Events raise money for cancer

Communities around Iowa are holding local events to raise money for cancer research through the “Relay for Life” program. In Creston, they’ll make today’s (Friday’s) cattle auction a special event, as auction-barn owner Tom Frey says he’s joined with a local businessman to donate a calf.The regular cattle auction’s this Friday and starting about 1 P.M., they’ll purchase a calf out of some consignment and sell it — and resell it, as many times as somebody’s there to buy it. Frey says the event’s all in fun, a way of turning a local routine into a shared project for a good cause. It’s something everybody can get involved in, as they stop by and bid on the calf and donate a little bit. Frey says everybody gets an opportunity to “donate to every cause in town,” but to help one you believe in is an honor, he says, and a pleasure. Frey says his own father died of leukemia, and adds that in talking with people, it seems everyone’s life has been touched by a loss to cancer. He’ll partner with businessman Dave Reick, owner of the local radio station (KSIB), to buy the calf and auction it as many times as they can Friday afternoon, to raise money for the cause. Another event, the Southwest Iowa Relay for Life in Creston will be in two more weeks, as local volunteers take turns walking round and round the track all night at the high-school football field.