Area Athletes Dominate D-5 District Track, Field
May 20, 2009
Domination.
Albion News area teams and athletes made a strong statement at the D-5 District track & field meet Wednesday in Albion, cramming the result sheets with 30 state meet qualifying efforts and racking up 103 overall places.
Leading the way for area schools was Lindsay Holy Family, which ran away with the girls team championship and placed a competitive third in the boys competition.
Newman Grove also had a strong day, finishing third in the girls standings and fourth among boys teams. Spalding/Spalding Academy was fourth among girls and ninth in the boys field, while Cedar Rapids took sixth in boys competition and seventh on the girls side. St. Edward finished eighth in the girls standings and 10th on the boys list. Read more
Perspectives
May 19, 2009
Extra special graduation
By Paul Hosford
It doesn’t seem possible: our little boy just graduated from high school. Everybody warned us this would happen — you blink and they’re grown. But it was so hard to believe during those first sleepless nights. To paraphrase a famous line from Gone With The Wind, “we didn’t know nothin’ ‘bout babies,” and the learning curve for first-time parents is steep.
We learned that you can live without much sleep, but it isn’t much fun. It did, though, give life a sort of surreal quality. It’s recently been revealed that the CIA used sleep deprivation to get information from prisoners at Gitmo. I’m sure they got some sort of information for their efforts, but I can’t think it had much connection with reality. I have to wonder, though, if it was a new parent who devised this technique. In any event, it is a reminder that having a new baby is in some ways akin to a CIA torture session.
Only worse. Baby boys pee on you. The first time I attempted a diaper change I was literally “baptized” into fatherhood. Maybe being sleep-deprived tempered my response — I just cleaned us up and warmed a bottle.
Being a parent of a child of any age is a guarantee of losing sleep. I have never slept soundly since William was born. I wake at the slightest noise, always ready to deal with whatever problem has gotten a child up in the night.
As they get older, the problems at night change from things requiring direct parental involvement — like throwing up in the crib — to more mundane things like wanting a drink of water. But as they grow and become more self-sufficient, a parent’s nights begin to fill with worries about the future.
I couldn’t sleep at all the night before William started school, worrying about how it would go, thinking about all the implications. I remember Lori cried when we left him at Kindergarten. Another mother, who couldn’t conceal her joy, asked if we’d just left our first child. We nodded. She replied “My last!”
William had a tough time in school. We struggled as he struggled. His teachers soon noticed that William didn’t think and act exactly like the other kids. He didn’t cause trouble; he wasn’t disruptive. But he wasn’t the same. We consulted professionals, filled out huge questionnaires, attended meeting after meeting. Finally, in fifth grade when bullying by certain classmates exacerbated some of William’s behavioral differences, we consulted a developmental pediatrician in Omaha.
She spent more time telling us about her children than examining William, but by the time it was all said and done we were told that William had “autism spectrum disorder not otherwise defined.” Autism either became more common or else more frequently diagnosed starting around the time William was born. But even here, William was unique. He was autistic, but not in a “defined” way.
William’s autism isn’t like Rainman or the more severe cases we see on TV. He’s blessed to be “high functioning.” But it affects everything from his physical coordination to his communication skills. He tends to take everything literally and has problems reading body language and making eye contact.
His mother and I have put in a lot of sleepless nights worrying about him. There were times when his challenges made it seem he’d never make it to graduation. We thought about home-schooling but realized that he had to learn to interact successfully with others.
We have met regularly with his teachers, the school counselor and various administrators from early elementary school through high school. We honestly believe that the willingness of the school to work with us made it possible for him to overcome many of his challenges. He communicates far better than he used to, and his high school teachers often remark about how he “blossomed” from an introverted freshman into a confident senior who would not only talk but joke with them.
And we also need to thank his fellow students who have — with a few notable exceptions — accepted William’s differences and considered him to be one of them.
At commencement, William’s classmates Jennifer Simons and Hilary Wolf both gave great addresses, and both stressed the importance of facing the inevitable changes the future holds with courage and a positive attitude. That’s good advice for people of any age. And especially good advice to the parents of “special needs” children. Even in those darkest nights, never forget wonderful things can and will happen. Our William is living proof.
Molly’s Musings
May 19, 2009
The help of a friend
By Molly Young
It’s difficult to describe the clamor my car creates. In reverse, it sounds like a cat is stuck in my wheel well, squealing for me to stop. It doesn’t sound much better in drive. Stopping and turning are even less harmonious. My friends tell me my car growls. But I tell them it purrs. It runs just fine, I remind the naysayers.
When I left my house in Lincoln for an early morning meeting Friday, I turned up my radio volume to deaden my car’s typical noise and drove along 17th Street toward downtown Lincoln.
A man stared at my vehicle. I stared back. He looked again, but this time a bewildered expression - a strange mix of shock and concern - was written across his face. Yes, my car makes noise, I wanted to tell him, but it runs just fine.
Then my steering wheel started to shake. I turned west on O Street, six blocks from my destination. A man on the sidewalk sent me the same look: pure shock. My car began to shake violently, and I decided it must be falling apart piece by piece. I parked it on the side of the street and ran to the passenger side.
The black rubber that was my front tire was twisted under its hubcap.
“I don’t know much about cars or tires,” I told my dad, “but I think this is flat. Really flat.”
I looked at the clock. It was 6:40 a.m., and the meeting was at 7.
“Well, Molly, I’m two hours away in Albion. What can I do?” my dad asked.
The next few hours passed in a blur. I called a friend. No answer. I called another. Again, no answer. I called my brother. He picked me up. I called a tire shop. They agreed to tow my car and replace the tire. I arrived at the meeting more than 30 minutes late. I asked a friend at the meeting for a ride to the tire shop. We found my car. It sat in the same spot I left it nearly three hours earlier.
“I’ll fix it,” my friend, Clay, said. “Call the tire place and tell them not to come.”
Forty-five minutes later, after a nice auto repairman stopped and loosened the deflated tire from its rusted hubcap, Clay secured the last lug nut on the spare. I stepped back to admire his handiwork, and he joined me. We looked at each other and said nothing.
The spare tire was flat.
Deflated and defeated, I stared at Clay, hoping the morning’s events weren’t a metaphor for my life. It’s ok, he said. We’ll fill it up.
And we - I should say he - did. I realized something as I drove to the tire shop filled with new air and new hope. Sometimes the ugliest of moments can have the best of outcomes. In a few years, I’ll forget about the initial panic and the twisted rubber. But my friend’s help — that’s something I’ll never forget.
Kav’s Tire and Lube is new Albion business
May 19, 2009
Jim Kalvelage
As of Jan. 1, 2009, he completed the paperwork for his new business, Kav’s Tire and Lube. He currently operates the business in the evenings from 4-8 p.m. because he also works full-time at a hog unit during the day. Read more
Roof collapses at golf course cart shed
May 19, 2009
Golf cart shed at Albion Country Club after roof collapse.
“It must have been old age,” he said. “The structure is completely ruined.” Brodersen noted that some carts parked in the building suffered minor roof damage.
The shed, which was the only wooden cart building at the country club, will eventually be rebuilt, Brodersen said.
Commencement marks achievement for 68 Boone Central graduates
May 19, 2009
Halie Smith, outstanding student of the senior class, receives her diploma from School Board President Karen Kayton.
“Thus far, our class has been the change-makers,” said graduate Jennifer Simons. “There are more changes ahead, but be not afraid (of change).”
Hilary Wolf agreed with her classmate. “There are many unknowns, but there are also great opportunities,” she said. “We are prepared because of the efforts of our families, friends and the faculty at Boone Central. We are as prepared as possible to push ourselves outside our comfort zones.” Read more
Memorial Day ceremonies set
May 19, 2009
Memorial Day ceremonies are planned next Monday, May 25, at both Albion and Petersburg.
In Albion, a special worship service will be held at 10 a.m. at Zion Lutheran Church, followed by the ceremony on the Boone County Courthouse lawn at 10:45 a.m. Guest speaker will be Pastor Don Dennison.
At Petersburg, a Tribute Service is planned at 8:45 a.m. in the Petersburg American Legion Club, followed by services at the Petersburg cemeteries.
Columbus company wins street paving bid
May 19, 2009
A Columbus company, Castle Construction Co., was the successful bidder last Tuesday night, May 12, for Albion’s concrete street paving projects.
Castle’s total bid of $389,248 was the lowest of six bids submitted, but it was about $14,000 higher than the initial engineer’s estimate of $375,000 for the four projects.
The projects will include removal and replacement of concrete paving, curb and gutter on:
- Marengo Street from Second to Fourth Street;
- a half block of Main Street from railroad tracks east to Second Street;
- Depot Street from the Main and Second Street intersection to Sale Barn Road;
- Intersections at Walnut and First Street and Walnut and A Street.
Construction is expected to start by July 27, and completion is estimated by Nov. 15, 2009.
See the Albion News Print Edition for more details on the City Council meeting.
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