Moore retires from Panora Fiber
Special to the Times Vedette
Mike Moore officially parked the Ditch Witch and hung up his hat after 25 years with Panora Fiber. He was honored for his years of employment at his retirement celebration on Sept. 30.
ACGC Homecoming Court
The 2025 ACGC Homecoming Court includes (front row) Savannah Akers, Allie DeWitt, Lucy Knutter, Karli Kautzky, Camdyn Richter and Irelyn Wirt. Back row: Brexton Schneider, Tommy Skram, Xander Harwood, Joe Crawford, Carter Richter and Jack Sheeder.
By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
The ACGC Homecoming Court was announced this week during a Monday pep rally at the high school.
Today, at 2:15 p.m., the homecoming parade will travel through Guthrie Center followed by a pep rally and tailgate event at the stadium. At 7 p.m., the Chargers host Central Decatur in varsity football.
On Saturday, homecoming festivities wrap-up with the homecoming dance from 8-10 p.m.
Cribbage results from Oct. 1
Special to the Times Vedette
On Oct. 1, Robert Klever got an 18; Chet Vaughan and Wayne Nickel each got a 16; Lela Schwartz got a 17; Dan Webb had a 21; Dick Ellis had a 16 and a 17; and Rhonda Titus had a 24.
The Guthrie Center cribbage players generally meet at Guthrie Center Library, 400 Grand St., on Mondays at 8 a.m. and at the New Homestead independent living dining hall, 2306 State St., at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays and at 1 p.m. on Fridays. Organizers say there is always room for more, and they will be glad to teach you how to play. They play for quarters on Wednesday and Friday.
Lake Panorama lowering begins
Special to the Times Vedette
The Lake Panorama Association started lowering the lake level on Oct 1 to perform scheduled maintenance on the dam and will be incrementally lowering the lake over a span of 10 to 15 days to reach 5 feet below normal pool elevation. This is the result of a routine inspection conducted in December 2024 that revealed wear on hydraulic cylinders that have been in service for 20 years.
LPA management says repairs will include cylinder replacement and other minor improvements to hydraulic lines and the spillway. The Weitz Company, which handled the previous replacement of the dam cylinders, was awarded the contract with engineering support from Shive-Hattery.
While lake use is not prohibited during the drawdown, LPA strongly discourages boating due to exposed underwater hazards.
The lake drawdown will also impact downstream users of the Middle Raccoon River, as river flow will exceed seasonally normal levels. This will continue until the lake has been lowered by 5 feet, which should take 10 to 14 days. Recreational users, especially kayakers and fisherman, are advised to exercise caution during this time. For questions about safe flow levels and river access points, LPA recommends contacting Guthrie County Conservation for guidance. Guthrie County Conservation manages public entry and exit locations along the river and is a resource on responsible use of the Middle Raccoon River.
Flow in the Middle Raccoon River will be variable depending on the phase of the project and rainfall that occurs. LPA management says they will continue to discharge water to ensure the minimum required flow will be met, or exceeded, at all times and that they are committed to meeting all Iowa Department of Natural Resources guidelines for minimum outflow to ensure uninterrupted operations for the City of Panora’s potable water treatment facility and the protection of aquatic life that exists downstream.
LPA management says the timeline for refilling the lake will depend on rainfall received within Lake Panorama’s watershed, noting that they cannot forecast if the lake will freeze at normal pool level or at a lowered level. They stated confidence in projecting that the lake will return to full pool level prior to the 2026 boating season. If the lake freezes below normal pool level, LPA says that level will be maintained throughout the winter and until the ice has melted from the lake.
Those with questions are encouraged to contact the LPA Office via email at lpa@lakepanorama.org.
Terry Tausz keeps the music alive
Terry Tausz owns two full-size jukeboxes and dozens of miniatures.
Panora resident’s collection includes dozens of miniature jukeboxes and two full-size classics.
By Rich Wicks | Panora Times, October 2025
The purpose of any museum is to keep something “alive” and available for people to experience in the coming years/decades/centuries. Terry Tausz of Panora is passionate about keeping the classic rock and roll music of the 1950s and 1960s alive, and he has accumulated a massive collection of music records, juke boxes, concert posters and other memorabilia.
Tausz explained that his first collection was sports cards and sports autographs, which he accumulated during his junior high and high school years. Tausz spent much of his life in the Rock Rapids area.
During his working years, Tausz was a teacher and volleyball coach. He is now retired and living in Panora to be closer to his daughter, Michelle Recker, and her family. Terry’s wife, Patty, passed away earlier this summer.
As a lifelong fan of early rock and roll music, Tausz gradually began amassing memorabilia from 1950s and 1960s rock and roll performers. His collection now includes records (45s and LPs), band T-shirts, guitars and jukeboxes.
Despite the wide array of music memorabilia Tausz has accumulated, he downplays his collection as just a fun hobby.
“Another guy and I have about 35 signed guitars. Four or five of them are country performers, but the rest are rock and roll,” Tausz said. “I don’t consider myself to be much of a collector. What I’ve got is pretty much small peanuts compared to some collectors. I tend to be a little choosy about what I buy, and I don’t have enough room to display all of the things I have.”
Tausz also collects posters.
“My all-time favorite poster is this Wes Reynolds poster,” Tausz said while holding up the unique poster of the musician.
In the mid-1960s, as rock and roll music was catching on in America, musicians strived to find their niche. Reynolds performed with a band known as The Bloodthirsty Executioners. This may have been a precursor to performers such as Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper, who later used morbid or demonic imagery and costumes to catch the audience’s attention.
Tausz recalled Reynolds’ music and stage presence.
“He’s like Jerry Lee Lewis. He had a couple of different groups. He had the Bloodthirsty Executioners, and he had the House Rockers,” Tausz said. “I guess when he’d play with the Bloodthirsty Executioners, they’d come out in black, with hoods on, looking like they were ready to chop someone’s head off.”
The most unusual part of Tausz’s collection is his jukeboxes. He has dozens of miniature jukeboxes and two full-size classic jukeboxes. One is a 1968 Wurlitzer Americana, while the other is a 1973 Rock-Ola 450. Both jukeboxes still work, and Tausz aims to keep it that way.
“The advice I’ve always gotten from two friends who work on these things is, ‘Play them, play them, play them,’ ” he said. “You need to play them all the time, because the longer they sit, the harder it is on them. I try to play mine every day.”
The Wurlitzer holds 100 45-rpm records (singles) and plays them vertically, while the Rock-Ola holds 80 and plays them horizontally.
Tausz recalled when his first jukebox needed repair, and he was given the contact information for a gentleman who had experience doing so. The two became friends and ended up buying a number of vintage jukeboxes, which they would clean, repair and bring back into working order. They would then offer them for sale to others who wanted to have a nostalgic way to hear early rock and roll.
“We sold a lot of jukeboxes,” Tausz said.
Tausz has amassed many autographed items, including T-shirts, posters and photos. Many collectors have a “Holy Grail” item that they strive to find. For Tausz, he fulfilled that quest years ago.
“That is the Wes Reynolds poster. It’s from about 1965 or 1966,” Tausz said. “To me, that was my Holy Grail.”
Tausz said he is not actively seeking to add to his collection, but he occasionally finds something he wants, or friends will give items to him.
Because of his love of classic rock and roll, Tausz was invited by a friend to become a board member for the South Dakota Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Tausz has never been a musician, so he wasn’t sure at first if he wanted to accept the offer.
“He had been asking me for about six months when I finally agreed to do it. I finally looked at it as one way that I could help keep the music alive. That was important to me,” Tausz said. “I was an active board member from October 2008 to August of 2014. That is a time that I wouldn’t trade for anything.” n
Terry Tausz’s Wurlitzer jukebox plays records vertically.
Terry Tausz has a signed poster from a scary-sounding mid-1960s band.
The Rock-Ola jukebox still works as if it were brand new.
The inside of the 1973 Rock-Ola jukebox is a thing of beauty.
Guthrie County Supervisors approve plan for P28 road improvement
By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
During the Sept. 30 meeting of the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors, County Engineer Josh Sebern shared his recommendations for the P28 Road project between Panora and Stuart.
Sebern explained that he suggests widening the road from Monteith to Stuart to the 26-foot paved width, which would add 2 feet of paved shoulder on each side of the road. He explained that the lanes would remain at their current width, but the paved shoulder would allow for rumble strips at the outside stripe, resulting in increased safety. He noted that P28 is the second-busiest road in Guthrie County.
“My thought is widening Stuart to Monteith, and that being the primary focus,” Sebern said. “From Monteith north, we handle that through maintenance and through other funds.”
Sebern explained that if the supervisors agree with this plan, the project will likely go out for bids in January or February of 2026 with an expected start date in or around August 2026.
The supervisors unanimously approved Sebern’s recommendation.
Sheriff Matt Harmann provided a departmental update.
“Since January, we’ve kept overtime to a bare minimum. There’s been not much at all,” Harmann said. “Calls for service looks like it will be up slightly from last year.”
Regarding calls for service, Harmann said the department totaled approximately 3,500 in 2024 but is ahead of that pace so far in 2025.
“Right now, we’re around 2,700, so it’s looking like it’ll be slightly higher,” Harmann said. He reported no significant new trends noted in the calls for service.
Harmann said the jail is continuing to see consistent occupancy.
“Things are going smooth in the jail,” Harmann said.
Harmann reported on the jail’s usage through the first six months of this year. He said 264 prisoners were admitted with 147 being Guthrie County residents and 117 out of county.
Supervisor Brian Johnson asked about the Sheriff’s department’s dogs. Harmann said the department has two canines, and he hopes that each can continue to serve for another four years or so.
The supervisors meet regularly on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. The public is welcome to attend in person or via remote technology. To join remotely, call 323-792-6123, then use meeting code 547029216#