CNA-SS-03-23-2015

Our Educators View this Section Online at www.crestonnews.com/eEdition

Robbie Tanner Darla Sobotka Jennifer Ehrsam

2 4 6

Linda Wolfe 8 Charlotte Jennings 10 Erin Long 13

Sue Dake Joanne Bucklin Mary Brown

15 15 17

Blake Anderson Photo page

19 22

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Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

Progress 2015: Recognizing our local educators This year’s Creston News Advertiser Progress section highlights the lives of educators from all across southwest Iowa. We want to introduce you to these men and women because their efforts are helping produce our

leaders of tomorrow.

These educators are your friends and neighbors. They come from all walks of life, some are new teachers, some are retiring after 35 years, some have interesting hobbies outside of the

A lesson in teamwork

By JAKE WADDINGHAM

CNA associate editor jwaddingham@crestonnews.com

Creston Elementary School’s fourth grade teacher Robbie Tanner believes in developing well rounded students, a lesson she picked up from her high school basketball days.

Self-described as a shy student at Creston High School, Tanner was able to find her social outlet on the hardwood.

“She could be a little shy, but not when the team needed her on the court,” said Eldon Gammell, who coached Tanner’s high school basketball team.

The state was not split into classes for 6-on-6 women’s basketball. Only 16 teams made the trip to the

championship tournament.

Tanner helped the Panthers earn back-to-back trips to state in 1970 and 1971.

“She was an outstanding guard,” Gammell said.

“She blocked out extremely well, which in turn made her a great rebounder.”

Gammell recalled one of Tanner’s toughest assignments at the state tournament was to guard a forward they had nicknamed “The Orange Crush.”

The Panthers made it into the quarterfinals both years at state. After her senior season, Tanner was selected to play in the allstar game in Fort Dodge at a coaching clinic.

“She was a tremendous worker and listened extremely well,” Gammell said.

Tanner continued her basketball career at Southwestern Community College, making the transition to 5-on-5 play under the direction of Ron “Fox” Clinton.

She finished her basketball career and earned her teaching degree at Westmar College in Le Mars.

The college officially closed in 1997.

She moved back to the Creston area and substitute taught for three years with the CHS school district before landing her first and only teaching job with the Creston Elementary fourth graders.

“When I talk to the kids, it is always about teamwork and how you can be a leader and improve your actions,” Tanner said. “It is about how you can make

classroom, some are busdrivers and crossing guards.

There are about 60 educators featured in this year’s Progress section.

We at the Creston News Advertiser know there are many,

many more eductors in southwest Iowa, but we either couldn’t get to everyone or they declined our invitation.

Please enjoy these stories as we recognize our local educators.

Former Creston athlete and mother of athletic boys Robbie Tanner brings a team mentality to the classroom ■

other people stronger.”

Home life Tanner, 51, and her husband Roger live on a farm between Orient and Greenfield.

During her summer and vacation time, Tanner enjoys being outside as much as possible. She spends a majority of her time in her flower beds, which gives her a great vantage point to watch for wildlife.

However, free time has been hard to come by for Tanner most years while hauling three active and athletic boys to various events.

“There always seems like there is something revolving around the kids,” Tanner said. “It seems like Please see TANNER, Page 3 Contributed photo

Left, Robbie (Noecker) Tanner swings in to block out after a shot attempt at the women’s 6-on-6 state tournament. Coach Eldon Gammell said rebounding was one of Tanner’s biggest attributes to the Panthers, who made the state tournament back-toback seasons.

Contributed photo

From left, Casey, Cole, Roger, Robbie and Cody Tanner enjoy taking outdoor family vacations between county fair and the start of football camps.

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TANNER: Continued from Page 2

there is a small window between county fair and before football starts that we try to get away as a family and do something active outdoors for vacation.”

The oldest, Casey, is now a math teacher and shares time between the Murray and Creston school districts.

He coaches the offensive line for the Creston Panther football team, which includes his youngest brother, Cody.

Tanner said she enjoys sharing teaching strategies with Casey and talking through situations that happen in the classroom to help each other be better educators.

“It was shocking at first that he even wanted to go into education,” Tanner said. “But I had always seen those sides of him as he grew up, how he dealt with children and how he had a natural talent for teaching and being patient.”

Casey said multiple teachers inspired him and his teaching styles. He added his mother has been a great resource to bounce ideas and strategies off of to help students.

“Growing up in that kind of environment inspired me to want to inspire others and I knew for a very long time that teaching would be the profession for me,” Casey said.

Being back home in southwest Iowa, Casey said the connection with the community and the pride in Creston’s student athletes makes working in the same school district as his mother

Contributed photos

Robbie Tanner works hands on with a group of fourth grade students at Creston Elementary School during a lab that discussed the bones in the human body.

a special experience.

“I am really proud of him,” Tanner said. “It is exciting to see him doing something that he loves with coaching and teaching.”

Tanner’s middle child, Cole, is in his second year playing football at Central College. He is leaning toward studying for a business degree.

“Sometimes it was hard to get away from that teacher mode,” Tanner said. “It is the craziness of when I am here (in school), these are all my kids, I call them my kids. Then I have my own children at home, too.”

In the classroom This is Tanner’s 28th year of teaching fourth grade.

Despite the longevity of teaching only one grade her entire career, Tanner said she still feels excited and fresh at the start of each school year.

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a rut,” Tanner said. “I love teaching hands-on material and I have always tried to make learning fun.”

One of the biggest changes for Tanner has been the evolution of teachers working together to find the best ways to help students learn by being a mentor for new teachers and collaborating during prep time.

“All of the kids are our kids now,” Tanner said. “It has been great being able to share ideas as a whole.

When you have five different sections at one grade level, we look at all the students that are in fourth grade and try to figure out ways we can help them.”

Technology has been another area of major change

during Tanner’s career.

Now when she is working on a science project with her students, Tanner highlights reading, writing and math skills throughout the lesson to blend learning subjects together.

“We have a room full of book boxes on different material that fits the different themes or units we are studying,” Tanner said.

“We look for information, text structure, how the author wrote the book and designed it. It gets the kids excited about opening a book.”

While a lot has changed in the classroom, Tanner said one theme has remained constant throughout her years as an educator.

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“There are a lot of things that we have to teach academically to kids, but to me, it is just as important to get that well rounded student where they are good people,” Tanner said.

And even as retirement starts to get closer, Tanner’s thoughts toward the future

are directed at all of her children.

“That will be a totally new stage of my life, but I want to still be working with kids and hopefully volunteering a lot,” Tanner said. “I’ll enjoy watching my own children continue to grow and seeing what direction they go.”

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Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

Focusing on what matters

Darla Sobotka uses photography to compliment her compassion for teaching ■

By JAKE WADDINGHAM

CNA associate editor jwaddingham@crestonnews.com

MOUNT AYR — If you are ever at a sporting event in Mount Ayr, chances are you will spot Darla Sobotka in the middle of the action with a camera in hand.

A third grade teacher at Mount Ayr Elementary School, Sobotka uses her hobby to keep in contact with her students after they leave her classroom and stay involved in school activities now that her own children have graduated.

“Once they have been in my classroom, to me, they are always my kids,” Sobotka said. “You spend a whole year with them, more time than your own kids sometimes. It has been really fun to watch those kids evolve.”

She shares the photos for parents to use in scrapbooks and posts action shots of her family members so distant relatives can keep tabs on family activities.

Each year, Sobotka makes a collage of her images to give to the senior athletes as a graduation gift.

Sobotka has worked to improve her photography skill since she started shooting digital in 2009. She took an online class through a junior college in Kansas to learn how to properly set up her camera and went to a workshop at Living History Farms in Urbandale for a hands-on lesson.

One benefit Sobotka gained from learning to properly set up her Canon camera was the freedom to neglect using her flash in most situations. She added knowing how to set the proper aperture and shutter speed has made her images more crisp.

“This year I got out of my comfort zone and they let me down on the field,” Sobotka said. “It is amazing how much better the pictures are.”

In a pinch, Creston News Advertiser Sports Editor Scott Vicker will contact Sobotka to use a picture from a recent Mount Ayr or Diagonal game.

“It is nice to know that we always have someone we can count on if we need a picture of Mount Ayr or Diagonal sporting events in a pinch,” Vicker said. “Darla is always willing to help us out. And it’s always fun to see how into the game she gets while she’s taking photos.”

Most of Sobotka’s pho-

Contributed photo

Pictured above is Darla Sobotka’s immediate family. Front row, from left: Matt Sobotka, Cody Sobotka, Alex Sobotka, Stephanie Sobotka and Darla Sobotka holding her grandson Nathan Inloes. Back row, from left: Gary Sobotka, Michael Inloes and Rachel Inloes.

tography is action shots from sporting events, but she is interested in testing out new subjects.

“When I retire, I could see myself doing more wildlife photos,” Sobotka said.

“I have lens envy. I am wanting a 150mm-600mm lens.”

In the classroom Sobotka and her husband, Gary, moved to Please see SOBOTKA, Page 5

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SOBOTKA: Continued from Page 4

Mount Ayr in 1990 to be closer to family.

“Family is really important to us and we wanted our kids to grow up in a rural area,” Sobotka said. “We knew they had really good school systems.”

A Diagonal native, Sobotka taught special education in Diagonal and East Union before taking the third grade position in Mount Ayr. “Since I was a child, I knew I wanted to teach,” Sobotka said. “I have always liked working with kids. I like to see the growth in students.”

This is her 32nd year of teaching.

Across the hall from Sobotka’s classroom is another section of third grade students and their teacher Jill Weehler, who has taught in the same building as Sobotka for 19 years.

Weehler recently switched to teaching third grade two years ago.

“Darla is the most organized and detail-oriented person there is,” Weehler said. “If you think you are all caught up, Darla would have had it done the day before.”

Weehler said her teaching strength involves creativity, while Sobotka is task oriented, so they compliment each other well for sharing responsibilities and co-planning lessons.

Contributed photos

ABOVE: While on their dream vacation in Alaska, Darla Sobotka and her husband, Gary, took a plane ride around Mount McKinley. The vacation included three days on land and seven days on a cruise. RIGHT: Darla Sobotka, a third grade teacher in Mount Ayr, spends a majority of her free time taking action photos of local sports teams.

Sobotka caught this moment of her nephew, Jacob Taylor, throwing down his first high school dunk during Diagonal’s homecoming game.

Weehler added her scrapbooks at home are filled with pictures Sobotka took of her two boys playing sports.

“Darla is one of the most caring people that has ever walked the planet Earth,” Weehler said. “You can tell she truly cares about the students she teaches.”

Dream vacation With four active children — Rachel, Cody, Matthew and Alex — Sobotka and her husband never had much time to get away for a long vacation.

Gary recently retired as a fisheries biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. He keeps busy working in his steel shop

building custom hay trailers and frames for tractors competing in pulls.

He competes in numerous tractor pulls throughout the summer. Sobotka usually splits duty between cheering on her husband and shooting summer sports.

“I love to travel, but we never had 10 consecutive days between work, the kids’ sports and weight lifting,” Sobotka said. “Last summer was the first summer that we have been able to go on a trip.”

The destination was a land and water cruise in Alaska, which was at the top of Sobotka’s dream vacations.

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“It was neat to be away from the cell phone and computers ... to see the wilderness and the untouched areas of the world,” Sobotka said.

On one land excursion, they took a plane ride that circled Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America. Sobotka was able

to try out nature and landscape photography while taking in the view.

They also took an impromptu plane ride to the misty fjords.

“We landed on the water in the middle of nowhere, got out of the plane and

stood on the rudder,” Sobotka said. “It was just silent. It was unbelievable.”

Sobotka is looking forward to another vacation.

She said Hawaii and the Grand Canyon are the next two locations on her wish list.

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Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

Ehrsam retiring, but will continue ‘bleeding purple’

By KYLE WILSON

CNA managing editor kwilson@crestonnews.com

GREENFIELD — Jennifer Ehrsam has been a fixture at Nodaway Valley School District for 35 years with most of that time spent teaching second graders.

Ehrsam said students and parents will probably remember her most for her unit on the polar areas of the world. The unit features more than a dozen different species of penguins whereby students give an oral report and also work with their parents or loved one to construct a penguin.

“I’ve had penguins made out of wood. I’ve had paper mache,” Ehrsam said. “The project has always been a good way of getting students and parents working together and interacting. It’s a very popular unit.”

Amy DeValt, a school board member at Nodaway Valley School District, has twins who were in Ehrsam’s class and with the help of their father — Maddax and Caelen constructed chinstrap and macaroni penguins out of wood. Ehrsam remembers their project being one of the best created in her teaching career.

“The kids loved working with their dad on this,” DeValt recalls. “It was an interactive project. Caelan had her (Ehrsam) for homeroom so we talked with her at conferences. She’s been a very dedicated teacher over the years and has a way of keeping the students and parents engaged.”

Ehrsam said — when finished — the penguin projects are displayed each year near the front office of the school for about two to three weeks for visitors and students to

Contributed photo

Jennifer Ehrsam, left, is pictured with her husband David, son Daniel and daughter Andrea following the substate game that sent Nodaway Valley’s boys basketball team to state in 2013.

view. The penguins will be since she started with the be built in her class this year Nodaway Valley School District. Today she’s able to in late March or April. bring a cart full of laptops Technology Ehrsam said technolo- into her classroom, assign gy has definitely changed computers to each student

and dial up a You Tube video to help students better understand the subject matter.

For instance, during the penguin unit she shows a vid-

7A

EHRSAM: Continued from Page 6

eo that highlights the volume and type of call a colony of penguins can make. Ehrsam said she has taught several grade levels in her career, but second grade is her favorite.

“They are happy people at that age and are so eager to learn,” Ehrsam said.

Ehrsam has always had a love for learning and to this day reads at least one book per week. She said she has several books “going” at one time and reads the one that best suites her mood that day.

Her love of learning is no surprise as she comes from an entire family of educators.

Her grandfather Preston Sparks taught in a oneroom schoolhouse in rural Missouri. Her father James was a professor for 16 years

at Northeast Missouri State University (currently Truman State University) in Kirksville, Mo., where Ehrsam graduated from with a teaching degree. Her sister Julia was also in elementary education.

“I tried some different things and changed my major a couple times in college, but in the end I felt teaching is what I wanted to do,” Ehrsam said.

Bleeding purple Together, Ehrsam and her husband David have two children — 24-year-old Andrea works at Unity Point in Des Moines and 20-yearold Daniel who is studying business at Iowa State University. Daniel was a starter on the Nodaway Valley basketball team that went to the state tournament in 2012 and 2013.

She and her husband have continued to be loyal supporters of athletics at Nodaway Valley even after their children graduated. They were in attendance when the Wolverines competed in the state tourna-

Please see EHRSAM, Page 7

Contributed photo

Maddax and Caelen DeValt exhibit the penguin projects they created when they were in Jennifer Ehrsam’s class at Nodaway Valley. This project has received good reviews from students and parents over Ehrsam’s 35-year career.

ment at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines earlier this month. It was Nodaway Valley’s sixth trip to the state tournament in 11 years.

They traveled to the state tournament with Dan and Sondra Baudler — who have also continued to be strong supporters of the Nodaway Valley athletics after their son Brad

graduated. Sondra said they have been going to sporting events with the Ehrsams since their two boys played soccer together at age 5.

The two boys are now roommates at Iowa State University.

“We had a lot of good times together watching our boys,” Baudler said, “and now the crew still gets

Contributed photo

Pictured is Jennifer Ehrsam’s father James conducting a hearing test on students. James was a professor at Northeast Missouri State University (currently Truman State University) in Kirksville, Mo.

together to support Nodaway Valley. Jennifer is always there to help whether it be the basketball program, music, proms and more. She’s an asset to Nodaway Valley and I’m sure she will continue to be.”

Ehrsam said she has “mixed emotions” about retiring from the school district this May. She said she’ll miss the day-to-day contact

with the kids.

“The best part of teaching is when you see the light bulb go off in a kid, when it finally clicks,” Ehrsam said.

She said she does plan to do a fair amount of substitute teaching and has several travel plans with her husband including visiting Niagara Falls.

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Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

Art teacher creates in and out of classroom

By IAN RICHARDSON CNA staff reporter

irichardson@crestonnews.com

GREENFIELD — Linda Wolfe is a creator.

Whether she’s turning an eggshell into a goldfinch or using the bottom of a table to emulate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Wolfe’s ingenuity shines both as an artist and an art teacher.

Wolfe’s personal artistic pursuits have taken her from the Iowa State Fair to the White House, and her teaching endeavors have helped more than 100 of her students place at international contests.

As a kindergarten through sixth grade art teacher and talented and gifted instructor at Nodaway Valley, Wolfe loves what she does.

But after 30 years of teaching, Wolfe will be retiring this spring, allowing her to pursue her personal projects.

The educator Wolfe grew up in Greenfield and earned a bachelor’s degree in art from Simpson College in Indianola. While at Simpson, she began dating Steve, another native Greenfieldian who had graduated from high school ahead of her.

“He remembered me from high school, and so he thought, ‘I guess maybe I’ll ask her out,’” Linda said.

“I’m glad he did.”

She and Steve now live in Greenfield. Steve is the Adair County chief deputy assessor.

Prior to teaching art, Linda worked as a paraeducator in Indianola. Then, 30 years ago, she began as an art instructor in Greenfield.

Four years later, she began

Contributed photo

ABOVE: Linda Wolfe watches as fourth-grader Kaden Herr uses the bottom of the table to mimic Michelangelo’s painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. RIGHT: This painting, which hangs in Wolfe’s home, measures five feet tall. The painting depicts the healing journey of her son James who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2009.

teaching elementary talented and gifted students, as well.

An artist herself, Linda said she enjoys teaching elementary students because they are naturally creative.

“I like that art is something that comes from within the child,” Linda said. “I don’t want my students to forget what it’s like to be a child in the way that they’re creative.”

Connie Lundy, Nodaway Valley elementary principal, has known Linda for nearly 20 years. During that time, Lundy’s students and her own children have taken art classes with Linda.

Lundy said Linda is not only great with children but also is able to use her own art as examples to encourage her students.

“She makes it come to life because she’s an artist herself,” Lundy said. “She’s passionate about it, and she wants kids to grow and to love that.”

In teaching her students art history and styles, Linda uses several hands-on projects. One project, which she does with fourth graders, involves taping a piece of paper to the bottom of a table and lying on the ground to paint a picture, emulating what Michelangelo experienced as he painted

the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Another project involves students replicating Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” in their own style and changing either the scenery in the background or the characters in the foreground to turn it into a parody.

In the spring, fourth graders go on an architectural tour of Des Moines. Linda also takes her fifth-grade Please see WOLFE, Page 9

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WOLFE:

9A

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Continued from Page 8

class to the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Neb. Linda said these field trips are important because it allows the students to see original pieces of art up close, something she can’t replicate in the classroom.

“In the classroom, all I’m able to show them is slides or posters,” she said. “The reproductions don’t hold a candle to the real thing.”

Linda also encourages her students to enter competitions like the International Children’s Art Exhibition, which is judged in Japan and fields entries from around the world. As of last year, 100 of Linda’s students had placed in this competition over the years, and for the past dozen years an exhibit of entries from around the world has come to the Warren Cultural Center.

The artist Linda said her personal favorite art media to work with are watercolors and fabrics. In years past, she has submitted paintings to the Iowa State Fair. Several of her paintings line the halls of the Wolfe home.

“I can’t think of any wall that doesn’t have something on it,” Steve said.

In 2002, Linda received national recognition for a project involving a unique art medium: eggshells.

Linda had first heard about egg decorating competitions in the early 2000s through her parents, who had seen an ad for a contest held by the Iowa Egg Council in the Stuart newspaper.

The Egg Council challenged contestants to decorate an egg with an Iowa theme.

To design the eggs, Linda would blow out the yolk and the white so all that remained was the shell. Then she would proceed to decorate it with paint and additional items.

For about the next three years, Linda would enter decorated eggs in competitions and the state fair.

Contributed photo

Linda Wolfe works with third-grade student Tucker Sloth as he studies a photograph in order to draw a dome. Third-grade art students also take a unit on painting with watercolors atop black permanent marker drawings, which is one of Wolfe’s favorite artistic styles to teach.

Her designs included a goldfinch, a pig wearing a Dekalb seed corn hat, and an ear of corn for which she used raised gold paint and real corn shucks to imitate the look and texture.

In 2002, Linda was selected to represent the state of Iowa with a decorated egg at the White House. She received $500 and a free trip to Washington, where she and Steve attended an event where her egg, a goldfinch, was featured alongside representatives from the other states. Laura Bush, the first lady, was in attendance.

“It was just unbelievable,” she said. “I thought, ‘Wow, what do you say?’”

A photo of that egg is now on the George W. Bush White House archives website.

And the egg itself?

“It could be in George Bush’s library,” she said. “If he decided to keep it, I don’t know.”

This spring, after 30 years of teaching, Linda will retire to spend more time doing her own artwork. Among Linda’s projects will be finishing and submitting a pic-

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ture book for publication that she has been working on the past five years. Written and illustrated by herself, it is an alphabet book written in verse that introduces artists and artwork throughout history. Linda said she has ideas for future books as well.

“I work with trying to get other people to express themselves, and I need to give my time to myself some time to do that as well,” Wolfe said. “I have lots of artwork rolling around inside that needs to come out.”

Steve said Linda won’t have any trouble keeping busy.

“Like a lot of teachers, they are lifelong learners, so she’s just basically going to

be shifting gears,” he said.

“She’ll keep busy. I know that.”

The Wolfes have two grown children, James and Stacy. James lives in Minden with his wife, Phylisha, and their daughter, Phyra, who is celebrating her third birthday this month. Stacy lives in Omaha. As of this month, Linda and Steve will have been married 40 years.Contributed photo Wolfe works with thirdgrade student Tucker Sloth as he studies a photograph in order to draw a dome. Thirdgrade art students also take a unit on painting with watercolors atop black permanent marker drawings, which is one of Wolfe’s favorite artistic styles to teach.

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Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

EU teacher meets student needs for 45 years

By KYLE WILSON

CNA managing editor kwilson@crestonnews.com

How can someone do the same job — Monday through Friday — for 45 consecutive years and not get restless or lose interest in said job? For retired East Union elementary teacher Charlotte Jennings the answer is simple.

“It was never the same job for me,” said the 69-year-old Jennings, who taught first and third grade in southwest Iowa for 45 years.

“Every year I had a new set of students that I got to know. I needed to find their strengths and weaknesses and then create lessons and activities to meet their needs. What was the same during those years was the students knew I expected the best out of each one of them no matter their ability.”

Jennings’ love for teaching others came at an early age.

Her father Wayne was a farmer and he urged her from the age of 9 to find a way to obtain a quality education. But, that would be no easy task considering she was one of 10 kids in the family and her parents could not afford to pay for her college.

At 10 years old, she discovered her passion for teaching while attending Hitt No. 40 country school in Springfield, S.D. “School came easy for me so when other kids were having trouble the teacher (Eileen Gretschmann) allowed me to help them so she could teach the oth-

Contributed photos

ABOVE: Students at East Union in Charlotte Jennings’ class release Monarch butterflies outside the school. TOP RIGHT: Charlotte Jennings receives her master’s degree from Drake University. BOTTOM RIGHT: Charlotte Jennings is pictured here dancing with her significant other Dennis. They take lessons once per week and Jennings now knows more than 140 dance variations.

er grades,” Jennings said.

“She’d tell me what to teach them and I’d take them to the blackboard or do whatever else was needed. I enjoyed that right away. It was right then I determined I wanted to be a teacher.”

Jennings did later attend public school and graduated in 1964 from Grand Valley Community High School (Kellerton), which has since dissolved. After graduation, it was straight to Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Mo., to chase her goal of becoming a teacher.

And, it didn’t take her long.

She finished a four-year degree in three years.

“I took a full credit load every semester and went to

school in the summers, too,” Jennings said. “I worked at the cafeteria and library during the evenings and weekends for money. The work never bothered me. I was one of the oldest of 10 children and we had plenty of work on the farm so I developed a work ethic at a young age. I knew teaching and getting my degree gave me a chance at a better life.”

Jennings did her nineweek student teaching in Creston in the fall of 1967 and had a job with Winterset School District before she even officially graduated from Northwest Missouri State.

She started at Winterset Schools in November 1967 and worked until May the

next year. During that time, her husband was serving in the Vietnam War and upon his return they moved to a farm in Union County.

So, in order to shorten her daily commute, Jennings applied for a teaching position with East Union School District in Afton.

“Driving to Winterset every day would have been a long ways, especially at that time because roads and vehicles were not what they are today,” Jennings said.

Please see JENNINGS, Page 11

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11A

JENNINGS: Continued from Page 10

She received the job in Afton, where she would go on to have a successful 44year career in the school district.

She taught first grade for nine years in Afton before staff reductions and reorganization in the district moved her to teach third grade in Arispe. She taught 17 years there before another reorganization brought her back to teach third grade in Afton for the remainder of her career.

“I loved teaching third grade,” Jennings said. “Kids are so excited about learn-

ing at that age and I liked to create lessons that would provide them with a good remembrance of school. I wanted to make learning fun and in some ways I think I accomplished that because I have students come up to me today and tell me I was their favorite teacher. That makes me feel so good.”

Mark Weis, now high school principal at East Union Schools, had Jennings in first grade and remembers her classroom being a “good environment” for learning.

Please see JENNINGS, Page 12

Contributed photos

Charlotte Jennings, top row third from left, is pictured here with her first class after graduating from Northwest Missouri State University. Jennings taught one year at Winterset and 44 years at East Union before retiring.

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ABOVE: Charlotte Jennings and her sister Sharon are pictured here with their father Wayne. RIGHT: Charlotte Jennings line dances at the Eagles Lodge in Creston during her 60th birthday party. Students were invited and can be seen dancing behind and alongside her.

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Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

JENNINGS: Continued from Page 11

“We toed the line in her classroom. She didn’t have any behavioral issues because we knew what was expected,” Weis recalls. “But, she also created an environment where learning could be fun and if students were having trouble grasping a lesson she’d get them the help they needed.”

Weis added all three of his daughters and one son also had Jennings and that her longevity and commitment for the school through multiple generations has not gone unnoticed by the community.

Naomi Sharp, now an instructor at East Union (EU), also had Jennings in third grade and remembers her love for reading Pippi Longstocking books and her ability to get the most out of every student.

Sharp said “Charlotte” — as she’s finally learned to call her now after many years working beside her professionally — has always led by example, carefully preparing lessons for each student.

Joan Gordon, now elementary principal at EU, started out teaching second grade across the hall from Jennings and said she was an “excellent” mentor to her before there were formal mentors in the teaching profession.

“Nobody spent more time beyond the school day preparing for the next school day like she did,” Gordon said. “And, it showed in her teaching. She had such self motivation and work ethic.”

Contributed photo

Jennings retired from the district in 2012, but is still one of the district’s primary substitute teaches working about 10 days per month.

“I don’t have to worry about a thing when she substitutes,” Gordon said. “She still maintains an orderly classroom and continues giving the students the quality education they need.”

These are cocoons that hung in Charlotte Jennings’ classroom during a unit she organized for students on Monarch butterflies.

Staying active In her free time in retirement, Jennings enjoys country music dancing — which she’s done for just more than 20 years now. Jennings knows more than 140 dance variations and still takes lessons once a week with her significant other Dennis in Osceola.

She knows several variations of the two-step, chacha and waltz. She attends dances on weekends in Osceola, Ottumwa, Maryville, Creston and more.

“My favorite dances are the cha-cha and west coast swing,” Jennings said.

She also exercises regularly at the Southern Prairie YMCA in Creston attending Zumba and Functional Fitness classes during the week along with walking outside near her home on Sun Valley Lake in Ellston.

“I’m going to keep myself in good shape because I want to be functional for a long time,” Jennings said.

“I’ve worked most of my life and now I want to travel.”

Jennings said she has a trip already planned to see her son in New York later this year and has several other vacation plans for the future.

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Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

13A

From Portugal to the plains Overseas experience prepares Mayflower’s Erin Long for smalltown teaching ■

By IAN RICHARDSON CNA staff reporter

irichardson@crestonnews.com

People often compare learning to an adventure.

But in Erin Long’s experience, teaching has been quite the adventure, too.

In 2012, Long was teaching English at an international school in Lisbon, Portugal, without any formal training in the Portugese language.

Today, Long teaches seventh- and eighth-grade Bible, math and science classes at Mayflower Heritage Christian School during the mornings and spends the remainder of her day with her one-year-old daughter, Noriana.

Though Long’s adventures may now be closer to home, her sense of purpose and love for students has prepared her to go wherever she feels in order to be an influence on the next generation.

Road to Portugal Long grew up in Des Moines and attended Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny. While still in college, a former school administrator approached her about the need for teachers in Portugal. However, Long felt the timing wasn’t right.

She didn’t want to leave college, especially not to spend her first year teaching overseas.

Following graduation, Long taught at a Christian school in Waterloo for a year and then returned to Des Moines to teach. It was

Contributed photos

Erin Long rides with the international students on a choir field trip to Germany. Each year, students from the school would travel and sing on one of these performance tours. Long served as chaperone for this trip, in which the choir sang in a variety of town centers and churches throughout the country.

Erin Long helps seventh grader Emma Hanson in her classroom at Mayflower. Long is in her first year there teaching seventh- and eighth-grade Bible, math and science classes.

half the time we as teachers would have to be like, ‘Okay, what?’”

Without a translator or any previous training in Portugese, Long gradually picked up some basics of the language and could speak enough by her second year to communicate most of what she needed from day to day.

As she was learning Portugese quickly, Long noticed her students were learning English even more quickly, especially one student who at first knew no English but made noticeable progress.

“He picked it up really

then that she received the offer to travel to Portugal again.

This time, she knew the timing was right.

Long made the trip and, alongside other teachers from America and Canada, taught English to students from Brazil, Korea, Nepal and Africa. During her first year, Long often communicated through gestures because the students had scanty English vocabularies and verbal communication was difficult. Many of the students’ parents spoke no English at all.

“The students all had horrific, broken English,” Long said. “They all understood each other, but

Please see LONG, Page 14

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Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

Contributed photo

CNA photo by IAN RICHARDSON

Erin Long works with seventh grader Miriam Bartlett on her science lab at Mayflower Erin Long stands with students from sixth grade and above. For two years, she taught English to fifth- and sixth-grade students at the international school.

Christian School.

LONG: Continued from Page 13

quick,” Long said. “It’s amazing how fast kids learn.”

Long-distance During her final year in Lisbon, Long began talking to the man who would become her husband.

But the way they met was anything but typical.

Randall Long had grown up in the Afton and Creston area and had also attended Faith Baptist Bible College. However, he had left a year before she came.

Erin had become acquainted with some of Randall’s family while living in Ankeny, so she eventually became friends with Randall on Facebook, too, thinking they had met.

They hadn’t. But, oblivious to the fact, they started talking.

“I just pretended that I knew him,” Erin said. “I kept writing him for a while, just trying to be nice, thinking that I knew him and he knew me and I just had forgotten.”

Even after realizing they had never met before, Long was encouraged by a mutual friend to continue talking to him. She did, and the day after she returned to the U.S. from Portugal, Randall and Erin met in person for the

first time at Smokey Row Coffee in Des Moines.

They married a year later.

A rural adventure Following the wedding, Erin moved to Creston, where the self-proclaimed “city girl” now had to adjust to the slower pace of rural life. But compared to two years in a foreign country, this transition would be easier.

“I thought, if I can adapt to life in a totally different culture and a totally different way of doing things, then I can adapt to farming,” she said.

About a year ago, the Longs had their first child, Noriana. Although she is raising Noriana in a different environment than where she grew up, Erin said she is thankful she lives where she is.

“I love that I’m raising my daughter in a community where not everyone is gogo-go,” she said. “There’s time to enjoy family.”

Teacher again After returning from Lisbon, Long had worked at Wells Fargo and then had taken six months off to spend with her daughter. During this period of not teaching, Long realized how much she missed being in the classroom.

One Sunday, Long heard Mayflower had an opening for a teacher. Unsure at first how it would work into her schedule, Long applied.

But soon after accepting the position, she knew working at Mayflower was the right choice.

“It’s been a really good fit,” she said. “I love that we can focus on not only the academic but also the spiritual side of life.”

Long now works parttime, spending the mornings at school and the rest of her day caring for Nori-

ana.

Karla Powers, Mayflower’s administrator, said the attention Long gives to each student makes her a great teacher.

“She sees where kids are excelling and tries to push them, and then she sees where kids are struggling and tries to help them. So she’s got a real love and commitment to the individual student,” Powers said.

While Long’s overseas experience served as a growing point in her own life, it now serves as an ex-

ample for her students, who learn through the Mayflower curriculum to be willing to go wherever God sends them.

For Long, what keeps her teaching is her belief that she is using the time she is given on Earth to make a difference in the lives of the future generation, whether they live

in the city, the country or across the ocean.

“We’re only here on this earth for a limited time, and I love that I get to spend my career investing in other people,” Long said. “I love working in a field where I get to pour my life into students, and then they can pour into the next generation.”

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Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

15A

Bucklin, Dake ‘irreplaceable’ on CHS frontlines These two secretaries have worked together for 14 years at the high school. Teachers, administrators praise their “motherly” ways.

■

By KYLE WILSON

CNA managing editor kwilson@crestonnews.com

They are the glue that holds Creston High School (CHS) together.

That’s how most CHS faculty members describe Joanne Bucklin and Sue Dake. These two arrived as secretaries at the high school the same year (2000) and for more than a decade now their “hallway” in the front office has been command central for all prep happenings.

“They’re great at organizing our chaos,” said Jeff Bevins, activities director at CHS. “They are our front lines for everything, which means they wear m a n y , many hats over the course of a day. They sell tickets, answer p h o n e s , Bevins hunt down students, insert grades, do state reporting and are even part-time nurses occasional-

Contributed photo

Sue Dake, pictured far right, is shown here with her family including daughters Courtney and Brooke and husband Bruce.

Contributed photo

Pictured is Joanne Bucklin’s family. From front left, they include: Brian Bucklin, Cal McCollough, Anna McCollough and Gary Bucklin. Back row: Beth Bucklin, Eric McCollough, Angie McCollough and Joanne.

ly. They accomplish all that each day, plus more, and always do it with a smile on their face.”

Bucklin and Dake both have titles of secretary, however, their roles definitely differ.

Bucklin works primarily with teachers and administration — finding substitute teachers when they’re CNA file photo

Please see Joanne Bucklin, secretary at Creston High School, is the “graduation queen.” She’s organized every commencement cerFRONTLINES, Page 16 emony since she arrived in 2000. This picture is of the class of 2014 throwing their caps airborne and spraying silly string.

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Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

FRONTLINES: Continued from Page 15

needed, inserting grades, inputting student schedules, handling transcripts and overseeing all state reporting.

“That part of my job continues to grow,” Bucklin said about state reporting.

“The state wants more and more data on the students every year. I bet it’s grown by 10 times since I started.

The driving force behind this increase in reporting is No Child Left Behind.”

Bucklin said she reports data to the state in a number of areas — some of which include: how many students are on free and reduced lunch, days of unexcused absences, those in talented and gifted, their homeroom teacher.

“There are more than 50 data elements on each student,” Bucklin said. “And, we have about 500 students at the high school.”

Bucklin said — more than anything — she and Sue are “communication facilitators” helping to keep teachers, students, parents and administrators all on the same page. Angie Bolinger, guidance counselor at CHS, praised Bucklin for her communication skills with teachers and administrators.

“The faculty calls her Momma Bucklin,” Bolinger said. “She always lets the right hand know what the left hand is doing. And, she has such compassion for everyone at the school.

I’m not sure how you would ever begin to replace Joanne or Sue.” Bucklin is also “graduation queen.” She coordinates the annual com-

CNA photo by KYLE WILSON

Sue Dake, attendance secretary at Creston High School, hands sophomore Jarrett Skarda a pass in December 2014. Dake has been a secretary at CHS since 2000.

mencement ceremony held at the high school gymnasium. The ceremony features more than 100 students walking across the stage to receive their diploma each year.

Bucklin said preparations for the ceremony begin in the fall and — for the event — she has a three-page checklist of tasks needed complete, some of which includes ordering diplomas and commencement tickets, typing a commencement script, designing programs, working with custodians on gym setup, determining honor students and much more.

Meanwhile, Dake works primarily with student attendance making sure each young adult arrives at class each morning. Dake takes that part of her job seriously.

“I hunt them down, I guess,” Dake said laughing.

“I call their parents, and most of the time they are at home sick or overslept. But, there have been a few times I was really glad I called the parents and checked on that student.”

Steve Birchard, longtime science teacher at CHS, said he remembers one time he made a mistake and counted 2004 graduate Skyler McIntosh absent when he was actually present in class.

“I had two Skyler’s in that class,” Birchard said.

“Sue called down and I confirmed that Skyler McIntosh wasn’t in class. So, she called the parents and they said, ‘he better be in class!”

I had to do some apologizing to Sue and the McIntoshes that day.”

Birchard spoke highly of both Dake and Bucklin’s “motherly” ways. He said Dake is second to none in knowing and keeping teacher’s informed of challenges in a student’s personal life and family situations.

Momma Bucklin agreed: “She does a great job of knowing the kid’s situations, working with the parents, passing needed information onto the teachers and staff all while being sensitive to everyone involved,” Bucklin said.

Dake also works closely

with Bevins on all disciplinary issues like — for example — when students have too many unexcused absences, caused a classroom disruption, violated the noon hour lunch policy and others.

“She’s a buffer,” Birchard said. “The students know they are about to get in trouble. I’m sure they are snippy and disrespectful to Sue. But, she’s nothing but caring back to them (students). Sue and Joanne are such positive role models.

They show students, by example, the right way to behave.”

Dake said — like any job — there are rough days, but faith and family always get her through.

Dake’s other daily responsibilities include an-

swering incoming calls, updating contact information on all 500 students each year and taking care of counter traffic, which includes everything from parents dropping off lunch money/shoes, helping students with padlocks or accepting doctor’s notes.

Bucklin and Dake have been a team now for 14 years and Bolinger agreed with Birchard that these two are vital educators at CHS. “They possess all the character traits we’re trying to teach the students,” Bolinger said. “They keep students accountable, but are compassionate. They are involved in our community, are at school functions and are just a consistent piece of our school. They are irreplaceable.”

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Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

17A

How does your garden grow?

O-M’s Mary Brown digs in to help her garden, second graders flourish ■

By JAKE WADDINGHAM

CNA associate editor jwaddingham@crestonnews.com

ORIENT — Teachers and gardeners share many nurturing similarities.

Each fall, gardeners collect their yard clippings, recycle any table scraps and start the process of composting a fresh, healthy home for their plants.

Teachers introduce learning styles and themes in the fall to a new group of students to build off of for the entire school year.

In the spring, the plants and students use the strong foundation and start to grow in new directions. Finally, the plants and students blossom, showing off their true colors and an entire year of hard work.

And for Mary Brown — second grade teacher at Orient-Macksburg and master gardener — both processes are equally rewarding.

“I feel it’s very important to teach my students that they are part of this Earth and need to do what they can to take care of it for their children and grandchildren,” Brown said. “I strive to teach them something that will extend beyond second grade.”

and I was hooked,” Brown said. “My gardens grew bigger and more and more gardens were added throughout the years.”

Brown read books and asked area gardeners for tips as her beds continued to expand. She went to a variety of workshops and took classes to become a certified master gardener.

Lisa Swanson of Orient said Brown has always been a great outlet for information about gradening and trying new ideas to improve the quality of her beds.

“Her garden is gorgeous, it always looks like something out of a magazine,” Swanson said.

Sharon Mensing, Orient’s director for the public library, agreed. Mensing has substitute taught in Brown’s classroom and their daughters — Amber and Michelle — were the

same age in school.

They spent countless hours discussing gardens while cheering on their daughters at Bulldog athletic events.

Each year the duo takes a flower trip together.

Mensing said Brown’s attention to detail from starting seeds in a greenhouse to composting and organzing the beds makes her garden stand out above the rest.

“She is well organized in her class and very dedicated to her students,” Mensing said. “The dedication part carries over into her hobbies.”

Brown’s passion for recycling sparked her interest in starting a compost system in her backyard.

Brown has two compost Please see BROWN, Page 18

Contributed photo

Orient-Macksburg second grade teacher Mary Brown mixes ingredients into a bowl with her students during a cooking lesson. Brown also teaches students how to recycle and reuse materials during the cooking lessons.

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Each year, Mary Brown and her second grade students study the growth and migration of Monarch butterflies. The classes raise the butterflies from eggs and watches them come out of the chrysalises before releasing them into the wild.

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Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

BROWN: Continued from Page 17

tumblers, two compost bins and a three-bin compost unit her husband Doug built for her as a Christmas present.

“I turn the compost throughout the fall and in the spring to help it break down faster,” Brown said. “I use the compost in my garden when I plant new plants or move plants around. I also add a scoop of compost to the potted plants I donate to the Friends of the Library plant sale in the spring.”

Brown said she shares the “black gold” compost with friends who are new to gardening or need help getting a new garden established.

“It is very rewarding to see materials that would normally end up in a landfill become something that makes my plants thrive,” Brown said.

Brown’s garden has a wide variety, so picking out a favorite is difficult. She said coral bells (Heuchera) always grab her attention because of the unique leaf colors.

In the classroom Several of Brown’s themes in the classroom are centered around protecting the environment and how second grade students can make a difference.

This is her 31st year teaching second grade at O-M. “I bring my students over to the garden each fall,” Brown said. “Some are interested in the worms in the compost ... but they are all thrilled to pick a bouquet of flowers to bring back to the school.”

The class raised monarch butterflies in the classroom from an egg to the adult stage. Then the students released the butterflies before the monarch migration to Mexico started.

“We watch the caterpillar form the ‘J’ and then the chrysalis,” Brown said. “We also get to see the adult emerge from the chrysalis.”

During an ecology unit, the class talks about recycling, saving water and reducing waste. Brown said the students work to recycle

paper and reuse plastic containers.

Katie Geidel, a 2008 O-M graduate, is now teaching fourth grade at O-M. She said her former second-grade teacher has been a valuable resource to bounce ideas off of for her classroom.

“She was probably getting tired of me coming to her daily for her classroom organization and decorating expertise,” Geidel said. “In the weeks leading up to the start of school I would find myself just looking around at the walls and displays in her room wondering how I could incorporate a lot of similar topics.”

Brown organizes an annual Thanksgiving play for her second graders to present to the entire elementary.

“We study what it was like on the Mayflower, learn about the tough winter and how they were able to have a splendid feast in the fall,” Brown said. “Each character in the play was an actual passenger on the Mayflower.”

Contributed photo

Mary Brown takes her students on a garden tour through her personal flower beds each year. The students work together to pick out flowers to make a bouquet that they take back to the classroom.

Both the second and fourth graders enjoyed learning Geidel played one of the main characters in the play when she was a student.

By the end of the year, the O-M second grade students

are also published authors.

“I remember thinking it was so neat that it was published into a hardcover book,” Geidel said. “She (Brown) tells me she still uses my wonderful manatee as an

example when she shares the old books with her class.”

Brown said this year’s theme will be excuses for not doing homework, but the class has not decided on the title yet.

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One of Mary Brown’s passions is working in her flower beds. She has experimented with different weed control methods, built her own raised flower beds and does her own compost, which she calls “black gold.”

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Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

19A

Anderson leads FFA program in right direction

By KYLE WILSON

CNA managing editor kwilson@crestonnews.com

GREENFIELD — Blake Anderson — agriculture instructor at Nodaway Valley School District — comes from a long line of family farmers and now hopes through his day-to-day teachings to help lead the next generation into the industry.

Anderson’s parents Howard and Deanna were both educators in the Corning School District. They also farmed “on the side,” and Anderson learned at a young age through “choring” the value of hard work.

“I fell in love with agriculture at a young age,” Anderson said. “I still have a strong love for agriculture today as it’s the backbone of our economy.”

At 13 years old, Anderson bought his first cattle herd from his grandfather Wayne. It was right at 20 head. He purchased the cattle by utilizing a Department of Agriculture youth loan.

“It was a low-interest loan that I could pay back over seven years,” Anderson said. “The loan is still available today and I urge the kids in my classes to look into the program.”

Anderson payed for the cattle in full over the seven years and took the revenue from sales during that time to place a down payment to buy 120 acres of farmland from his grandfather in 2010.

Inspiring students

Anderson graduated from Please see ANDERSON, Page 20

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Contributed photos

Clockwise from top, Blake Anderson and the Nodaway Valley FFA chapter pose for a photo during National FFA Week Feb. 21-28 this year. The theme was “Go All Out. Jacob Baudler, president of the Nodaway Valley FFA chapter, attends the Ag Leaders Dinner with Blake Anderson at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines in March. Blake Anderson feeds cattle at his family farm near Corning.

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Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

ANDERSON: Continued from Page 19

Corning High School in 2009 and soon made the decision to follow in his parent’s footsteps to become an educator. He graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 2012 and was hired at Nodaway Valley High School in 2013.

At Nodaway Valley, he’s the seventh-senior agriculture instructor and leader of the school’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter.

He had a total of 35 students the first year in FFA and that total has increased to 48 this year.

“The program has struggled in past years because they haven’t had a continuous teacher,” Anderson said. “I think I’ve been able to gain the trust of the students and I try to incorporate fun activities so that it’s not just meetings they are attending.”

Lanny Kliefoth, high school principal at Nodaway Valley, said Anderson has brought a lot of energy and passion to the ag program at the school and the increased numbers in the FFA program are a good indicator of the relationship he has with the students.

“He relates well to the kids,” Kliefoth said, “and he has a strong commitment to the program that goes well beyond the academic day. The program is headed in the right direction and we’re going to continue to give him the resources to keep moving forward and keep him here at Nodaway Please see ANDERSON, Page 21

Contributed photos

TOP LEFT: Blake Anderson is pictured here with his family after an Easter service at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Corning. ABOVEAnderson graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 2012. LEFT: Anderson judges a 4-H bench project at the West Pottawattamie County Fair in 2014.

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Corner of High & Dry and Highway 34

110 N. Elm, Creston • 641-782-8464

Creston Livestock Auction, Inc. Creston, Iowa

Serving cattle producers in Southwest/South Central Iowa and Northern Missouri We sell all classes of cattle including feeders, bred heifers, bred cows and slaughter animals.

Fast/Starter Charger

Red Fuel Charger

Speed Charger

$111.00

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$99.00

10/30/200 AMP Charger-Starter 9-12 Volt

Jump Starter, Fuel Pack Back-up Power 2 USB ports with Lithium ION Technology

100 AMP Boost 30-12 AM Quick Charge 2 AMP Maintainer 6 or 12 Volt Fully Automatic

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Regular sales are held on Fridays at 11AM with special Wednesday Sales in December through March Hay Auction on Fridays before cattle sale starting at 9AM

Full Service Cafe Open Mon.-Fri. 6AM-1:30PM & All Day Sale Days

Check our website for exact dates

www.crestonlivestock.com For Further Information Call 641-782-7025 Tom Frey 641-344-5082 • Cody Frey 641-344-6112 • Dave Shiflett 641-344-5207

&

Visit our website at Crestonlivestock.com and view our auctions at CattleUSA.com Bonded For Your Protection

408 S. Sumner • Creston, IA 641-782-2317

116 N. Taylor St. • Mount Ayr, IA 641-464-3991

M-F 7:30am - 6 pm • Sat 7:30am - 5pm

M-F 8am - 5:30 pm • Sat 8am - 5pm

When you need us

“Always accurate, quality prescriptions... we’ll always make time for you!”

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405 S. Sumner • Creston

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Mon-Fri 8am-5:30pm • Sat 8:30am-1pm

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Paige Parsons

Deb Kralik

Drive-Thru Window ✦ FREE Delivery ✦ Mail-Out Service

Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

21A

ANDERSON: Continued from Page 20

Valley.”

Anderson said the FFA chapter is currently working on their first major service project whereby they are collecting shoes — in any condition — from the community to be donated to Hope Ministries in Des Moines.

“They give shoes or sell them at a cheap price to homeless individuals,” Anderson said of Hope Ministries. “And, the shoes that aren’t in usable condition are recycled. The rubber from the shoes is ground up and used on (running) tracks and for turf projects.”

Anderson said his church in Corning also does this project and thought it would be a good place to start with his students.

Casey Ehrsam, junior at Nodaway Valley, is currently the sentinel in the high school’s FFA chapter and took the lead in this service project. She drafted a letter explaining the project, which was mailed to community members in Greenfield, Fontanelle and Bridgewater asking them to donate.

She also helped Anderson set up drop-off locations in each community.

“This is a great project,” Ehrsam said. “I know I have shoes that I hardly wear so why not donate them to make someone’s life easier?”

Anderson also serves on both the Adair and Adams County Farm Bureau boards. He’s the youth representative on both boards.

He also does 4-H fair judging during the summer.

Anderson mostly judges 4-H indoor building projects that include woodworking, horticulture, metal working, science and technology and more. He’s been judging at fairs across southwest Iowa since 2010. This summer, so far, he’s lined up to judge

Whirlpool Corporation

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COOK Contributed photos

Above, Blake Anderson has fun posing with the Nodaway Valley mascot. Above right, Anderson and students in his classes at Nodaway Valley collected shoes — in any condition — from the community during March to be donated to Hope Ministries in Des Moines.

in Montgomery and Cass counties.

“I enjoy working with youth and connecting with them during the summer,” Anderson said. “Then, it’s my attempt each day in the classroom to get them as active as I can because they are the future. They need to have a say in what’s going on. They will be the ones feeding the world.”

FAX it to us!

The Creston News Advertiser’s FAX number is...

641-782-6628

g our Community Since 1890 Servin

Bridgewater 641-369-2741

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www.crestonnews.com Click on “Photos” to access our photo store to buy quality reprints of almost any photo in this newspaper...and a lot that aren’t!

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Our Mission: Iowa Focus specialize exclusively in community services.

We promote choice, inclusion, responsibility, and respect

Services Iowa Focus offers a variety of services to people with disabilities to meet each person’s individual needs.

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Proud sponsor of Maytag Dependable Leader Awards

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105 W. Adams, Suite A • Creston, IA • 641-782-4478

Appetizers ONION RINGS

Homestyle Onion Rings

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Sign Classes!!

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JALAPENO POPPERS ASSORTED PLATTER

Wednesday Tostada Bar

Chile Peppers Stuffed with Cream Cheese

• State of the Art Equipment & Space • Ages 18 mo. - high school • Rod Floor (Spring Flooring) • Competition Tumbling • Rent for a Fliptastic Birthday Party

Daily Buffet Specials Tuesday Broasted Chicken Buffet

Cheese with Spicy Jalapenos

Onion Rings, Cheese Cubes, Mushrooms, Chicken Fingers & Poppers

Thursday Lots a Pasta

BIG JUANITA

Friday Jumbo Shrimp Buffet

Mucho Grande! A plate of chips, meat, beans, cheese, tomatoes, jalapenos & green onions to share with your amigos. Muy bueno! Served with sour cream & salsa.

SHOP

Saturday New York Strip & Jumbo Shrimp Buffet Buffet Served 5-9PM

Proudly donating a range and refrigerator to every Habitat for Humanity home built in the United States and Canada.

Stop in today and ask about available rebates.

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Hwy. 34 East • Creston

641-782-5112

Mon-Fri 8:30am - 5:30pm • Sat 8:30am - 2pm RESTAURANT AND SPORTS BAR

HWY. 34 • CRESTON, IA • 641-782-5014 Locally owned & operated by Bill & Janet Hayes since 1980

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CHEMICALS • FEED • SMALL SEED • SCOUTING • FENCING SUPPLIES Complete Line of Fencing Cattle Panels, Creosote Post, Steel Posts, Gates, Anchors, Braces & Woven Wire.

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Custom application available!

1720 Commerce Road • Creston, IA Toll Free 1-877-782-8114

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22A

Creston News Advertiser Monday, March 23, 2015

CNA file photo

CNA photo by LARRY PETERSON

Sandy Jennett and first-grader Summer Prentice read the book “Tracks” by David Galef Jennifer Ehrsam, elementary teacher at Nodaway Valley, and her husband David supat Creston Elementary in January 2014. Jennett participates in the READS program — a port the Wolverines boys basketball at the state tournament in Wells Fargo Arena earlier program that pairs an adult volunteer with a first-grade student currently learning to this month. read.

CNA file photo

CNA file photo

Rich Bryson is knee deep in water after a heavy rainfall created a flooding situation at East Union School District in May 2011.

Left, Creston High School teachers Jim McCracken, Dannee Qualseth and Jerry Hartman reinforce tables tied to the door with belts during a barricade scenario at ALICE training at Creston High School in February 2014.

Union County Veterans Affairs We Support Education • Post 911 G.I. bill • Montgomery G.I. bill • Vet success - vocational rehabilitation and employment • Work study program • Veterans educational Assistance Program (VEAP)

Holding Family Values in the Highest Regard

300 N. Pine St., Suite 180, Creston, IA 50801 (641)782-1723 • unioncova@windstream.net

Di Miller

at 3’s Company Cuts for the Whole Family Call Di to make an appointment for any of these services...

Manicures • Pedicures • Acrylic Nails Perms • All Types of Colors • Waxing ...plus all your favorite salon products!

At Fareway, we still value a day of rest

Bridal Parties Welcome • Gift Certificates Available

—Full Service Salon—

912 N. Sumner • Creston • 641-782-4078

Appointments Available - Mon 8am-8pm • Tues-Wed-Fri 8am-3pm Now accepting major credit & debit cards

Creston Fareway • Meat Dept. 782-6940 • Grocery Dept 782-5612 Store Hours: 8:00 am - 9:00 pm Monday thru Saturday

• Certified Pre-owned Ford and Lincoln • New and Pre-owned Sales and Leasing • Special Orders - New and Used • Technical and Supportive Service AFTER the Sale • Local Friendly Staff with Years of Experience • Convenient Hours with After Hour Appointments Available

RESTON UTOMOTIVE

410 W. Adams Creston, IA 50801 866-782-2179 or 641-782-2179 www.crestonautomotive.com