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Mike Smith Page 2Jane Brown 3Mike Linch 4Margaret Wilkins 6Kevin Klommhaus 8Darwin West 9Elaine Bohling 11Zach Gunsolley 13Terri Higgins 14Danielle Newton-Grace 15Richard Wenzig 16

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Give and take

By BAILEY POOLMANCNA staff [email protected]

LENOX — For Mike Smith, time can go by fast, and especially so when it comes to donating his time to his community.

Smith, 45, is assistant fire chief of Lenox Fire Depart-ment, as well as scout master for Boy Scouts and leader for Cub Scouts. He spent the past 17 years with Lenox Fire.

Fire departmentSmith joined Lenox Fire

Department as a volunteer firefighter, certified in Fire-fighter 1, a firefighting train-ing class. He was a volunteer firefighter for 12 years be-fore being appointed assis-tant fire chief.

“I wanted to help out with the community,” Smith said. “I knew probably half the guys on it (the depart-ment).”

Kirk O’Riley was appoint-ed Lenox fire chief five years ago, and Smith became as-sistant fire chief that same year.

Smith isn’t alone. He has other family members, about six, on the depart-ment with him.

“My whole family is sup-portive about it,” Smith said. “Actually, my little girl wants to be a firefight-er. She’s five.”

Smith and the Lenox Fire Department train once a

month. Trainings add up to a minimum of 24 hours a year, if not more, for the volunteers.

“We’ve done the same training as other firemen,” Smith said.

While training is only part of a firefighter’s reper-toire, Smith has even more responsibility being assis-tant fire chief.

“It’s more responsibil-ity,” Smith said. “When the chief is gone, questions get directed to me.”

Other responsibilities in-clude having control of a fire or accident scene.

However, sometimes training and responsibility isn’t enough preparation.

“The worst part about be-ing on the fire department during a call, most likely you know the person in that car,” Smith said. “I mean, every call it is nice to help

people out, save their house, get them out of the car.”

It doesn’t stop the fire-fighters from being physi-cally prepared, though.

“We have really good people, really good firefight-ers,” Smith said. “And, we know pretty much every-body’s job. ... Once a fire-man, always a fireman.”

But, firefighting isn’t an individual job.

“The community really supports us,” Smith said. “The community backs us 100 percent.”

FundraisingCommunity support for

the firefighters has helped the department purchase new equipment for fire and acci-dent prevention.

Several fundraisers include water fights for kids during the Lenox rodeo and Lenox Fire Department’s annual smoke-off (see box).

“It’s fun to be a part of it,” Smith said.

Lenox Fire Department purchased a new truck five years ago, and recently pur-chased a rescue trailer.

“We’ve had several good donations,” Smith said. “We got a nice grant to help pay for our new truck, our big truck.”

The rescue trailer, shared between Lenox and Bed-ford departments, will help the county during ice and grain bin rescues.

Lenox Fire Department also recently purchased new wet suits to help with ice and water rescues be-cause a new housing devel-opment by Lenox Lake will be built.

“We started getting the basics for water rescue,” Smith said.

The purchases the fire department has made have

been thanks to grants and fundraisers.

ScoutsSmith has been Boy

Scouts scout master for five years, and a leader of Cub Scouts for eight. He was formerly a cub master.

Smith was in Boy Scouts as a child, and his oldest son is also in the organization.

“I think it’s a good or-ganization,” said Smith. “I love to go camping, so that’s something that me and my older boy does, and now my younger boy. It’s something we all do together.”

BackgroundSmith, formerly of Kan-

sas City, Mo., moved to Lenox when he was 9. He graduated from Lenox Community School in 1987 before earning certification in automotive from Univer-sal Tech in Omaha, Neb.

“I worked at Martin Brothers Dodge dealer-ship in Creston for a couple years,” said Smith, “then I worked at Sweeney Repair in Lenox for 16 years.”

Now, Smith works for Martin Brothers, a food dis-tributing company in Cedar Falls.

Smith is married to his wife, Becky, and together they have three children.

� Lenox assistant fire chief gives to community, community gives back

CNA file photoMike Smith, Lenox volunteer firefighter, stands while another Lenox firefighter sits after a fire at Dalton Ag Products caused severe damage to the building.

Contributed photoMike Smith, Lenox volunteer firefighter, sprays water at an object during a water fight near Lenox’s saddle club in 2010.

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Brown has 20 years on Creston Parks Board By KYLE WILSON CNA managing [email protected]

McKinley Park has be-come a centerpiece for the Creston community. It’s something Crestonians are proud of and use frequently, either for recreation and en-tertainment, almost every week of the year.

The park has seen sig-nificant upgrades, especially over the past decade. Primar-ily, those upgrades are cour-tesy of the hard work done by three volunteer board mem-bers including John Kawa, Gary Borcherding and Jane Brown — none of which re-ceived any compensation for their time on the board.

Kawa and Borcherd-ing even received Creston Citizens of the Year in 2012 because of their work on McKinley Park. But, they both agree Jane Brown has been just as instrumental to the success of the park.

“She’s so level-headed,” Borcherding said. “She’s good for John and I because we need someone even-keeled like her. She brings a lot of hidden assets to our board. She brings a lot of experience and we all share similar views on what needs done at the park.”

Brown is the longest stand-ing member on the Creston Park and Recreation Board, filling a vacancy in the early 1990s, then getting elected in 1999. She’s served more than 20 years on the board.

“I’m not from Creston, but when I moved here more than 40 years ago, I couldn’t help but notice there was significant history at McKin-ley Park that meant a lot to people,” Brown said.

“I’m excited today that we’ve completed some of the renovations in our 10-year plan. It’s become a place that you take new people in town to whether it be family mem-bers or people you are inter-

viewing for a job. It’s nice to drive out there in the daytime and see people sitting in their cars near the lake or walking the trails.”

Brown said none of the renovations could have been done without the help of lots of volunteers and generous donations from the public.

Memorial gardenOne of Brown’s favorite

projects while on the board is the memorial garden at McKinley Park constructed for veterans and their fami-lies from Union and sur-rounding counties in south-west Iowa.

The project was completed three years ago.

“Seven years ago, when we started the memorial garden project, all that was there was the Civil War soldier statue,” Borcherding said. “Since then, we put in new concrete, shrubbery and plantings, memorial bricks and lighting. It’s been a nice project for the park and for

the veterans.”Brown said now all mili-

tary flags, plus the POW MIA and United States flags fly year-round at the memo-rial garden.

To-do listBrown also has two other

renovation projects she’d like seen done at the park. One is replacing the trees that have been destroyed in the past couple of years be-cause of violent storms, in-cluding an EF2 tornado that swept through Creston in April 2012.

“We have some old pon-derosa pines at McKinley Park that are nearly 100 years old,” Brown said. “They were probably there when I was lifeguarding at the pool when I was in college. Those pines have either been destroyed or are really aging. We’ve got plans of doing some replant-ing out there.”

Brown said she’d also like to see renovations done at the McKinley Park swim-

ming pool. She mentioned filling in the grassy area at the pool with concrete to al-low for more leisure seating.

“We know people are go-ing out of town to other pools like Corning and Winterset,” Brown said, “so we are look-ing at making some renova-tions to make our pool more welcoming to the public.”

Crown jewelBrown said the top prior-

ity and “crown jewel” of the 10-year plan of the Creston Park and Recreation Board is dredging McKinley Lake.

But, that project won’t happen for a while.

First, the board must construct a proposed three-pond filtration system in the “swamp area” on the north side of Adams Street. That filtration system will reduce silt sedimentation which will result in cleaner water flow-ing into McKinley Lake.

The board did recently re-ceive a Watershed Improve-ment Review Board (WIRB)

grant worth $300,000 for the McKinley Park Restoration project to be used toward the filtration system.

The first phase of that fil-tration system project is con-structing the filtration ponds in the watershed leading to McKinley Lake. The second phase is rehabilitating the ex-isting wetland area “where all the cattails are now.” These two phases are expected to improve water quality to 85 percent clean by the time it reaches McKinley Lake.

The board is hopeful both phases of the filtration sys-tem project will be complet-ed within two years so the board can then start apply-ing for funding to dredge or begin drying out McKinley Lake.

“We want to restore that lake to the way it used to be,” Brown said. “People used to ski on that lake with small boats. It was a main location for fishing. It’s the crown jewel in our plans. We will get it done.”

CNA file photoJane Brown, right, and Mary Jo Borcherding, middle, hold up auction items for auctioneer Todd Crill during the third annual McKinley Park comedy night held in February 2014 at Eagles Lodge in Creston.

CNA photo by KYLE WILSONFrom left, Creston Park Board members John Kawa, Jane Brown and Gary Borcherding stand in front of a Civil War soldier statue at the memorial garden in McKinley Park in Creston.

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Motor man on the go � Auto supply manager drives local organiza-tions By LARRY PETERSONCNA sports writer • [email protected]

If it’s a day ending in “Y,” then Mike Linch is prob-ably serving the community in some capacity after his work day ends as manager of Creston’s Arnold Motor Supply.

The 43-year-old former Central College track run-ner decided long ago to give something back to his hometown.

He was an 18-year mem-ber of Creston Kiwanis Club, serving as president in 2010. He and wife Raquel, front desk supervisor at Southern Prairie YMCA, are active in the affairs of Salem Lutheran Church. In fact, Mike was treasurer for the church for a decade.

Linch, a multi-sport ath-lete at Creston High School in the late 1980s, turns to youth athletics for the lion’s share of his community service now. He’s involved in several activities that 14-year-old son Dylan and 12-year-old daughter Brit-tany participate in.

Linch not only coaches in the Creston Baseball/Soft-ball Association, he’s been on the board for seven years and has been the organiza-tion’s president for the past five years. And, this year, Linch is taking on a new sports venture as a coach of the U12 age group in the Wildfire soccer club.

Those matches are held on Sundays in the spring. Combine practices and games for softball and base-ball teams he coaches, often with the assistance of his fa-ther, John Linch, and there aren’t many “free” evenings

through the spring and early summer.

“It’s a good thing I like baseball!” Linch said. “But you know, there were a lot of adults who did the same thing when I was a kid. Coming back to the commu-nity, it was one of the things I wanted to continue to

make sure is still thriving. I still coach both baseball and softball. My dad has helped me for about three years.”

Leadership qualitiesEd Ritter, a longtime as-

sociate in Creston Kiwanis, says it’s no surprise that Linch quickly rose to the rank of president in the lo-

cal little league.“My goodness, I was sur-

prised with how he took ahold of things and did things,” said Ritter, who nominated Linch for the Creston Chamber of Com-merce 2010 Volunteer of the Year award he won in 2010. “He got involved in

projects and did things, he wasn’t just there. He moved projects.”

Todd Nielsen concurs. The Creston attorney, an-other selfless Creston native who returned home to serve the community in many ca-pacities, worked side-by-side with Linch on many fa-cility improvements for the youths in Creston Softball/Baseball Association.

A new storage shed was built at Bill Sears Memo-rial Complex, batting cages were erected there and the infield at McKinley Field was completely replaced. As president, Linch didn’t sit back and direct others to do the work.

“Without him, I’m not sure all of that stuff gets done,” Nielsen said. “He’s not one of those guys who delegates. He actually gets in there and works. We were in that old shed sweat-ing and going through all of the old stuff. He always kept us so organized, and he’s so easy to get along with. He keeps things moving in the right direction. It’s nice to have someone like that.”

Linch was solicited early in his days working with his father in the family’s busi-ness by the late Ed Jungst, who talked to him in 1994

about joining Kiwanis. It’s been a valuable experience, he said.

“The biggest thing is that you get to know a lot of dif-ferent people in the commu-nity, from a lot of different areas and backgrounds,” Linch said.

Ritter mentioned Linch’s work behind the scenes at the annual Fly-in Breakfast held several years at Cres-ton Municipal Airport; the annual pork chop dinner co-ordinated by Kiwanis, Cres-ton Lions Club and Creston Rotary Club; the annual Ki-wanis Pancake Day dinner; and several years heading up judges and set-up for the flags lining the route of the Fourth of July parade. He served as chairman of Ki-wanis Youth Services Com-mittee for several years.

When he became a local manager for Arnold Mo-tor Supply in August 2012, Linch didn’t have quite the time flexibility he had as a local owner with his father, so he regretfully stepped away from Kiwanis Club, at least for the time being. Club member Roger Lan-ning said his contributions were always significant.

Please seeLINCH, Page 5A

CNA photo by LARRY PETERSONMike Linch stays busy as manager of the Arnold Motor Supply store in Creston, while volunteering as president and coach for Creston Baseball/Softball Association.

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“It’s unfortunate Mike isn’t in the club right now, because he was an excel-lent worker,” Lanning said. “The Fourth of July parade, he was our club rep on that and was always on top of it. He started a Christmas wreath project as a fundraiser for the club, and we still do that. He was just always someone you could count on being there.”

“I have a hard time say-ing no,” Linch said, smil-ing. “Once I get involved, I like to be active in it. If I hadn’t changed with the

new company, I’d still be in Kiwanis. It’s a very worth-while service organization in town.”

Facility projectsMeanwhile, Linch isn’t

done thinking of ways to enhance the experience of

local softball and baseball youths. There’s more to be done with the city at the Bill Sears Complex.

“Because of the batting cages up now, we need to open up some of the ends for warmup areas, because

the kids don’t really have a place for that anymore,” Linch said.

And when that work be-gins, it would be a good bet that Mike Linch will be one of those on the scene, working up a sweat.

LINCH:


CNA file photo by LARRY PETERSONMike Linch leads a Creston Kiwanis Club meeting as president in 2010. He’s since stepped down from the club because of additional duties at work as part of the Arnold Motor Supply chain of stores, but was active for several years in the organization.

Contributed photosAbove, Mike Linch (left) and his father, John Linch, huddle with the baseball team they coached last summer, including Dylan, son of Mike and Raquel Linch. Left, Linch coaches third base as his daughter Brittany runs toward home plate during a softball game in the local league. Linch has coached both baseball and softball and serves as the organization’s president.

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Walk a mile in her shoes

By STEPHANI FINLEYCNA managing editor (retired)

Crop Walk doesn’t mean walking beans. Margaret Wilkins should know. She has been doing the local CROP Walk for a lot of years.

Wilkins, 78, was the coordinator of the local CROP Walk for 10 years. She stopped in 2010.

“Now I recruit for our church,” Wilkins said.

CROP stands for com-munities resolving to over-come poverty.

“It used to be Christian rural overseas program,” she said. “There aren’t many of the walks that you have that you get to have 25 percent to come back to use locally. To me that’s a big thing. That comes back to the crisis fund — the ministerial association. That’s an important aspect. It isn’t only the hungry, but CROP is under the aus-pices of Church World Ser-vice and, it’s not just this country, that’s all over the world.”

Wilkins said CROP is more than just providing funds to foreign countries.

“One thing they work on, and this is really, really a big need, is digging wells,” she said. “They might have to walk six, eight miles to get drinking water. Another thing that’s really sad about that is girls don’t get much education, because that’s their job to help go get that water.”

Wilkins said CROP also provides livestock, such as chickens and goats.

“It gives them something to eat, but also something to sell,”’ she said. “The idea is to help people be self-sus-taining.”

Wilkins said Church World Services also helped after hurricane Sandy struck the eastern United States.

“It’s quite a worldwide

organization,” she said. “It’s local and national and worldwide.”

Wilkins’ husband Merlin was a minister in Ringgold County for many years. They lived in rural Tingley for 30 years and Shannon City 10 years.

Merlin retired from the area churches, and they moved to Creston in 1993.

Always volunteeringWilkins has volunteered

with various organizations over the years.

She is on the board of the Union County Christmas Basket Fund.

“The one I’m most ac-tive with now is Christmas Basket,” she said. “When they had the Scouts thing, I helped sort, then helped put the baskets together.”

A consummate gardener, Wilkns has also helped with the flowers on the Greater Regional Medical Center campus.

“They aren’t using the volunteers as much. I would help plant,” she said. “On the west side they had a huge bed out there, and when they first began, people were to take, like a month. They were to do all of it. That kind of went by the wayside, then it got to be just the planters. Then when they were building — there used to be some trees there on the north side of the hospital — those came out to add the surgery wing, so there’s been so much (change).”

First Christian Church“I’m not really involved

in a lot of organizations, but a few years ago, (at First Christian Church) we have what we call a shepherd-ing group, so I had about — I’m not sure of the exact number of people we had — but I visit people,” said Wilkins. “A lot of them are shut-ins or remember them on their anniversaries, their birthdays or sometimes take food.”

She teaches a Sunday school class each Sunday and coordinated landscap-ing at the church.

“I recruit people in the spring to cut down the se-dum and that sort of thing, then I go out,” Wilkins said.

MoreWilkins can also be found

playing piano at Creston Nursing and Rehab on oc-casions, and she walks in the Alzheimer’s Walk.

“There’s so much differ-ence in the amount of peo-ple you get to a walk,” she said. “Someone said to me, ‘hunger is really something you can’t see’ and it’s a hard sell. But, like your heart or-ganizations, people die from heart disease or they have it, or cancer or Alzheimer’s, they can relate to those.”

Wilkins is modest about the volunteer work she does.

“There are people who do a lot more in the commu-nity than what I’m doing,” she said. “The reason I do, is I actually enjoy it.”

CNA photo by STEPHANI FINLEYMargaret Wilkins give direc-tions during the annual CROP Walk.

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It’s not always easy By SARAH BROWNCNA staff [email protected]

Whether he is helping Santa Claus sack candy for children during the holidays, inspiring young athletes to play their best, coordinating and assisting during commu-nity events or responding to emergency situations — Kev-in Klommhaus, 46, of Mount Ayr is ready and willing.

“I’m just here to help,” said Klommhaus.

Klommhaus said, he vol-u n t e e r s b e c a u s e it makes him feel good to know he’s d o i n g something good for his com-m u n i t y , friends and neighbors. How-ever, it’s not always easy.

Life as a first responderIn the early hours one

September morning, Klom-mhaus’ pager went off for a vehicle crash near Mount Ayr.

“It was almost 2 a.m.,” he said. “I knew by the address that it was someone I knew.”

Klommhaus said when he arrived at the accident, the sheriff did not let him on to the scene. Soon after ar-rival, Klommhaus learned his nephew had been involved in a fatal wreck.

“It’s every first responder’s worst nightmare,” said Klom-mhaus, who is a Mount Ayr volunteer firefighter.

Despite the difficulty of hearing the news, Klom-mhaus stayed on scene to sup-port his brother.

To this day, it is difficult for Klommhaus to talk about it, but it is his emotional strength and dedication to the commu-nity that make him an ideal first-responder.

“When you live in a com-munity as small as what we are. the chances of you know-ing the person is very high,” he said. “I have responded to other instances where I know the people very well. You never get used to that pager going off. It’s part of the job, but you pray it’s nothing ma-jor.”

However, with the bad, comes the good.

Klommhaus recalled an in-cident where a woman went missing in Red Oak. Klom-mhaus, who was listening to his scanner, responded.

“She was kind of like a sec-ond mom to me,” said Klom-mhaus.

Klommhaus assisted Afton Police Chief John Coulter and Ringgold County Sheriff Mike Sobotka at the incident command station to manage more than 700 search volun-teers.

After a search that lasted 21 hours, the woman was found “cold, but alive.”

“Being an EMS responder, especially in a small commu-nity, 80 percent of the time you are going to know them,” said Klommhaus. “When you are called out to respond, you are called out to your neigh-bors.”

Always working to improveKlommhaus’ first respond-

er training started more than 16 years ago as a volunteer fighterfigher for Diagonal and Mount Ayr fire departments. Since then, he has become a trained emergency medical technician (EMT) and certi-fied emergency diver for the Ringgold Community Water Emergency Team.

“I thought, ‘if I just had that training I could do more,’ and a class opened up,” said Klommhaus.

Upon completion of a 14-week EMT program, Klom-mhaus began driving the am-bulance in 2009 for Ringgold County Hospital, where he

continues to volunteer.As a certified emergency

medical service (EMS) vol-unteer, Klommhaus never leaves home without his EMS bag, which holds all of his sup-plies.

“I will be at a place and someone will say, ‘Kevin, can you come over here and take a look at this?’ he chuckled.

LionsKlommhaus is also active

in the Diagonal Lions ser-vice club.

Diagonal Lions is a local chapter of Lions Club Inter-national.

The mission of Lions Club International is to empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humani-

tarian needs, encourage peace and promote interna-tional understanding.

Currently, Klommhaus is the Diagonal Lions sec-retary. In this role, Klom-mhaus helps the club by taking meeting minutes, or-ganizing community projects and working hands-on with other members to complete community improvement projects.

Most recently, Diagonal Lions helped secure grants to update public restrooms, improve the city park and play equipment and install new lights on Broadway Street in Diagonal.

“We’ve put in permanent bleachers, food shack and built a special area for our grill,” said Klommhaus.

When asked what he likes most about being involved with the Lions Club, Klom-mhaus said, “It’s the whole community.”

In his experience as a com-munity volunteer, Klom-mhaus said he’s learned to have a lot of patience.

“There’s a reason why these positions are volun-

teer,” he said. “Not every-one wants to do them.”

Being a leaderKlommhaus — a consum-

er safety officer and the state of Iowa liason for the Unit-ed States Food and Drug Administration — hopes to be an inspiration to his chil-dren, Kaitlyn, Kasydi and Kade.

“I think my kids have seen what I do. Hopefully it will carry on and they will be vol-unteers.”

Klommhaus said his chil-dren are already following in his footsteps.

“They have been officers in 4-H and active in H.E.L.P. pod,” he said.

As a man with a full-time job in Des Moines, three children and volunteer com-mitments, Klommhaus said his wife Shellie Klommhaus is understanding because it is important to him.

“Volunteering can take time away from tending to the family and be exhausting after an already full week of work,” said Klommhaus. “But it doesn’t feel like work when everyone is involved.”

Klommhaus

Contributed photoKevin Klommhaus takes part in a number of trainings as an emergency medical technician. As a first responder and previous volunteer with Ringgold County Water Emergency Team, Klommhaus, back right, learned tech-niques to conduct ice water rescues.

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Beloved auctioneer dedicated to Creston By KYLE WILSONCNA managing [email protected]

How many different hats can a person wear at any one time? Ask Darwin West. He has one of every color.

West’s normal day is jam-packed. He’s a paid bus driver for Creston School District. His day starts each morning at 5:30 and one hour later he’s firing up the big yellow bus to start his regular bus route northeast of Creston. His first stop is at 7 a.m.

The 70-year-old West spends the middle of the day working as an auctioneer with his business partner Tom Frey — managing auctions at the salebarn or out and about in the community.

Then, at 2:30 p.m. each weekday, he’s back on the big yellow bus to reverse the same bus route he took in the morning.

“Everybody asks me when I’m going to retire, and I say as long as I’m feel-ing good, I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing,” West said.

West also drives the bus for out-of-town school ac-tivities.

But, it’s not the paid jobs that have made West one

CNA file photoAbove, Darwin West auctions off a decorative sled held up by Southwestern Community College student Madellyn Wagler during Southwestern’s athletics fundraiser event in November 2013. This is one of several auctions West volunteers his services for each year. Left, West has been master of ceremonies for Creston High School prom for more than 20 years. West said he continues to accept the MC duties each year because he likes being around the kids. “They keep me young,” West said.

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of the most beloved Cres-tonians. He’s been an auc-tioneer for 34 years and there hasn’t been one year West hasn’t volunteered his free services at benefit auctions.

The benefit auctions vary from a family medical crisis to nonprofit groups in the community.

“I haven’t turned one down yet,” West said. “If anything ever happened to me or my family, I’d want someone to help me out. I do it because we’re all sup-posed to help those out in need. I’m just paying it up front.”

It’s estimated West does

anywhere from 10 to 20 benefit auctions each year for the past 34 years.

“They feed me,” West said. “That’s all I ask. And if they can’t feed me, that’s fine. I’ll do it anyway.”

West most recently vol-unteered to auctioneer at a benefit for Jeff Bierle of Creston. Bierle — who has a daughter Shannon— has pancreatic and liver can-cer. The auction was held at Pine Valley and West and the Creston community helped raise about $30,000 to help Jeff pay for medical bills.

“Darwin doesn’t even think twice about these benefit auctions,” said Frey.

“If some-one needs h e l p , D a r w i n is there to do the a u c t i o n . We live in a giving c o m m u -nity and people like him are what make this community so great. Nobody has bigger heart than Darwin.”

West also volunteers his auctioneer services for the High Lakes Outdoor Al-liance banquet held each year at Three Mile Lodge.

The banquet hosts about 300 people and raises any-where from $20,000 to $35,000. All proceeds from the banquet are used to promote and enhance out-door activities in Union County.

“That one has a prime rib dinner,” West said. “You can’t beat that.”

Earlier this month, West again volunteered his auc-tioneering service at St. Malachy’s 21st annual din-ner and fundraiser auction. Sheri Finken, event orga-nizer, said the auction items sold topped $57,000.

“Darwin never says no,” Finken said. “He hasn’t said no in 21 years. There was even one year he had another auction that he was volunteering for that ran late, so he had to come late to ours. But, he auctioneer services for the High Lakes Outdoor Alliance banquet held each year at Three Mile Lodge. The banquet hosts about 300 people and raises anywhere from $20,000 to $35,000. All pro-ceeds from the banquet are used to promote and en-hance outdoor activities in Union County.

“That one has a prime rib dinner,” West said. “You can’t beat that.”

Earlier this month, West again volunteered his auc-tioneering service at St. Malachy’s 21st annual din-ner and fundraiser auction. Sheri Finken, event orga-nizer, said the auction items sold topped $57,000.“Darwin never says no,” Finken said. “He hasn’t said no in 21 years. There was even one year he had another auction that he was volunteering for that ran late, so he had to come late to ours. But, he still came. He’s always been a great supporter of St. Malachy. We had another great year (in 2014) and we couldn’t have done it without him and Tom.”

Prom kingWest has volunteered to

be master of ceremonies for Creston High School prom for more than 20 years. West said he continues to accept the MC duties each year because he likes being

around the kids.“They keep me young,”

West said.The students drive up

in front of the school each April, get their date out of their vehicle and Darwin announces the students once they give them their notecard.

But, not all of them es-cape without being teased.

“Sometimes I’ll ask them silly questions or ones that will make them blush,” West said. “And, some-times I don’t. If it’s chilly that night, I just announce their name and let them go inside.”

Tracey Lauer, alternative school director for Creston School District, has helped organize prom and after prom for the past 10 years at Creston High School.

“He calls them yard-birds,” Lauer said, “or will tease them about other things. Because he’s a bus

driver for the school dis-trict, he’s either driven the kids home or to activities. So, he knows 98 percent of them that walk down the red carpet for prom. They never leave the red carpet without a big grin on their face.”

West — named Creston Citizen of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce in 2010 — is also MC for the county fair’s celebrity steer show held each summer.

Family is also important to West. Given a free week-end, he and his wife June might spend time with their daughter and son-in-law Rachael and Brian Tucker and two grandchildren in Creston or visit their son and daughter-in-law Rod and Stacy (Hightshoe) West and other two grand-children in Bondurant.

(Former CNA Editor Stephani Finley contribut-ed to this story)

WEST:

CNA file photoDarwin West reviews the guest list with Bill and Penny Oetken prior to Creston High School prom in 2010.

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By JAKE WADDINGHAMCNA associate [email protected]

GREENFIELD — Amid all the work and sightsee-ing by 4-H members, fam-ily and area visitors during the Adair County Fair, the Bohling family offers fair-goers a chance to take a break and grab a snack.

The pop stand — located on the south side of the fairground show ring — is run by 4-H club members. Elaine Bohling’s 15-year-old son Hank is the lead organizer of the stand’s merchandise and schedule.

“Lynn (Hank’s father) and I are his support team,” Elaine Bohling said. “We clean the pop stand prior to the county fair, purchase items to stock, work with the Extension office to or-der the pop and Gatorade, figure the price based on cost and anticipated profit, make signs, re-stock each evening of the fair and train the 4-H members that help with the pop stand.”

Bohling and her husband started their involvement in 4-H at an early age. She

was part of a demonstra-tion called “The Miracle of Measuring” that advanced to the Iowa State Fair in the 1970s.

Her husband was active showing cattle.

“4-H is an awesome or-ganization that you just re-ally don’t outgrow,” Boh-ling said. “You can start as a member and as you age, you can become a leaser, volunteer, mentor and a supporter.”

Hank has done a variety of projects in the exhibit building involving animal science, electricity, nutri-

tion and woodworking. He also shows rabbits and poultry.

Her daughters Nata-lie and DeEtta — 24- and 26-years-old respectively — were active all through h i g h school in 4-H and still par-t i c i p a t e in open classes for photogra-phy and art.

“We can see the growth in young people, not only

our own, but others that participate in the 4-H pro-gram,” Bohling said.

Bohling said the variety of projects youths can par-ticipate in helps develop a wide variety of life skills. She said it is a great chance for “education, growth, de-cision making, encourage-ment, life skills and self-evaluation.”

Through the Blue Rib-bon Foundation, Bohling volunteers at fundrais-ing events to renovate the state fairgrounds.

“Elaine is a wonderful volunteer always willing

to help other 4-Her’s in need of guidance and en-couragement,” said Donna Wallace, Iowa State Uni-versity Extension admin-istrative assistant in Adair County.

Other projectsBohling and her family

are active members in the 4-H community all year. Together, the family has volunteered hours at the state 4-H office as well as provide transportation to 4-H events.


A sweet contribution � Adair County Fair volunteers manage con-cession stand responsibilities

Contributed photosFrom left, Hank, Natalie, DeEtta Bohling are active volunteers with the 4-H community with the help of their parents Lynn and Elaine Bohling. On the right is a picture of a 4-H shirt with a club motto.

E. Bohling

Please seeBOHLING, Page 12A

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This past summer, Bohling helped men-tor nine middle school students to help renovate and resurface a basketball slab in Fontanelle.

“We helped with the Blooming in Fon-tanelle project, which included planning, planting and watering the plants around the town square and in the Fontanelle Park,” Bohling said.

Each month, Bohling helps organize activities for the St. John’s High School Faith Formation.

In February, Bohling and her family decorated for a Valentine party for the residents at Good Samaritan center in Fontanelle.

In late February, Bohling volunteered at the Brides Against Breast Cancer Na-tionwide Tour of Gowns.

“We often volunteer as a family,” Boh-ling said. “We experienced the joy of as-sisting a new bride as she was choosing her dream gown.”

A lot of Bohling’s volunteer efforts involve her skills with food preparation. During special events at Living History Farms and Iowa Egg Council, Bohling cooks and helps serve food.

With so many volunteer projects going on, Bohling and her family have experi-enced the high points and challenges of different projects, but they never get dis-couraged.

“Sure, sometimes things don’t turn out like a person thinks or wants, but if you learn in the process, it is not a failure, it is an experience,” Bohling said.

To see the Bohling family in action, stop by the pop stand at the Adair County Fair slated for July 16 to 20.

BOHLING:

Contributed photoHank and Lynn Bohling assist with the “Blooming in Fontanelle” planting project.

Contributed photoOn the left side of the table, Hank, Lynn and DeEtta Bohling prepare packages for Meals from the Heartland.

Creston Nursing & Rehab Center1001 Cottonwood, Creston, IA641-782-8511

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Gunsolley follows in father’s footsteps

By SARAH BROWNCNA staff [email protected]

DIAGONAL — Diago-nal Lions Club Treasurer Zach Gunsolley’s passion for volunteerism began when he was a young child.

Gunsolley, 34, of Diago-nal said his com-munity in-volvement started in Boy Scouts of Amer-ica and t h r o u g h his youth group at United Church of Diagonal, participating in drives, where he collected clothing and nonperishable

food for people in need.At Iowa State University,

Gunsolley’s efforts con-tinued with the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, where he helped coordinate blood drives and participated in projects such as community clean-ups and painting.

Upon receiving his degree in civil engineering in 2003, Gunsolley moved back to his hometown and searched for an organization to be-come involved with.

Gunsolley’s passion for community service may be attributed to his environ-ment.

“I was raised in Diagonal and my dad has been a life-long member of the Lions,” said Gunsolley.

Gunsolley said he saw

the effort his father Frank Gunsolley put into the Li-ons Club and wanted to give back to the community that helped raise him.

In addition to serving as the Diagonal Lions Club treasurer, Zach volunteered with Creston’s Kiwanis Club; served as a navigator, or adult mentor, for Ring-gold County Youth Pod, also known as Helping Enrich the Lives of People Every-where (H.E.L.P.), a youth-driven service organization for middle and high school students; currently serves on the Diagonal Community School Foundation and re-cently joined Southwestern Community College’s board of trustees.

When asked what his

personal philosophy on vol-unteerism is, Gunsolley re-sponded, “united we stand, divided we fall.”

“Diagonal is growing, the school is growing strong and it boils down to community support,” said Gunsolley.

Diagonal, which hosts one of the largest Labor Day festivals in southwest Iowa, is made possible by the resi-dents who join in the collec-tive effort.

“When you come to one of our events, it’s a true tes-tament to what kind of com-munity we are,” Gunsolley said.

Gunsolley said giving back to the community gives him a great sense of person-al fulfillment and inspires him to keep going.

Gunsolley is married to fellow Iowa State alum-na Sarah Gunsolley, with whom he has two children with — 2-year-old Jackson and 6-month-old Elizabeth. He said his wife is support-ive of his volunteer efforts and “knows how important it is” to him.

“I enjoy giving back to the area and knowing that I can contribute,” said Gunsolley. “It takes a community to make it thrive.”

Gunsolley

CNA file photoZach Gunsolley, left, lis-tens during his first board meeting at Southwestern Community College. Gunsolley was voted onto the board in September.

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Home is where the heart is

By SARAH BROWNCNA staff [email protected]

For Terri Higgins, 43, of Creston, home is where the heart is.

DiagonalHiggins began volunteering

with Diagonal Community School Foundation one year ago after she was contacted by fellow alumni.

“When they first contacted me, I said, ‘Gosh, I’m so busy with kids’,” said Higgins.

“But, they are open and don’t give anyone more than they can handle.”

Higgins said one of the best parts of volunteering with her alma mater’s foundation is re-connecting with community members from the town in which she was raised.

“I’ve really enjoy having a connection to my alma ma-ter,” She said. “I don’t get home as often, so I’ve re-ally enjoyed getting to know other alumni from Diagonal even though I live somewhere else.”

Higgins, who is the director of marketing and enrollment management at Southwestern Community College said she felt like a good match for the foundation because of her ex-perience in communications and grant writing.

“I always look to get in-

volved that way,” said Hig-gins.

CrestonHiggins moved to Creston

in 1995, where she has raised her children Alyssa and Cole with her husband Matt.

In Creston, Higgins has also served on volunteer commit-tees at First Christian Church, Creston parent teacher orga-nization (PTO) and school functions with Creston mid-dle and high schools.

Higgins also hosts visiting college volleyball players in her home. During their stay, she prepares meals for her “extended family” and volun-teers in the concession stands.

Getting involvedDespite having a busy

schedule with family and work commitments, Higgins said she has never regretted saying yes to the volunteer

requests she’s received or the volunteer work she has done.

For Higgins, donating time or talent to help her commu-nity is just something that’s inherent.

“As a child, I was involved in 4-H, every sport, class plays,” said Higgins. “Coming from a small school gave us an opportunity to be involved in everything.”

Higgins also credited her parents for her altruistic na-ture.

“I come from a family that likes to get involved,” said Higgins. “It’s how we were raised.”

To avoid burnout, Higgins prioritizes her commitments to choose what organization or cause to get involved with.

“If a family or friend rec-ommends them it comes in as a priority,” said Higgins. “I evaluate the cause itself, and if it’s something I believe in, I’ll try to do it.”

Higgins said volunteerism isn’t something that should feel like work, but, rather something that should come from the heart.

“I want to see the com-munity progress, which takes a lot of work from a lot of people.”

� Diagonal Community School alumna reconnects with her small town school

Terri Higgins, director of marketing and enroll-ment management at Southwestern Community College, visits Joni Gillam’s second grade class at Creston Elementary School to talk about her career in marketing during Career Day.

Contributed photo

Contributed photoAs director of marketing and enrollment management at Southwestern Community College, Terri Higgins volun-teers in on-campus activities, such as campus cleanup.

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Small town graced by big heart By SARAH BROWNCNA staff [email protected]

DIAGONAL — Danielle Newton-Grace, 28, of Diago-nal said volunteerism never feels like work, instead, she describes her volunteer work as hanging out with friends she grew up with.

“It’s just enjoyable,” said Newton-Grace.

Aside from being a busy mother to 2-year-old Claire and working full-time at Iowa State Savings Bank in Diago-nal, Newton-Grace volun-teers with the Diagonal Com-munity School Foundation and Diagonal Community Center Board of Trustees.

Newton-Grace was also active in raising funds for the Ringgold County Freedom Rock, which now sits on the corner of Broadway and West Third streets in Diagonal, and she is currently working on plans to roll out Dollars for Scholars.

The community of Di-agonal, which depends on

its residents to enhance and modernize the small, former railroad town, remains strong because of those who live, work and play there.

“It’s a way of life,” she said.What inspires Newton-

Grace to volunteer?“You just see everyone

in your community pulling together and you want to be part of it,” she said. “If we didn’t do that we would fall apart.”

Newton-Grace also said she is inspired by her friend Gina Knox and the elders in her community.

“Gina is so active in every-thing,” said Newton-Grace. “I thought, if she can do that, I can do that.”

Like the generations be-fore her, Newton-Grace stays involved to keep the commu-nity activities going and the town moving forward.

“If the young people don’t get involved, it’s going to stop,” she said. “Young peo-ple need to get involved.”

Like many volunteers, Newton-Grace, who gradu-

ated from Buena Vista Uni-versity with bachelor degrees in business and accounting, uses her knowledge and skills to help the organizations she works with.

“I work at a bank, so I took responsibility of the money,” she said. “I balance the check-book, pay the bills and order supplies.”

The most rewarding part of the volunteer work she does is watching the community come together.

“Everyone just knows what they need to do, and it’s something that just happens,” she said. “If one person needs something, we are all there, ... I am so proud of them.”

Contributed photosDiagonal Alumni Danielle Newton-Grace, right, vol-

unteers, in part to make her community a better place for her 2 year old daughter Claire. Below,

participants slide toward the finish of Spoke, Stroke

and Slide triathlon fund-raising event sponsored by Diagonal Community

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By JAKE WADDINGHAMCNA associate [email protected]

Area riders are gearing up for the third annual KSIB tractor ride slated for June 7.

The ride — which had 277 tractors registered in 2013 — is planning on taking a northern route through some of the radio station’s coverage area. It is typically a 60- to 70-mile route.

The rapid growth and support of the event is something Richard Wen-zig of Creston did not plan

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Wenzig has traveled the country to participate in similar tractor rides.

He has spent hours in 108 degree heat through the plains of South Da-kota, joined the WHO ride in Iowa and journeyed out to Colorado to ride with friends and others who love older tractors.

“It’s just like anybody with any hobby,” Wenzig said. “Whether it is show cattle, pull tractors, play golf or boat. It’s what peo-ple like to do. I’ve always liked to fool around with motors.”

He added that KSIB and fellow volunteer Carolyn Huff do a great job getting sponsors for the event to keep it free for the riders.

Wenzig ConstructionAfter his time in the ser-

vice ended in 1969, Wenzig went to work in construc-tion. In 1973, Wenzig start-ed his own business with the help of his business partner Bill Klinginsmith.

“My main work is in soil conservation work build-ing ponds and terraces,” Wenzig said.

A majority of his work is in rural Union and Ad-ams County. Wenzig said he used to demolish homes in the city, but the stress of disposing the material and damaging neighboring property was not worth the risk.

“I didn’t need that head-ache,” Wenzig said. “I can stay busy out in the coun-try. I don’t need to come to town to do stuff.”

Wenzig has donated

his time and equipment to multiple projects. He helped level the pad for the shelter house and parking lot at Taylor Park. He also helped clean up the wood-ed area directly behind the Girl Scout cabin at McKin-ley Park.

“You never could hardly mow that area, it was like a swamp,” Creston Parks and Rec-r e a t i o n B o a r d C h a i r -man John K a w a s a i d . “Rich put a creek through it

to drain it out.”In addition to the work

Wenzig did cleaning up the wooded area, he also helped put in a bridge that allowed the second phase of the walking trail to be completed.

“That bridge connects the historical complex to the campground and the campground to the park,” Kawa said. “He has done a lot of good out there for us.”

Tractor pullsWenzig’s clearing work

at McKinley Park created enough space to put in


Keeping the wheels turning � Wenzig organizes area antique tractor pulls and rides

Contributed photoRichard Wenzig competes with his John Deere tractor, nicknamed the Albino Deer.

“It’s just like anybody with any hobby. Whether it is show cattle, pull tractors, play golf or boat. It’s what people like to do.”

— Richard WenzigWenzig Construction

KawaPlease see

WENZIG, Page 17A

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a track to improve Cres-ton’s antique tractor pull during the Fourth of July celebration.

“I belong to the Old Time Power Club,” Wen-zig said. “Years ago, we used to have the pull at the park down by the ball fields.We would tear up the ground and they would have to seed it back (every year).”

The permanent track has added to the appeal for sponsors to contribute to the event, making it more inviting for the competi-tors as they compete for prize money.

Every year the group makes homemade ice cream and sandwiches to sell to spectators.

“Everybody that belongs to to the club brings their tractor and garden tractors and puts them on display,” Wenzig said.

Wenzig served as the Old Time Power Club’s president for 15 years and still helps put on the Cres-

ton pull. The group is now based out of Red Oak.

He has represented the club on the national stage for multiple years, partici-pating in pulls across the Midwest and winter pulls in Texas and Florida.

The three-time national antique tractor pull cham-pion said the most impor-tant thing to a winning run is knowing how to balance the tractor.

“You have to get the weight in the right place,” Wenzig said. “Some (weight) sleds will pick up your front end more than others. When you pick up your front end, your draw bar goes down. When your draw bar goes down, you spin out and you’re done.”

As part of the National Antique Tractor Pullers Association for 10 years, Wenzig headed up the tech committee to make sure all entries had legal equip-ment for their class.

Wenzig has sold a major-ity of his tractors and semi-retired from competition, but still loves to travel

with his wife Ann to vari-ous pulls and rides to see friends.

“What is most fun about both sports, tractor pull-ing and tractor riding, is the nice people you meet,” Wenzig said.

One worry Wenzig has is the longevity of his hobby with future generations. As modern tractor pulls focus on speed, size and money, few pullers are willing to put the time into the antique models.

“The trouble with this Old Time Power Club, ev-erybody is getting old in it,” Wenzig said. “A lot of these old people are dy-ing off and there are no younger people to come in and take it over, so I don’t know how much longer it is going to last.”

But just like in the pulls, Wenzig is keeping his wheels turning in his vol-unteer efforts to keep the antique tractor pull tradi-tion alive in Creston and donate his time and equip-ment to the beautification of the area parks.

WENZIG:

Contributed photoRichard Wenzig participates in a tractor ride near Wiota on his Ford tractor.

Contributed photoRichard Wenzig pulls a friend’s John Deere tractor at a competition in Ocala, Fla. Wenzig has won three national championships in antique tractor pulls. He helps organize Creston’s antique tractor pull and the KSIB tractor ride scheduled for June 7.

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CNA photo by AMY HANSENAntique firefighting tools are on display at the volunteer fire station in Murray.

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CNA photo by BAILEY POOLMANMycale Downey updates her files at Creston City Pound in December.


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