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The state wrestling tournament begins today at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. For updates including videos of local wrestlers competing, visit www.crestonnews.com.
The Creston girls basketball team overcame an 11-point first-quarter deficit to defeat Norwalk in postseason play Wednesday. More in SPORTS, page 7A. >>
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015
Panther wrestler ‘stable’ after scary collapse at state duals Creston wrestler Tayler Pettit moved from “critical” to “serious” condition this morning at Des Moines hospital. ■
By LARRY PETERSON
CNA sports writer lpeterson@crestonnews.com
DES MOINES — Moments after the Creston/Orient-Macksburg wrestling team suffered its first defeat of the season Wednesday at the Dual Team Wrestling Championships, team member Tayler Pettit was suddenly in a fight for his life. The incident began after Pettit wrestled up a weight at 182 against Union’s Tanner Shirk. Pettit complained of some discomfort in his midsection, leading trainers to investigate the possibility of a rib cage injury, after he was pinned in the second period. He sat and rested for the remaining six matches of the dual, won by state c h a m p i o n Frain Union, and then tried to join his teammates in a line to shake hands with the Knights. “They think something may have happened in about the first 10 seconds of his match, an impact to his chest that could have possibly thrown his heart rhythm off at the time,” Panther coach Darrell Frain said later Wednesday night. “Our trainer, Chris Leonard, saw him on the edge of the mat looking like he was about to pass out,” Frain added. “He said he had trouble breathing. They took care of him and then when the dual was over, he got up to joins us in shaking hands and he couldn’t make it through and basically passed out. Then he went into seizures.” That’s when Leonard, the Iowa State University training staff that includes former Panther wrestler Jordan Hayes, and Dr. Dennis Zachary went into action to revive Pettit, who had
CNA photo by LARRY PETERSON
Creston/O-M senior Tayler Pettit stands up in an escape attempt against Nick Holt of Independence in the Class 2A state dual quarterfinals Wednesday morning at Wells Fargo Arena. Pettit was later rushed to Mercy Medical Center after collapsing on the edge of one of the mats in the arena.
lost consciousness with a fading pulse. Zachary is a family physician focusing on sports medicine and is on the scene at the state tournament. Also on the property are members of the Mercy EMT medical team and an ambulance, which was quickly summoned by Zachary when Pettit went into a seizure.
“They think something may have happened in about the first 10 seconds of his match, an impact to his chest that could have possibly thrown his heart rhythm off at the time.” — Darrell Frain
Creston/O-M head wrestling coach
Rapid response
Wednesday night. “I think they actually shocked him six times and performed CPR the whole time they were taking him out of the arena,” Frain said. “Right now they said he’s breathing on his own and they’re doing a lot of tests. They’ve even talked about the possibility of having to put in a permanent pacemaker, things like that, but I’m not really sure where they are at yet with those kinds of decisions. I think they said he needs 36 hours to stabilize. At least now I think he’s out of the woods, hopefully. That’s the scariest thing I’ve ever went went through in my life.” Gregg Lagan, media relations coordinator at Mercy, said this morning that Pettit’s condition
Zachary told reporters that CPR and the use of automatic defibrillators likely saved Pettit’s life. Those resuscitation efforts were ongoing as Pettit was taken by stretcher to the ambulance for transport to Mercy Medical Center. “When they hooked him up to the automatic defibrillator, he was in irregular rhythm and they ended up giving him a shock,” Dr. Zachary said. “They had to give him several shocks by the time they got to the hospital.” Frain recalled both the widespread concern and the rapid response of the medical team as he spoke about the episode after the team’s final dual meet
is improving. He is now listed in “serious” condition instead of “critical.” Zachary said modern set of emergency protocols likely saved Pettit’s life, and may not have been in place a decade ago. He said in the past, medical personnel might have waited until Pettit was outside the arena before using defibrillators. His breathing had halted and coloring had changed after coming out of the seizure, before he was placed on the stretcher in the hushed arena. “Just based on what I observed, I have no doubt in my
Students protest mental health facility closing DES MOINES (AP) — Nursing students from southeast Iowa are protesting the closing of a state mental health facility in Mount Pleasant. Students from Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant visited lawmakers Wednesday at the Capitol. The students also left a copy on Gov. Terry Branstad’s desk of more than 7,100 petition signatures protesting the closing. The governor wasn’t at the Capitol at the time. Kaitlyn Dirth, a junior studying nursing at Wesleyan, began the petition online in late January. She says nursing students use the Mount Pleasant facility to complete required training hours for graduation. She argues its closing will force students to find limited training accommodations elsewhere. Branstad’s spokesman released a statement saying the decision to close the facility was part of an effort to offer modern mental health treatment.
45,000+ Iowans sign up for coverage on exchange DES MOINES (AP) — Federal officials say that over 45,000 people in Iowa have signed up for health care coverage on the federal exchange. The second open enrollment period under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul — known as the Affordable Care Act — ended Sunday. In a Wednesday news release, federal officials say over 45,000 people in Iowa signed up or were automatically
Please see PETTIT, Page 2
Please see EXCHANGE, Page 2
Fire trucks, gear moved into new Corning station By BAILEY POOLMAN
CNA staff reporter bpoolman@crestonnews.com
CORNING — Fire trucks and gear sat in the quiet bays of Corning’s new fire station after firefighters moved the equipment in Saturday. The $1.5 million station, which has been in the works since 2008, is twice the size of the previous station, but in the same place. Construction began May 2014, and part of the cost will be paid for by a United States Department of Agri-
culture grant. “There’s some wiring and stuff to be finished up,” said Brian Kannas, Corning fire chief. “We’ve got a little bit of painting up on the upper loft, then we can move stuff up there.” The building houses several rooms, including offices for the fire chief and emergency manager, a training room, kitchen and decontamination room, as well as the bay and an L-shaped loft that runs the length and width of the station. The loft will be used for oth-
er equipment used in the fire and emergency management fields. Kannas also mentioned that now firefighters have room between trucks to change into their gear, whereas before, that space wasn’t there. “It’s nice, it’s real nice,” Kannas said. “Everybody’s happy to be in there.” Corning Fire Department is home to 30 volunteer firefighters. An open house for the public to see the station is planned, but a date has not been set.
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CNA photo by BAILEY POOLMAN
Corning Fire Department fire trucks and gear sit in the new station’s bays after being moved from the Corning School District bus barn Saturday.
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