SWCC DAZZLERS
BREEZY MONDAY
Two Creston High School students have inked with the SWCC Dazzlers dance team. Who are they? See page 12A. >>
The Creston/O-M Panthers boys golf team defeated Clarinda on a breezy afternoon of golf in Creston Monday. More in SPORTS, page 7A. >>
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TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015
MAN OF STEEL
Bird flu confirmed at Iowa farm with 5.3 million chickens
Retired steel manufacturer Bob Martin builds new factory in Arispe that could provide up to 40 jobs. ■
By IAN RICHARDSON CNA staff reporter
irichardson@crestonnews.com
ARISPE — You could say retirement didn’t last long for Bob Martin. Two and a half years ago, Martin was making plans to sell his 30-year-old steel company, LeMar Industries, settle down at Sun Valley Lake and farm some land he owns in Ringgold and Union counties. But today, the 69-yearold steel industry veteran is nearing the end of his second year as founder of a new steel company, BSM Enterprises, and in the middle of constructing a factory in Arispe that could provide up to 40 local jobs. Martin decided to start the new business in mid-2013 after a call from one of his former employees, Larry Waltersdorf, who w a n t e d Martin to sell his business, W&W Welding and Fabrication. “I had just bought a farm with more tillable acres to it — that’s what I was going to do,” Martin said. “Then Larry called me on this, and I said, ‘Oh, I’ve got time.’ So here I am today.” Martin purchased the factory and renamed it BSM Enterprises, using his and his wife Sharon’s initials. In the months since, he has been enlarging the facilities and working on steel projects with his staff of nine employees. “I don’t have a product line on my own at this point,” he said, “so we do job shop work. They’ll bring drawings
CNA photo by IAN RICHARDSON
Cody Keller uses a grinder on a small beam at BSM Enterprises. Although the new factory building has yet to be completed in Arispe, BSM has nine employees and has been working on projects for about 18 months.
CNA photo by IAN RICHARDSON
Bob Martin, owner of BSM Enterprises, points out the beam line machine inside the new factory building. Martin said he hopes the factory and its machines will be fully up and running in 60 days.
in and we quote it, and we’ll build what’s within our capabilities.” Martin said he hopes the new factory building will be fully functional in the next 60 days. Martin’s desire to return was a combination of his love of steel work, which dates back to his first foray into the industry in 1964, and his love for the Arispe area, where he’s owned farmland since 1993.
Sumner construction:
“I’ve gotten to meet people, and it’s very friendly,” he said. “And it’s fun to give back to the area.” Cody Keller, who first met Martin while working at W&W Welding and Fabrication, now works with BSM. He said Martin’s new factory brings a significant presence to the town of Arispe, as the new factory building is much larger than the previous one. A former Arispe resident himself, Keller said the fac-
CNA photo by JAKE WADDINGHAM
A line of cars navigate through the construction cones on Sumner Street (Highway 25) in Creston Monday afternoon. Iowa Department of Transportation Resident Construction Engineer Scott Nixon said the crew is doing full-depth, concrete patch repairs. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the week.
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tory could be a boost for the town of around 100. “It’s kind of brought new life to the town,” he said. “Potentially it could really do something with the housing market.” He also said Martin’s experience brings a lot to this company. “He knows what to expect from the customers in the world and the markets,” Keller said. “He’s seen the ups and the downs and knows what to expect and knows to prep for it. He knows when a good time to buy is and when a good time not to buy is.” Of the nine who work for Martin now, all of them were hired locally. He said his factory has the capacity to hire 40 people. “It’s going take a couple years to get to that,” he said. “But 25 to 30, I’d like to have within 12 months.” Martin now lives at Sun Valley with his wife. Between the two of them, they have four grown children. Martin’s son Scott still works with LeMar Industries, which is now a subsidiary of the manufacturing company CTB Inc.
DES MOINES (AP) — Up to 5.3 million hens at an Iowa farm must be destroyed after the highly infectious and deadly bird flu virus was confirmed, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday. The farm in northwest Iowa’s Osceola County has nearly 10 percent of the state’s egg-laying hens. Iowa is home to roughly 59 million hens that lay nearly one in every five eggs consumed in the country. Egg industry marketing experts say it’s too early to predict the impact on prices, but say it’s unlikely to immediately cause a spike or a shortage, be- ■ The farm cause number of chickens in norththat are to be euthanized is a little more than 1 percent west Iowa’s Osceola of the nation’s egg layers. “Don’t panic. Let’s wait County has and see,” said poultry industry consultant Simon nearly 10 Shane, who also teaches percent of poultry science and veter- the state’s inary medicine at North Carolina State University. egg-laying He added that if 20 million hens. Iowa to 30 million hens are in- is home to fected, consumers could roughly 59 start seeing prices rise. Several Midwestern million hens. states have been affected by the outbreaks, costing turkey and chicken producers nearly 7.8 million birds since March. The virus was first detected in Minnesota, the country’s top turkey-producing state, in early March and the H5N2 virus has since shown up on commercial farms in Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. On Monday, the virus was confirmed in another turkey farm in Minnesota and a backyard flock of mixed birds in Wisconsin. The Osceola County farm provides shell eggs and liquid egg products to the market. “It may not have a direct effect on shell egg pricing but any time you take production out of Please see BIRD FLU, Page 2A
CNA photo by KYLE WILSON
Superhero pose: Southwestern student Nikki Greve, left, strikes a superman pose, making Ahdri Evans and her 5-year-old daughter Evelyn laugh during the Superhero 5K run/walk held Monday afternoon to kick off SWCC’s Pay It Forward (PIF) Week. See another photo from the 5K and more information on PIF week on page 2A.
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