Janet Kay Crawford

By Theresa Rose · Friday, March 24th, 2023 at 2:27 pm CDT

Janet Kay Crawford, age 86, of Washington, Iowa, died Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at the University of Iowa Hospital following a sudden illness.

Celebration of life services will be held 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, March 28, 2023, at the Jones & Eden Funeral Home with Pastor Anthony DeVaughn officiating.  Calling hours will begin at 2:00 p.m. Monday at the Jones & Eden Funeral Home where the family will be present to receive friends from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m.  Interment will take place at the Elm Grove Cemetery in Washington.  In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established for Paws and More Animal Shelter.  Online condolences may be sent for Janet’s family at www.jonesfh.com.

Janet was born February 5, 1937, in Washington, Iowa, the daughter of Charles and Wilma (Brinning) Crone. She attended school in Washington, Iowa.  Janet was united in marriage to Dwaine William Crawford on December 30, 1954, in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.

Janet worked as a waitress at Willows Supper Club and was later a bartender at the Washington Bowling Alley.  She worked in housekeeping at the Washington County Hospital and later at Halcyon House until her retirement at age 79.

She was a member of the United Methodist Church in Washington.  Janet enjoyed reading, knitting, doing crafts and decorating her home.  She also enjoyed her garden and tending to her house plants.  Janet was an avid Iowa Hawkeyes and St. Louis Cardinals fan. She enjoyed the company of her family and friends and attending her grandchildren’s events.

She is survived by her daughter Debbie Ponder of St. Louis, Missouri; son, Gary (Kathy) Crawford of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa; son, Mark (Beth) Crawford of Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin; daughter, Lisa (Roger) Crawford of Washington Iowa; 13 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; brother, Tod (Cheryl) Crone of Washington, Iowa; sister-in-law, Nettie Crone of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; brother-in-law, Ron (Judy) Crawford of Iowa City, Iowa; as well as many nieces and nephews.

 

Janet was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Dwaine Crawford; son, Ronald Crawford; daughter, Nancy Crawford; one granddaughter, Kiley Crawford; and brother, Rick Crone.

Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau is partnering with law enforcement across the state to help curb the epidemic of distracted driving.

By Theresa Rose · Friday, March 24th, 2023 at 2:20 pm CDT

April 3-10, the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau is partnering with law enforcement across the state to help curb the epidemic of distracted driving.

In 2022, 9,201 crashes on Iowa roadways were because of distracted/inattentive drivers. These accidents are responsible for 20 deaths, 3,652 injured persons, and over $81 million dollars in property damage. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports 32,483 people died in distraction-affected crashes across the country from 2011 to 2020.

In Iowa, distracted driving is a primary law which means law enforcement officers can stop any driver who is texting (reading, writing, or sending) or using any portable electronic device, unless the motor vehicle is at a complete stop and off the traveled portion of the roadway.

Alex Dinkla with the Iowa State Patrol says, “Distracted driving is a leading cause of vehicle crashes on Iowa’s roads, and most of this distraction is attributed to using electronic devices. People know texting and driving is dangerous and illegal, but they do it anyway, and it puts others at risk.”

Beginning April 3, drivers will see increased law enforcement efforts. Officers will be stopping and ticketing those caught texting and driving. You drive, you text, you pay.

The GTSB encourages drivers to use hands free options when engaging a mobile device in their vehicle. Drivers can also limit distractions by enabling the ‘driving’ focus on phones.

The Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau works with city, county, state, and local organizations to develop and implement strategies to reduce deaths and injuries on Iowa’s roadways using federally funded grants.

 

WACO Principal Receives Award

By Theresa Rose · Friday, March 24th, 2023 at 2:17 pm CDT

Tim Bartels, WACO Secondary Principal, is this year recipient of the Iowa State Education Association’s TEAM (Together Educators and Administrators Make It Happen) Award. The award honors a school administrator who has worked to create a collaborative, collegial working environment for all staff in the school building or district. This award is given to one administrator in the state of Iowa. Mr. Bartels will be honored this summer at a luncheon on August 1st in Des Moines.

Congratulations to Mr Bartels!

Super Market Sweep Puts Over $1,000 of Food in the Cup Pantry

By Theresa Rose · Friday, March 24th, 2023 at 9:59 am CDT

Five businesses raced up and down the aisle of the Mount Pleasant HyVee filling shopping carts with items for the Fellowship Cup in Mount Pleasant.  Beck’s Seeds won the traveling trophy for coming closest to $250 but Two Rivers Bank won the Greatest Grabber award for collecting $314 worth of food items in the five minutes allowed for the three member teams to shop. A total of $1,285 in items were trucked off to the Fellowship Cup for the Cup’s food pantry by the five participating teams….Farm Bureau Financial Services, Beck’s, Two Rivers Bank, Farm Credit Services and Iowa State Bank of Fairfield.

Sports, March 24th

By Slaten Swords · Friday, March 24th, 2023 at 6:23 am CDT

High School Track and Field

The Steve Roth Relays started off the outdoor track season for the boys and Mediapolis finished with the most points with 171.

Here’s how the Panthers fared at the meet. Avin Truong grabbed two points for his 11.63 time in the 100-meter dash. Will Davidson took 1st in the 200-meter dash that captured the Panthers 10 points. In the 1600-meter, Ben Carthey finished with a time of 4 minutes 54 seconds, which gave the Panthers a point. Davidson took second in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.74 seconds. The team of Gabe Feldmann, Jacob Richtman, Isaac Rynders, and Ben Carthey grabbed 4 points in the 4×800 meter relay with a time of 8 minutes 47 seconds. In the 800-meter medley, the team of Landen Seymoure, Garrett Cook, Payson Coleman, and Mason Sloat ran a time of 1 minute 43 seconds, which got them 4 points. Isaac Jerrell finished in 2nd place with a heave of 49 feet 5.5 inches in the shot put and 8th place in the discus with a throw of 122 feet 5 inches. The Panthers finished with 42 points as a team.

For Winfield-Mt. Union, Abram Edwards finished with a time of 25.54 seconds in the 200-meter dash, which got him 4 points. Kohlby Newsom grabbed 10 points for the Wolves in the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes 8 seconds. Gabriel Hemsworth grabbed 6 points in the 110-meter hurdles and 10 points in the 400-meter hurdles. The team of Cole Milks, Abram Edwards, Eli Miller, and Cam Buffington for the 4×100 meter relay ran a time of 46.03 seconds, which got them 8 points. Edwards and Carter Loyd jumped 5 feet 6 inches in the high jump and Cam Buffington leaped 20 feet 10 inches to take 1st in the long jump. The Wolves grabbed 87 points.

Simeon Reichenbach earned 8 points in the 110-meter hurdles for WACO. The team of Isaac Oswald, Gage Samo, Clayton Miller, and Simeon Reichenbach took 1st in the 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle. Lastly, Oleh Shtefanchuk took 1st in discus with a throw of 141 feet 2.5 inches. The Warriors finished with 54 points.

Ashton McCane finished in 1st for the 400-meter dash for Danville with Kessler Whaley taking 2nd place. Jackson Shacklett finished in 2nd place for the 800-meter run. Carter Fesler also took 1st place in the 3200 meter run. Spencer Nelson also notched a 2nd place finish in the 400-meter hurdles. Lastly, the Bears had two teams finish top 2 with the team of Ayden Boyle, Nelson, Whaley and McCane finishing in 1st place in the 4×400 meter relay and the team of Jaden Bauer, Landon Siebert, Byers Nealey, Carter Fesler took 2nd place in the distance medley. The Bears finished with 89 points, which was tied for 6th overall.

The girls will be competing at Burlington Notre Dame on March 28th.

High School Soccer

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ soccer season will begin on March 28th against Mediapolis on the road.

WACO’s boy soccer team will start their season at home against Fairfield on March 30th.

The Central Lee boys’ soccer team will take on Keokuk on March 27th as the Hawks start their season on the road.

Youth Basketball

The next event will be the Easter Weekend 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament held at Iowa Wesleyan University for 3rd graders through adults. For a registration form, contact Coach Ronnie Ashton at 319-931-2896 or Iowa Wesleyan’s Men’s Head Coach Jordan Ashton at 319-461-9023. The entry fee will be $60 per team, with prizes for the 1st and 2nd place teams. Registration is due by April 4th and it starts at 9am on April 8th.

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics

The Tiger softball team will take on the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis on March 28th in a home doubleheader with game one at 1 pm.

The Tiger baseball team will take on William Woods University on March 28th for a home doubleheader with game one at 3 pm.

The women’s golf team will have their home opener on March 27th at the Purple Cup.

The men’s golf team will be competing at the Jim Wetherbee Invitational in Galesburg, Illinois tomorrow, March 25th, and March 26th for the season opener. Head Coach Kurt Moon joined us on Tiger Nation yesterday and talked about the expectations heading into their first meet,

“You know there’s a lot of unknowns, but I look at last year’s scores and we just try to improve on that. Everybody was here a year ago on the men’s side except two players, so they’ve all got experience on that course.”

The outdoor track and field season will be getting underway at the Viking Relays tomorrow at 10 am.

The ballots are open for the first USA Wrestling Women’s College Wrestler of the Year Award and Adaugo Nwachukwu is one of the six finalists. Nwachukwu finished the year with a 31-0 record, as the Heart of America Conference champion, 2023 NAIA champion at 136-pounds, and as NAIA Outstanding Wrestler of the Year. In a year of domination, 29 of her matches were finished by pin or tech fall. Voting ends on March 27th at 8 am, just follow this link to cast your vote: https://usawrestlingevents.com/wcwoty.

This Day in Sports History

1936 – Detroit Red Wings beat Montreal Maroons, 1-0, in 16:30 of the 6th period of OT; record Stanley Cup playoff game lasts 9 periods (176 minutes).

1974 – 36th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: North Carolina State beats Marquette, 76-64; Wolfpack first title; first tournament officially designated as a Division I championship.

2019 – 2-time American League MVP Mike Trout signs the biggest contract in North American sports history, a $426.5 million, 12-year extension with the Los Angeles Angels.

Helen Louise Dains

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, March 23rd, 2023 at 4:49 pm CDT

Helen Louise Dains, 74, of Park Place Elder Living, in Mount Pleasant, formerly of Buena Vista, Arkansas, passed away at 10:20 p.m. Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at Park Place Elder Living in Mount Pleasant.

Born on March 4, 1949, in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the daughter of Karl and Gwendolyn (Walters) Sietam. On February 28, 1970, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa she married James Whitney Dains.

She is survived by her nephew: Bill (Linda) Dains of Donnellson.

She was preceded in death by her parents and husband: James.

Helen was a member of the Lighthouse Association Club. She enjoyed traveling the states to tour lighthouses.

Her body has been entrusted to the crematory of Schmitz Funeral Home for cremation.

Per her wishes no services will be held at this time.

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.schmitzfuneralhomes.com. Schmitz Funeral Home of Donnellson is assisting the family with arrangements.

Vote for Iowa Wesleyan’s Adaugo!

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, March 23rd, 2023 at 3:14 pm CDT
Adaugo Nwachukwu is a nominee for the most prestigious award in all of women’s college wrestling and we need your help to ensure she is recognized as the USA Wrestling 2023 Women’s College Wrestler of the Year!

Please go here to cast your vote and learn more information on the wrestlers who were nominated for this award.

This nomination comes after Adaugo defended her 136-pound title to become the 1st- 2 time National Champion in school history in wrestling.  She finished the season with a perfect 31-0 record and won 29 matches by either pin or tech fall!  After she won her 2023 National Title, she was also voted NAIA Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Year.

Thank you!

County Five Year Road Department Plan

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, March 23rd, 2023 at 10:48 am CDT

The Henry County Supervisors approved the County Secondary Roads Five Year Construction Plan as presented by the County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss. The plan includes 10, possibly 12 projects in fiscal year 2024 with a projected total cost  of $8,740,000. The projects involve the use of twin tank cars to replace bridges on 126th Street and Fremont Avenue. There are a total of 6 culvert projects. The list includes the Nebraska Avenue bridge, Old Hwy 34 paving project, a seal coat project and paving and widening a section of Franklin Avenue. Pending a grant application there may be additional paving projects Old 34 and W55. The total dollar figure for the entire five year secondary roads construction program from fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2028 is $30,340,000.