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Today is Thursday, July 11, the 193rd day of the year. There are 173 days remaining in 2024. Below are news items found in the Creston News Advertiser for this week in history.
6 years ago (2018)
Progress is being made on both of the major construction projects Creston Community School District has started this summer, according to CCSD Superintendent Steve McDermott. At the elementary/middle school building, work on the new parking lot has gone well, with concrete ready to be poured. McDermott reported concrete is being formed to start pouring north of the bus barn wash bay.
In August 2017, the Union County Fair Board announced the “Building on Tradition” campaign, the aim of which was to raise money so improvements could be made to the fairgrounds. The majority of the funds were to be allocated to building two new buildings: one for cattle, the other for sheep and goats. Just under a year later, those new buildings have been built and will officially open Thursday night.
Connor and Jake Travis, both 15, are budding businessmen. But, even before they started their small business, Travis Produce, three years ago, the cousins were no strangers to farming. Having grown up on his family farm in rural Union County, the endeavor to plant a small garden as a business felt like second nature to Connor, who also farms his own 19 acres of row crop, raises seven head of Angus cows and runs Travis Brothers Bailing Company with his brother Tristan.
16 years ago (2008)
The following are candidates for Union County Fair Queen: Mollie Jo Kruse, 18, is the daughter of Lynn and Judy Kruse of Afton; Alexis Miller, 20, is the daughter of Randy and Diana Miller of Creston; Candace Elizabeth Weeda, 17, of Creston, is the daughter of Dee Weeda and Gary Weeda and Alyssa Marie Weis, 17, is the daughter of Mark and Gale Weis of Afton.
One crack of the bat sent the Lenox dugout into hysteria, and it’s one reason the Tigers are going to the state tournament for the third consecutive year. Seth Robinson’s grand slam home run in the third inning along with his 12 strikeouts on the mound helped give Lenox a 7-3 victory over Bedford in Tuesday’s Class 1A substate final at Tiger Field.
It came from a rough and tough time. A century and a half ago, the people of Adams County decided to come together to see who was the best of the best in all areas of rural life. At the county’s first fair in 1858, the tradition of localized livestock and other brands of competition began in the town of Quincy, the Adams County seat at the time.
26 years ago (1998)
While Adair County residents contemplate an expansion of their board of supervisors, a movement is under way in Union County to reduce its board from five to three members. That would put Union County in the majority. According to the Iowa Association of Counties, 66 Iowa counties have three-member boards.
Creston motored past I-35 (Truro), 10-1 in baseball action Saturday. It took a while, but the Panthers unleashed their claws in the fifth inning, dug into pitcher Cory Scott’s meatballs and found them delicious.
Union and Ringgold county authorities are baffled. And to be honest, they don’t know where to turn next. Someone, or a group of someones, is stealing vehicles and abandoning them in rural areas. Three cars and two pickups have been stolen since June 29. All but one of the cars have been recovered in Union County.
36 years ago (1988)
A van took a solo dip early today in a Creston couple’s swimming pool. “It needed a wash job, so it decided to do it itself,” said Alan Dobbs, owner of the 1987 Plymouth Voyager that found its way into neighbor Jim and Marcia Frisina’s swimming pool. Dobbs recalled parking the van about 10:15 p.m. Monday night, putting it into gear and setting the emergency brake. “The only thing I can think is someone came by and released everything,” he said.
A groundbreaking for the new Creston High School is scheduled for 4 p.m. July 13, at the Townline Field site. It will include remarks by Dean Johnston - president, Creston Board of Education; Rod Snodgrass - Creston Development Company; Terry Donahue, mayor of Creston and an architectural representative on the scope of the project.
Three Creston residents won medals at the second annual Iowa Senior Olympics held recently at West Des Moines. John Hayes took first-place, gold medals in the 200 and 400 meter runs and a second-place, silver medal in the 50 meter dash. Dick Guenther and Pat Kelly won third-place, bronze medals in tennis.