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Today is Thursday, July 18, the 200th day of the year. There are 166 days remaining in 2024. Below are news items found in the Creston News Advertiser for this week in history.
7 years ago (2017)
Continuing the trend of coaching turnover this summer, the Southwestern Community College baseball team has a new man in charge. Kenneth Namanny takes over for now former coach Pedro Hernandez, who departs the program to take an unspecified opportunity back in Hernandez’s hometown in Puerto Rico.
Creston Community School District will soon be looking for the public’s input on which major projects it would like to see done. During the June CCSD Board of Directors meeting, Superintendent Steve McDermott presented the board with a list of potential major projects under a capital improvement plan. During last week’s July meeting, the board approved McDermott to pursue cost estimates for those projects so the board can begin prioritizing them.
Four feet. That was the difference between the Creston baseball team’s season ending and extending Monday’s Class 3A District 16 championship game against Denison-Schleswig beyond the tension-filled nine innings that transpired. Kadon Hulett, the power-hitting senior in the Panther lineup, put a charge into a pitch by Fernando Cardenas with two runners on in the bottom of the ninth with the Panthers trailing 6-3. The towering shot struck the middle of the 330-foot sign in center field at AC Nuckolls Field. Two runners scored, but Hulett was left standing on third base as the game ended on a pair of groundouts. Denison-Schleswig advanced to Wednesday’s substate game at Harlan with the 6-5 victory.
17 years ago (2007)
As a 9-year-old watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon, Peggy Whitson dreamed of someday going into outer space. Whitson, a 1978 Mount Ayr High School graduate, will be the first female commander of an expedition to the International Space Station, scheduled to launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, in October.
Lucas Waltz of Creston has been named an All-American Scholar by the United States Achievement Academy. Waltz was nominated for this national honor by Vanita Moberg of Creston High School. He will appear in the All-American Scholar yearbook, which is published nationally.
Creston makes its fourth trip to the State Baseball Tournament Tuesday, but it’s been a long time waiting. The Panthers’ last appearance in the elite eight of Class 3A was during the 1990 season, when Spencer edged Creston 4-3 for the state title. The Panthers were also second in 1958.
27 years ago (1997)
Before a packed courtroom Thursday afternoon, the Taylor County Board of Supervisors received a standing ovation for approval of landmark regulations regarding large livestock confinement facilities. With approval of the ordinances, Taylor County becomes the second of Iowa’s 99 counties to override state regulations with more strict rules.
The Strand Theatre in Creston will host free summer merchant movies at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. every Tuesday through Aug. 5. Movies being shown are “Far Away Home,” “Space Jam,“ “Flipper” and “Babe.”
Mark Rupp, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was the first RAGBRAI rider to arrive in Creston at 8:15 a.m. Monday. A steady stream of riders began arriving around 9 a.m. The crowd looks to be as large as predicted by Des Moines Register officials last week. Creston Chamber of Commerce co-chairman Chris Duree said Red Oak reported 28,000 people, with 15,000-17,000 of those being riders.
The Creston News Advertiser won nine awards Saturday in the 1996 Iowa Associated Press Managing Editor’s contest.
37 years ago (1987)
Alexi Groumoutis, 12-year-old daughter of Tony and Aliki Groumoutis of Creston, is the new Iowa ‘s Young Miss of America. Competition was held Sunday at the Adventureland Inn in Des Moines, with national competition to be held in Hollywood, California, Labor Day weekend. Her 14-year-old sister, Tina, was named first runner-up in the teen division of the competition and first runner-up in the photogeniality competition.
A two-run error in the first inning gave Creston the early lead. Right fielder Scott Driskell later broke a 2-2 tie with an RBI single to allow the Panthers to squeak past Norwalk, 3-2, in the Class 3A district baseball opener here Saturday.
A former paralegal secretary, Pat Waibel of Creston, began duties Tuesday as a clerk in the Union County Auditor’s officer. She was hired on a six-week trial basis while being trained by Union County Auditor Jeanette Quick in various duties.
Members of the Creston Cozy Campers spent July 10 through 16, helping other Iowa camper clubs host the 27th national campvention of the National Campers and Hikers Association in Ottumwa, the first one to be held in Iowa.