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Rainfall above normal, but way behind 2008

June 25, 2009 By

Parts of Iowa are soaked and keep getting more rain. State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says normally, at this point in June, the statewide average rainfall total for the month is 3.72 inches. The average statewide rainfall so far in June of this year is just over five inches.

Hillaker says portions of southeast Iowa have received much more than five inches this month. While parts of far northern and western Iowa are drier than normal, Hillaker says some towns in southeast Iowa have recorded up to 10 inches of rain in June. Of course, this June is nothing like one year ago when cities and towns were buried under flood waters.

The January through June period in 2008 produced a record 24.5 inches of rain. "This year, rain totals are running about six inches less (on average) statewide than what they were a year ago," Hillaker said. Another reason Iowa’s not experiencing flooding this year is temperatures have been much warmer than they were in 2008.

"It just goes to show how cool it was a year ago," Hillaker said. "Those lower temperatures meant less evaporation and less drying going on…so, it just aggravated how wet things were." Until recently, it’s also been a quiet year for severe weather in Iowa.

Only a handful of tornadoes were reported in the state prior to Monday’s storms that sparked 12 twisters in northern and eastern Iowa. Last year, a record 105 tornadoes touched down in Iowa.

 

Filed Under: Weather

Pheasant numbers expected to rebound from record low

June 25, 2009 By

Iowa’s pheasant season mirrored the economy somewhat last year as the number of birds taken dropped to a record low. While it’s still not known if the economy has turned around, Iowa Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz says he expects some recovery for pheasant numbers.

Bogenschutz says they always watch the weather in April and May and the peak hatch time is around June 10th to the 15th. He says he didn’t like seeing the heavy rain recently, but hopes the birds will pull through the hatch okay. Bogenschutz says the winter months were key in the low harvest last year as the record snowfall killed off birds before they got to the spring.

He says this year was more normal with 32 inches of snow compared to the normal 25 inches. And he says a drier spring also helped the adult birds survive. Bogenschutz predicts more birds survived and will combine with the hatch to increase overall numbers.

Bogenschutz says he’d like to see the numbers double, but doesn’t think the rebound will be that good, and says a 20 to 40% increase in bird numbers is more likely. He says they’ll get a better picture of how well the pheasants have rebounded when the do their fall roadside survey.

He says they usually do the counts in August when the pheasant chicks are about half grown and the hens bring them to the side of the road to get out of the dew. Hunters took 383,000 pheasants in 2008, down from 630,000 in 2007 and 750,000 in 2006. You can find out more about the pheasant harvest on the D.N.R.’s website .

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation Tagged With: ,

Thousands turn out for vigil to honor slain A-P coach

June 25, 2009 By

Mourners gathered at Ed Thomas.field in Parkersburg to honor the slain coach. A candlelight prayer vigil at "Ed Thomas Field" in Parkersburg last night drew more than 2,500 people to honor the slain coach’s memory. Pastor Harlan DeJung, of the First Reformed Church of Aplington, led off the service.

"On many other occasions Ed Thomas drew us together to cheer on the Falcons and the football games, the track meets and other sporting events. And tonight Ed Thomas draws us together one more time. He draws us here because he has touched our lives. He was more than a coach, he was a friend. A friend that was a good friend to all of us," De Jung said.

DeJung says they start where he thinks Thomas would want them to start, with prayer and by listening to God speak to them with his word.

Pastor Ryan Pietet of First Baptist Church in Parkersburg, also opened with a prayer. "Lord, families and individuals were changed forever this morning and questions are being asked, and please hear them and answer them at the appropriate time," Pietet says,

"emotions of anger and frustration are high and completely understood. Yet we as your body, your beloved people, may we come to a point where we are able to work through those emotions with your counsel and care. Let us process those emotions and reach a point in our life that we can forgive."

Morners gather for service in memory of Ed Thomas. Father Dennis Quinn of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Parkersburg quoted from one of the late coach’s speeches: "Coach Thomas once said,’I've always said my job is not to prepare our kids to be college athletes. My job is to make football a learning experience and there are so many things they can learn from being part of our team, the body, that will help them be successful later in life as a father, member of a church or member of a community.

I talk about the responsibility of being a leader and the idea of being a servant and a giver. I talk about standing up to do what is right when nobody else will, and letting other players know when they are doing something wrong. I always explain the importance of being a role model, that leaders have to set the tone so others will follow.I talk about the respect that they have to gain with other young people. I tell them that everyone might not always like you but you should act in a way that they respect you’."

Some traveled dozens of miles to the event, including the entire Denver High School football team. Denver High football player Wesley Homeister says it was important to put aside the competition between the schools and show respect.

Like many others he says he’s still in shock. "Why would anyone ever want to do this to him. I’d always heard he was a great person, really nice to everyone, anyone who asked for help, he would give it. So I don’t see why anyone would anyone would want to do that," Homeister said.

AUDIO: Father Dennis Quinn at memorial service. 1:10 MP3

Filed Under: Human Interest Tagged With:

Son of slain A-P coach speaks, DCI releases more details on suspect

June 24, 2009 By

A son of the slain Aplington-Parkersburg football coach spoke moments ago at a news conference in Parkersburg, asking for prayers for the family of the man who has been charged with shooting the coach to death. Aaron Thomas described his father, Ed Thomas, as a man of deep faith.

"Many knew my father as a teacher and as a coach. I think…the thing he was most proud of was his involvement in the church as he was an elder of the First Congregational Church in Parkersburg, a man of deep faith who touched people’s lived not only on the football field," Thomas said as he stood behind a bank of microphones.

Flowers and other memorials have been placed on what years ago became known as the "Sacred Acre" — the field where Thomas led the Aplington-Parkersburg football team for 34 seasons.

"We especially thank the people of Parkersburg for their devotion to our family, all the overwhelming support of our family during this tragedy," Thomas said. "…In the midst of our grief, we are greatly appreciative of our friends and neighbors in the community of Parkersburg and the school of A.P. for all they have done for us."

Aaron Thomas is one of two sons of the 58-year-old football coach. "We also want to make sure we express our concern and our compassion for the Becker family," Thomas said. "We ask that people to pray for them as well and that people take time to comfort and be with them through this as they are also going through a lot."

Twenty-four-year-old Mark Becker of Parkersburg is charged with first-degree murder. Authorities say he walked into the weight room on the high school grounds and shot coach Thomas with a handgun.

"God always has a reason. At this time it’s very tough for us to understand that," Aaron Thomas said this afternoon. "But with the timing, getting through the tornado, the things he was able to do here in the rebuilding process, with the many young people he’s touched, the fellow faculty members he’s touched, and the many coaches he’s worked with, I know that my father’s legacy not only though those people, but my brother and myself and my three boys, will live on."

Aaron Thomas said this to close. "without a doubt we’re going to miss him. We will have many great memories to share and to think back upon as we were lucky to have the father we had for the 58 years that he lived and, for me, the 30 years he was my father," Aaron Thomas said. "I feel very fortunate to be the son of Ed Thomas."

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation also released a statement this afternoon on the events involving law officers leading up to the shooting:

Saturday, June 20, 2009 at 9:30 p.m. Mark Becker led authorities on a high speed chase that began in Cedar Falls after allegedly breaking into a man’s house. Parkersburg Police located Becker and he attempted to elude officers at that time. At the conclusion of the pursuit he was taken into custody by law enforcement.

During the early morning of June 21, 2009 law enforcement determined that Becker needed medical attention and was transported to Covenant Hospital in Waterloo, Iowa. Law enforcement requested prior notification before Becker was released. On Tuesday, June 23, 2009, after being released from the hospital, Becker spent the night at his parents’ residence in rural Parkersburg.

Law enforcement was unaware that Becker had been released. On Wednesday, June 24, 2009, Becker arrived at the Aplington-Parkersburg High School, entered the weight room and shot Ed Thomas multiple times. Approximately 20 students were in the weight room when the shooting occurred.

At 7:47 a.m. a 9-1-1 call was made notifying authorities of the shooting. After shooting Ed Thomas, Becker left the scene in a 1991 Blue Chevy Lumina and was located by Butler County Sheriff Jason Johnson in the driveway of his parents’ residence. He was taken into custody without incident.

If anyone has additional information on Mark Becker’s activities prior to him entering the Parkersburg High School weight room or immediately following the shooting, please contact the Butler County Sheriff’s Office at 319-267-2410.

 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With:

Colleagues remember Ed Thomas as a shinning example

June 24, 2009 By

Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas was shot to death early this morning. The shooting happened in the team’s weight-training room. Aplington-Parkersburg superintendent Jon Thompson describes the coach as a pillar of the community.

"He was a strong man, he stood for so many things, and he has been quite an icon for us for a number of years," Thompson says. And he says Thomas has been the face of the community since the tornado hit last year.

High school principal Dave Meyer says the entire community is numb. Meyer says hundreds of students gathered outside the elementary building, along with former students and athletes and all are in shock. Meyer says he was notified moments after the shooting.

Meyer says he got a call from the custodian and came over and had to take care of kids. He says by the time he got into the building Thomas was laying on the floor, and he calls it a "horrible situation" for the kids to go through.

Ed Thomas was popular with his colleagues. Jim Dunne is the head coach at Grinnell High School and served with Thomas on the board of directors of the Iowa Coaches Association. Dunne says it’s a terrible tragedy for the family and the community of Parkersburg and the whole state of Iowa.

Dunne says Thomas was admired for the way he coached as he cared a great deal about kids and the fraternity of coaches. He says Thomas as always willing to give and come and hold demonstrations.

Thomas attended William Penn College. Grinnell city councilman Larry Wilson was his roommate for three years. Wilson says, "Trying to make any kind of sense of this, it just ain’t gonna happen. Because there absolutely wasn’t any better man that I have ever met."

Wilson says Thomas was much more than just a football coach, he was a great educator and he says he’s sure just as good a father and husband as there ever would be. Thomas attracted national recognition after a tornado devastated the town in May of 2008. The rebuilt football stadium is named in his honor.

Bud Legg of the Iowa High School Athletic Association says Thomas was a rock of the community in helping rebuild. He met Thomas at his first coaching stop at Northeast Hamilton High School and says he was always friendly and courteous.

Legg says that carried over to the positive manner in which he treated people and the way they treated him. Legg says Thomas "embodied everything that good teachers and good coaches should be about."

 Legg says Thomas was beloved by his peers, and never put himself above others and never above his team other than to lead them onto the field.

People across the state from football coaches to politicians reacted to Thomas’ death. See those reactions at the Radio Iowa Blog .

(Also contributing to this story are: Bob Fisher KRIB Mason City, John Martenson KGRN Grinnell, Darin Svenson KDEC Decorah)

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

Peregrine falcon revival celebrated

June 24, 2009 By

Bird watchers gathered at the state capitol today to celebrate the growing number of peregrine falcons in the state. Peregrines can reach speeds of 200 miles an hour, making it the fastest animal in the world.

But Pat Schlarbaum , a wildlife technician for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says use of the pesticide D.D.T. helped wipe out the local population.

"If you can only imagine the peregrine falcon more than just scarce, it was completely wiped out from the Missouri River to the east coast," he says. "The last known nesting was about 1965; probably the last successful nesting might have been 1956." Iowa joined other states in trying to protect nesting sites in order to reintroduce the birds to the state.

"From the time that we started in 1989 when there were just a handful, seven or eight nesting pairs north of us in Minnesota, this year we documented 13 nesting pairs," he says. "Probably as many as 24 young." The long-winged birds which are roughly the size of crows have recently been taken off the state’s endangered species list.

Instead, the birds are classified as a "special concern" for state officials. "Birds like peregrines, you know, in a way they kind of sell themselves. We’re all enamored and can fully appreciate their flying prowess," Schlarbaum says. "There’s a lot of other endangered species that maybe don’t quite get this sort of airplay."

Peregrines are typically cliff-dwellers, but the Iowa D.N.R. has established several peregrine falcon nests in urban settings, including the Alliant Energy generating station near Ottumwa, the U.S. Bank in Cedar Rapids, MidAmerican’s headquarters in Davenport and the statehouse in Des Moines.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation Tagged With:

National Work Zone Memorial in Iowa today

June 24, 2009 By

Motorists who stop at the southbound I-35 rest area near Story City today will see a reminder of why you should pay attention when you see orange work zone signs. Mark Bortle from the Iowa Department of Transportation’s construction office explains what motorist will see.

It’s the "Nation Work Zone Memorial" from the American Traffic Safety Services Association which symbolizes the lives of people across the nation that have died in highway work zones.

Bortle says nearly two dozen Iowans are on the list. Bortle says there’s 23 Iowa names out of a total of 1,340 names, and the names include both workers and motorists who have lost their lives in Iowa. Bortle says the warning about work zones takes on even more meaning this summer.

He says they will have about twice as much roadwork this year because of the federal stimulus and state I-Jobs program, which he says will create more chances for people to be injured or killed in work zones. Bortle says the memorial is reminder that not paying attention to a work zone can be fatal for workers and motorists.

Bortle says they recommend that motorist obey and watch work zone signs. He says workers are one to two feet away from vehicles traveling 55 miles-an-hour, and you should watch for them and be courteous.

The Nation Work Zone Memorial will be on display at the I-35 rest area until seven o’clock tonight. It is the first time the memorial has been displayed in Iowa since it was created in 2002.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters Tagged With: ,
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