Stories from Tuesday, August 19, 2008

After lengthy discussions at two previous city council sessions, followed by a meeting with Dr. Tom Beall of Homestead Small Animal Practice, Monday night the Spencer City Council passed the final filing of an amended amendment dealing with unrestrained vicious animals in public...

BEIJING -- Jenny Barringer earned a ninth place finish in the first ever final of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad on Sunday, besting the American record with a time of 9 minutes, 22.26 seconds. A University of Colorado senior and the 21-year-old granddaughter of Spencer residents Robert and Delores Barringer, Jenny surpassed the former record of 9:22.73, which she held, by 0.47 seconds. This performance caps off her 2008 track and field season...

BEIJING (AP) -- Defending Olympic champions Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor of the United States will play for another gold medal after advancing to the beach volleyball championship game with a straight-sets victory over Brazil. The Americans beat Renata and Talita 21-12, 21-14 for their 107th consecutive victory on Tuesday, clinching at least a silver medal. The United States has now reached the podium in all four Olympic tournaments since beach volleyball was added to the games in 1996...

BEIJING -- The U.S. Olympic team put away Dirk Nowitzki and Germany in a hurry. Next up: the only team so far these Americans couldn't blow out. After destroying Germany 106-57 on Monday, the Americans (5-0) move on to a quarterfinal matchup Wednesday against Australia, the team that's provided them with their toughest test in China...

A half-dozen local athletes were recognized for their on-the-field softball performances earlier this off-season with three Spencer players, two Okoboji girls and Sioux Central ace Brooke Scharn earning All-District honors in their respective classes...

NEW YORK -- Crude prices settled below $113 a barrel for the first time in over three months Monday as Tropical Storm Fay steered clear of oil-producing infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell 90 cents to settle at $112.87 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier rising as high as $115.35. ...

NEW YORK -- Gold prices rebounded Monday, pushing back above $800 an ounce as investors went bargain buying after the metal's massive sell-off last week. Silver also rose. In other commodities, crude oil fell below $113 a barrel as Tropical Storm Fay headed for Florida but stayed away from major oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico...

As I stand at the kitchen sink, doing my dishes, an apple tree stands right in my line of view in our pasture. It's loaded down with fruit, limbs nearly touching the ground under the burden of the red-tinted apples. My mind goes back to the spring we planted that tree, and the tradition we began that August, taking a photo of our proud kindergartener, ready to catch the bus for his first day of school...

PARKERSBURG -- Ruth Haan and Janet Johnson want to keep the memories of their town alive. Memories fade -- even those of the May 25 tornado that destroyed some 200 homes and businesses in the southern third of Parkersburg. These two grandmothers want to document every detail...

BOSTON -- Parents, don't put away those video games just yet -- today's gamer may be tomorrow's top surgeon. Researchers who gathered in Boston for the American Psychological Association convention detailed a series of studies suggesting video games can be powerful learning tools -- from increasing younger students' problem-solving potential to improving the suturing skills of laparoscopic surgeons...

PHOENIX -- More than 250 residents and tourists have evacuated an American Indian village in a remote, scenic offshoot of the Grand Canyon after weekend flooding that wrecked trails and nearly washed away some river rafters in the rugged gorge. Helicopters on Monday ferried 85 people out of the Havasupai tribal village of Supai, about 2,300 feet below the canyon rim, said Gerry Blair, a spokesman for the Coconino County Sheriff's Department. ...

GORI, Georgia -- Russia said Monday it had begun withdrawing from the conflict zone in Georgia, but it held fast to key positions and sent some of its troops in the opposite direction -- closer to the Georgian capital. Russian troops and vehicles roamed freely around the strategically located central city of Gori, Russian forces appeared to blow up the runway at a military base in the western town of Senaki...

The Iowa Great Lakes Region Antique Automobile Club will be on display through Sunday, Aug. 24 at the Southpark Mall in south Spencer. Car enthusiasts and history buffs will enjoy this display. On Aug. 24 The Hands of Harmony Swinging Seniors will be entertaining us at 2:30 p.m. Come enjoy the display and entertainment...

Services for Roger E. Miller, 63, of Ruthven, were held Monday, Aug. 18, 2008, at United Methodist Church of Ruthven. Rev. Roger Maize officiated. Interment took place at Crown Hill Cemetery of Ruthven. Roger passed away Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008, at his home...

Funeral services for Mr. Benner Anthony Decker, 85, of Spencer, will be held at 1:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008, at Grace United Methodist Church of Spencer. Rev. Chuck Kellogg will officiate the service. There will be no visitation. A private burial will take place at Okoboji Cemetery in Arnolds Park at a later date...

DES MOINES -- Key lawmakers said Monday the chances for a special legislative session to deal with flooding issues is no better than 50-50. A special session wouldn't be held until mid-September, after a panel appointed by Gov. Chet Culver issues its recommendations for flood relief legislation...

Arts on Grand and Carey's Electronics, cosponsors of the popular foreign film series Films for the Cinematically Disadvantaged, will be offering movie lovers a unique film experience as they take their film series "to the park" this Friday, August 22. This series will be offering an outdoor film showing at Westview Memorial Park, also known as the Flower Park, located in the 900 block of West 9th Street, just west of Johnson School in Spencer...

Those entering the basement of Hope Reformed Church will soon be greeted by a new mural declaring it a space designed for "Kingdom Kids." The kindergarten-through-sixth-grade area then transforms into a castle, complete with freshly-painted classrooms and moral-themed windows overlooking a courtyard...

During Saturday's preliminary adult street run competition at Extreme Am V in Spencer East Leach Skate Park, Nick Curry demonstrated not only his skateboarding talent, but his juggling talent as well. Performing a manual across the flatland at the skate park, balancing on a pair of boards, Curry began juggling three pieces of curb candy. ...