Along Our Way
Randy Bunkers, co-owner with his wife Phyllis of the Bunkers Dunkers Bakery on the east side of the courthouse square in our county seat town of Jefferson, has just turned 60 years old. On Saturday, January 14, the Bunkerses celebrated with free ''donut holes'' – the little balls punched out of their famous glazed donuts – and free coffee for much of the morning, and the place was packed. Everybody was telling their favorite ''Bunkers Dunkers'' stories.
[FOR A STORY & THE PHOTOS IN
IN LARGER FORMAT, CLICK HERE.]
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A conversation
with the Offenburgers
Chuck Offenburger was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins follicular lymphoma cancer on July 10, 2009, had six months of chemotherapy & started a maintenance program. Carla Offenburger underwent surgery on April 26, 2010, for removal of a jaw tumor which was found to contain adenoid cystic carcinoma cancer. She underwent six weeks of follow-up radiation in June and July, 2010. Since then she has returned to good health, but she continues to have close medical observation. Two days after Carla finished radiation, Chuck noticed a pain in his left hip, and within days, a small mass near his tailbone was diagnosed as more aggressive large-cell lymphoma. In the fall of 2010, he underwent intensive chemotherapy, and had a stem cells transplant in November, with follow-up radiation in January, 2011. Since then he's been doing well, too, but continues to have regular check-ups. We post updates frequently here, including brief insights from Chuck, Carla and at least one of you readers.
“Chuck, in the past year, I’ve seen you with long hair, no hair and now this short hair. This is best.”
FOR THE LATEST UPDATE, CLICK HERE.
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What's the deal with the
black & white saddle shoes?
Click here for the story of our farm in Greene County, Iowa.
Here's looking at life
at Simple Serenity Farm
We've had very little snow so far this winter. Saturday morning, January 14, brought a reminder of just how pretty a light snow can be. Just over an inch fell in the wee hours, and the countryside was beautiful at wake-up time.
Click here for larger format
Earlier photos in this series
Chuck Offenburger's
latest book on sports
legend Gary Thompson
''GARY THOMPSON: All-American'' is the new, 352-page biography of one of the state's genuine sports icons. From 1950-'53 Gary Thompson led the Roland Rockets to high school sports glory in basketball and baseball, giant-killers from one of Iowa's small schools. Then he led the Cyclones at Iowa State from 1953-'57, becoming the college's first two-sport All-American. He's had major success in broadcasting and business, from his home base in Ames. And he and his wife Janet have a family as solid as they come. "I'm the luckiest guy around," Thompson says.
CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS
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Douglas T. Bates III, Attorney
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Along Our Way
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Head Coach Michelle Brock & her Paton-Churdan boys
are turning lots of heads in Iowa high school basketball
Officials of the Iowa High School Athletic Association say they believe Michelle Brock, 23-year-old head coach of the Paton-Churdan Rockets in west central Iowa, is the only woman coaching a high school boys basketball team this season -- and one of the few women ever to coach a boys' varsity team. The photos below show Coach Brock and her boys in action.
Coach Michelle Brock, who heads the boys' basketball program at Paton-Churdan High School in west central Iowa, is a native of Marengo in east central Iowa, and was a three-sport athlete and avid musician at Iowa Valley High School there. She graduated in music from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, and is director of vocal and instrumental music at Paton-Churdan in addition to being the boys' basketball coach.
Brock is show here in the pre-game huddle with Iowa Christian Academy Head Coach Greg Gosselink, the captains of both teams and the referees as they go over rules and hear a sportsmanship reminder.
Her House. Coach Brock (right) stands at mid-court with volunteer statistician Melinda Tilley, who is also president of the Paton-Churdan Music Boosters, as the Rockets warm-up behind them. Brock is looking to the other end of the floor, watching as the opponents, the Iowa Christian Academy Blazers, were warming up, too.
Coach Brock is the last in line to wish her starters well as they are introduced in the pre-game ceremonies.
Early in the game, Coach Brock summons Drew Campbell to the sidelines for a quick tip while a free throw is being shot on the other end of the floor.
Coach Brock takes charge in the team huddles during time outs, as this photo and the next two demonstrate.
What basketball advice is she known for? "My kids hate it, but I say 'Be intelligent' a lot," she said. "That, and I hear myself saying 'Box out!' about every other sentence."
The Paton-Churdan boys, under Coach Brock, have learned to play with a new intensity this season.
The Rockets launcher, on the bench.
Post-games always include a quick review of the statistics, in the scorebook kept during the games by Coach Brock's longtime boyfriend Phil Grant. They went to Iowa Valley High School and Buena Vista University together, and he works now in information technology at the headquarters of Casey's General Stores in Ankeny. However, "I get volunteered for a lot of things here at Paton-Churdan," Grant said. "I'm always glad to help her."
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