Special to the Times Vedette

Tori’s Angels Foundation invites the community to enjoy breakfast and support a cause on Sunday, June 22 at the Panora Community Center from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The organization will have eggs, bacon, pancakes and drinks at its annual Tori’s Angels free-will offering breakfast benefit and silent auction. 

The annual breakfast celebrates the foundation’s first breakfast in 2010 for then-5-year-old Tori Heckman who needed heart surgery in Boston. The subsequent foundation was named for the 800 attendees who so generously donated money for Tori’s surgery and proved themselves to be “Tori’s Angels.” The breakfast has been held annually since that time, except during the pandemic.

“Tori turned 19 last year, so she has graduated from the foundation, but she will always be one of our kids,” Julie Dent-Zajicek, president of the board for Tori’s Angels Foundation, says. “Since that first breakfast, the foundation has accepted 182 children with life-threatening illnesses.”  

Eleven of the foundation’s sponsored children reside or have resided in Guthrie County and will be honored at the event: Tori Heckman, the foundation’s namesake, Emma Reinhart of Panora, Emma King of Coon Rapids, Finley Jesko of Guthrie Center, Grace Webner of Panora, Sammy Beal, who now lives in Greenfield, Ayden Wood of Menlo, Aroyal McGregory of Panora, and Morgan Sheeder of Guthrie Center.

“Our beloved Libbie Ashworth of Panora passed away earlier this year, but her family is important to us and will always be a part of Tori’s Angels,” Dent-Zajicek says. “We feel the same way about the family of Noah Stein, who was also from Guthrie County and passed away in 2011.”

All of the foundation’s sponsored families have been invited to this annual benefit and may attend, depending on their respective child’s health. Attendees appreciate knowing that every dollar donated at the benefit breakfast goes directly toward helping the families that Tori’s Angels supports.

The silent auction will end at noon and features several one-of-a-kind items donated by local businesses and individuals. Winning bidders are urged to be present at noon to claim their items. Bidding on items will be different than in the past. Volunteers will be on hand to help attendees log-on through their phones to bid, and bidders can easily put in a maximum bid, then be alerted if or when they’ve been outbid.

Donations are needed to help the foundation’s sponsored children. Any Panora or Guthrie Center residents wishing to donate items to the silent auction are asked to contact JoAnn Alumbaugh: joann@torisangels.org.

Tori’s Angels Foundation raises funds to help the families of their supported children with life-threatening medical conditions. It pays medical expenses not covered by insurance from the date of sponsorship (sometimes even before the child is born) until the child’s 19^th birthday. This includes travel expenses to treatment (airfare, mileage, hotel, meals), as well as approved prescriptions, medical co-pays and deductibles. The foundation depends on the generosity of community “angels” to help relieve the financial burden for these families.

Anyone who is unable to attend the benefit and would like to help Tori’s Angels children is invited to send donations to the foundation at P.O. Box 186, Panora IA 50216. Online donation options are located on the Tori’s Angels website, www.torisangels.org and on Facebook, www.facebook/torisangels/. Supporters are encouraged to follow the Tori’s Angels Facebook page to receive regular updates on the children. Be sure to put Saturday, Sept. 13 on your calendar for the annual Tori’s Angels gala at the Guthrie County Fairgrounds. The theme this year is “Angels Under the Big Top.”

For more information about Tori’s Angels, visit the foundation’s website. To request an application for support, contact Tori’s Angels through its website, by calling 641-755-2011 or by emailing admin@torisangels.org.  

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

On Sunday, June 22, Guthrie Center’s First Presbyterian Church will celebrate its 150^th anniversary, and the public is invited to attend.

The celebration will begin at 10 a.m. with a church service including special music and the confirmation of a new church member. After the service, a light lunch will be served. A public reception will be held from 1-3 p.m.

Church history shows that the first steps toward creating a Presbyterian Church in Guthrie Center occurred in September 1874 with the church actually beginning on May 9, 1875, with four members. The first Presbyterian church building in town was on the corner of Fourth and Prairie Streets. A new church was built in 1913 at the current location.

One current ministry of the church is a food pantry to feed needy persons in the area. There are no qualification requirements.

“If there’s a need, we try to fill it,” church member George Hemmen said.

The church also operates WASP (Wednesday After School Program) for kids from the community.

The church is located at 701 State St. in Guthrie Center. The pastor is Jolene James.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

If you enjoy classic cars, trucks and motorcycles, this weekend has an event you should not miss. On Saturday, June 21, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the annual Lakeside Village car show will be held at 2067 Highway 4 in Panora.

Special to the Times Vedette

More than 8,000 students at the University of Iowa were named to the dean’s list for the 2025 spring semester including the following:

• Grant Caltrider of Stuart (50250)
• Brix Carstens of Bagley (50026)
• Hayden Coffman of Guthrie Center (50115)
• Zoey Hambleton of Guthrie Center (50115)
• Kaitlin Kent of Panora (50216)
• Kiersten Knobbe of Guthrie Center (50115)
• Anna Lauritsen of Guthrie Center (50115)
• Beverly McKenna of Redfield (50233)
• Avery Norman of Stuart (50250)
• Tanner Oswald of Coon Rapids (50058)
• Angel Poldberg of Panora (50216)
• Justin Reinhart of Guthrie Center (50115)

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

Ashley Smith, president of the Adair Chamber of Commerce, shared details on the Chuckwagon Days celebration in Adair, set for today through Sunday, June 22. 

The celebration offers something for everyone, including food and drink, parades, contests, games, live music, 5K and one-mile races, vendors, a tractor show, kids’ activities and bingo. Details on the schedule can be found on the Facebook page of the Adair Chamber of Commerce at www.facebook.com/adairiachamber.

“This year is the 70^th annual celebration of Chuckwagon Days. With that, we decided to run with a 1970s theme to make things fun,” Smith said. “What’s new this year includes a foam party, arcade trailer, pickleball tournament, BBQ battle, alcohol tent, live music both nights, shortening the parade route and many vendors at the Community Center.”

Smith pointed out that the ongoing downtown construction project has led to a centralizing of this year’s Chuckwagon Days events.

“The biggest difference for this year is the vast majority of activities will be held at the park, with the exclusion of fire department meals and rides, Methodist church meal, parade and pickleball tournament,” Smith said. “With the construction on our Main Street, we are trying to keep the festivities in one place.”

Smith added a suggestion regarding parking.

“Visitors can park at the DOT station (300 Hillcrest, near the water tower) or near the fire department (505 Fifth St.),” she said. “We will have two shuttle golf carts helping people get to and from the park. We do ask people to keep all motorized vehicles out of the park.”

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

During the June 18 meeting of the Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center school boards, Superintendent Josh Rasmussen summarized the first reading of the proposed Student Use of Personal Electronic Device Policy. He explained that the policy closely follows the new state law.

“As many of you are aware, we have a law that we have to follow now,” Rasmussen said. “What it’s going to outline is basically what the law states, that it’s going to look at instructional time as defined by periods of classroom instruction from the beginning-of-class bell until the end-of-class bell. That’s what the law states.”

Rasmussen added that schools are able to make a policy that is more restrictive but not less restrictive. He also said some exceptions may be allowed, such as if a student needs to use a device for diabetic monitoring, or if a student needs to use a device as a language interpreter.

High School Principal Brian Sauser said he wants to make sure staff members are able to spend their time on teaching and are not excessively burdened with having to “police” the use of electronics.

Rasmussen updated the board members on the status of ACGC’s athletic conference in light of some changes in membership.

“In recent weeks, Woodward-Granger was accepted into the conference they were applying for, and Des Moines Christian was added to the Hawkeye Conference,” Rasmussen said. “The rest of us remain committed to remaining in the West Central Valley Conference.”

Per the recommendation of Sarah Sheeder, the boards approved using the auditing firm of Nolte, Cornman and Johnson, PC. She said this firm has significant experience in auditing for Iowa school districts.

Principal Ed Den Beste said the roofing project at the junior high building is expected to be completed in the next few weeks. He also reported on a water leak behind the bus garage and said it will be repaired as soon as a crew is available.

Guthrie Center board member Kris Langgaard told of driving the track team to and from the state track meet and his experience of being at the state meet.

“That was a lot of fun. The kids were focused and ready to run,” he said.

Curriculum Director Karla Mahaffey reported on scores from ISASP (Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress), which assesses students in grades 3-11. She added that comparison to statewide averages will be available in August.

“Overall, we are going in the right direction,” Mahaffey said.

The ACGC Booster Club golf outing and dinner is set for Saturday, July 26. The golf tournament will begin at 9 a.m. and is a four-person best shot format.

The next regular meeting of the Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center school boards is set for Wednesday, July 16 at 7 p.m. at the ACGC High School Media Center. The public is welcome.