Francis “Shorty” Hazel, 91

Francis “Shorty” Hazel, 91, of Akron passed away Thursday, May 16, 2013, at Touchstone Living Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 20 at Trinity Lutheran Church, E.L.C.A. in Akron. Reverend Jean Morse will officiate. Graveside services will be at 1:30 p.m. on Monday at St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery, Craig, Iowa with military rites conducted by the Hoschler American Legion Post 186 of Akron. Visitation will resume from 9:30 a.m. until service time on Monday at the church. Expressions of sympathy can be extended to the family through www.carlsenfuneralhome.com.

Francis L. (Shorty) Hazel was born December 5, 1921, in Le Mars, IA, to Joseph P. and Clara (Kolker) Hazel.

He attended St. Joseph Catholic grade school and Le Mars Central high school. He was employed by the Le Mars Globe Post as a newspaper carrier while attending grade school. He also worked as a gardener’s helper for the late Dalton family, well known Le Mars bankers, a caddy at the Le Mars golf course and a projectionist for the March Brother’s theaters in Le Mars.

During his high school years he worked as a printer’s devil and later took his printer’s apprenticeship at the Globe Post under the guidance of his two uncles, Harold and Larry Kolker.

He entered the army in June 1942 and served as a radio operator with the field artillery in the Philippine Islands, serving with a division of the Philippine army. After his discharge in December 1945, he returned to the Globe Post and later became shop foreman.

He married Velgene L. Gronemeyer on June 6, 1947, in Le Mars where they made their home until August of 1974. Together they had three children, Diane (Larry) Jensen of Overland Park, KS, Randy Hazel of Alta, IA and Lori Hazel-Horton of Sioux City. He went to work for the Sioux City Journal in 1953, where he employed until 1972, when he became manager of the Akron Register-Tribune and a member of Good News Inc., owners of the newspaper. He continued his career in the newspaper field until September 1993 when both he and Velgene retired. Velgene passed away December 15, 1994.

Shorty enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, watching any and all sports, golfing, shooting pool, playing cards, bingo and camping. He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, past member of Akron Chamber of Commerce and Akron Lions.

He is survived by his children, his grandchildren Troy Jensen of Denver, CO, David Hazel of Colorado Springs, CO, Dan Hazel of Longmont, CO, Brett Jensen of Overland Park, KS, Nick Hazel and his wife Lindsay of Ankeny, IA and Kara Hill and her husband Jason of Portland, OR, six great-grandchildren, Avery, Alexsis and Matthew Hazel of Longmont, CO, Ava Hazel of Colorado Springs, CO, Gavin Hazel of Ankeny, IA and Everett Hill of Portland, OR and another great grandson due in August, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Wendell and Carmen Gronemeyer of St James, MN, brother-in-law Leonard Wiltgen, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Velgene; his brother Roman Hazel and his wife Marjorie, sisters-in-law Loris Heeren, Velma Wiltgen, brothers-in-law Lyle Gronemeyer, Gene Gabel, Herman Heeren and Rudy Dreckman

Elaine Schuchard of Norwalk, Iowa, passed away on Friday, May 17, 2013, at Kavanagh House in Des Moines after a courageous battle with cancer. Elaine Ellen was born in Le Mars on December 27, 1960, to Berneice (Funk) and Arnold Bremer. The family later moved to Akron.

Elaine was an accountant and worked for the Sioux City Journal, over 20 years at the Des Moines Register and most recently for Marsh. She loved both interior and cake decorating. She also loved landscaping. Most of all she loved being a “soccer mom” and never missed her children’s games – or any family event.

Elaine leaves behind her loving husband of 19 years, Hal; her children, Megan and Matt; her brother, Doug (Lori) Bremer; her sister, Cheryl (Alan) Vetter; her father, Arnold (Patricia) Bremer; brother in-laws, Lon (Deb) Schuchard and and Craig (Jules) Schuchard; mother-in-law, Deloris Schuchard and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Berneice.

Family will greet friends from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21 at Hamilton’s Southtown Funeral Home, 5400 SW 9^th Street, Des Moines. Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. at WDM United Methodist Church, 720 Grand Ave in West Des Moines with burial to follow at Norwalk Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be directed to Elaine’s family.

On-line condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com

Akron-Westfield boys’ track and field team prepared for the State Qualifying Meet with solid performances at the Heartland Relays held May 6 at Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn in Marcus.

A-W finished fourth as a team in the eight-team meet with 77 points.

A-W distance specialist Garrett Wall posted personal bests in finishing second to Hinton’s Drew Schlitz in both the 1,600-Meter Run with a time of 1:01.82 and 4:51.34 in the 3,200-Meter Run.

Shawn Taylor finished third for A-W as he held tough with the leaders in the 1,600-Meter Run with a time of 5:11.19.

Also finishing runner-up for A-W included the 4×100-Meter Relay team of Chance Hoffman, Cody Bosse, Daniel Beitelspacher, and Jesse Jolin.

Alex Wilken had a third-place effort for the Westerners in the High Jump with an effort of 5 feet 8 inches.

The 4×200-Relay Run team of Hoffman, Beitelspacher, Cody Bosse and Nate Sanchez was third (no time available).

The Medley Relay team of Bosse, John Wolthuizen, Nathan Sanchez and Wall had a time of 4:10.04.

Jolin was fourth in the Long Jump with an effort of 17 feet 5 inches. Devon Myers was right behind, with a fifth place effort of 16 feet 9.5 inches.

Hoffman was fifth in the High Jump with 5 feet 6 inches.

The 4×800-Meter Relay Run team of Fernando Sanchez, Kane Lininger, Spenser Wardrip and Taylor ran a time of 10:18 for fifth.

Jolin was sixth in the 100-Meter Dash with a time of 12.43 seconds.

On a great night for a track and field meet and the final meet before the girls’ State Qualifying Meet, the Lady Westerners placed sixth at the Heartland Relays hosted by Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn in Marcus May 6 with 22.5 points.

Katie Johnson gained runner-up honors in the 100-Meter Dash with a time of 14.00 seconds, edging Rylee Negaard of West Sioux’s 14.07 seconds. Haley Grenko of Hinton was first in 13.47 seconds. Robyn Peinke of the Lady Westerners was seventh in 14:34 seconds.

Brie Moffatt of A-W was eighth in the Long Jump with a leap of 11 feet 1.5 inches, tying with teammate Sarah Schroeder.

Kelsey Jackson was eighth in the Shot Put with a throw of 25 feet 3.75 inches. Kali Kreiner was 12th with a throw of 22 feet 8 inches.

Emily Miller was eighth in the High Jump at 4 feet 2 inches.

Sydney Pridie was 11th in the 100 Hurdles in 21.41.

In relays, the 4×100-Relay was third in 53.54 in a race where a new track record was set by Hinton’s 52.09. Gehlen Catholic finished ahead of the Lady Westerners with a 53.45.

The Sprint Medley Relay was fourth with a time of 2:16.04.

The Lady Westerners’ Shuttle Hurdle Relay team of Peinke, Taylor Myers, Alex Franker and Trisha Frerichs was fifth in 1:29.23.

Final girls’ meet team standings were Hinton, 158 points; MMC, 125.3; Gehlen Catholic, 115; River Valley, 82.5; Storm Lake-St. Mary’s, 39; A-W, 22.5; Spalding Catholic, 20; and West Sioux, 18.5.

A-W was at the West Sioux State Qualifying Meet on May 9.

The State Track Meet is May 16 – 18 in Des Moines.

Cory Eskra lines up his putt for the Westerners at the War Eagle Conference Meet. Cory won the top spot at the meet.

by Steve Peterson

Akron-Westfield’s Cory Eskra won the War Eagle Conference Boys Meet’s top spot as he beat Unity Christian’s Drake Wrather in a playoff.

The Westerners’ senior had a round of 78 — 41 in the first nine holes and 37 the second nine holes.

A-W finished fourth as a team at Remsen Golf Course May 6 with a score of 354.

“Cory is very capable of shooting that score. He’s a very smart golfer and his experience saves him two to three shots a round,” said A-W Boys’ Golf Head Coach Todd Colt.

Also earning All-WEC honors for the Westerners was senior Taylor James, who shot an 85 for 15th place. James had a score of 41 the front nine and 44 the back nine. The top 24 earn All-WEC honors.

Also for the Westerners at conference, Alex Foley shot 51, 50, 101; Tavian Banks shot 48, 47, 95. Kevin Carlson shot 50, 46, 96; and Dominick Foley shot 49, 48, 97.

Unity Christian won the team title with a score of 333. Hinton was runner-up with a 344 and Gehlen Catholic edged A-W for third with a 346. West Sioux was behind A-W with a 356.

In the second half of the team standings were Remsen Union, 358; Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, 360; South O’Brien, 366; Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn, 368; and Spalding Catholic, 410.

Other A-W individual scores were Tavian Banks who shot a 95; Kevin Carlson, 96; Dominick Foley 97; and Alex Foley had a 101.

Other early season games for Coach Gordy Johnson’s team are May 21 at Unity Christian in Orange City; May 22, South O’Brien, home; May 24, 5:30 p.m., at West Lyon in Inwood; May 28, at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn; May 29, Remsen-St. Mary’s, home; May 31, Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn, away; June 1, MOC-Floyd Valley tournament in Orange City, times to be announced.

Two Akron-Westfield boy golfers were named to the All-War Eagle Conference golf teams.

Taylor James was named to the First Team and Cory Eskra was named to the Second Team. Both are seniors.

In final WEC standings, the Westerners had a 6-4 dual match record. Unity Christian won the team title with an 8-2 record in a tie-breaker; Gehlen Catholic was 8-2; Hinton, Remsen Union and West Sioux were tied at 7-3. A-W was next at 6-4, followed by South O’Brien at 4-6; Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn and Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn at 3-7; Remsen-St.Mary’s, 2-8 and Spalding Catholic, 0-10.

Dana Hedlund (l) and Kayla Tindall earned All-War Eagle Conference honors for the Westerners at the golf meet in Le Mars May 7.

by Steve Peterson

Kayla Tindall and Dana Hedlund earned All-War Eagle Conference honors for the Akron-Westfield girls’ golf team, which finished fourth at the WEC Girls Golf Meet, May 7 at Willow Creek Golf Course in Le Mars.

Tindall had a score of 47 the first nine holes and 48 the second nine holes for a 95 and finished 10th overall.

Dana Hedlund had a score of 55 and 50 for a 105 total for 19th.

“Kayla’s 95 is a very good score for a course that she is not familiar with. The rest of the team should improve on Monday (May 13) due to the fact that they have played the course before. It’s different in that it is target golf with crossing the Floyd River so many times,” said A-W Coach Todd Colt.

The May 13 meet was the girls’ first round of the post-season at Willow Creek.

Last Tuesday, Katie Black turned in a 57, 53, 110 score for the third place A-W score. The next three scores were 112: Kortney Hedlund with a 57 and 55; Ryleigh Schnell, a 52 and 60, and Jacynda Banks, a 59 and 53 score.

A-W had a team score of 422 for fifth place. A-W tied Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn for fifth but won due to a better fifth individual score.

South O’Brien won the WEC title with a score of 391. Gehlen Catholic was runner-up with a score of 402, just edging West Sioux’s score of 405. Unity Christian topped A-W by 11 strokes with a 411.

A-W finished with a record of 4-4 in conference dual matches.

Girls’ WEC Standings were: Unity Christian, 8-0; Hinton, 7-1; West Sioux, 6-2; South O’Brien, 5-3; Akron-Westfield, 4-4; Gehlen Catholic, 3-5; Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn, 2-6; Spalding Catholic, 1-7; and Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, 0-8. Remsen-St. Mary’s only had one golfer.

The Lady Westerners were back at Willow Creek for the first round of the sectional tournament May 13.

Dana Hedlund shot a 100 at Willow Creek May 13 to place fifth overall and advance to the next round May 20 in Kingsley.

Taylor James lines up his putt at the sectional meet in Hinton. He shot an 83 for the team.

by Steve Peterson

Akron-Westfield boys golf team earned the third and final spot to advance from the Hinton Class 1A Sectional on May 10 at Deer Run Golf Course in Hinton.

The Westerners shot a 345 team score to finish behind winner Hinton’s 336 and runner-up Woodbury Central’s 339.

The District Meet will be May 16 at Spencer Golf Course.

On a sun-splashed Friday, A-W senior Cory Eskra gained the sectional’s third spot overall when he beat Dustan Kneip in a playoff on a third hole with a par. It was the second time this week Eskra has won a playoff situation.

A-W individual scores were Eskra, 41 first nine holes, 41 second nine holes, 82; senior Taylor James, had a 42, 41, 83; sophomore Tavian Banks shot 44, 46, 90; senior Dominick Foley shot 45, 45, 90; and junior Alex Foley had 47, 48, 95.

Team scores after A-W were Gehlen Catholic of Le Mars, 351; Lawton-Bronson of Lawton, 361; Kingsley-Pierson of Kingsley, 413; Siouxland Community Christian of Sioux City, 464.

At Spencer Coach Todd Colt’s team will be aiming for a return trip to the State Class 1A Golf Meet which will be held May 24 – 25. The Class 1A State Meet will be at Lake Panorama National Resort in Panora.

Kayla Brovold

by: Carla Robinson

student reporter

Kayla Brovold, daughter of Dale and Mistie Brovold, was born August 15, 1995.

Kayla has one sister, Melanie Davis, and three brothers, Dale Jr, Sam, and Shawn Brovold.

Kayla’s favorite sport is softball; her favorite movie is Far and Away; and she likes all music.

Kayla’s favorite childhood memory is staying out late in the summer playing with friends.

When Kayla was younger, she imagined herself as a veterinarian.

While in high school, Kayla has been involved in band, choir, and track.

Kayla’s greatest achievement so far is gettting out and participating in things like the school play.

Kayla’s most memorable moment is when her younger brother Shawn was born.

Kayla’s most embarassing moment is falling down on the ice and breaking her wrist in 6th grade.

Kayla’s favorite pastimes are reading, sports, and spending time with her family.

If Kayla could give any advice to underclassmen it would be, “Don’t slack off on homework.”

What Kayla liked most about high school was the sports and activities.

While in high school, Kayla’s favorite classes have been any math or science class because she loves math and science and wantst to go into a career based on them.

After high school, Kayla plans to take a year off to work before attending South Dakota State University.