ron Hometowner serving the communities of Akron, IA and Westfield, IA with Local News, Sports and What's Happening in the community. Designed by River City Digital Design www.rivercd.com
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September 19, 2007 What's Happening? Punt, Pass & Kick The annual Punt, Pass & Kick Contest for kids will be this Saturday. For more information, see Page 12. Farmers Market The Sept. 19 food stand is hosted by Carlsen Funeral Home. The last Farmers Market on Sept. 26 is by the Akron Area Museum. Rummage & Dinner On Sept. 21, the Westfield Congregational United Church of Christ will host from 4 - 8 p.m., a Rummage & Bake Sale, and from 5:00 - 7:30 p.m., a spaghetti dinner, at the church. For more information, call Kammy Stowe at 568-3301. Siren Testing Westfield officials will test their new emergency weather warning siren at NOON, Monday, Sept. 24. Oil Refinery Presentation Karen Hall, an oil refinery expert from Rapid City, S.D., will speak about oil refineries at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 26 at the American Legion Hall in Elk Point. Golf Fun Night The Akron Golf Club Inc. is hosting a fun night at the golf course on Saturday, Sept. 29. Quasquicentennial Photos & DVDs Quasquicentennial Opening Ceremony photographs as well as Opening Ceremony and Parade Highlights captured on DVDs are available.
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Obituaries
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Scarecrow Contest Winners!
Workin’ on the railroad By Julie Ann Madden The stretch of railroad tracks through Akron and Westfield will soon be all new rail. According to D & I Railroad Project Engineer and Maintenance of Way Manager Kevin Oliver, rail workers began replacing the jointed 100-pound metal rails with 115-pound metal rails that are welded together on Aug. 6. The old “jointed rails” limited the size of rail cars and the speed at which trains could travel, said Oliver. At a speed of 20 mph, jointed rails cause “harmonic rocking” of the cars as they are pulled down the tracks, he said, explaining this can cause derailment. This also pounds the joints into the ground, and it gets progressively worse, said Oliver, adding some of the rails in this stretch were dated “1928” and “1929.” With the welded rail, it prevents the harmonic rocking and joint problems. It also requires less maintenance because 75 percent of railway maintenance is in railroad track “joints.” The project takes 40 continuous days to complete, about two months, said Oliver, explaining if the crew of 24 to 27 workers takes a day off, they must add another day to the project completion date. “We hope to increase the speed from 20 to 25 mph,” said Oliver, noting the rail cars’ weight also has been increased. Currently, the D & I Railroad has 14,000 train cars which pass through Akron and Westfield each year, said Oliver. The majority of cars are filled with aggregates, grain, lumber, cement, dried distiller grain (DDGs), ethanol and fertilizer. The D & I Railroad operates between Dell Rapids, S.D. and Sioux City. The first stretch starts in Dell Rapids, S.D. and runs to Sioux Falls, S.D. At that point, D & I Railroad trains use the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railway system from Sioux Falls to Canton, S.D. The next section of railroad between Canton and Elk Point, S.D., is operated by the D & I Railroad. From Elk Point to Sioux City, it’s operated by the BNSF. The D & I Railroad also operates the section between Hawarden and Beresford, S.D., he said. “We sure appreciate (the people’s cooperation) at the little inconvenience of going through town there for some of the crossings we tear up a little bit,” said Oliver. This railway improvement has not been affected by the delay of the Iowa Highways 3 and 12 road renovation project due to the postponement of the Akron Riverview LLC ethanol plant. The original plan was to increase the height of the rails at the 170th and 180th Street intersections by about 2 feet. There had also been talk about eliminating a railroad bridge in this area. However, as with the road projects, any railroad plans have been halted. “Raising the rails is not a big deal,” said Oliver, explaining it could be raised a little at a time. Oliver wasn’t sure if the D & I Railroad would be affected by Hyperion Resources Inc.’s proposed oil refinery. “We have no idea if they’ll require us to service them or anything,” said Oliver. “They have to pick a site before they even think of that.”
Westerners Fall to Falcons
By Hank Krause The Akron-Westfield Westerners saw their record fall to 1-2 after the visiting Battle Creek-Ida Grove Falcons came from behind to win 18-7 on Friday, Sept. 14. A-W kicked off but held BC-IG and forced the Falcons to punt. A-W, starting on their own 33, drove 67 yards in 11 plays. The drive had three big plays as Jon Sievert covered 14 yards on a keeper, a screen pass to Chris Carlson added 14, Sievert scrambled 11 on a broken play. A-W had the ball on the Falcon nine when Sievert hit Braxton Bursell for the touchdown. Eric Eskra added the PAT and A-W led 7-0. BC-IG came back late in the second quarter as Eric Hanson found Luke Griffith open over the middle for 32 yards to put the ball on A-W’s 28. A-W again held but couldn’t move the ball and was forced to punt. The Falcons went to some trickery and using a reverse plus a double pass put the ball on the A-W one. Chaps Wilche, who rushed for over 100 yards in the game, scored from the one. A-W went to the locker room up 7-6. A-W won the first half but it was the Falcons who won the second half. Alex Bogue intercepted an A-W aerial and the Falcons were in business. The Falcons drove 70 yards in seven plays. The big play Hansen found Griffith open once again and he scampered 49 yards to the A-W one. Wilche scored from a yard out and BC-IG took the lead 12-7. Taylor Miller later intercepted an A-W aerial and returned it for a Falcon TD from 19 yards out. A-W rushed the ball better but Jon Sievert spent most of the night running for his life. The three BG-IG interceptions really hurt the Westerners. Overall, A-W played much better as their running game is starting to show up. The kids really play hard and give a good effort.
The next two Westerner games are away -- Sept. 21: Sioux Central, Sioux Rapids Sept. 28: West Lyon of Inwood
Lady Westerners win some, lose some in Le Mars Community Tourney
By Ben Banks On Saturday, Sept. 8, the Lady Westerner volleyball team played in the Le Mars Community Volleyball Tournament. The girls’ first match up of the day was against Lawton-Bronson. They struggled right from the start but still kept in the game. They lost the series though, 0-2. The second game for the girls seemed like a trend; they also lost this series to River Valley, 0-2. I don’t know what it was but when that third game came around, they were finally ready to play. Their opponent was South O’Brien. The girls came into the game with no wins yet that day and left with their first win of the season with a series of 2-0. They were pumped and ready for their next match: The final game of the day: against Spalding Catholic. They went into this game with one win, and left it with their second win of the season. Leaders of the TournamentCarissa Westergard Kills: 13 Caitlin Heyl Assists: 29 Shelby Johnson Serving: 31 Shelby Johnson Digs: 48 Karly Groon Blocks: 5 |
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