U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (right) gets a tour of the Rupp Air Management Systems, a division of CaptiveAire, in West Union from plant manager Aaron Ryan on Thursday, Aug. 4.

Grassley visits Rupp in West Union

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

United States Senator Chuck Grassley visited Rupp Air Management Systems, a division of CaptiveAire, on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 4.

Sen. Grassley was given a tour of the West Union facility and then took questions from approximately 65 employees in the plant’s break room.

“If you’re going to work for people in Iowa, you’ve got to know what’s on their minds,” Grassley said. “If you are going to have a representative government, you have to talk to your constituents.”

Stampede will perform after the Grand Parade at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Superheroes headed to Ossian

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

If you happen to see Batman walking through Carey’s Park or Superman strolling past the Community Center on Friday or Saturday, Aug. 12-13, do not be alarmed! Chances are that any superheroes seen around town will be partaking in this year’s Ossian Fest, the annual town celebration promoted by the City of Ossian and Ossian Crown Club.

In a prelude to the big day, a Superheroes 5K Walk/Run will be held on Friday, Aug. 12. The 5K walk/run will include prizes for best men’s and women’s times in the run, as well as a photo booth along the race route and a food and beer tent. Proceeds will go toward the Ossian Education and Performance Pavilion.

Like the country music song recorded by Trace Adkins, motorcycle enthusiast Sandy Bishop admits that her favorite color is “chrome.”

Her favorite color is 'chrome'

Janell Bradley

Contributing Writer

It’s fair to say Sandy Bishop has always loved riding motorcycles. When she was just a kid growing up near Ossian, her father, Joe Schildmeyer, wouldn’t give in to his kids’ relentless requests for a horse … telling them instead they should ride a motorcycle.

“He wasn’t into horses,” Sandy says now, a short time after her father died. “He bought my brothers bikes, and then I rode a Honda 70,” she explained.

Spending a good portion of their summer in Shkodër, Albania, Mitch Carlson and Sydney Butikofer had an incredible experience teaching English, sharing the Gospel, and forming relationships with the people of Albania. The hand gesture they are making in this photo represents the two-headed eagle on the Albanian flag. Mitch is third from the left in the middle row and Sydney is ninth from the left in the middle row.

Albania trip yields incredible summer

Brian Smith
Contributing Writer
bsmith@fayettepublishing.com

For most college students, summer usually means getting a job, hanging out with family and friends, or some combination thereof. Two Fayette County youth attending Iowa State University, however, decided to do something a little different during their summer break this year. Mitch Carlson and Sydney Butikofer, both Fayette County residents, were part of a nine-member team that traveled to Shkodër, Albania, on a two-month missionary trip that made a lasting impression on each of them.

Supervisors seek input on land purchase

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

The Fayette County Supervisors discussed purchasing land for a new Secondary Roads Maintenance Complex at their regular Monday meeting, July 25.

Back in March, the Supervisors proposed a $5 million maintenance complex that involved purchasing approximately 23 acres of land behind Bemiss Distributing for approximately $200,000. This time around, the Supervisors are considering purchasing the same area, but only approximately 17.35 acres for $160,000. They will look to bond up to $2.9 million for a new maintenance complex during the November election.

As Sanda Weidemanns 47 year cooperative employment comes to an end, one of the things she will miss the most is her coop family. Sanda enjoys her daily networking with fellow employees like Mark Wegner.

Weidemann retires after 47 years at Co-op

Janell Bradley

Contributing Writer

“Work isn’t work when you love what you do.”

That is why it is with mixed emotions that Sanda Weidemann of rural Hawkeye will retire from Viafield on July 29 with 47 years of agriculture cooperative service behind her.

After working 48 years in the Fayette County Treasurer’s Office, Velma Mosher will be retiring at the end of the week. She never applied for the position she currently holds, but was recommended by a former West Union city clerk, Paul Oelberg, back in 1968.

Courthouse 'treasure' retires Friday after 48 years

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

The longest tenured courthouse employee will be calling it quits on Friday, July 29. After 48 years in the Fayette County Treasurer's Office, Velma Mosher will be retiring.

The former Hawkeye resident is a 1968 graduate of North High School in West Union. During her senior year, she spent half her day in the West Union City Clerk’s office when it was located in the old city hall building at the corner of Plum Street and South Vine Street. There, she helped former City Clerk Paul Oelberg with clerical work. He later recommended Mosher to Fayette County Treasurer Doris Springer, who called Mosher out of the blue to come in for an interview.

Corbin highlights exciting grandsand events at fair

For the second year in a row, the Fayette County Fair will go out with a bang when Forgotten Highway and Easton Corbin take the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 30.

Pastors Ginny and Phil Olson look forward to seeing how the former First Lutheran Church will be transformed into their retirement home. The church closed in November 2012 and its membership transferred to St. Peter Lutheran in Eldorado, where Ginny Olson is pastor. (Janell Bradley photo)

Pastors to feel right at 'chome' in retirement

Janell Bradley

Contributing Writer

For two pastors who have spent much of their lives ministering to others, the decision to rehab a church where they served into an eventual retirement home seems a perfect fit.

Pastors Phil and Ginny Olson presently live in a parsonage in Eldorado, where Ginny is pastor of St. Peter Lutheran Church. Pastor Phil has been serving as interim pastor of Calmar Lutheran and Springfield since April 2012.

The couple’s adult children include a son and four daughters, and they have six grandchildren. With just one of their children living within an hour of them, the pastors knew they wanted their retirement home to offer plenty of space for overnight guests.

“We bought a house in Lanesboro a few years ago and never lived in it,” admitted Phil.

In the last couple of years, the Olsons continued to look at houses and acreages, but nothing particularly struck a chord with them.

Then the First Lutheran congregation made the tough decision to close its church on Fayette County Road W42, south of Ossian. While the members voted to join the St. Peter Lutheran congregation in Eldorado, the fate of the church structure itself was in limbo for a number of months.

Festina native Carrie Einck is a passionate occupational therapist. She began working with the STAR Institute for Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), which is a disability, in order to bring more awareness to the disorder. (Chris DeBack photos)

Einck jumps to educate medical world about SPD

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

Sensory processing disorder (SPD) is a widely misunderstood disability.

Festina native Carrie Einck is doing her best to try to change that while working at the STAR Institute for Sensory Processing Disorder in Denver, Colo. The daughter of Ken and Sue Einck, owners of Einck’s Service Station, is devoting her occupational therapy career to the research, education and awareness of the disorder.