www.agrinews-pubs.com | INDIANA AGRINEWS | Friday, January 17, 2020
B7
Lifestyle
Preserves open for disabled veteran hunters By Dave Fopay
MATTOON JOURNAL-GAZETTE
CH A R LESTON, Ill. (AP) — It wasn’t long before Winston Woodard received a bit of teasing, along with praise, for his ongoing success at a newly undertaken activity. Still dressed in his hunting gear, including a crossbow, but also seated in an all-terrain wheelchair, Woodard said he got a deer his first time hunting, with the day’s hunt marking his second success. He said he didn’t hunt before an organization that helps injured veterans connected him with the activity. “It’s the fact that I was able to do it,” he said. Woodard and fellow veteran Josue Cordova were able to hunt recently at Warbler Ridge Conservation Area, located between Lake Charleston and Fox Ridge State Park south of Charleston.
An organization called Healing of Our American Heroes teamed with the Grand Prairie Friends, the conservation area’s owner, to make the hunt possible. With Healing of Our American Heroes’ efforts, people who suffered disabling injuries during their military service are able to hunt and fish with the organization’s connections, supplying equipment and other efforts. The recent visit to Warbler Ridge marked one of the first times the organization conducted a hunt outside of its home base in McLean County, group leader Tom Huffington said. Woodard, a resident of Oak Lawn, said he was injured in a motor vehicle accident while serving in the Army in 1997. He said the tight-knit nature of Healing of Our American Heroes reminds him of the camaraderie of the military.
“How better to do our mission than to help people heal? It’s part of what we do.” Sarah Livesay, director GRAND PRAIRIE FRIENDS
“I totally appreciate it because I don’t get a lot of opportunities to get out,” he said of the group’s efforts. “It definitely takes me home, in ways.” Cordova, who lives in New Lenox and is the president of a chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, didn’t get a deer during the day’s hunt but said the experience and the location were both “wonderful.” “It’s great being out there,” he said. Cordova also was injured in a motor vehicle accident, during 1995 while he was in the Air Force.
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He said an uncle introduced him to hunting in 2006 and “I’ve been hooked ever since.” He agreed with Woodard about the companionship and the chance to be outdoors are benefits of the help of Healing of Our American Heroes. “Opportunities like this, I’m grateful,” Cordova said. “That makes for a wonderful time.” The Urbana-based Grand Prairie Friends purchased several different tracks of land and began efforts to restore them to their natural state to develop Warbler Ridge. GPF Director Sarah Livesay said she contacted Huffington after learning about Healing of Our American Heroes so they could arrange for the hunt to take place there. She said outreach programs such as the hunting event go along with the group’s other missions of promoting conservation and preservation.
“How better to do our mission than to help people heal?” Livesay said. “It’s part of what we do.” Huffington said Healing of Our American Heroes started eight years ago with six hunters and it now works with hundreds from several states. Any veteran who meets the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs designation of at least a 10% disability qualifies for the group’s programs, he said. That includes non-physical injuries such as post-traumatic stress disorder. The organization covers the costs of transportation and most of the gear needed, and hunters get to keep the meat from their hunts, he also said. “We look at who we think needs to hunt the most, who will benefit the most,” Huffington said. He said there’s information on the group’s Facebook page for veterans who are interested in participating in the program.
Farmer back on job after losing leg in auger accident By Nick Hytrek
SIOUX CITY JOURNAL
PENDER, Neb. (AP) — Catching up with Kurt Kaser was a lot easier when he had to use a walker. Now that he’s back on two feet again, good luck. “I got elected in the last two or three weeks to take back the hog chores,” the Pender farmer said with a chuckle before admitting that he had elected himself for the job. He’s not going to complain. He’d much rather be out and about, walking on two legs instead of being stuck inside his house while his damaged left leg healed. Kaser gained notoriety in 2019 as the farmer who cut through flesh and muscle with his pocket knife to free his leg after it had become caught in a grain auger. His new year begins with him back on his feet, adjusting to a second prosthetic leg as he goes about his daily chores. Some days are better than others, depending on how much time he spends on his feet and climbing on and off of farm equipment. “Sometimes it hurts real bad, sometimes it doesn’t hurt much at all. Sometimes I don’t even realize it,” Kaser told the Sioux City Journal. “I wish it didn’t have that numb feeling, but I guess that’s just the way it is.” The 63-year-old farmer shrugs as he talks matterof-factly about life since losing his leg below the knee. If not for his quick action on April 19, the story could have had a tragic ending. A quick recap: While moving grain into a bin on his farm, Kaser’s left foot became caught in a grain auger, and it began pulling him in. While struggling against the pull, Kaser saw the bone protruding from his leg and the empty joint where his foot had been attached. He pulled out his pocket knife and cut through his
damaged muscles, tissue and nerves to free his leg, then dragged himself about 200 feet to his office to call his son Adam, a member of Pender’s fire and rescue squad. While recovering in a Lincoln, Nebraska, hospital, he was interviewed about his ordeal by an Omaha TV station. After the story aired on May 10, journalists from across the country and several countries called for interviews. The reporters have stopped calling, Kaser said. They’ve missed a heck of a recovery story. Told after his accident that it would be at least six to eight months before it would be possible to fit him with a prosthetic leg, Kaser received his first one in only four months. With a few adjustments, he was back on his feet and walking with little need for therapy. Daily tasks such as cooking dinner and doing dishes became much easier with his hands free, no longer needed to maneuver the walker he used in order to get around on one leg. “It was great,” Kaser said. “You could carry something from Point A to Point B instead of sliding everything around.” He’d already resumed working in his shop before receiving his prosthesis. Now with the artificial limb, he could take more of an active role in farming 1,500 acres, finishing 3,000 hogs and running a trucking company with Adam and the hired help. He helped with harvest this fall, even running that same auger unloading corn into grain bins. There was no hesitation, he said, no mental hurdles to clear the first time the auger started rotating. It’s back to work as normal, or maybe it’s more accurate to say work as usual. “It will never feel normal,” he said of his leg.
SENIOR NEWS LINE
One of the freedoms of retirement is getting to choose where to live. Rather than being tied to a specific location due to work or school commitments, the entire world suddenly becomes a potential place to retire.
Best, worst states for retirement By Matilda Charles
Bankrate’s study of the best and worst states for retirement pegs Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota and Florida as the top five. It’s easy to just take a list such as this and call the movers, but it’s the details that matter. All 50 states in the study were ranked in terms of affordability, crime, culture, weather and wellness. Nebraska, at the top of the list, had a rating of only 14 for affordability, but did well on the other criteria. Missouri, third on the list, was No. 1 for affordability, but only average or below average ratings on the other benchmarks. Kentucky, at No. 6, came in at a respectable 9 for both affordability and crime. Its downfall was culture, which rated only a 46. At the bottom of the list, while New York scored very high for culture, it had the worst affordability rating. So, how to decide where to retire? Not with a list like this. To pinpoint a location where you’ll be happy in retirement, you need to get to know the area in person. Go there. Stay as long as you can, at least through a vacation. Make contacts. Call real estate agents and tour homes to see what you can get in your price range. Contact the medical center and see if they have what you need. Check Hospital Compare on medicare.gov. Read the local newspaper. Visit the police department and ask about crime, as opposed to believing a study. Check the nearest college for senior classes. Drive around and look for depressed areas. Is there a senior center with interesting activities? Do the math. Can you afford your new location? Are there part-time work options if you need more money? Deciding where to retire really does mean visiting the location and doing your homework. © 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.
NOTICE OF MEETING OF THE MEMBERS OF INDIANA PORK PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION, INC. JANUARY 28, 2020 • Indianapolis, Indiana The undersigned, President of Indiana Pork Producers Association, Inc. (the “Association”), a corporation existing under the Indiana Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1991, as amended, hereby gives notice of a regular meeting of the members of the Association (“the Meeting”), to be held at the offices of the Indiana Farm Bureau, 225 S. East St. Indianapolis, Indiana, at 11:00 a.m., on Tuesday, January 28, 2020. The meeting is being held for the following purposes: 1. The election of directors for the Indiana Pork Producers Association Board of Directors 2. The election of Pork Producer delegate candidates for the 2021 National Pork Board (Pork Act) Delegate body. 3. To consider and to discuss any other business properly to come before the members. This Notice is being provided to the members of the Association in accordance with the Association’s Amended and Restated Articles of incorporation and Bylaws. All Indiana pork producers are invited to attend. Any producer age 18 or older, who is a resident of the state and has paid all assessments due may be considered as a delegate candidate and/ or participate in the election. All eligible producers are encouraged to bring with them a sales receipt proving that hogs were sold in their name and the checkoff deducted. For more information, contact the Indiana Pork Producers Association, 8425 Keystone Crossing, Suite 220, Indianapolis, IN 46240, call (317) 872-7500 or email Josh Trenary at jtrenary@inpork.org.
Nick Maple • President • Indiana Pork Producers Association, Inc.