SWV NO-HITTER
MATTRESS FIRE
Southwest Valley’s Bryan Pearson fired a no-hitter Thursday in a 14-1 win over East Union. For more on Pearson’s no-hitter, see SPORTS, page 1S. >>
Creston Fire Department responded to a fire in a bedroom Thursday afternoon. For a photo of firefighters on scene, see page 2A. >>
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SHAW MEDIA GROUP SERVING SW IOWA SINCE 1879 BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE AT WWW.CRESTONNEWS.COM
FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016
Creston native graduates Man charged from Air Force Academy after bank
robbery
Bolinger begins pilot training in August. ■
By BAILEY POOLMAN description of the vehicle and
By LARRY PETERSON
CNA staff reporter bpoolman@crestonnews.com
CNA senior feature writer lpeterson@crestonnews.com
Austin Bolinger had a plan. The 2011 graduate of Creston High School was about to step onto the stage in Falcon Stadium at the U.S. Air Force Academy eight days ago, taking his turn to receive his diploma and shake hands with President Barack Obama. Then the enormity of the moment hit him. “I was thinking a lot about what I wanted to say to him,” Bolinger said Thursday during a brief stay in Creston. “Then, when I got up there, it was like I almost mentally blacked out. I don’t even really remember what he said to me. I think it was something generic like, ‘Congratulations.’ I said, ‘Thank you sir. I’m number 215, only 600 to go!’ I’m not sure if he caught on, because he was so busy shaking hands.” The president appears at
“MARCHING in while they’re playing the cool music you only hear once every year, and finally it was my turn. That gives you the goosebumps.”
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AUSTIN BOLINGER
U.S. Air Force Academy graduate
Ricky Ryan Schnackel, 58, of Lorimor was charged w i t h first-degree robbery, a class B felony, Thursday after Schnackel he allegedly attempted to rob a bank in Creston. According to a Creston Police report, at 1:25 p.m., Creston Police Department received a call from an employee at Iowa State Savings Bank, located at 504 W. Taylor St., that a male subject came through the drive-thru, told the teller, “This is a robbery,” and displayed a weapon. The subject did not take anything, and left after several minutes. The weapon was later identified as a BB gun. The bank employee gave a
Contributed photo by RICK CHAVES
U.S. Air Force Academy graduate Austin Bolinger of Creston gets a congratulatory handshake from President Barack Obama during commencement ceremonies on June 2 at Falcon Stadium. Bolinger was one of 812 graduates receiving their diplomas and military commisions last week.
graduation of one of the military academies each year, with a year off built into the cycle, so each cadet from a military academy experiences the presence of the Commander in Chief once during his or her four years. Bolinger had attended three previous commencement ceremonies in the stadium where the Air Force Academy plays its football games. Now, it was his time. “Marching in while they’re playing the cool music you only hear once every year, and finally it was my turn,” Bolinger said. “That gives you the goosebumps.”
with a 4.0 grade point. His drive to excel was honed early, according to school staff members. “Austin was a very hard worker and would never sell himself short,” said Creston track coach Pat Schlapia. “You knew he was going to do something for himself. It’s just awesome what he’s done, going through the Air Force Academy.” Bolinger, a soccer player for four years at CHS, took up track his senior year and left his mark by joining Collin Bevins, Maxx Walters and Briar Evans in setting the shuttle hurdle relay record of 1:01.44 that still stands. They CHS career Bolinger was a four-sport placed 14th in the state meet. athlete at Creston High Early interest School and co-valedictorian As a high school student
• HOTTEST TEMPERATURE YOU’VE WORKED IN: Last year,
Bolinger was thinking about going to Iowa State for a degree in aerospace engineering, when he had a chance encounter one day with a visiting Air Force recruiter. Those few minutes changed the course of his life. “His selling point was flying planes,” Bolinger said. “I thought it might be cool to get paid to do that. But, enlisted people right out of high school don’t do that. My buddy Alex Stoll told me I should look at the (Air Force) Academy. By then I was way too late to apply, so I went to Iowa State for a year and got into ROTC.” Over the next few months, Bolinger advanced in a competitive application process.
NWS provides tips for heat By SCOTT VICKER
CNA managing editor svicker@crestonnews.com
BOLINGER | 2A
• BEST PART OF YOUR
JOB: Getting to know all the kids who come here. They’re really ornery.
it was 102 degrees. That was pretty bad. We had people constantly bringing us water to stay hydrated.
• HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO SAVE SOMEONE? Yes. My first year, a little boy jumped off a diving board not knowing how deep it was and couldn’t swim. He was fine but was really scared.
• EDUCATION
• MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT
PLANS: Starting at Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny for pre-dentistry
ON THE JOB: One time, my whistle fell into the pool, so I had to have a kid fish it out for me.
• BUSIEST DAY AT THE POOL: So far, it’s been the Fourth of July. But, I have a feeling RAGBRAI is going to outrun that by a long shot.
• FAMILY: Parents:
• FAVORITE ICE CREAM
Greg and Brenda; siblings: Codie, Skylar and Alyssa
• WORST EXPERIENCE WITH A
LONG HAVE YOU WORKED AT THE POOL? Three years
SUNBURN OR TAN LINES: My first year here, I had a really bad tan line, and for homecoming, I wore a strapless dress. It looked like the dress had straps in all the pictures.
5
FLAVOR: Cookies ‘n’ cream
• HOW
• HOMETOWN: Creston • AGE: 18
M
nutes
ABBIE COOK Creston City Pool lifeguard
CNA graphic by KELSEY HAUGEN
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Volume 133 No. 8
2016
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subject to area law enforcement. At 2:46 p.m., officers spotted the vehicle at the intersection of REA Road and Jaguar Avenue. The subject was taken into custody without incident. “He was located by a deputy and just pulled over,” said Creston Police Chief Paul Ver Meer. “He wasn’t hurt, and, more importantly, officers weren’t hurt.” Schnackel was being held on $25,000 bond. Creston Police Department, Union County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol and Department of Natural Resources assisted with the incident. There has not been a bank robbery in Union County in recent years. “The bank did an excellent job getting a valid description of the suspect and vehicle,” Ver Meer said. “And law enforcement did an excellent job getting him located and taken into custody without incident.”
DES MOINES — With today marking the first heat wave of the year, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Des Moines, along with Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, marked Thursday, June 9, as Iowa Heat Awareness Day. Heat is one of the leading weather-related killers in the United States, resulting in hundreds of fatalities each year and even more heat-related illnesses. As of this morning, high temperatures were forecast as 96 degrees on Saturday and 97 degrees on Sunday before being in the upper 80s Monday and Tuesday. Kurt Kotenderg, meteorologist with the NWS in Des Moines, said the first goal people should remember is to protect themselves from the heat. “We have highs in the Creston area forecast to be in the mid-90s Friday and Saturday,” Kotenderg said. “The heat index will be in the 100 degrees by Saturday. Make sure you drink plenty of water and make sure you do not leave your pets or children locked in a car.” Kotenderg said the NWS conducted an experiment at its offices on Thursday, testing the temperature inside a car left out in the heat. The NWS left the car outside for one hour. The tem-
“YOU SHOULD NOT leave your children or pets inside a vehicle unattended when it’s hot out like this.”
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KURT KOTENDERG NWS meteorologist
perature inside the car started out at 84 degrees and by the end of the hour, the temperature had risen to 107 degrees. “It warmed up 23 degrees in one hour and it was only 90 degrees (outside),” Kotenderg said. “Make sure you’re prepared in advance. I believe there were two fatalities out in New York sometime yesterday from children being left in the car. The unfortunate thing is that it does happen, and we want to spread the message that it’s preventable. You should not leave your children or pets inside a vehicle unattended when it’s hot out like this.” In 2015, there were 24 vehicular heatstroke children deaths in the United States. Other tips from the NWS include making sure air conditioning units are in working order; take plenty of breaks, drink plenty of water and seek shade often when working outside; wear lightweight, loose-fitting, light-colored clothing to reflect sunlight; eat light and easy-to-digest foods; make sure pets and livestock have access to water and check on neighbors.
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