WEEKEND EDITION
Friday
September 20, 2013
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Weekend Breaking News
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SPORTS, page 1S
national farm safety week sept 15-21
autopsy results
No foul play in death of woman found in Lenox cornfield
Drawing awareness for agriculture safety and health By JAKE WADDINGHAM CNA staff reporter
jwaddingham@crestonnews.com
Cody Tanner, 14, is off to an active start as a freshman at Creston High School. Following in his older brothers’ footsteps, Cody plays offense and defense for the Panther’s freshman football team. He is also taking driver’s education classes to earn his school permit. But, about a decade ago, while spending time with his father Roger on the family farm about seven miles northwest of Orient, an accident involving a tractor left 4-year-old Cody with more than 15 stitches in his left hand. The accident could have just as easily been fatal. “We knew how lucky we were that he didn’t get runover,” said Cody’s mother, Robbie Tanner. Sept. 15-21 is National Farm Safety and Health Week. This year’s theme, “Working Together for Safety in Agriculture,” hopes to bring more awareness to all of the potential dangers on the farm and in agriculture.
ANKENY — Autopsy results for Maggie Weaver — the woman found dead in a Lenox cornfield in August — were released Thursday. The 31-year-old Weaver died of an accidental overdose caused by acute methamphetamine intoxication — this according to the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s office. The examiner’s office also states there were no indications of foul play and, therefore, the investigation into her death is complete. DCI reports Weaver was at a residence waiting for a ride from a friend on July 31. The friend arrived approximately 2 1/2 hours later and Weaver was nowhere to be found. Friends and family searched for Weaver for several days eventually finding her dead in a cornfield west of Lenox on Aug. 3. Weaver resided in Brookfield, Mo., but went to school in Creston. Locals knew her better by her married name of Maggie Dodson.
way down, ripping his left hand open. Since Roger was already stopping, the tractor did not roll on top of his son. Roger rushed Cody to the emergency room for stitches, and they were back home before Robbie returned from school. “(Roger) was really shook, in fact, I never heard all the details of the accident right away,” Robbie said. “We just knew we were lucky.” As former 4-H leaders and Roger spending his entire life farming, the Tanners have alway stressed farm safety with CNA photo by JAKE WADDINGHAM their three boys. CHS freshman Cody Tanner was in a farm accident involvRoger said it is just those ing a tractor when he was 4 years old. National Farm minor lapses in judgement Safety and Health Week, Sept. 15-21, promotes safe pracor lack of attention to detail tices in agriculture. when accidents can happen to anyone. The agriculture sector re- Roger said. “Usually, I had “You’ve got to watch and mains the most dangerous in him sit in between my legs, think ahead about what America with 475 reported but for some reason, he was could happen,” Roger said. fatalities in 2012 according sitting on the fender, and that Farm safety to the U.S. Department of wasn’t the place to be.” The National EducaRoger said he was forced Labor. tion Center for Agricultural to stop suddenly when the Cody’s story Safety (NECAS) works year During a spring morning material he was hauling fell round to educate children, while Robbie was at work at off the tractor’s loader. teenagers, adults and emer“I just went forward,” Creston Elementary School, gency responders about agriRoger and Cody were at Cody said. “I remember that culture safety. home doing work with a trac- it hurt, a lot.” Cody was thrown from the tor and loader. fender and his hand caught Please see “I was driving the tractor SAFETY, Page 2 on the equipment on the ... it didn’t have a cab on it,”
QUICK NEWS
Strong storm hits Creston
Farm safety week: Local man shares story of getting arm caught in PTO shaft About 15 years ago when Daniel Page was a teenager, he would help his father by mowing a spot near their house in Kent. The summer heat was fading into cooler fall weather, so Page grabbed a coat and went to work. Before he could finish, he had to move a wagon in order to mow underneath it. Page left the mower running, hopped on the tractor and hooked up the power take-off shaft (PTO).
“It would have taken one second to shut it off and I didn’t do it,” Page said. As Page s t e p p e d Page up, his foot slipped. He reached out to catch himself and his coat sleeve caught in the PTO shaft and twisted his arm into the rotating equipment. “I was upside down and just
hanging there by my arm for what seemed like forever,” Page said. Kyle Wilson was delivering the Creston News Advertiser nearby and heard Page scream. Wilson and his mother rushed to get help. Luckily, Page had idled the small tractor all the way down, so the weight of his body on the PTO shaft eventually choked out the tractor. Page’s father and neighbor were able to untangle him, but Page’s right arm was bro-
ken in three places. Page said leaving equipment running while getting off and on is not worth the risk. “People do the same thing all the time with lawnmowers,” Page said. “They leave them running when they get off to move a branch, then end up misstepping and getting hurt.” Page recovered from his injury and now works as a mechanic at Carlisle Automotive in Creston.
A strong line of severe thunderstorms swept through the state Thursday afternoon bringing high winds reaching 55 mph, lightning and heavy rain. The storm hit Creston shortly after 4 p.m. Heavy rains punished city streets. The National Weather Service reports Creston received .73 inches of rainfall in less than 30 minutes. A tree limb fell and snapped a power line in the 900 block of West Mills Street in Creston during the storm. (See picture above). However, no other major damage or power outages were reported. The Des Moines area took the brunt of the storm as Mid American Energy reported about 40,000 customers lost power in the metro. High winds also blew the roof off an elementary school in Grimes.
Food stamp reduction?
WASHINGTON (MCT) — House Republicans narrowly approved deep reductions to the food stamp program Thursday that would reduce or eliminate benefits for nearly 4 million Americans — setting up an all but certain showdown Please see QUICK NEWS, Page 2
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Volume 130 No. 72 Copyright 2013
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Contents
Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Deaths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Heloise Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1S-3S
Weekend weather High 74 Low 46 Full weather report, 3A