The Courier from Waterloo, Iowa • 3

GElEi VALLEV THURSDAY JUNE 14, 2007 A3 THE COURIER WATERLOO www.wcfcourier.com CEDAR FALLS STORY TIP? CALL 291-1445 or e-mail nancy.newtioflwcfcourier.com Nurses' Aide Olympics a success with nursing assistants ttt -1 i CALLTHE COURIER Questions concerning issues are taken on a special Courier phone line at 234-3566 Questions are answered by Courier stil arid staff 1 Hie Waterloo Public Litnary. nt 1 t- I i irv i raw. 1 1 By AMANDA HOLMES Courier Correspondent WATERLOO Spirits were flying high and so were bedpans as certified nursing assistants were honored at the first Nurses' Aide Olympics Wednesday at Hawkeye Community College. Teams of six from Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Chickasaw, Grundy, Fayette, Floyd and Tama counties put their balloon shaving, bed racing, and bedpan tossing skills to the test "It was a definite success," said Victor Palmer, assistant program manager for long-term care at Hawkeye Community College, "Everyone went away laughing. We had a blast" Palmer wanted to give CNAs a well-deserved pat on the back for all they do.

And he should know he was a CNA at the beginning of his career. "They really are the eyes and ears of the nurses," Palmer said. "They know the residents better than anyone in the building and need to know there are people who really appreciate what they do." Planning for the Olympics has been in the works since March in conjunction with Nurses' Aide Day. June 14. The 60 CNAs had a choice of two event times, one from 7 a.m.

to noon, and another from 3 to 7 p.m. to accommodate their different shifts. The events included the wheelchair obstacle course Ln.iL RICK CHASE Courier Stall Photographer The Harmony House CNA team steers a hospital bed through an obstacle course at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo Wednesday. and meet other CNAs." Palmer already was talking about future competitions. "We hope to plan it next year so the residents of these places will come and watch," he said.

Roth agrees it should become an annual event. "Absolutely. We need that camaraderie." Contact Amanda Holmes at newsroomwdcourier.com. with their team's name on it Palmer was overwhelmed by the response of local businesses and the amount of donations. "1 was shocked happily," Palmer said.

Even without the prizes, the CNAs were just happy to be there. "We absolutely love it" Sunrise Hill CNA Valerie Roth said. "We get to practice our skills chair." The competition was followed by a dinner provided by the college. The winners of each event received gift certificates from local restaurants. The grand prize for each of the overall winners was a $10 gift certificate to Jack Arnie's Steak House in Janesville, a canvas tote from Martin Brothers Distributing and a traveling plaque race, the bed race obstacle course, the bedpan toss, blindfolded feeding, the weighted walker race, balloon shavings and one-handed bed making.

The events were timed. "The (most fun) event to watch was the wheelchair races," said volunteer and Hawkeye employee Tracy Schmidt. "You worried someone was going to flip out of the to a Relay for Life teams ready for all-night walk re DSIO CHI RELAY FOR LIFE C.F. woman walks a marathon at breast cancer fundraiser O. In reference to your conservation article May 6, what organizations are putting on workshops to educate the nonresident farm owner and how do you find out about these workshops? A Call the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Black 1 lawk County at (319) 296-3262.

0- Have you checked the stats you've recently reported about the low growth in the area's population figures? They don't make any sense at all, when you consider that spaces for thousands of new occupants have been added in the last five years in new housing developments and many new apartment complexes. There are few houses and apartments sitting empty. A. The figures used by the Courier in population-related stories are cited directly from the US. Census Bureau.

Census bureau quality guidelines can be found at www.census.gov qualityqualityguidelines. htm. O. Why is the price of E85 going up like the price of gasoline since it's only 15 percent gas? A Dawn Carlson, spokeswoman for the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores of Iowa, said ethanol is a commodity just like gasoline and price is driven by supply and demand. Plus, ethanol prices typically fluctuate up and down, mirroring wholesale gasoline.

E85 retailers say they generally try to price it at least 30 cents cheaper, or more if possible, than gas containing 10 percent ethanol. On May 24 at the East Central Iowa Cooperative gas station in Hudson, E85 was selling for $2.79 while E10 was $2.29. Q. Who is or was the tallest actor and actress and also the shortest? A. We can't give you an absolute answer accurate heights can be difficult to locate.

But some possibilities are actor Matthew McGrory, who measured more than 7 feet tall, and comedienne and actress Judy Gold and model and actress Gabrielle Reece, both 6 feet 3 inches talL Actor Nelson de la Rosa, who was 2 feet 4 inches, had to be one of the shortest actors ever, and the shortest actress may have been Tamara de Treaux, at 2 feet 7 inches tall. O. Who bakes all the Girl Scout cookies? A According to the Girl Scout Web site, two commercial bakeries do the work, ABCInterbake Foods and Little Brownie Bakers. Are you a 'Simpsons' fanatic? Are you losing sleep because you can't wait for the 'Simpsons' movie? Are you out shopping for nontoxic yellow paint to dress up like Homer? Then you're just what the Courier needs for a round-table discussion of all things Springfield. The Courier is looking for Simpsons fanatics to talk about their love and addiction to the show, and their excitement for the upcoming film.

If this sounds like you, contact Taylor Bern at (319) 291-1424 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m, or at taylor.bemwcfcourier.com. Need to know For more information about Relay for Life or to make a donation, call the Black Hawk County American Cancer Society office at 272-2880. Co-chairwomen Lisa Kremerand Nancy Penca can be reached at lbkremer75yahoo.com and nancy.pencagmacm.com. COURTESY PHOTO Marcia Hartson, right, helps raise money for breast cancer research in honor of her mother, Doris Winninger, left, who is a breast cancer survivor.

By EMILY CHRISTENSEN Courier Start Writer WATERLOO Shelly Kelling thought she had taken care of the problem. When the Waterloo woman was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002, she had both breasts removed. "It wasn't totally necessary, but if I did have them both removed, it would make my chances better that it wouldn't come back," she said. Then in 2005, Kelling was dealt her second blow. She noticed something was wrong that August and went to the emergency room with pains in her side and back.

Tests showed that despite having both her breasts removed, the cancer had returned. This time it was in her liver and bones. This time it wasn't curable. It was, however, livable. Kelling is one of the hundreds of survivors who will kick off this year's Black Hawk County Relay for Life with a lap around the interior courtyard outside Tama Hall on the Hawkeye Community College campus.

The walk begins at 5 p.m. Friday and is open to anyone, even if they haven't registered with a team. The victory lap is scheduled for 6 p.m. Candy Nardini, the event's publicity chairwoman, expects between 250 and 300 survivors at this year's walk, which will last through Saturday morning. Nardini said about 90 teams have registered, and she hopes that means at least 750 people have actively raised funds for the American Cancer Society.

The fundraising goal for this year is $188,000. "I think what we need to stress is even if you are not involved in a team, cancer has touched each one of us. Come on out and take part in this. Make it a family outing. If you are there, you can still make a donation," said Nardini, who also is a member of the Smiling Kate's, a team that honors 11-year-old Kaitlyn Evens, who lost her battle with cancer in 2003.

Many teams, like the Smiling Kate's, continue their fundraising efforts through the evening with raffle sales, bake sales and other activities. ByAMIESTEFFEN Courier Staff Writer CEDAR FALLS If years on borrowed time translated into miles, Marcia Hartson would have walked only 25 miles in honor of her mother. That's how many years it has been since her mother, Doris Winninger, 78, of Waterloo, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Instead, Hartson, 50, of Cedar Falls, walked a full marathon 26.2 miles during the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer event June 2 in Chicago. The accomplishment took the Cedar Falls woman seven hours and 40 minutes, and she believes she took 19th in the walk out of a few thousand.

But the real accomplishment for Hartson was raising far more than the $2,500 she expected to donate to the cause, which would have marked $100 for each year Winninger has survived her cancer. Hartson instead raised just less than $3,700. "In my mind, I didn't even know if I could raise $1,800," the minimum donation amount to participate in the walk, Hartson said. "So I was surprised." That money will go to the Avon Foundation, a public charity that contributes to breast cancer research and other women's issues around the country. Ironically, Winninger also works for Avon as a beauty consultant in Waterloo.

"It wasn't because she sells Avon," Hartson said. "My Though fundraising is important, survivor Marie Iverson said the support cancer fighters and survivors and their friends and family can find is just as needed. "When people hear the word cancer like I did when I was diagnosed, they tend to forget those who are out there who survived it" said Iverson, who has been cancer-free for 10 years. "They only think about those who lost their battle. I now look at myself as a friend for others who isn't afraid to talk about it.

Emotional support is very, very important For Kelling, who is on medication to fight the cancer living in her body, the relays have grown more important each year. This year's walk will be even more poignant. In just a few months, she lost an aunt and two friends to the disease. And still she continues her fight. There is some hope for Kelling.

Her most recent PET scan snowed the cancer in her liver was shrinking. "I keep thinking that someday we will raise enough money that they will find a cure for this," she said. "It's a fun time to be out there, but it is also very sad. when they light the luminaries and start reading all of the names of those who died." Contact Emily Christensen at (319) 291-1520 or emily.christensenwcfcourier.com. Others haven't been so lucky.

Hartson and Winninger both say they know "countless" friends and family members who have died from or been diagnosed with cancer. That's why Hartson volunteered to walk a marathon in 80-degree heat in Chicago, and it's why she goes to Relay for Life with her team, the Smiling Kate's, every year. Hartson recalled seeing hundreds of breast cancer survivors in pink shirts walking the Avon Walk marathon alongside everyone else as proof she was doing the right thing. "To me, that's the point: They were out there," Hartson said. "It's still humbling to me." Contact Amie Steffen at (319) 291-1405 or amie.steftenwcfcourier.com.

main motivation was to honor my mom and to work towards a cure." Winninger was the first one in their family to be diagnosed with breast cancer, and wasn't worried at first though doctors found three lumps. She was diagnosed with estrogen receptor "positive" breast cancer, which Winninger said is "better than and was 53 when she had a mastectomy. But her recovery, not her breasts, was the important part. Hartson had lost her father at age 15. "I wanted to be around for her," Winninger said.

"So, I thought, 'I can live without She said her cancer has been in remission since thea with the occasional lymphedema in her right arm. But, "They keep curing it every time," Winninger said. "My main motivation was to honor my mom and to work towards a cure." Marcia Hartson Cedar Falls woman who walked a 26.2-mile marathon during the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer event.