to Iowa.
The Iowa Department of Transportation will use one $2.8 million grant to fix or rebuild federal roads in Des Moines and Lee counties that were damaged during storms in May 2010. The state will use $10.2 million to repair or reconstruct federal roads in 73 other Iowa counties damaged during severe storms between June and September 2010.
The grants are awarded through the federal Emergency Relief Program.
The funds were announced in a news release issued by Sen. Charles Grassley.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) About 250 members of a U.S. Army Reserve unit based in Des Moines are heading for home.
A news release from the Reserve says the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command has returned from its deployment in Iraq and is ending its active duty. The unit is based at the Army Reserve Center at Fort Des Moines and draws soldiers from many parts of Iowa.
The unit oversaw supplies for about 48,000 troops serving in Iraq and supervised postal and financial services at several bases.
A special welcome-home ceremony is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Fort Des Moines’ Building 50.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Submit your news release, photo, confidential news tip or news idea by email klemnews@lemarscomm or by calling 712.546.4121 or 712.546.9672 fax.
