CNA-SS-03-25-2015

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

Don Ray Gerry Gilbert Jesus Rodriguez

2 4 6

Kelly Franklin 8 Eric Ehlen 10 Larry & Barb Riley 11

Lucean Diaconu Sally Young Jerry White

13 15 17

Jeff Wignall

19

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Creston News Advertiser Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Viva la vida

Local teacher spends year in Guatemala

By BAILEY POOLMAN

picked up in a small pickup truck and driven to a private house where a Mayan seed blessing was occurring. The two men provided music during the blessing.

A seed blessing is a ceremony performed at the end of the dry season in Guatemala, before the crops are planted.

“They walked around carrying all kinds of stuff,” Ray said. “They sacrificed beers (in a fire), they sacrificed a chicken, they did all that.”

The people at the ceremony had a prayer and put seeds in a fire, as well.

CNA staff reporter bpoolman@crestonnews.com

It was more than a year ago when Don Ray took a plane out of Iowa and landed in Central America to live for one year, but it was a year that is still vivid in Ray’s mind.

Ray, 53, taught mathematics at a Guatemalan school during the 2013-14 school year.

“I’m interested in learning, I guess,” Ray said. “I like learning, and it’s kind of the teaching slash learning business. ... I feel like I’m really learning a lot myself, and I feel like I’m a good person to bring a lot of different perspectives.”

Ray, a former teacher in Mount Ayr, teaches geometry at Creston High School.

Decision

Interesting

Contributed photo

Don Ray sits near Atitlan Lake in Guatemala, which is surrounded by mountains and volcanos, in 2013.

Before traveling to Guatemala, Ray had decided to teach Spanish through a government program in Spain. The program was canceled months before Ray was to travel overseas.

“I wanted to go somewhere to do the year abroad that I had never done when I was in college,” Ray said.

“Right in the middle of summer, the Spanish government canceled the program, and that’s how I ended up in Creston.”

Ray taught Spanish at Creston High School during the 2012-13 school year.

“I still wanted to do that kind of thing,” Ray said. “So, I started looking around for something that would pay something. ... This wasn’t quite volunteer work, but I didn’t make very much money down there. But, it was a way to be somewhere and have a purpose instead of just hanging out.”

Ray ended up at Panajachel Colegio Internacional, an international school in Panajachel teaching math.

Panajachel is a town located in the Guatemalan department of Sololá.

Panajachel Colegio Internacional is an American-style school that follows the American calendar, teaches in English and uses American tests and accreditation. Ray taught all math subjects, including pre-algebra and pre-calculus, to students from seventh to 12th grade. The classes ranged from four to 12 students.

Life Life in Guatemala, according to Ray, was simple.

He did not have culture shock. He lived in a hotel, spoke fairly easily with the town’s residents and was able to travel a bit.

“I had my own little place.

I never really felt out of

place. I felt like I just kind of settled into it pretty easily,” Ray said. “I live pretty simply here, too, so it didn’t bother me just to live in a hotel room. It’s a calm area, really. You could walk home. It’s a city of 15,000, maybe more, but at, like, 9 o’clock it’s really quiet.”

Ray wasn’t on the wrong side of a language barrier, either, because he knew Spanish before traveling.

“I didn’t get to really work on the Spanish, as far as studying, but I used it a lot,” Ray said. “I was already kind of conversational, but it was different.

If you just go down there with what you learned in the classroom, it’s really hard because everything goes so fast.”

While in Guatemala, Ray also did some traveling around the country, as well as into Mexico.

Blessing Guatemala is a Central American country on the Mexican border. Historically, the area was part of the Mayan empire, and there is still a Mayan population in the country.

While in Guatemala, Ray met a man and his wife who played in a band together to make money. Ray played

guitar with them at local restaurants.

“Somebody had contacted him (the man), and they wanted music at a home.

So he called me on a Friday and said, ‘Can you be at my place at 8 in the morning?

They’re going to pick us up, and we’re going to play at a party,’” Ray said.

Ray and the man were

Ray created a blog online called Guatemala Weekly Updates, at http://foxtownmedia.com/blog/, where each week Ray posted a piece of writing about different topics or locations.

“Doing the blog kind of kept me focused. I’d always carry my camera and take pictures, and come up with a theme,” Ray said. “So, that was interesting.”

Blog topics included Spain, politics, street vendors and the Spanish language. During his stay in Guatemala, the Fédération Internationale de Football Please see RAY, Page 3A

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RAY: Continued from Page 2A

Association (FIFA) World Cup was occurring in Brazil, and there was coverage on the Guatemalan TV channels a lot.

“Everything seemed really exciting and fresh and interesting,” Ray said. “It was also interesting being outside of the U.S. ... It’s really a lot more international news than you get inside the United States. So, just to be on the outside looking in, it was kind of interesting, a different perspective.”

Ray said during a layover in Houston on his way back to Iowa, he didn’t see coverage of the FIFA World Cup. “If you walked down the street when an important match was going on, you could hear people in their homes yelling,” Ray said.

“When I got back to Houston in the airport, I walked around. I had to wait for a flight. I watched TVs at dif-

ferent bars. I couldn’t find the World Cup. Just like that, it was shut off, like, right in the middle of it. I guess I wasn’t where I used to be.”

Home Once home in Iowa in late June 2014, Ray skipped the reverse culture shock phase and started working at Creston Community School District again less than two months later.

Even though he doesn’t have plans to travel again, Ray said it was a good experience.

“I don’t have any plans, but it was a really good experience. I would like to (do it again),” Ray said. “It was a good thing to do.”

Ray said some advice he would give to people wanting to experience another culture is to do research and go for it.

“I think people should try that definitely. And, you

should do enough research to know if you’ll be comfortable there. I just knew I didn’t want to be in a big city, and I didn’t want to be in an area where it was going to be bad. I got an area that was pretty much a rural area,” Ray said. “I would recommend it. But, definitely try to find a good situation, knowing yourself.”

Background Ray, formerly of Fort Madison, graduated from high school in New Hampshire. He attended Grinnell College in Grinnell, and earned bachelor’s degrees in English and mathematics.

He then attended Brown University in Rhode Island, where he earned a master of arts in teaching.

Ray taught Spanish at Mount Ayr High School from 2009 to 2012. He then became the Spanish teacher at Creston High School for the 2012-13 school year.

Contributed photos

Above, Don Ray plays guitar at Amigos Pizza, a local pizza parlor in Panajachel, Guatemala, with several other people during an open mic night at the restaurant. Ray and other local and international musicians played music, sang and recited poetry during the mic nights. Below left, Ray takes a photo of the road and a small yellow mototaxi in Guatemala while waiting for a downpour to subside in 2013. The moto-taxis, also known as tuk-tuks, are common in the area Ray visited. Below right, Ray takes a photo of Cerro de Oro, which means “hill of gold” in Spanish, while in Guatemala.

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Creston News Advertiser Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Gilbert promotes preschool’s NAEYC accreditation, QRS ranking

By AMY HANSEN

OST news editor ahansen@osceolaiowa.com

MURRAY — Murray preschool teacher Gerry Gilbert and the school district’s preschool program has a lot to be proud of — their hard work is getting noticed.

The program is accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

“It’s a very in-depth evaluation,” Gilbert said.

“We have portfolios that have several hundred entries in them. They come in from Washington, D.C., and they observe us. They go through all of our paperwork. They make sure we’re doing all the right things. We have just recently received notification that we’ve been reaccredited through that.”

For more than 25 years, families have relied on NAEYC Accreditation to ensure the quality of education and care provided in programs for young children. High-quality programs provide a safe and nurturing environment while promoting the development of young children.

Background Gilbert has a vested interest in the high-quality of Murray’s educational system.

“I’ve been at Murray forever. I went to school here, graduated in 1970, like a 100 years ago,” she said with a laugh. “I raised my family, my husband and I have five kids. We raised our kids, and then I went to college and got my degree after having taught

Headstart for several years. I decided I wanted to get a full degree, and preschool has always been kind of special. I love little kids.”

During the regular school year, Murray preschool is an all-day program, Monday through Thursday. The average age of a preschooler is four or five, but the age of children with special needs can vary.

“They’re like little sponges. Every day is new and different. You just see them grow constantly,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert can have up to 20 students in her class. Stacey Feehan, Murray’s other preschool teacher, can have 12 students in her room, because the room size is smaller and she works with special education students.

Gilbert said the preschool teachers teach just about everything in preschool.

“We really work a lot on self-help skills,” she said.

“Academically, they’re exposed a lot to colors and numbers and writing their names, and recognizing things. Our main focus is self-help skills and play. We do a lot of play. The kids get so much out of that. There’s more learning that goes on with play than people ever realize.”

Standards NAEYC-Accredited programs, which includes Murray, show their educational quality by meeting the “10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards,” which are based on the latest research on the education and development of young children.

All NAEYC-Accredited

programs must: • Promote positive relationships for all children and adults to encourage each child’s sense of individual worth • Implement a curriculum that fosters all areas of child development — cognitive, emotional, language, physical and social • Use developmentally, culturally and linguistically appropriate and effective teaching approaches • Provide ongoing assessments of a child’s learning and development and communicate the child’s progress to the family.

• Promote the nutrition and health of children and protect children and staff from illness and injury • Employ and support a teaching staff that has the educational qualifications, knowledge and professional commitment necessary to promote children’s learning and development and to support families’ diverse interests and needs • Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with each child’s family • Establish relationships and use the resources of the community to support achievement of program goals • Provide a safe and healthy physical environment • Implement strong personnel, fiscal and program management policies so that all children, families and staff have high-quality experiences NAEYC Accreditation is awarded for five years.

During that period, programs submit annual reports documenting they

CNA photo by AMY HANSEN

Gerry Gilbert holds a certificate of National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation in her Murray preschool classroom.

maintain compliance with the NAEYC program standards.

All NAEYC-Accredited programs are also subject to unannounced visits by skilled and reliable NAEYC program assessors to ensure they continue to meet the standards. To verify a program’s accreditation, go to www.naeyc.org.

The accreditation is something important to promote to the south central Iowa community.

“We kind of have our own following, I guess you Please see GILBERT, Page 5A

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Left, a five-star certificate for Iowa’s Quality Rating System (QRS) is displayed in Gerry Gilbert’s preschool classroom at Murray. Right, A certificate of National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation hangs from the window in Gerry Gilbert’s preschool classroom at Murray.

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GILBERT: Continued from Page 4A

would say,” Gilbert said.

“We’re usually pretty full. We have several people that open enroll from other school districts and bring their kids over. We were real fortunate this year, the trolley started running from Osceola, so we have kids that ride that.”

QRS Gilbert said the Murray preschool program also has another exciting thing

to promote. The state of Iowa has QRS, which stands for “Quality Rating System.” It is similar to a five-star hotel rating.

“We were the very first and only school to get it the first year it was available. It’s renewable every two years. Since we keep that up, we’re always one up on everybody else in the state,” Gilbert said with a laugh. “We’re ready to redo that one again this year.”

Murray Superintendent Alan Miller said he is

proud of the hard work his staff has put in with their dedication and commitment.

“It’s easier to get a three star or a four star, but our staff doesn’t settle for that,” Miller said.

“There’s a lot of work and time that goes into our five-star rating. It’s a positive direction for our district.”

Hard work pays off Gilbert said the NAEYC accreditation means Murray has a high-quality pro-

gram available for students and families.

“We’re doing the right things, that we’re childled, developmentally appropriate,” she said. “It’s just kind of nice somebody’s checking over and making sure you’re doing all the right things.”

According to Gilbert, the Murray School District is a unique entity in itself.

“The fact that it’s a small school, everybody knows everyone and kind of helps out,” she said.

CNA photo by AMY HANSEN

CNA photo by AMY HANSEN

Self-portrait artwork by Gerry Gilbert’s preschool students hangs in her classroom at Murray.

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Creston News Advertiser Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Rodriguez devoted to second-language learners

By KYLE WILSON

CNA managing editor kwilson@crestonnews.com

Jesus Rodriguez knows how it feels not to be able to communicate with peers.

See, Rodriguez — currently the English language learner (ELL) coordinator/teacher at Creston School District — was born in Matamoros, Mexico. He moved to the United States at the age of seven and barely could speak one sentence of English when he arrived.

“I started with the basics — counting to five in English,” Rodriguez recalled.

But, through the help of instructors, he learned English quickly only needing to attend ELL classes parttime in middle school and not at all once he reached the high school ranks. Ro-

driguez excelled on the soccer field at Brownsville High School in Texas, earning a scholarship to Graceland University in Lamoni.

At Graceland, he earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health with a minor in psychology. He also has his English as a second language (ELS) endorsement. After graduation, he decided to stay in the Midwest.

“I loved the scenery here and all four seasons,” Rodriguez said.

He landed a position with Creston School District in 2011. As ELL coordinator/teacher, he currently serves about 14 students in kindergarten through 12th grade in the district who have language problems and any other troubles they may have in

CNA photo by KYLE WILSON

Jesus Rodriguez, English language learner (ELL) coordinator/teacher at Creston School District, helps second-grade Chinese student Jay Zheng learn months of the year on an iPad during a one-on-one session in January.

the classroom.

Rodriguez said about 40 percent of the students he serves are Chinese and speak a specific dialect of Mandarin Chinese. The remaining students he serves are Spanish-speaking students.

Rodriguez said — right now — all 14 students are in grades kindergarten through sixth grade and each grade level has an assigned teacher in the grade that he communicates with throughout the year.

Paula Jacobson — who teaches second grade — has been one of those teachers for the past four years. She said she’ll continue to volunteer to be an ELL classroom each year because the Chinese and Contributed photo Spanish-speaking students Jesus Rodriguez, right, holds his daughter Camila during have so much to offer othChristmas in 2014. Also pictured are his two daughters ers.

Frida, 10, and Sophia, 5, and wife, Magi.

“The students love

learning about a new culture,” Jacobson said.

“Last year we celebrated Mexican Independence Day and Jesus helped with that, communicating back and forth with parents who made Mexican food.

We learned about the Mexican flag. We have calendars for each language.”

Jacobson said she’s really enjoyed working with Rodriguez because he’s so devoted to the students and the families. Rodriguez has her students for anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes each day.

“He knows how it feels to be out there trying to figure it out on your own,” Jacobson said. “He has a special place for those kids. He’s soft spoken.

He’s not a yeller, but can be direct. The students know what they should be doing and he has firm ex-

pectations for them.”

Tammi Latham — third grade teacher at Creston Schools — said she has had similar experiences with Rodriguez who is quick to help her or the student get through any challenges that arise.

“Communication with Jesus is amazing,” Latham said. “I’ll email him when I see one of the students is struggling and he will tell me to try this or that. He Please see RODRIGUEZ, Page 7A

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RODRIGUEZ: Continued from Page 6A

has such a passion for his job. He truly wants what is best for the student.”

Rodriguez said each student has access to an iPad, which he has equipped with the latest applications to help them learn the English language. Rodriguez said the apps provide the students with visuals of the word, which really helps them make a connection to the English word.

He also said — during their one-on-one time each day — he takes the student outside when available because seeing it in real life helps the vocabulary word stick.

Latham said because Rodriguez cares so much about the students, he’s developed a strong relationship with the parents.

“They trust him,” Latham said. “That’s easy to see.

That is important especially for those who have moved from another country and need someone to lean on.

And, he is especially helpful to all of us during conference times. He translates during

all parent-teacher conferences.”

Rodriguez said — while his job is to help them learn English — he reminds the students the importance of continuing to use their native language.

“Believe it or not, they begin to lose their native language over time,” Rodriguez said. “We want them to be bilingual. That could open up opportunities for them in the future. That’s something I remind them of.”

Rodriguez is married to Magi, a paraprofessional at Creston Schools who is also active in the school’s classrooms with students and communicating with families. Together, they have three children: 10-year-old Frida, 5-year-old Sophia and newborn Camila.

Rodriguez said his goal is the same for every student.

“It’s rewarding seeing a student — who at one time had no clue how to speak English — raise their hand in class or interact with their peers,” Rodriguez said.

“That’s great to see. That’s what I strive for in my job.”

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Contributed photo

Jesus Rodriguez is pictured here in a newspaper article celebrating with his teammates at Graceland University in 2001 after Rodriguez scored a winning goal. Rodriguez was a three-time All-American soccer player at Graceland.

He’s now a teacher and soccer coach in the Creston School District.

CNA file photo

Members on Jesus Rodriguez’s 2014 Creston boys soccer team are, from left in front, Patrick Normandeau, Jarrett Skarda, Brad Boyer, Isaac Wignall, Chase Shiltz, Conner Pals, Ben Irr and Nathan Lange. Middle row, equipment manager Leslie Lepe, McClain Haines, Kyle Wynn, Isaiah Foster, Jiovanni Islas, Trey Cheers, Caleb Cramer, Tyler Helm, Matthew Hoffman and equipman manager Ellie Johnston. Back row, Rodriguez, Gavin Leith, Jake Miller, Kaleb Cook, Kyle Jennett, Alex Nielsen, Levi Eblen, Zack Peppmeier, Skylar Cook, Gavin Woods, Tayler Pettit, Connor Kinkade and assistant coach Lucian Diaconu.

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Creston News Advertiser Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Franklin: A character in the classroom

By SARAH BROWN Special to the CNA

According to her students, Kelly Franklin’s composition and literature classes at Southwestern Community College (SWCC) in Creston are anything but boring.

“She’s really outgoing.

She’s really energetic. She really gets involved with the class,” said Cambry Schulter, a first-year student at SWCC. Liam Ray, a 2014 graduate of Creston High School, said it was Franklin’s reputation as a fun and relaxed teacher that initially piqued his interest in taking her English composition class last fall.

“Everything that I heard about her was that she was a fun teacher,” Ray said.

Both Ray and Schulter praise Franklin for her efforts to go above and beyond to engage students in the subject matter.

“She takes pride in making her classes very personal,” Ray said. “Her class becomes like a family to her, which is a very cool aspect.”

Ray said Franklin’s creativity and big personality are captivating.

“Every time she’s at the front of the class it’s like she’s on stage,” Ray said.

“She just switches characters all the time. That’s what makes it so fun. You are seeing all these different sides to Kelly.”

Superstar Despite having less than two years teaching at the college level, Franklin, 37, of Farmer City, Ill., is used to having an audience.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a star,” Franklin said.

At the age of 12, Franklin started performing in

Contributed photos

Above, Kelly Franklin, middle, poses with students from her young adult literature class at Southwestern Community College in December 2014. Franklin has been with SWCC for almost two years now. Above right, Kelly Franklin, right, and her husband Chris show their personalities wearing these mustaches for a photo in 2013. Right, Kelly Franklin’s mother Colleen Maxwell, left, and grandmother Barbara Sheehan both pushed Kelly to be an educator.

community theater. As her love for theater grew, she continued her studies in theater at Parkland College in Urbana-Champaign, Ill. While attending Parkland, Franklin was contacted by Kranart Art Institute at the University of Illinois to do film work with its students.

“I did a film called ‘Riders to the Sea,’” Franklin said. “When I did that, I was noticed by a touring company.”

She was just 21 years old at the time.

For three years, Franklin toured the south and east coasts with Starlight Theatre Company as a chorus member and dancer in “Jesus Christ Superstar” — a show made famous by its music written

by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice in the 1970s.

“It was awesome,” Franklin said. “We didn’t make a lot of money, but we had a lot of fun.”

Listen to your mother it,’” Franklin said.

Franklin said she happened on teaching accidentally. After she pursued “that stupid stuff that you don’t make any money at,” her mother suggested she consider teaching.

“I am from a family of teachers,” Franklin said.

“Both of my great-grandmothers were teachers. My grandma and mom always told me, ‘You should be a teacher,’ but I wanted to be an actress.”

Eventually, Franklin acted on their advice.

“I thought there was nothing else I could do,” Franklin said. “My mom thought I’d be good at it (teaching). My thought was, ‘Well, I guess I will teach.”

Franklin followed through and commuted more than an hour each way to and from school at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Ill. “I kept telling myself, ‘This is going to be worth

After receiving her bachelor of arts in general studies in 2009, Franklin earned her master of arts in English, with a specialization in young adult literature, in 2013.

While earning her master’s degree, Franklin was accepted into a graduate assistant program, which included working in a writing center. There, she worked with 20 students from different disciplines each day.

“I loved working oneon-one,” Franklin said. “I loved helping them. It was just a blast. I thought, this is really what I want to do.”

Franklin said it has paid off.

Within months of graduating, Franklin was hired

by SWCC in 2013 as an English instructor.

“I am so lucky because I never dread going to work,” Franklin said.

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9A

FRANKLIN: Franklin said that bit of advice from her mother was the best.

“Listen to your mom,” Franklin advises with a chuckle as she points and shakes her finger. “She

Back to school Currently, Franklin is pursuing her doctorate in educational leadership from Capella University.

She said she always wants to teach but eventually would like to examine

and rework how community colleges are run.

“I’d like to get them back in the community … and make service learning a required component of community college degrees,” Franklin said.

Franklin described her vision.

“Say, for my composition class … I’d contact an office in town that works with the public, like vocational rehab and offer my class’s services to them.”

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think that would be a way for colleges to reconnect with their communities.”

Franklin resides in Creston with her husband, Chris Franklin, and their children, Maisy, Wyatt, James and Violet.

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Above, from left, these are Kelly Franklin’s children Maisy, Violet, Wyatt and James. Above right, backstage before a performance, Kelly Franklin — third from left — and other actresses take a picture before taking the stage in a production of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

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Creston News Advertiser Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Teacher brings athletic experience to Creston

By BAILEY POOLMAN

dad went to all my meets.

My dad was a basketball player, but when I was a kid, they took me all over, or I went with my friend a lot (to matches). Even when I was at Iowa, they’d follow me wherever I went and watch.

They were always there.”

CNA staff reporter bpoolman@crestonnews.com

Eric Ehlen, teacher and coach in Creston School District, immersed himself in wrestling since he was a child.

Ehlen, 43, attended University of Iowa, where he wrestled for five years under the legendary head wrestling coach Dan Gable.

UI Wrestler As a child, Ehlen began wrestling since he was approximately 5 years old.

“I had a best friend who wrestled, so we grew up wrestling together,” Ehlen said. “In high school, I was a three-time state champion.”

Ehlen graduated from high school in Belle Plaine before attending University of Iowa in 1990. His last wrestling season was in 1995.

“It was pretty intense,” Ehlen said of Iowa’s wrestling program. “There were a lot of state champions every day wrestling for our spot. So, it was intense. It was insane.”

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) individual champions Ehlen wrestled with include UI associate head coach Terry Brands, UI head wrestling coach Tom Brands and bronze-medal-winning Olympic wrestler Lincoln McIlravy.

“I learned a lot, a lot of technique, and it was nice to get to wrestle with those guys, and at that time they were national champs,” Ehlen said. “I think we were national champs four out of the five years I was there.”

Practice and match

Hall of Fame In 2003, Ehlen was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame.

“There’s a committee that picks them (inductees), they just contacted me and said, ‘Hey, you’re going in the Hall of Fame,’” Ehlen said.

Ehlen was one of several chosen in 2003 to be inducted.

“It was just an honor. I mean, I got to go into the Hall of Fame with my high school coach that same year, so that was really neat,” Ehlen said.

Ehlen’s wrestling coach in CNA photo by LARRY PETERSON Belle Plaine was Al Billings.

Eric Ehlen, Creston High School assistant wrestling coach, Ehlen was given the honcheers on the wrestling team during a December meet at Nodaway Valley High School in Greenfield. or at Iowa’s state wrestling meet in February 2003 at According to Ehlen, pracEhlen wrestled with Community Choice Credit tices would start approxi- state-champion wrestlers in Union Convention Center mately 3:30 p.m., and last practices, then went on to (formerly known as Vetera couple hours. Athletes wrestle at several meets and ans Memorial Auditorium) in Des Moines. would drill for a half-hour, tournaments. then live wrestle before con“It was just an honor to Coaching ditioning at the end of prac- wrestle there, and be part of Currently, Ehlen is Crestice. that team,” Ehlen said of his ton High School’s assistant Several national champi- career. “I was behind a na- wrestling coach. While in ons and Olympians coached tional champion four out of Mount Ayr, Ehlen was the during Ehlen’s active years, the five years I was there, and high school’s head wrestling including Gable. national runner-up actually.” coach for 17 years.

“He (Gable) takes time Ehlen said there was no While in Mount Ayr, to coach everybody, and the specific memory that popped Ehlen formed bonds with assistants were really good,” out at him because it was just the kids he coached and Ehlen said. “Barry Davis was the overall feeling of wres- their parents. an assistant there, who is now tling that made its mark.

“Creston has just as good the head coach at Wisconsin.

“It was such a neat feeling of kids (as Mount Ayr).

And, Jim Zalesky was there, having everybody backing That made it a little easier and he’s now the head coach you, and yelling for you,” of a transition,” Ehlen said. at Oregon State.”

Ehlen said. “My mom and “It was hard to leave be-

cause I made a lot of friends with the parents throughout 19 years of being down in Mount Ayr, but I’m sure I’ll develop that same bond up here.”

Despite the change in location, Ehlen plans to do the best he can in Creston.

“I’m just here to help get the kids ready for competitions. I’d like to coach a state champion, and teach the kids how to do the best that they can do,” Ehlen said. “I’m excited to be part of the Creston program. I mean, they’ve had a good tradition.”

Still, Ehlen plans to use all he’s learned under Olympic wrestler Gable and his crew of celebrated staff and wrestlers to teach Creston’s up and coming wrestlers.

“I use probably getting yourself mentally prepared and trying to be in the best shape, being in shape enough to go hard for a full match. I mean, that was one of the things at Iowa: we were very intense,” Ehlen said. “It’s just, how much I’ve learned through Gable and everyone else, to share that. I try to take that training aspect and teach the kids moves and learn moves, and be mentally prepared for wrestling.”

Ehlen teaches Creston Middle School physical education and health and junior-kindergarten, first- and second-grade physical education. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from University of Iowa.

Before becoming a fulltime instructor at Creston, Ehlen taught at Mount Ayr Community School for 19 years, and was shared with Creston the past four years.

“I try to be the best at everything that I do,” Ehlen said. “Being a good dad or good husband, I just try to be the best that I can be at everything.”

Ehlen’s wife is Jill, and their two children are Trae, 12, and Drew, 9. His sons are both interested in wrestling.

“I helped coach them, but usually they’re in the little kids’ program, and they have their own coach,” Ehlen said. “I teach them at home, and I go to their practices, too, and help them. I’d say we work a lot at home more than anything.”

Ehlen said he and his family watch UI wrestling at home, or visit Iowa City when they get a chance to spend a day at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

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Creston News Advertiser Wednesday, March 25, 2015

11A

Larry and Barb Riley: Retired teachers volunteer locally, travel abroad

By IAN RICHARDSON CNA staff reporter irichardson@crestonnews.com

GREENFIELD — If you happen to spot a garage as you pass through the town of Greenfield, the odds are pretty good that Larry Riley had a hand in building it.

As an industrial arts teacher with Greenfield—now Nodaway Valley—High School, Larry and his carpentry students constructed more than 50 of them between 1975 and 2006.

But garages are only one of many ways Larry and his wife, Barb, have affected the Greenfield landscape since they moved there in the 1960s. Both were longtime teachers at Nodaway Valley. Larry is also an Iowa Hall of Fame wrestling coach. Now retired, both of them continue to serve and volunteer on several boards and committees in the community.

The wrestling tournament As a girl growing up in Fenton, Iowa, Barb had been interested in both teaching and math. She attended college at the University of Northern Iowa and, following her graduation, began teaching at Corning.

Larry grew up in Hopkins, Mo., and attended college at Northwest Missouri State University. Following his graduation, he taught for half a year at Mercer, Mo., and then came to Greenfield, where he began teaching industrial arts and coaching as an assistant with wrestling and football.

Later, he would also take on junior high football and wrestling.

It was at a wrestling event

where the two teachers’ paths would cross. Larry and the wrestling team had traveled to the sectional tournament in Corning.

Since Barb was the junior class sponsor there, she was also in attendance.

Afterward, Corning wrestling coach John Harris invited both of them to his house, and Barb got Larry to take her home.

That next weekend, Larry was in Audubon for the district wrestling tournament. As the tournament went on, he found himself scanning the stands to see if she would be there. She was, and after the tournament, as everyone was leaving, Larry made his move.

“She pushed the door open, and her arm was sticking back and I reached out and I grabbed her arm, pulled her back and I said, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow at 1 o’clock,’” he said.

The couple then began seeing each other. Larry proposed to Barb on St. Patrick’s Day in 1968, and they were married that July. This year, the Rileys will celebrate their 47th anniversary.

Teachers together Barb taught two years at Corning and one at Cumberland-Massena before coming to Greenfield as a math and accounting teacher in 1969. Barb and Larry also both completed master’s degrees through Northwest Missouri State University.

As a husband-wife duo at the school, the Rileys would always eat lunch together.

But even though they were both in the high school, they admittedly didn’t see each other very often. And with Larry’s growing wrestling duties, sometimes they wouldn’t see each other much after school either.

Contributed photo

Left, Larry and Barb attend the 1999 Nodaway Valley prom. Larry and Barb retired from full-time teaching at Nodaway Valley in 1999. The couple often attended the high school proms because they enjoyed seeing the students all dressed up. Right, Larry (center, top) fits a board into place at the peak of a garage in fall of 1989. Under Larry’s leadership, the Greenfield High School carpentry class built more than 50 garages in the Greenfield community.

Steve McDermott, Creston superintendent, had both Larry and Barb as teachers. He first met Larry when he played seventh-grade football. He would later wrestle under Larry as well.

“They both were very passionate about their work,” he said. “Both folks were taskmasters, they paid attention to detail and specifics and they had high expectations for us. Both were very enthusiastic people who were positive and enjoyed their work.”

Years later, McDermott returned to Greenfield as a principal and a superintendent during the consolidation. Even in this new relationship with them, his deep respect for them continued.

“It was a unique situation to be more or less supervising those two when they had

been my teachers,” he said.

“It’s either ‘Mr. Riley,’ or ‘Coach Riley,’ and ‘Mrs. Riley.’ I’ve never called them by their first names.”

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Creston News Advertiser Wednesday, March 25, 2015

RILEYS: Continued from Page 11A

1967-68 season, Larry became head wrestling coach at Nodaway Valley. He would hold the position for a total of 10 years. Riley coached nine state champions and two runners-up.

Riley is also a former president of the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. He has been inducted to the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Hall of Fame and the Iowa chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

The Nodaway Valley Invitational is named in his honor.

While Larry made a name for himself through sports, his industrial arts classes also made a name for themselves when they began constructing garages around town.

The tradition started when Larry’s students con-

structed a model of a garage one year. After the project was over, his students, many of them juniors, told him they wanted to build a fullsize garage next year.

“I came home, thought about it, so I went and tore down the old garage that was at my house, got the concrete done, and we built that garage,” Larry said.

Larry said his students got so good at it that they could complete two garages a year. The students would construct the garages for community members for only the cost of the supplies.

Any donations went toward new construction equipment.

When both Rileys retired in 1999, Larry stayed on part-time to build the garages until 2006. Barb would continue teaching as well, working for a few years at West Central Valley school

and tutoring the math teacher at Orient-Macksburg.

As the Rileys look back on their teaching careers, they have a lot of fond memories.

“We had good kids and we had good parents in the community,” Barb said.

“I had a good time,” Larry said. “I’ve always liked people. And then when you’re working with the young folks, that’s better than ever.”

Volunteers, travelers Stacy Hull, Greenfield Chamber of Commerce director, said the Rileys are huge volunteers in the community.

“They’re just the kind of people that will step up and do anything that needs done,” Hull said.

From 1966 to 1972, Larry served in the Iowa Army National Guard. He now is

CNA photo by IAN RICHARDSON

Larry stands beside his wall of wrestling plaques in his “trophy room.” Larry is a member of the Iowa chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Hall of Fame. On the opposite wall are photos of every state champion he coached.

president of the local American Legion. Other involvements include the Masons, Parish council, Greenfield Historical Society and maintenance and lawn care at several local establishments.

Barb currently serves as president of the board at the Adair County Health and Fitness Center. She plants flowers and plants outside the fitness center and fairgrounds. She is also on the board of Adjustment and the Hospital Foundation board.

Both Larry and Barb help as needed with events at the Warren Cultural Center.

They are also members of the Greenfield Chamber of Commerce.

The Rileys have three children: Frank, who is a computer programmer; Maureen, who works for the Area Education Agency, and Allison, who works at Wells Fargo. They also have six grandchildren.

The couple also enjoys traveling together, especially to wrestling meets. The

Rileys have been to every state wrestling championship since 1966 and all but one national tournament for the past 36 years.

Wrestling isn’t the only travel the Rileys do, however. In celebration of their 40th anniversary, the Rileys traveled to Washington, D.C. For their 45th, they went to Ireland. Other locations they’ve traveled to include England, Scotland, Greenland, Iceland, Alaska, Hawaii and several of the northeastern states.

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Creston News Advertiser Wednesday, March 25, 2015

13A

From Transylvania to the tall corn state Romanian couple teaches in Creston, Lenox

By IAN RICHARDSON CNA staff reporter irichardson@crestonnews.com

LENOX — Lucean Diaconu grew up playing soccer in the mountains of northern Romania. Today, he’s coaching the same sport in the plains of southern Iowa.

Nine years ago, Diaconu and his wife, Karinna, moved to the United States as part of a foreign exchange teaching program. Now, both teach in the Creston School District, where Lucean is a soccer coach and shared physical education teacher with Lenox, and Karinna is a middle school special education teacher.

It has been a lifelong journey of change for them both, one that has taken them from growing up under a Communist dictatorship to raising a family under the flag that is a symbol of freedom.

Communist Romania Lucean and Karinna spent their childhoods in Toplita, a small mountain town in the northern part of the country, growing up during the final years of the reign of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. It was a time rife with poverty, food rationing and propaganda.

Lucean attended school seven days a week, and he would return home in the early afternoons. His parents worked separate shifts at a local plant and often would not be at home after school, so he would spend his afternoons with his friends playing soccer, cycling or hiking in the mountains.

Lucean was eight on Dec. 16, 1989, when the downfall of Ceausescu’s dictatorship began.

Contributed photo

Lucean (back left) and Karinna (back right) pictured with their three daughters, Elina, 2, Noreen, 6, and Edelyn, 7 months, and Erika, their dog.

“I was outside somewhere, playing with some of my cousins, and somebody came home and said, ‘We’ve got to listen to the radio,’” he said.

They tuned in to Radio Free Europe, a station that broadcast uncensored information into Communist nations.

The news: Students had begun rioting in Timisoara, a large city in western Romania. Riots were also taking place in other towns.

And in the coming days, the discontent would intensify.

“After a couple days, it just went crazy,” he said.

“My parents said, ‘You’ve got to stay in the house.

Don’t talk with strangers,’ because we were afraid that there were spies.”

On Dec. 22, Ceaucescu was captured, and the mood changed from fear to joy.

“When they arrested the ruler, people came out in the street in the night, and they celebrated. They

danced,” Lucean said. “It was something like you see here during New Year’s. Everybody was happy.”

America bound Lucean graduated from high school in 1998. That

same day, he began dating fellow graduate Karinna Voinea.

When Karinna went away to study special education at college, the two wrote letters back and forth for three

years.

“We didn’t really have computers and emails and texting, so we wrote letters,” Karinna said. “He even wrote me poems.”

After those three years,

Lucean began attending college for physical therapy. Karinna graduated in 2003, and Lucean graduated in 2006. That year, the two married and decided to travel to the United States.

Karinna had the opportunity to come to America through Foreign Academic and Cultural Exchange Services, Inc. (FACES), a program she found out about in college that brings foreign teachers to South Carolina schools.

As a newly married couple, the two made the journey from Romania to Orangeburg, South Carolina, where Karinna began her career as a teacher and Lucean worked as aquatics manager for the county recreation commission and at a local Ruby Tuesday.

Lucean and Karinna both spoke Romanian, and Karinna also spoke Hungarian, but the two had also learned Please see DIACONU, Page 14A

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Creston News Advertiser Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Contributed photos

Left, Lucean Diaconu grew up in Toplita, Romania, a small mountain town in Transylvania. In his free time, Lucean enjoyed camping, hiking and cycling in the area. Since moving to the states, he has brought his family home to visit a couple times. Right, Lucean and his oldest daughter, Noreen, pose on a rock at the Calimani Mountains in Toplita, Romania, during their visit last year.

DIACONU: Continued from Page 13A

English through school and college. Karinna said watching American movies with Romanian subtitles, reading research papers written in English during college and listening to American music especially helped her pick up the language.

Two years after moving to South Carolina, Lucean and Karinna had their first daughter, Noreen. Within the next two years, the couple decided to move again, this time with bringing up their daughter in mind. The couple chose to move to Iowa after Lucean discovered Des Moines’ ranking as the Forbes Magazine 2010 “Best city to raise a family.”

Karinna looked around for schools and applied to Creston, where she now works as

a middle school counselor.

The couple has since had two more daughters: Elina, age 2, and Edelyn, who will turn 1 in August.

The couple continues to speak Romanian in their home, keeping their cultural heritage alive for their children and to help their brain development. Noreen, who is now in kindergarten, can speak Romanian and English, as well as understand some Hungarian.

An unlikely career Lucean’s dream job was always to become involved with sports rehabilitation.

However, he found that to do this he would need to take more classes in the U.S. to supplement his Romanian degree. With his official status being a U.S. permanent resident—not a U.S. citi-

zen—colleges would charge him an international price, which he said was close to double.

Thus, a few years after the move to Iowa, Lucean found himself applying for a job he never thought he would: high school teacher.

“Before we moved to Iowa, I never wanted to be a teacher,” Lucean said.

“But after my wife started teaching at Creston, I started coming to school and saw some of the kids. I started liking it, and I applied for it.”

Lucean began working in 2012 as a physical education and health instructor. He is now a shared teacher with Lenox, as well as Creston’s assistant soccer coach. He said his students enjoy hearing his stories of Romania, which not only helps him re-

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late to them but also teaches them about a country they may have never heard of.

“Right at the beginning, they ask me where I’m from, and when I say Romania, they’re like, ‘Wow, can you tell us something about it?’” he said. “I show them pictures, and they really enjoy that.”

Lucean and Karinna enjoy traveling in their spare time. Since moving to the U.S. nine years ago, they have been to 29 states. The family has also returned to Romania a few times. Last year, they visited for the first time in six years, and Lucean said the amount of development that had taken

place there impressed him.

“Some places we just couldn’t recognize,” he said.

Lucean said he hopes it’s not six more years until he visits Romania again.

However, despite the lack of mountains, Iowa seems to be a place that Lucean, Karinna and their family have grown to love.

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Creston News Advertiser Wednesday, March 25, 2015

15A

‘Simply Voices’ takes Young all over Iowa Sally Young has been a teacher at Mount Ayr School District for 27 years ■

By KYLE WILSON

CNA managing editor kwilson@crestonnews.com

It was a moment of inspiration that led Sally Young to help organize one of the most popular singing groups in southwest Iowa.

Young — in her 27th year as a teacher at Mount Ayr middle school — said that moment came in 2003 when an all-female singing group called Joyful Noise of Creston performed at her church — United Methodist Church in Mount Ayr. “They were singing contemporary Christian music that you don’t always hear in older, traditional churches,” Young said.

“It’s music that all people appreciate, especially younger adults. I was sitting there listening and felt called to do this.”

So shortly after, Young had a “meeting of the minds” with fellow church member Debbie Cannon about the possibility of creating a similar singing group. Cannon liked the idea because she was thinking it, too.

Together, they “got the ball rolling” and originally recruited eight other members to form this new group which was eventually named Simply Voices.

Their first meeting was 7 p.m. on a Wednesday in the fall of 2003. The group — which sings a variety of gospel and contemporary Christian songs — has met nearly every Wednesday since then and their voices have now been heard all across the state of Iowa, including performances

for Sunday worship service at Pioneer Hall during the Iowa State Fair in 2008 and 2009.

“It was a totally different audience and atmosphere,” Cannon said.

“We sang some old-time favorites. We had people come up afterward and thank us for being there.

And, they invited us back for another year. It was a real blessing.”

Simply Voices has also performed at events in Lenox, Clearfield, Walnut, New Virginia, Lineville, Corwith, Wall Lake, Altoona, Des Moines and many more.

This group includes: So- Simply Voices performs at the gala in August 2013. This pranos Katie Still, Donna Smith’s passing.

Elliott and Cheryl Taylor; practice music, yes, but we Young said the group Altos Nancy Roe, Cannon also talk and share stories did a lot of praying and and Young; Tenors Mari- with each other. We pray crying after losing one lyn Saville, Brenda Woody together. We’ve cried to- of their members, June and Teresa Roberts. gether and we laugh a Smith, to breast cancer They have been togeth- whole lot together. We’re in 2012. Young said they er now for 11 years, and a very close-knit group.” wear pink scarves occaYoung said their reason Cannon agreed: sionally in memory of for meeting each week “There is a lot of girl their lost member. They now is more than just at- talk. We catch up on fami- also have an angel picture tending to practice that lies and friends and what’s on the piano at the church week’s music. happening,” Cannon said. in remembrance of June.

“It’s also become a so- “We pray and laugh a lot.

“June touched a lot cial gathering,” Young It’s been a blessing for all of people,” Young said. said. “We rarely miss a of us and we have a very “She’s still brought up ofWednesday meeting. We strong bond.” ten on Wednedays and we

“We practice music, yes, but we also talk and share stories with each other. We pray together. We cry together and we laugh a whole lot together.”

— Sally Young

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Creston News Advertiser Wednesday, March 25, 2015

YOUNG: Continued from Page 15A

gas and electric bills at Alliant Energy and/or Rural Electric Corporation.

Simply Voices has also donated the money to the local food pantry.

“The concerts keep getting bigger each year,” Young said. “The bottom of our church was full and

the balconies were full and church members have been very generous knowing that the money goes to a good cause.”

Young said her favorite song they sing is “I Will Sing.” She says it’s a special one because the group recorded it with June the summer before she passed away. The

song was played during her funeral.

Teaching career Young, 49, is a math, American history and language arts lab teacher at Mount Ayr High School.

She graduated from the University of Northern Iowa and wanted to be a teacher so she could help

others.

“Even back in first grade, my teacher used to have me help students.

She’d say, ‘go ask Sally,’” Young recalled.

Young has also coached volleyball, basketball, track and field and softball at Mount Ayr over the past 20 years. But, has left coaching so she

can watch her twin sons — who are freshmen at Mount Ayr — compete in their activities.

Young also plays the piano for the Mount Ayr High School musicals.

“I play piano just well enough to get in trouble,” Young said.

Young’s twin sons are John and Will. Her hus-

band John is a counselor at Community Health Centers of Southern Iowa based in Leon.

Young said Simply Voices does sometimes get mistaken for Joyful Noise. She added the two groups have not played at an event together, but would be in favor of that if the opportunity arises.

Contributed photos

Right, Sally Young, left, is pictured here with Simply Voices prior to performing at the Princess Theater for the anniversary gala in August 2013. Below, The angel in this Simply Voices banner that hangs at United Methodist Church in Mount Ayr is in remembrance of their lost friend June Smith.

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17A

CNA photos by KYLE WILSON

Left, Jerry White drives bus No. 12 with a load of kids to Mayflower Heritage Christian School March 10. White has driven for the Creston School District for 17 years. Above, Jerry White lets Tanner Ray open the doors after bus No. 12 stops at Mayflower Heritage Christian School March 10.

Colorado native finds ‘home’ as bus driver for Creston Schools

By KYLE WILSON

CNA managing editor kwilson@crestonnews.com

Seventeen years ago, Jerry White couldn’t find Creston on an Iowa map if he had to.

He was 53 years old and had just retired as a truck driver for Safeway Food Stores in Denver, Colo. He was visiting his father in Des Moines when he opened the Des Moines Register and found an advertisement for the sale of the Moonlite Motel in Creston.

“I drove to Creston the very next day,” White said.

The site visit went well and it took only one month before White and his wife Marcia sold their house in Colorado and moved to Creston and purchased the hotel located on Highway

34. They have been here ever since, enjoying the “small town feel” whereby White has worked and been a bus driver for the Creston School District for all 17 years.

He’s had the same route — near Three Mile and Twelve Mile Lake — for most of those years. He currently picks up 29 children on that route every morning and then makes a pit stop at Mayflower Heritage Christian School to give a lift to 15 to 20 more students. He then makes drop offs at the middle school and high school.

“I thoroughly enjoy the kids, and the other bus drivers in Creston School District are very professional people,” White said. “It’s a pleasure to go to work every day. The guys genuinely

care about the children and the safety of those children.

It’s a big responsibility and it’s not something I take lightly.”

Bob Beatty, transportation director for Creston School District, has been working with White for 10 years. He said it didn’t take him long to figure out White was an excellent driver.

“He’s calm and level-headed,” Beatty said.

“He was a trucker so he has experience on the roadways. He does a great job of pre-tripping, managing students and keeping his bus clean.”

Beatty said “pre-tripping” includes checking engine fluids, antifreeze levels, tires, lights and a general overview of the vehicle.

Drivers are required to do this twice a day (before each

trip).

Beatty made note that White is part of a “great group” of dedicated bus drivers who are committed to the students and their safety. He said the entire group pulls together each week to make sure students get to their destination on time and safely.

The 71-year-old White said his favorite thing about

driving bus No. 12 is the chance to see children grow up and mature in front of his eyes. He said — for example — he remembers when Darrian Fischer, who is now a junior at Creston High School, was barely able to make it atop the first step of his bus.

“He’s grown up to be such a polite, considerate young man,” White said.

Fischer started riding

White’s bus when he was 5 years old and as he got older he voluntarily sat in the front of the bus so he could have conversations with his bus driver.

“We’d talk about classic cars or ones that he’d restored,” Fischer said. “He never treated me like I was Please see WHITE, Page 18A

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Creston News Advertiser Wednesday, March 25, 2015

WHITE: Continued from Page 17A

Contributed photos

Above, Jerry White drove this semi for Safeway Food Stores for several years.

Below left, Jerry White poses with his wife Marcia near their former home in Arizona.

a child. He respected me and I very much respected him and still look up to him today.”

Fischer said he continues to stay in contact with White today. In fact, when he recently bought his first Harley Davidson motorcycle, White was one of the first people he wanted to show it to.

White said he’s never ruled his bus “with a fist,” but does “have a good talk” with troublemakers now and again to ensure safety on the bus at all times. He said the students know the rules — like no standing or switching seats when he’s driving. Those who get in trouble have to sit in the front next to him.

“The older kids hate sitting

up front. They get the point pretty quick,” White laughed.

White said he tries to be a positive role model in their lives each day, greeting them warmly each morning and afternoon “because you don’t know what they might have went through that morning or at school.” He also is a student-favorite as he brings bubble gum or Tootsie Roll suckers at least twice per month.

“Why not?” laughed White about giving the kids candy. “I don’t know about the parents, but I like it and the kids like it.”

Work ethic White has always been a person who worked two jobs.

That’s why when he moved to Creston he managed the hotel and took a job bus driving for the school district.

“The motel just wasn’t enough for me,” White said.

He also served as a custodian at Creston High School and the new middle school in Creston for about five years.

Prior to living in Creston, he was a truck driver for Safeway Food Stores in Colorado, but also owned his own trucking business “on the side.”

Meanwhile, White has been a Mason since 1973.

He’s currently a member of the Creston Masonic Lodge and has completed 32 of the 33 degrees available. He’s also on the Creston Planning and Zoning committee.

White said he has no plans of leaving Creston, that he’s found his home and he’s also brought two of his four adult children to Creston. In all, White has 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who all like visiting him here in Creston.

CNA photos by KYLE WILSON

Above right, The Crest City Masonic Lodge #522 is located in uptown Creston. Jerry White has been a Mason since 1973. Below, Jerry White, seventh from left, stands with his fellow bus drivers before heading on their afternoon bus routes March 11.

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19A

Creston counselor enjoys puppetry, prospecting When he’s not keeping children riveted in the classroom, Creston counselor Jeff Wignall enjoys whitewater rafting, mountain hiking and prospecting for gold.

■

By IAN RICHARDSON CNA staff reporter irichardson@crestonnews.com

Stepping into the office of Creston Elementary School counselor Jeff Wignall is a bit like stepping outdoors.

A blue sky and puffy white clouds decorate the seethrough guards on his overhead lights. A chart showing the names of wild flora and fauna covers his back wall.

A small zoo of stuffed animals sits on his top shelf.

But Wignall’s room also shows signs it belongs to a man adored by the children he teaches. Decorating his walls and cabinets are colorful marker drawings of plants and animals, and in front of his desk, at eye-level, hangs an especially artistic rendition of one of his classroom puppets, Chef Combo.

In the past 31 years, Wignall has become a wellknown and well-loved fig-

ure at Creston Elementary.

His long-standing care for his young students and his crowd-pleasing puppetry antics make Wignall one-ofa-kind in the classroom.

But there are few things that make him one-of-akind outside the classroom, too.

For example, not many students can say their guidance teacher also enjoys whitewater rafting, cross-country skiing and climbing “fourteeners,” which are mountains higher than 14,000 feet.

Even fewer can say their guidance teacher prospects for gold.

In the classroom Wignall began his first teaching job 31 years ago as a special education teacher at Creston High School.

Soon after, he began working toward a master’s degree at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Mo., with the goal of becom-

ing an elementary counselor when the position opened.

After his fifth year of teaching special education, all the students in his classroom graduated, and he decided it was time to make the change. In the 26 years since then, Wignall has been Creston’s elementary school counselor.

“I like helping people, especially children, and trying to help them through all of the ups and downs of their lives,” Wignall said. “Every day, I’m doing something different.”

A day in Wignall’s shoes can include a variety of tasks, such as leading meetings on character education, teaching guidance classes, meeting with students individually or heading the school’s “Green Team” recycling initiative. He’s even been known to help put up Wi-Fi cables when needed.

Callie Anderson, Creston pre-kindergarten through

CNA photo by IAN RICHARDSON

Wignall and his puppet Sneezy teach Mrs. Chestnut’s kindergarten class about healthy eating in January. Sneezy had been feeling sick due to all the unhealthy food he had been eating at his Super Bowl party, but after he made the decision to eat healthy food instead, he began to feel like a superhero—much to the enjoyment of the kids.

second-grade principal and former Creston kindergarten teacher, has had the opportunity to work with Wignall as a teacher and as an administrator. She said his presence in the classroom keeps the young students riveted.

“He is like a child-magnet.

They truly flock to him,” she

said.

Anderson said Wignall has a gift of meeting children on their level, even when the subject matter he discusses is very serious.

“He uses language that they understand,” she said.

“He talks about some pretty heavy topics—bullying, drugs, stranger danger, fair-

ness, kindness, citizenship— but he can translate that to the level of a five- and sixyear-old, which is very powerful to get them to understand.”

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WIGNALL: Continued from Page 19A

through his puppets. Whether it’s Chef Combo, the easily irritated pizza-making cook, or Sneezy, his go-to kindergarten companion, Wignall enjoys losing himself in the unique voices and personalities of his puppets.

And the kids love it, too.

“They remember Sneezy,” Anderson said. “I was talking to some children about what they think about Mr. Wignall, and they said, ‘Sneezy is our favorite. He teaches us good from bad.’”

Anderson said Wignall also works to meet the students’ practical needs, helping them find rides to and from school events and showing them where to find Contributed photo resources they may need in Wignall holds up a bottle with $60 worth of gold inside— the cumulative profit from two years of prospecting the community.

While Wignall cares for endeavors.

several kids on a year-byyear basis, he has spent even more time over the years caring for his own, all five of whom have grown up in Creston.

His oldest son, Tim, has inherited his father’s love for the outdoors and now lives in Colorado yearround, working as a whitewater rafting guide in the summer and working at a ski resort in the winter. His next oldest, Zach, is an engineering student at Iowa State University, and his daughter Emily is a sophomore at Northwest Missouri State University, where she runs track. Isaac, 15, is a sophomore at Creston, and Rachel, 14, is in her final year at St. Malachy School.

He and his wife, Rose, have been married 27 years.

She teaches preschool at St.

Malachy.

In the wild Two years ago, Jeff visited Tim in Colorado, where he made friends with the owners of a nearby ranch.

One of Jeff’s friends is retired and prospects for gold as a hobby, and he invited Jeff to join. For four weeks, Jeff spent most mornings by the river, running a machine called a highbanker, which sifts gravel and collects the “concentrate,” which contains gold, in a piece of cloth.

Then, he would use a pan to separate the gold from the rest of the concentrate.

Jeff returned last summer but spent more time working on the ranch, climbing mountains and relaxing on the river than mining for gold. However, even after two summers, his mining

work has yet to be lucrative.

The sum of Jeff’s prospecting endeavors amounts to about $60.

“Two summers ago, I probably moved an entire dump truck of gravel a shovel at a time to find that much gold,” Wignall said. “It’s definitely not as easy to find gold as people think.”

This year, Wignall is going back to Colorado, but for a vacation with his kids, not to prospect. However, he said there may be more highbanker in his future— eventually.

“Someday, I’d like to go back again,” he said.

But whether he ends up hitting pay dirt then or not, his students and fellow teachers still know that they’ve got a true treasure in Jeff Wignall.

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