Catherine Alane Jones

By Hayden Douglas · Friday, December 6th, 2024 at 6:20 am CDT

On Sunday, November 24, 2024, the angels took Catherine Alane Jones, age 59 of Potosi, Missouri and formerly of Mt. Pleasant to her heavenly home.

Catherine was born April 16, 1965 in North English, Iowa the daughter of Margaret (Finley) Jackson and Doyle Alan Jackson.

In 1984, Catherine graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School. Later, she attended Southeastern Community College, West Burlington, where she was to meet her husband, Darwin Lynn Jones.

Catherine loved cooking, roses, and music (country, rock, disco). She also was a lover of animals and a great homemaker. When she was alone she would often sing and dance.  She also enjoyed spending time with her family on fishing outings.  

Catherine is survived by her husband, of 36 and a half years, Darwin Jones of Potosi, Missouri, her daughter, Cassey Alane Potter of Mt. Pleasant, her son, Anthony Jack Jones of Potosi, Missouri, her mother, Margaret Finley of Mt. Pleasant,  her brother, Matt Finley, of Morvia,  and her sister, Sheena Finley, of Mt. Pleasant, her nieces, Amberlee (Daniel) Wagner and Desirae Kogo both of North Dakota, her brothers-in-law, Eugene, Harold, William (Cindy) and Glen (Darlene) Jones, and her sisters-in-law, Judy Pennington and Lou Ann (Donald) Stathem, along with many friends.

She was preceded in death by her father, Doyle Jackson, her brother, Darrell Potter; her grandmother, Thorton Josephine Young; and her great-grandmother, Adelaide Stites.

Graveside services will be held on Monday, December 9, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. at the Forest Home Cemetery in Mt. Pleasant.  The family will receive friends from 10 until 11:15 on Monday at the Murphy Funeral Home in Mt. Pleasant.  A memorial has been established in her memory.

In our hearts and memories, she will remain forever with us. In spirit, she will dwell in the land of God waiting for the day we are reunited. Rest in Peace Catherine.

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

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

Car vs Deer Collision

By Hayden Douglas · Thursday, December 5th, 2024 at 3:29 pm CDT

Submitted by Rich McNamee, Henry County Sheriff – On December 4th, 2024, at approximately 6:00 p.m., the Henry County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a car vs deer collision.

It was reported the collision took place at mile marker 228 of Highway 34.  An investigation into the collision determined that a 2010 Hyundai Sonata, driven by Chloe Warner, 21 of Mount Pleasant, was traveling west bound on Highway 34 when a deer ran into the roadway.

The vehicle and the deer collided.  The vehicle was determined to be a total loss with damages estimated at $4000.

No injuries were reported.

Helen L. Moore

By Hayden Douglas · Thursday, December 5th, 2024 at 3:26 pm CDT

Helen L. Moore, 96, of Mount Pleasant, formerly of Ottumwa, died Tuesday, December 3, 2024, at Savannah Heights in Mount Pleasant.

Helen was born September 10, 1928, in Fremont, Iowa, the daughter of Elmer F. and Irene (Phillips) Kelley. She graduated from Hedrick Hick School in 1946. On November 19, 1948, Helen was united in marriage to George R. Moore. Helen was a dedicated homemaker and farmwife. The couple made their home on the family farm north of Ottumwa Airport for over 40 years. Helen was a member of Hedrick United Methodist Church during this time, and was a member of Willard St. United Methodist Church after moving to Ottumwa in 1992. She enjoyed cooking, and tending to her garden. Helen cared deeply for her husband and children, always making sure they had what they needed.

Helen is survived by her husband George of Mount Pleasant; three daughters Teresa (Steve) Crew of Mount Pleasant, Karen (Ron) Nichols of Astor, FL, Joyce (Derek) Sellars of Oskaloosa; son-in-law Steve Pilchen of Oskaloosa; 12 grandchildren; 34 great grandchildren; one great great grandchild; sister Edith Hale of AZ; sister-in-law Pat Kelley of Ottumwa; and nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, daughter Diane Moore Pilchen, son Michael R. Moore, and brother Robert Kelley.

Visitation will be held Saturday, December 7, 2024, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. at the Olson-Powell Chapel & Crematory. The family will be present to greet friends during that time. There will be no formal service. The Olson-Powell Chapel & Crematory is caring for Helen and her family. www.powellfuneralhomes.com

“Business As Usual” For The Henry County Supervisor Meeting

By Hayden Douglas · Thursday, December 5th, 2024 at 12:58 pm CDT

It was a full room for this weeks Henry County Supervisors meeting. On the agenda was the monthly update from department leads.

On everyone’s mind was something different; Chairman Greg Moeller.

Each and every department lead started their monthly update with a quick “thank you” or “Business as Usual” to Greg, for his service as a Henry County Supervisor for so many years.

Greg shared with the room during the Supervisors meeting that he would encourage departments to come into meetings with something other than “business as usual”.

Greg Moeller will end his term as Chairman for the Henry County Supervisors at the end of 2024. Steve Detrick will be joining the board of supervisors as a newly elected supervisor.

Prep Wrestling: IAwrestle Releases Their First Rankings of the Season

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, December 5th, 2024 at 11:27 am CDT

Prep Wrestling- The 2024-2025 Iowa high school wrestling season has started rolling with most of the teams with at least one competition under their belts. On schedule, IAwrestle released their first round of rankings for both the boys’ and girls’ classes and weight divisions.

Boys’ Class 1A

WACO touts two wrestlers ranked within the top 5, including a top wrestler for their weight division. In the 113-pound weight class, Gage Samo enters at the #4 slot as the senior looks to improve upon a 6th place finish from last year’s state tournament. Louden Huisenga sits at the top of the 190-pound weight class as he started the year with three pins within the first round.

New London still awaits their first match of the season with their own tournament on Saturday, but Gage Burden will start his senior season ranked #9 in the 126-pound weight class after a trip to the state tournament last year.

Class 2A

Notre Dame/West Burlington has been a powerhouse of wrestling for Southeast Iowa the last half-decade and will keep that claim with the Nikes slotted at the #7 slot with six ranked wrestlers. The one interesting aspect is no one is the favorite for their respective weight class.

In the 120-pound weight class, Colt Boyles is ranked 7th. CJ Davis, according to the rankings, is the 3rd best wrestler in the 138-pound weight class. Kaiden Dietzenbach is ranked #2 for the 144-pound weight class after finishing as the runner-up a season ago.

In the 150-pound weight class, Blake Wilson is ranked at #8. Dirk Boyles is #7 in the 157-pound weight class and Kael Cook rounds out the top 10 in the 165-pound weight class.

Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union shocked the Nikes in last year’s conference tournament, usurping the title. They return two key members in #7 Dakota Aney of the 106-pound weight class and #11 Jacob Nelson of the 113-pound weight class.

Fairfield will be looking to make a dent in not only the Southeast Conference (SEC) but also the state tournament with four wrestlers ranked to start the year. Cael McCabe has made his name known in the 106-pound weight class as the junior ranks #1 as he eyes a gold to add to his silver medal.

Cason Miller had a phenomenal run through the consolation bracket last year in the 157-pound weight class, rightfully, he starts the year ranked 3rd. Dain Burkhart and Dre Smithburg are both ranked 9th in the 175-pound and 215-pound weight classes, respectively.

Another local name to look out for is #7 Kyler Crow of Mediapolis in the 175-pound weight class. Crow managed two victories by fall in their triangular back on Tuesday night.

Girls’ Class 1A

In the debut season for multi-class girls’ wrestling, there will be plenty of local talent to watch as the season progresses. Fairfield touts two wrestlers ranked within the top 10 with Alyia Abbot ranked 4th in the 110-pound weight class and #8 Samantha Lyons in the 170-pound weight class.

Wapello’s Kenadee Helscher is ranked 5th in the 100-pound weight class and Elyssa Graber of WACO slides in the 105-pound weight class rankings at #8.

This upcoming Saturday, December 7th, will be a busy day for our local wrestlers as they travel all around southeast Iowa to participate in various tournaments and invites.

S. Leebrick St. Structure Fire

By Hayden Douglas · Thursday, December 5th, 2024 at 8:28 am CDT

Submitted by: Fire Marshal, Burlington Fire Department, Robert Berndt 

On Dec 4th, 2024, the Burlington Fire Department was dispatched at 7:53 pm for a report of a house fire at 407 S. Leebrick St. in Burlington, IA. Burlington firefighters arrived at 7:58 pm to find fire showing from the front and rear of the residence.

The property is owned by Ryan Miller & Heather Kloos who were not home at the time of the incident. An adult female residing in the residence was able to make it out safely. 407 S Leebrick is a two-story single-family structure and at the time of this report it is unknown if it was insured.

Due to high winds and other extenuating factors, the fire quickly grew in size and intensity, eventually engulfing the structure. The structure is considered a total loss.

There were no working smoke alarms located within the residence.

The Burlington Fire Department was assisted by Alliant Energy and Gas, Mediapolis Fire Department, West Burlington Fire Department, Burlington Police Department, and Burlington CID.

The last unit cleared the scene at 12:45 am.

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries reported during this incident.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. If you have any information relating to this case, contact the Burlington Fire Department at (319) 753-8396. Updates to this incident will be made available by the Fire Marshal.

 

Robert Berndt

Fire Marshal

Sports, December 5th

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, December 5th, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Basketball

The West Burlington girls’ team will look to continue their momentum from Tuesday night’s victory into tonight’s contest against Centerville at home at 6 pm.

Fairfield will take on Albia tonight at home with the girls’ scheduled to start the night at 6.

Columbus will compete against North Cedar tonight with the girls’ playing at 6 pm for their home opener. 

Burlington Notre Dame will host Central Lee tomorrow, December 6th, with the girls’ getting the night underway at 6 pm. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will stay at home to take on Danville with the girls’ scheduled to lead off the night at 6 pm tomorrow night. 

The Mediapolis boys’ team will take on West Burlington tomorrow at 7:30 pm on the road, while the girls’ team will host Wilton on Monday, December 9th, at 6 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will square off against Lone Tree tomorrow with the boys playing at 7:30 pm, following the girls’ game. 

Wapello will travel to Louisa-Muscatine tomorrow with the girls’ tipping off at 6 pm.  

New London will look to right the ship tomorrow on the road against Van Buren County with game one at 6 pm. 

Mt. Pleasant will commence conference play tomorrow at home against Burlington with the girls’ competing first at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm. 

WACO will face off against Pekin tomorrow with the girls’ tipping off the night at 6 pm. 

High School Wrestling

The Fairfield boys’ team will travel to Davis County tonight.

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will compete in the Raider Duals on Saturday, December 7th, at Williamsburg. 

The Mediapolis boys’ team will travel to Burlington to compete in an invite on Saturday.

The Wapello boys’ team will host WACO and Mt. Pleasant on Saturday for the Willard Howell Tournament. 

The New London boys’ team will host the Jeremy Fulk Classic on Saturday.

The Mt. Pleasant, Mediapolis, Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, and WACO girls’ teams will compete in the Willard Howell Tournament on Saturday at Wapello. 

High School Bowling

Fairfield will take on Burlington tomorrow, December 6th, on the road. 

Southeast Iowa Playbook

Last night’s episode of the Southeast Iowa Playbook was a feature on Winfield-Mt. Union’s celebration of Cooper Buffington, who became the third Wolve to sign a National Letter of Intent to play football at a Division I school, FCS’ University of Montana.

Buffington, who has won the district Lineman MVP award unanimously the past two seasons and was named First Team All-State the last two years, discussed why he chose the Grizzlies,

“Well, they came down to watch me work out. I don’t know when, but earlier in the school year and then they wanted me to come to camp, so I ended up going out there to camp on June 8th and then ended up getting an offer later that week. I always went out to Wyoming, and I love the mountains. And I went out there and I landed, and when I got off the plane I jokingly said if they offer me [a scholarship] I’m gonna commit and then it came true, I guess. So, it’s kind of awesome.”

The senior finished his high school football career with 145.5 tackles, 12.5 sacks, 34.5 tackles for loss, five fumble recoveries, and ensured a free lane for rushing the football as Winfield-Mt. Union averaged more than 5 yards per carry each of the past three seasons and has scored 127 times on the ground in that same time span. Head football coach Scott McCarty said his skill was evident anytime you saw him on the field,

“Cooper is one of those kids that a lot of things don’t show up on the stat line on Saturday morning after the game. But then when you sit back and watch film, you watch how truly dominant he is. You know, he might not be the one getting the tackle, but because of him, we were able to get a tackle at or behind the line of scrimmage, so. A lot of his things were just, you know, they don’t show up on the stat book, but if you’re watching film and you know football, you know how good Cooper Buffington really is.”

If you missed last night’s episode, then follow this link: W-MU Episode

Southeastern Community College

The #11 men’s basketball team will host Kennedy-King College on Saturday, December 7th, at 7. 

College Football

#16 Iowa State will face off against #12 Arizona State on Saturday, December 7th, at 11 am for the Big 12 conference championship. 

Iowa will await their bowl matchup, which will be announced on Sunday, December 8th. 

College Basketball

The #6 Iowa State men’s team competed against their second top-five opponent this season and this time the Cyclones held on to beat #5 Marquette last night 81-70. Keshon Gilbert went a perfect 8 for 8 from the free throw line as he led the team with 24 points. The Cyclones will stay at home to take on Jackson State on Sunday, December 8th, at 6 pm. 

The Iowa men’s team will travel to Michigan on Saturday, December 7th, at 1 pm. 

The #20 Iowa State women’s team will face off against Central Michigan on Sunday at noon in front of the home crowd. 

The #17 Iowa women’s team will take on Tennessee in the Women’s Championship Classic on Saturday at 6 pm. 

This Day in Sports History

1968 – Future Hockey Hall of Fame center Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins scores two goals in his goaltender brother Tony’s (also HOF) NHL debut for the Montreal Canadiens in a 2-2 tie.

1973 – Chicago Cubs Ron Santo becomes the first baseball player to invoke the 10-and-5 rule and veto his trade.

1992 – The first SEC Championship Game: #2 Alabama beats #12 Florida, 28-21.

Michael Reed Billups,

By Hayden Douglas · Thursday, December 5th, 2024 at 6:08 am CDT

Michael Reed Billups, 56, of Douds, IA passed away on Monday, December 2, 2024, at the Jefferson County Health Care Center in Fairfield, IA surrounded by his loving family. As were Mike’s wishes, cremation has taken place. A visitation with the family present will be held from 10:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. on Friday, December 6, 2024, at the Cranston Family Funeral Home in Fairfield. Military honors will begin at 1:00 p.m. with words of comfort by Paul Peterson immediately following. Burial will be held at a later date in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery. Memorial contributions in Mike’s honor may be directed to the family and may be mailed c/o Cranston Family Funeral Home, P.O. Box 189, Fairfield, IA 52556. Friends may leave online condolences or join the webcast at www.cranstonfamilyfuneralhome.com.

Micheal Reed Billups was born on July 3, 1968, in Burlington, IA to Randy and Donna Nichols Billups.  He grew up and attended school in Dallas City, IL where he graduated with the high school class of 1986.  Mike furthered his education at Western Illinois in Macomb where he was a part of the basketball team.  Mike served in the United States Army where he proudly served his country during Operation Desert Shield/Storm.  Upon his honorable discharge he returned to Burlington and began working at the Walmart Distributions Center.  He began his career in the Loss Prevention Department eventually moving into Transportation Management where he was a dedicated employee for over 30 years.  During this time Mike was a supervisor who led by example.  He was the kind of boss everyone wanted.  He was a voice of reason, someone to listen when you needed to talk, and the first to make you smile when the day wasn’t going your way.  During his time at Walmart Mike met a fellow supervisor, Tammy Kerr.  This was the first chapter in a story that lasted over 30 years.  With this union Mike became a loving father to Jackie and eventually adding two more, Dalton and Jordan.  When Mikes career with Walmart ended, he began working in transportation for Allied Blending and would remain there until his health would no longer allow.

Mike was the life of the party..and often the host.  His world revolved around his family and his ever-growing circle of friends.  Mike was a motorcross fan and loved traveling to watch the races that his family participated in.  Whether it was camping at a racetrack or poker nights, being together with family and friends was what brought him the most joy.  As his family grew with the addition of grandchildren it just made those gatherings even more special.  As we part ways with a man who impacted so many lives, we take comfort in the fact that we were able to share in the moments that meant so much and will fondly share the stories of the legendary, Michael Reed Billups.

Mike was preceded in death by his maternal and paternal grandparents, as well as his parents, Randy (Donna) Nichols.

Left to share his story is his loving wife, Tammy of Douds, IA; three children, Jackie Poe (Robert Hall) of Douds, IA, Dalton (Kelsey) Billups of Washington, IA and Jordan (Blake) Scott of Keosauqua, IA, five grandchildren, Adalynn, Jovi, Bennett, Killian, and Maverick; two siblings, Mark Billups (Melody Paulus) of Burlington, IA and Savanna (Conway) Wolf of Mediapolis, IA, his bonus family, Taylor (Gabby) McLeland and their son, Slater; Caleb (Lacey) Millard and their son Lennox; and Brandon Billups, as well as many, many extended family and friends.