Jim Granger reads a  letter he wrote to those in attendance at the Fair Board meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 8. After he was finished the board went into a closed session and voted Granger off the board.

Granger off board; 2016 fair dates set

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

During a closed session at the Fayette County Fair Board’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 8, Jim Granger was voted off the board for misconduct.

The Fair Board did not release any further details on the matter.

However, Granger himself told those in attendance after he had been voted off that it was related to a $30 check to pay for a meal at Gus and Tony’s Town House Cafe for Dale Merriam, owner of Merriam’s Midway Show, which provided the carnival rides for the fair.

Since being appointed sheriff of Winneshiek County nearly six months ago, Dan Marx (far right) has made numerous changes and adjustments to ensure Winneshiek County remains a safe environment to work, live, play, and learn. Marx is pictured with several of his employees, including (l-r) Deputy Garth Narum, jail administrator Jeanne Sebastian, and jailer Linda Wedo. (Zakary Kriener photo)

Sheriff Marx very busy in first 6 months

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

On April 1, 2015, Dan Marx was officially appointed as the new sheriff of Winneshiek County. In the six months since being sworn in, Marx has made a conscious effort to make improvements to the Sheriff’s Office and its policies to help improve the services and efficiency of those services to the residents of the county.

“Our primary goal here at the Sheriff’s Office is to make sure that the county can thrive,” explained Marx. “To make this place ideal for people to work, live, play, and learn, it all comes down to safety. That is our responsibility as a sheriff’s office.”

Jason Engen, a South Winneshiek graduate and the owner of Forty9 Designs, is the man responsible for the new look of the South Winneshiek Warrior football helmets this season. (Zakary Kriener photo)

The familiar face behind South Winn's new look

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

When the 2015 high school football season kicked off this fall, the South Winneshiek football team stepped onto the field with a new identity. The decals that adorn each Warrior’s helmet feature an exciting, brand-new look. The man responsible for the new look, 2001 graduate Jason Engen, was elated to provide the new look for the football team that he continues to follow to this day.

“When you grow up in the district and graduate from South Winneshiek, it becomes a part of you that sticks with you wherever you go,” said Engen, the founder and owner of Forty9 Designs. “It is an awesome feeling knowing that I can continue my relationship with the school and to leave my mark with the new helmet design.” 

Council considers park project

Brian Smith
bsmith@fayettepublishing.com

The Elgin City Council received information regarding a project to work on the landscaping of the City Park from Ron Hills, a city resident who has volunteered to help plan the project. Hills was present at the meeting on Monday night, Sept. 7, to explain the proposed changes in the park.

            Hills took the council outside during the meeting to show it where sidewalks would be redone, trees taken down, trees planted, and light poles put in. He asked the council for its input regarding the plans that have been made and for their its support of the project.

Pictured behind Ron Winter is an inlaid-wood depiction of “The Last Supper” done in a variety of colors of wood. It was a gift to the Winters about 1970. More than 30 years later, Ron would begin crafting intarsia wall hangings and other crafted items of his own. (Janell Bradley photo)

Knock on wood

Janell Bradley

Contributing Writer

Ron Winter has been planting trees for as long as he can remember. So perhaps it was just natural that he also took up woodworking a little over a decade ago when he learned intarsia handcrafting.

In their retirement, Winter and his wife, Ethel, began spending winter months in Arizona. While there, both enjoyed taking part in crafts that hadn’t previously been part of their daily routine. They learned silversmithing and tried their hands at jewelry. Ron and Ethel wear rings they crafted themselves, and Ethel has made necklaces for her daughters.

Tim Corkery will have the best seat from which to throw candy Sunday, Sept. 20, when the community where he grew up honors him as the grand marshal of its annual Community Day parade. (Janell Bradley photo)

'Candy man' always sweet on Wadena

Janell Bradley

Contributing Writer

Tim Corkery will have the best seat from which to throw candy Sunday, Sept. 20, when the community where he grew up honors him as the grand marshal of its annual Community Day parade.

The self-proclaimed “Candy Man” has always enjoyed sharing treats with the children of Wadena, and he continues to do so from his home at The Maples Assisted Living in Fayette, where he moved to rehabilitate following an auto accident a couple years ago.

West Union Boy Scout Gunner Rodgers decided that the handicapped need a place to enjoy North Fayette Valley TigerHawk events without their view being obstructed. So for his Eagle Scout project, Gunner built a platform from which those in wheelchairs and other handicapped fans can enjoy the games. He completed the project on Thursday, Sept. 3.

Brotherly love leads to stadium improvements

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

The handicapped have a new place to call their own during North Fayette Valley TigerHawk sporting events this fall with the completion of Gunner Rodgers’ Eagle Scout project.

The idea is a rather simple one in nature: give the handicapped a place to enjoy events where their view can’t be obstructed. Rodgers created a platform adjacent to the stands at the Steve Story Sports Complex for handicapped fans to cheer on the TigerHawks.

The intuitive idea came to Gunner during a Tigerhawk football game last fall. Gunner’s younger brother, Kale, needed corrective surgery on both his feet because he had a bone in the arch of both his feet that was putting pressure on and tearing a ligament whenever he took a step. Done one foot at a time, each surgery confined him to a wheelchair for a month.

Having to be in the stands in a wheelchair made it difficult for Kale to see most of the action taking place on the field.

“[Kale] kept asking my mom, ‘What’s going on? What’s going on?’ because he has no idea,” Gunner explained.

Before the scout could break ground, a lot of work needed to be done. Blueprints needed to be drawn, funds needed to be raised, and he needed to obtain permission from the school.

For nearly 40 years, Ossian resident George Wolfe operated and maintained the Silver Springs softball diamond. When George died in 2014, a group of volunteers assembled to take care of the park and keep his memory alive. (l-r) Dan Leibold, Art Holthaus, and James Rothmeyer, along with Ian Lienau (not pictured), worked together with other volunteers to revive the park, recently holding the Second Annual George Wolfe Memorial Softball Tournament and dedicating the field in his name. (Zakary Kriener photo)

Tradition 'alive and well' at ball diamond

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

Over 40 years ago, a tradition was born in Ossian. A softball diamond was built that would go on to be the site of countless ball tournaments and league games over the next several decades and counting.

The park was originally operated by Elmer Hemesath, but in 1976, George Wolfe took over management of the Ossian softball diamond.

George continued to serve the community by working as the chief manager of the Silver Springs Park softball diamond for over 42 years, before finaly passing on the duties in 2005.