Michael E. “Mike” McKenzie

Michael E. “Mike” McKenzie, 73, of Mt. Pleasant, died Wednesday, May 11, 2022 at his residence.

A graveside memorial service will be held on Monday, May 16 at the Blakeway Cemetery, rural Danville, IA. Pastor Dan Buck will officiate.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established to Every Step Hospice. The Kimzey Funeral Home, 213 N. Main St., Mt. Pleasant, is assisting the family with the arrangements. Online condolences may be directed to www.kimzeyfuneralhome.com.

Michael Eugene “Mike” McKenzie was born November 29, 1948 in Mt. Pleasant, IA, the son of Clyde Donovan and Mary Jane (Thornburg) McKenzie. He was baptized at the First Baptist Church in Mt. Pleasant. Mike received his formal education at Mt. Pleasant High School.

Mike was employed at the former Blue Bird Bus Manufacturing Co. and the H. Eugene Smith Construction Company, both in Mt. Pleasant. For many years, Mike was a truck driver for several trucking companies, the longest time for BTI. Mike enjoyed NASCAR races and attending the sprint car races in Knoxville. Mike was a devoted Chicago Cubs fan and enjoyed the games on TV.

Survivors include his siblings – Janet Stevens of Arvada, CO, Dottie Hotovec and her husband Ron of Oskaloosa, IA, John McKenzie of Norfolk, NE and Patricia Milks and her husband Roger of Mt. Pleasant; eleven nieces and nephews and thirty-one great nieces and nephews.

His parents and a niece, Melissa Welcher Fiedler precede in death.

Vincent “Kelly” Donald Kelly

Vincent “Kelly” Donald Kelly 85 of Keosauqua passed away at 4:47PM Thursday May 11, 2022 at his home.  In accordance with his wishes his body has been cremated and a private burial of cremains in Fellows Cemetery will be at a later date.  Memorials in Kelly’s honor may be directed to friends of Lacey State Park and may be mailed to the family at 1601 8th St Keosauqua, IA 52565.

 

Kelly was born on February 22, 1937 in Bayfield, WI to Dale and Nora Marie Johnson Kelly.  He lived in Bayfield as a child and left for California at the age of 12 where he worked in a diamond mine until there was an explosion and he was severely injured and sent to Boston for medical care. After he recovered, he moved to Clinton Iowa and started working construction.   During this time he worked on the bridge in Keosauqua and met Caroline B. House And they were married on November 7, 1987 in Keosauqua. During his years working construction he was able to earn his GED.  Kelly continued to work construction until he was 80 years old, he was the hardest working man you would ever know, he loved his family and cherished every moment he spent with them. He was an avid NASCAR fan, loved gambling, his time spent at Tillie’s and trips out to the State Park for Caroline “Little Hillbilly” as he liked to call her.

 

Left to cherish his memory are two sons, Gerald Himes (Bev) of Douds and Jeff Himes (Amanda) of Douds, a daughter, Peggy Chambers of Keosauqua, a cousin, Pudge of Bayfield, WI, several brothers and sisters, 8 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren and many other family and friends.

 

In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by his wife Caroline and a son, Rick Himes.

Mary Francis Long

Mary Francis Long, 103, of Crawfordsville and formerly of Olds and Mt. Pleasant, passed away on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, peacefully at the Sunrise Terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Winfield.

Private family burial will be held at the Columbus City Cemetery, at Columbus City, Iowa.  In lieu of flowers, cards and memorials may be mailed to the Long Family at 3164 Vine Ave, Crawfordsville, Iowa 52621.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.murphyfuneralandmonuments.com

Murphy Funeral Home of Mt. Pleasant is caring for her arrangements.

 

College Baseball: Wesleyan’s Beaber Named CAC Coach of the Year

Mount Pleasant — Iowa Wesleyan head baseball coach and Mount Pleasant alum Blake Beaber has been named the Continental Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, the league has announced.

Beaber, who has been with Iowa Wesleyan since 2016, successfully navigated the Tigers through their returning season to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) this year.

Wesleyan finished their season with an overall record of 21-30 and a third-place finish in the CAC Championships Tournament.

It was the most wins in a single season for the program since winning 24 games in 2012.

Also earning postseason accolades were pitcher Luis Ayesa, Cristian Cordero and Derek Marrufo, who were all All-Conference choices.

 

WACO School Board Meeting Agenda

WACO Community School District
Regular Board of Education Meeting
Tentative Agenda
Media Center
WACO Junior/Senior High
Wayland, Iowa
Monday May 16, 2022
5:30 pm
I. Call to Order—Roll Call
II. Approval of Agenda
III. Recognition of Visitors
IV. Review WACO Mission Statement—The mission of the WACO Community School District is to
develop responsible, productive citizens who view learning as a life-long process. WACO’s
educational environment encourages continuous improvement, problem-solving, measurable
outcomes, and community involvement.
V. Consent Agenda
a. Approval of Minutes
b. Financial Reports
c. Bills for Payment
Open Enrollment: 21-22 Maritza Minard (8) Washington to WACO, Liam Dawson (K)
Washington to WACO
d. Personnel- Hire: Micah Garrett-Elementary Classroom Teacher, Schyler Sterna-Head Girls
Wrestling Coach, Isaac Moeller-JH Girls Basketball and JH Track. Resignation: Todd SchendelElementary Music Teacher, Schyler Sterna-Asst Varsity Wrestling Coach
VI. Communications
a. Public Forum
b. School Board Recognition Month
VII. Old Business
a. Second Reading of Policy, 710.1 – 712R1
b. Approval to continue TAG agreement with WMU
VIII. New Business
a. Approval of 2022 Graduating Class
b. Approval of Soccer Program
c. First Reading of Policy, 711.9, 711.10, 800-802.7
d. Operational Sharing – Maintenance
IX. Administrative Reports
a. Principals: Elementary and High School
b. Superintendent
X. Board Reports/Comments
XI. Adjourn

Emergency Responders Busy Friday Morning

Emergency responders and fire departments in the KILJ listening area were busy Friday morning.  Just before 9 am there was a single vehicle crash reported just north of Mount Pleasant on Highway 218.  Initial reports indicate a vehicle went off the roadway into the medium.  There was also  a report that one person was injured.

Just before 9:30 Friday morning both Olds and Winfield Fire Departments were paged out for an electric pole fire.  The pole was located at the intersection of 110 Street and Lexington Avenue.  Apparently, at the time of the page the entire pole was on fire and had caught the ditch on fire.

HCHC offers free pre-diabetes class May 16th

Henry County Health Center’s Diabetes Education Center will offer a FREE pre-diabetes class on Monday, May 16, 2022, from Noon to 1:00 p.m. The class will be conducted in the Diabetes Education Center, located in Suite 25 at HCHC.  Directions will be given when you call 319-385-6518 to register.  Please register by Noon on Friday, May 13th.

If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you should attend this class:

  • Are your fasting blood sugars between 100 and 125?
  • Do you have a parent, sister or brother with diabetes?
  • Are you are overweight, inactive, or have poor eating habits?
  • Are you extremely thirsty, urinate frequently or have unexplained weight loss?

The purpose of the class is to help at-risk individuals reverse habits that may be leading toward a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes and its many complications. Topics will include an overview of the different types of diabetes, diet, exercise, and diabetes prevention.

Approximately 90 million people in the United States have pre-diabetes and many are not aware of it. Recent research shows that some long-term damage, especially to the heart and circulatory system, may already be occurring during pre-diabetes.

For more information or to register for the class, contact HCHC’s Diabetes Education Center at 319-385-6518. There is no fee for this class.

 

Prep Track: Mount Pleasant Qualifies Several for State Track and Field Meet

Mount Pleasant — The Mount Pleasant track and field team will be sending several to the 2022 State Track and Field Championships next week.

The Panthers, who hosted a Class 3A state qualifying meet at Mapleleaf Athletic Complex, faired well despite record high temperatures.

Starting the day off right was Kenna Lamm, who clinched a first place finish in the 100m dash, winning in 13.18 seconds. Lamm beat out Assumption senior Alaina McConnell.

Panther senior Abby Blint was electric yesterday. Despite a seventh place finish in the 1,500m run, Blint rolled to a win in the 3,000m run, crossing the finish line in 11:40.25.

Iowa State recruit Jadan Brumbaugh was up to her usual tricks in field events, with easy wins in the shot put and discus.

Brumbaugh went 48 feet, 4.25 inches in the shot, while going 134 feet, 1 inch in the discus.

On the boys’ side, Will Davidson continued his strong season — qualifying for three separate events.

Davidson went 22.52 to finish as runner up in the 200m dash, he coupled that with a 15.18 in the 110m hurdles and a runner up finish in the long jump.

Panther junior Isaac Jerrel is also headed to the state meet.

Jerrell was a runner up to Brayden Hartman of Washington in the shot put with a heave of 48 feet, 9.5 inches.

In relays the Mount Pleasant boys’ 4×800 team is going to the Blue Oval.

That team consisted of Jacob Richtman, Gabe Feldmann, Isaac Rynders and Isiah Albright.

They were runners-up in the event.

The Panther girls will be sending the distance medley quartet of Tristian Shull, Andi Scott, Elsie Lange and Abby Blint.

The full list of area qualifiers will be announced Saturday.