Ethan Adams

Adams excited to be back at South Winn

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The 2019-2020 South Winneshiek school year officially got underway last Friday as students and teachers returned to the classrooms. While one of those teachers is new this fall to the South Winneshiek teaching roster, he is far from unfamiliar with the South Winneshiek school system.

“I am actually a 2010 graduate of South Winn and grew up in Spillville,” said Ethan Adams, the new high school special education instructor for the district. “I am looking forward to coming back to South Winn to continue my teaching career.”

While he is new to the teaching staff, Adams is quite familiar with the school in recent years as well as he has coached multiple sports for the Warriors.

Easton Halverson (left) proudly shows off his purple ribbons at the 2019 Iowa State Fair alongside Ryan Holthaus, North Fayette Valley FFA advisor. Halverson’s Fair project this year included the complete restoration of an 1850 Oliver Diesel which earned him Grand Champion status in the tractor restoration competition. (subitted photo)

Halverson's Oliver 1850 earns Grand Champion status

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

When 18-year-old Easton Halverson returned home from the 2019 Iowa State Fair, he was one happy man. After nearly a year of hard work and dedication that went into his project, Halverson returned home with a Grand Champion ribbon in the tractor restoration category after renovated 1966 Oliver 1850 diesel tractor took top honors at the Fair.

“It was really cool to see the project when I finally completed it,” said Halverson, who spent over 450 hours working on the project over a 9-month period that began in October 2018. “It was satisfying to see all of the work finally pay off!”

After earning purple ribbon honors at the 2019 Fayette County Fair, Halverson brought his tractor to Des Moines and entered it into the “1959 and Newer” division.

“There were about seven tractors in my class and they all earned purple ribbons,” explained Halverson. “I think this is the first year that every tractor in a class earned a purple ribbon, so that speaks for the quality of competition this year.”

Halverson’s prized Oliver went on to take the top honors in his class as his project displayed excellence in each of the judge’s criteria.

“You are judged on your interview with the judges, the looks of the tractor, the amount of mechanical work done on the tractor, and your overall knowledge of the tractor,” pointed out Halverson. “Going into the fair, I knew that I had a quality tractor and knew how much time and effort I spent on it, but I didn’t expect to have a shot at winning my class.”

Entertainment, activities planned for upcoming Watermelon Days

Fayette Watermelon Days will be Friday, Sept. 6 through Sunday, Sept. 8.

The event will have lots of free activities and entertainment.

Watermelon Days Committee Chair Linda Tenney said one of the newest events will be an Escape Room.

“The newest event we will be doing is an escape room this year for $5 a person for groups of five on Friday and Saturday (see times below). It's called ‘The Disappearance of Mr. George’ and will be housed on Main Street at the old dentist’s office at 143 S. Main St. We are encouraging people to register ahead of time. This will ensure a smoother transition between groups and no waiting in long lines. Payment will need to be made at the door,” Tenney pointed out.

LaVerne Bushman

     LaVerne Arthur Bushman, 95, of Ossian, Iowa died Sunday, August 18, 2019 at his home in Ossian.  He was born August 6, 1924 to Bernard and Christina (Bodensteiner) Bushman in Ossian, Iowa.  Laverne attended country school. 

     LaVerne was united in marriage with Rita Brinks on November 20, 1951 at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Ossian, Iowa.  He farmed for 32 years near Festina, chopping and filling silos for the neighbors. After the barn burnt down in 1984, LaVerne retired from farming and moved to Ossian, Iowa.  LaVerne worked as a Janitor at De Sales Catholic School in Ossian, Iowa along with his wife Rita until their retirement in 2002.  He was a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters for 75 years. LaVerne enjoyed traveling with friends, square dancing, polka, listening to Daniel O’Donnell CDs, eating pie, tinkering in his garage, was a great story teller, loved telling jokes, and watching Dr. Phil.