Stories from Wednesday, March 16, 2011

April 1, 1925 -- March 8, 2011 Edwin Leo Pollard, son of William Richard and Clara Elizabeth (Chamberlain) Pollard, was born April 1, 1925, in Osceola. He passed away March 8, 2011, in Fayette, Mo., at the age of 85. Edwin attended Clarke County Schools and was employed as a warehouseman at Super Valu in Des Moines for 30 years. He retired to his farm in Decatur County. In recent years, he resided in Osceola before moving to Fayette, Mo...

UNC's Brown will play in WBI The Northern Colorado women's basketball team found out that they earned a berth in the Women's Basketball Invitational on March 14. The sixth-seeded Bears will take on third-seeded Cal State Bakersfield tonight. This is the second year of the WBI, with Appalachian State winning the title a year ago. Spirit Lake native Kaisha Brown was one of three players to start all 30 games for UNC this season...

One season after wearing the glass slipper and making a Cinderella run to the 2010 NCAA Tournament by winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as the fifth seed, the Northern Iowa women's basketball team was met with little resistance on its way to capturing an automatic bid into the field of 64 by winning the MVC Tournament title for the second year in a row...

In Josh Bolluyt's third season at Spirit Lake, the Indian football team finally started to see the groundwork pay off in the win column. The Indians ended a couple of streaks of futility, snapping a 22-year playoff drought and putting to bed a stretch of 10 consecutive losing seasons. ...

Saint John's University senior Minga Batsukh became the first Johnnie to claim three national titles, regardless of sport, with a 7-4 win over Augsburg's Tony Valek at the 2011 NCAA Division III Championships on Saturday, March 12. He was awarded with the tournament's prestigious Outstanding Wrestler award for his performance. The Johnnies finished sixth out of 60 teams in the tournament...

It never gets old. With the countless hours spent grooming young men into better players and people, winning his third Cornbelt Conference Coach of the Year award is just as rewarding, if not more, than the first two for Harris-Lake Park coaching veteran Jeff Sohn...

Former Spirit Lake and Lake Park wrestling coach Jerry Hentges was honored posthumously by the Northwest Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association March 11 at the 2011 Senior All-Star Folkstyle meet in Cherokee. His wife Paula Hentges and daughter Leah (Hentges) Cruze accepted the award from Dewey Hupke, the head official for the Northwest Iowa Coaches and Officials Association. Jerry's two daughters Tera O'Malley and Jenna Hentges weren't able to attend the event...

A long-standing landmark swept away during a late July 2010 storm that battered boats and pummeled properties along the Lakes area shoreline was replaced Monday. A 9,000-pound cement anchor, measuring 18 feet in height and 20 feet at its widest point, was placed at the Highway 86 entrance point to West Okoboji Harbor, a neighborhood encompassing approximately 144 homes, known for its iconic lakeside lighthouse and three roadside anchors, as well as a system of canals...

Company founder Tom Bedell on Thursday confirmed a large portion of his Two Old Hippies guitar business is being moved from the Iowa Great Lakes to Bend, Ore. The relocation will reduce the company's local workforce from 16 to 6 and coincides with November's merger of Two Old Hippies and the Oregon-based Breedlove Guitar Company. The Two Old Hippies warehouse and management systems are going out west...

Anchor yourself in patience, it's worth the wait ANDREA KEMP/STAFF WRITER It's 2 p.m. Monday afternoon. Documents sit, unedited on my desktop, phone messages remain unanswered, interviews are left to be transcribed. But here I stand, heels digging into gravel, watching as a giant concrete anchor is lifted off a trailer and suspended in mid air...

Home search leads to arrest The Spirit Lake Police Department took a local resident into custody on drug and firearms charges following a search at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 8. Officers executed the search warrant at 2301 Eric Avenue in Spirit Lake. William Hawn was subsequently booked into the Dickinson County Jail on charges of prohibited possession of a firearm, a Class D felony, possession of a controlled substance, a serious misdemeanor and possession of drug paraphernalia, a simple misdemeanor.. ...

Thank you to 13 people in Spirit Lake who submitted their Great Backyard Bird counts online during February 18-21! This was the 14th annual GBBC and the best participation in Dickinson County to date with only one last year and six in 2007. In addition, four checklists were submitted from Spencer, one from Ocheyedan and 12 from Jackson, Minn. ...

Now that cigarettes have been vilified, Ronald McDonald crucified and Michelle Obama has begun her war on all of the food SHE thinks I shouldn't be allowed to eat and she's turned to the killer of Mom & Pop stores, WalMart, no less to give me a healthier life style, may I ask when the attention is going to be turned to alcohol?...

This is just a little note to tell you what we've done for our very good friend Helga Reed. We took Helga everywhere -- to Indian Pow-Wow Jackpot, Flandreau, Pipestone, Spirit Lake and Spencer. We also went to Fairmont, Worthington, Sioux Falls and the doctor...

Funnel week is over and we have entered the next phase of the legislative process. This week we started floor debate on all the bills that survived the funnel. So far this week, we have passed a couple dozen bills and most of them passed with bipartisan support. ...

The Spirit Lake Girl Scouts would like to say "Thank You" to the leaders and moms for their assistance in making the Girl Scout Lock-in a memorable event. Much appreciation goes to Brownie Troop Leaders, Jackie Jerge and April Tungland for organizing this event. ...

Diploma in hand, Amy O'Connor is proudly showing off her newly-acquired Mickey Mouse degree. The employee of Milford-based Sunset Travel, stumbled onto the opportunity to become a certified Disney Travel Consultant, and embraced the opportunity to expand her resort repertoire...

The family of Evelyn Larsen is announcing a card shower to mark her 87th birthday on March 29. Cards may be sent to Evelyn Larsen c/o WEL-Life 1819 23rd St. Apt 138 Spirit Lake, IA 51360

The family of Roger and Joyce Overocker wishes them a Happy 60th Wedding Anniversary. Roger and Joyce were married at the Methodist Church in Spirit Lake on March 24, 1951. God blessed them with five daughters: Connie, Jeanie, Vickie, Marlys and Cheryl; 5 son-in-laws, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. You may help them celebrate by sending your greetings to 2655 140th Street, Spirit Lake, Iowa 51360...

Feb. 23, 1936 -- March 10, 2011 Russell D. De Long, age 75, of Milford, passed away Thursday, March 10, 2011, at the Milford Nursing Center in Milford. He was born on February 23, 1936, in Spirit Lake Russell and Dagmar (Bak) De Long. Russell graduated from Milford High School in 1953. ...

July 16, 1921 - March 7, 2011 Miriam Louise "Dick" Campbell passed away March 7, 2011, in Mesa, Ariz., where she had moved permanently in the mid 90s. She was born In Estherville on July 16, 1921, to Clarence and Martha Anderson and lived almost her entire life on a farm east of Estherville her parents had purchased when she was a young child...

Sept. 21, 1917 -- March 5, 2011 Funeral services for Evelyn Marchand were held Friday, March 11, 2011 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Milford. Burial was at Calvary Cemetery in Milford. Evelyn Rose Marchand was born September 21, 1917 in rural Milford, the daughter of P.J. & Tillie Donelon. Evelyn was raised and educated in Milford, graduating from Milford High School...

William E. Parks Jan. 1, 1924 - Feb. 8, 2011 Dorcas Parks Nov. 6, 1921 - Feb. 21, 2011 William E. Parks, age 87, of Spirit Lake, passed away on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011 at Hilltop Care Center in Spirit Lake. Thirteen days later, after her husband's death, Dorcas E. Parks, age 89, of Spirit Lake, passed away on Feb. 21, 2011, at Lakes Regional Healthcare in Spirit Lake...

Aug. 2, 1923 -- Feb. 24, 2011 Annette (Dorgan) Jensen Neighbor, 87, of Arnolds Park, Iowa died February 24, 2011, at Hilltop Care Center in Spirit Lake. Funeral services will be 1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16 at St. Albans Episcopal Church in Spirit Lake. Visitation will begin at 3 p.m. Friday, April 15 with the family present from 5-7 p.m. at Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Milford...