Obituary -- Helen Maxine Baker 1922-2012

Helen Maxine (Brooks) Baker was born to Mimalee Cox and Willie Ralph Brooks on April 10, 1922 at New Market, IA. Helen had several brothers and sisters. She was one of five -- Helen, Gladys, James, Florence, and Winiford and four step-brothers and sisters -- Edith, Cleo, Frank, and Mildred.

Helen married Aubra Guy Baker October 5, 1939. They were blessed with four children; Margaret (Merv) Moore, Wilma Konieczny (deceased), Carolyn (Tom) Baker, and Richard (Sandy) Baker.

Helen had 8 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild and many nieces and nephews. She enjoyed her family, making quilts, gardening, and feeding them all when they came to visit. Helen and Aubra traveled all over the US for over a decade. They finally settled around New Market and farmed. Then, they moved to Hopkins to farm. In 1966, they moved north of Grant City on a farm with crops, cows, and chickens. Helen was a homemaker, a woman of many chores, and hard work to be done.

They joined the Assembly of God Church in Clarinda.

Aubra had passed away so Helen and Richard had a sale in January and moved to Grant City in March. Helen then went to work for the WCCC in 1970 as a CNA. She retired after 20 years, only to go back to work for them and celebrated the runner-up award for the oldest person working. She loved all the staff and residents and felt like they were family.

She became a member of First Assembly of God in Grant City in 1982. She enjoyed the pastor and his family.

Helen passed away to be with her Lord and Savior on October 23, 2012. She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her. She was a special lady.

Funeral services were held at the Andrews Funeral Home in Grant City on Saturday, October 27, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. Pastor Len Green officiated. Interment was in the Grant City Cemetery.

Obituary -- Twilla Ellen Fletchall 1932-2012

Twilla Ellen Fletchall went to be with the Lord October 23, 2012 at her apartment in Westminister, CO after a brief illness.

She was born Febrary 7, 1932 on a farm east of Allendale to Orville and Loda (Maudlin) Fletchall. Her mother died in a house fire with Twilla was seven weeks old. Her father was badly burned getting Loda (27 years old), son Verdon (4), and baby Twilla out of the house.

Twilla's grandmother, Frances (Combs) Maudlin, who she always called Mama, raised her. Most of her young life was spent in Worth and Harrison Counties. She graduated from Hatfield High School in 1949. After graduation, she moved with her grandmother to Odessa, TX to be near her aunts, Leona and John Faustlin and Zelphia and Melvin Brantley. In Odessa, she worked for Bell Telephone Company. Sometime later, she went into full-time Christian Ministry and became a youth director for a non-denominational church. She transferred to Denver as a youth director and later church secretary until failing health brought retirement. Twilla has devoted her life to serving her Lord and Savior.

Twilla was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents Frank and Frances (Mama) Maudlin, Michael and Rebecca Fletchall, brother Verdon Fletchall, step-mother Mary Campbell Fletchall, half-brothers Mervin and Danny Fletchall, half-sister Sue Fletchall Burk, and step-brother Eldon Campbell.

Twilla is survived by sisters-in-law Judy Fletchall, Jolene Fletchall Umphry, and Saundra Campbell, nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends. She will be missed by all of us.

Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, October 31st, 2012 at the Prugh-Dunfee Funeral Home in Grant City with interment in the Fletchall Cemetery, Grant City. Memorials for Twilla will be decided later.

Six Worth County Students Make All-District Choir

Six Worth County students tried out for the All-District Choir. There were over 200 students picked to represent their district. All six students successfully made the choir. The students were Claire Andrews, Brianna Fletchall, Dakota Owsley, Shane Kollitz, Joel Kollitz, and Clayton Ross. Five out of the six performed this past weekend in Platte City.

Harry Truman -- Citizen First, Public Servant Second

Yes, Harry Truman did say that "He didn't give the Republicans hall; he just told the truth and they thought it was hell." This, according to Phillip Richmond, who spoke at the preelection Worth County Democratic Rally. Richmond is a former guide at the Harry Truman Home in Independence. It was also related that at the end of his presidency, he was the most unpopular president ever, a little-remembered fact today when both political parties claim his mantle in the area of foreign policy. Harry was unique. He considered himself a citizen first and public servant second. He actively opposed the placing of his name on what is now Truman Road in Independence. He would not approve of the names given to "Truman Dam" or "Truman State." He championed education but did not graduate from college. He loved young people and encouraged them to participate in public affairs. To him, politics was an honorable profession.

Nine from Worth County Attend FFA Nationals

Worth County FFA members recently attended the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, IN from October 23-26.  Members attending included Lane Craven, Kristen Andrews, Josh Warner, Sydney Thummel, Jared Simmons, Jake Hardy, Rikky Hunt, Danielle Funk, and Kenna Lafollette.  Local FFA members traveled with FFA members from other schools, including Stanberry, Lathrop, North Harrison, and Princeton.  During this event, students were able to partake in educational tours, as well as leadership development and FFA business meetings.  Tour sites included the Cameron Caves, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Dow Agrosciences, and the  Kelsay Dairy Farm.  In addition to convention sessions and the FFA career show, students attended activities sponsored by the National FFA Organization, including a hypnotist show and concert.  This activity provided an excellent opportunity for local FFA members to develop leadership skills and gain insight into the future of the agriculture industry and agriculture education in general.  The purpose of the National FFA Organization is to develop premier leadership, personal growth, and career success for students through agriculture education.

Anhydrous Ammonia Disaster Exercise Held in Sheridan

An anhydrous ammonia disaster exercise was held in Sheridan Saturday morning to train emergency crews on what to do in the event that an accident happens involving anhydrous ammonia. Anhydrous ammonia is very dangerous material and in the worst case, people have to be evacuated upwind from the source in the event of a major leak. Sterling Hopkins, manager of Worth County MFA, said that the first step in an ammonia accident was to call him immediately so that he could notify corporate headquarters as well as have properly trained people to work with emergency crews. Ammonia in sufficient concentrations can overpower a person in as little as 20 seconds; during the training session, a video was shown of a responding officer who didn't realize the danger of ammonia and who was killed responding to an accident in 20 seconds. Ammonia is used as fertilizer for crops; however, it must be handled carefully by properly trained personnel.

Excess pressure can result in tank failure, which means that tank volume cannot exceed 85%. It is inflammatory to skin and it is dangerous to life and health in as little as 300 parts per million. Contact lenses can make it worse because they can trap the vapor; it is inflammatory to the eyes. In an ammonia accident, the emergency response is complicated because the victims must be placed in a tank of water to flush the anhydrous ammonia and minimize the effects. Dangerous concentrations of anhydrous ammonia can extend well beyond the visible vapors and it can easily be mistaken for ordinary smoke from a fire. Releases of more than 100 pounds must be reported to state and national authorities.

In the simulated accident, a car collided with an anhydrous ammonia tank resulting in two fatalities and people being thrown from the vehicle and ammonia leaking from the tank. The new Emergency Command Center that the county has was deployed in response. Another complication in dealing with anhydrous ammonia accidents is the fact that it takes 100 gallons of water for each gallon of ammonia to be contained. Therefore, fire departments must consider alternative water sources when dealing with ammonia releases. Vehicles must be placed upwind of the ammonia, runoff water must be controlled, and contaminated water must be disposed of.

For smaller releases, emergency authorities can have people stay in homes with windows closed. However, large incidents require immediate evacuations and appropriate roads closed off so that passing motorists are not exposed. Specialized protective gear must be worn and downwind operations should not be considered unless absolutely necessary. Even if anhydrous ammonia does not release right away in an accident, it can do so later.

The exercise itself involved donning protective equipment and treating a "victim" with a broken leg. Treatment requires washing the victim's eyes for 15 minutes if the eyes were exposed. The first priority is to get victims out as soon as possible, and then deal with the anhydrous leak. The Worth County Ambulance completed training requirements for many of its members back at the firehouse, where four more "victims" were. Mary Jo Riley role-played the part of a hysterical relative frantically trying to get information about one of the victims. The Sheridan CBC hosted a lunch for the volunteers afterwards. One of the biggest areas identified was the fact that two of the radios did not work on the appropriate frequency, something that Emergency Management Director Pat Kobbe said she was glad to discover during a drill and not during the real thing.

Worth County FFA Grasslands 3rd in Districts

Worth County FFA Grasslands team recently competed at District and State level competitions.  This year’s team included Chase Thummel, Brandon Allee, Sydney Thummel and Jared Simmons.  They competed at the Northwest District Grasslands contest at the Pony Express Wildlife Reserve in St. Joseph on October 4^th.  The team placed 3rd the district competition and went on to compete at the State Grasslands contest in Ashland, MO on October 18^th.  The Grasslands contest requires students to appraise the value of grassland areas by determining soil characteristics, evaluating wildlife capabilities, identifying species of plants present, and determining suitability for beef cattle production.