EARLING -- Marcus J. Stessman, 88, Earling, died March 4 at Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan.    Services will be held Wednesday, March 8 at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Earling with burial in the St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Earling.  A Knights of Columbus rosary will be held Tuesday, March 7 at 7 p.m. at the church.  Visitation is Tuesday from 5-8 p.m.

    AVOCA -- Vincent Jens Hansen, 99, Avoca, died March 4 at Avoca Specialty Care.    Services will be held Tuesday, March 7 at 2 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Walnut with burial in the Layton Township Cemetery at Walnut.  Visitation is Tuesday from 1-2 p.m.

    HARLAN -- James Buwalda, 43, Harlan, died March 1 at Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan.    Services were held Sunday, March 5 at 3:30 p.m.

    DUNLAP -- Marie Heller of Dunlap will celebrate her 100th birthday on March 15. A reception in her honor will be held on Saturday, March 18 at 2 p.m. at the Dunlap Nursing & Rehab Center in Dunlap. The event will be hosted by her many nieces and nephews. Friends and relatives are invited to attend.        Cards will also reach her by sending to Marie Heller % Dunlap Nursing & Rehab, 1403 Harrison Rd., Dunlap, IA 51529.

    RURAL HARPER, IA -- Kate Shindelar and Ryan Lefeber both of Ottumwa were married on October 29, 2016 at SS Peter and Paul Historic Catholic Church in rural Harper. The bride’s brother-in-law, Alan Weber of Harper, performed the 3 p.m. ceremony.    Kate is the daughter of Bill and Kay Witthoft, Washington; and Gary Shindelar, Sullivan, IL. Ryan is the son of Dan and Charlene Lefeber, Portsmouth. 

    HARLAN – Four elementary school students at the Harlan Community Schools have joined together to raise funds for a special project that will help students meet friends and have playmates during recess at the HCS Intermediate and Primary buildings.    Paulina Vizcaino, Teya Frohlich, Lael Taylor and Adrian Irlbeck (right to left) unveiled the Buddy Bench to staff and students Wednesday, Feb. 22 to loud applause and appreciation. 

    HARLAN – Eight Harlan Community High School speech students have qualified for state participation following outstanding performances at the district speech contest recently.    On February 25, the HCSD Individual Speech Team, under the direction of Ms.

    COUNTY – The crazy spring weather has wreaked havoc on the county’s gravel and dirt road systems, and hopes are that sunshine and warm temperatures this weekend will help the roads heal from a winter that hasn’t been particularly kind.    “Right now the roads are in tough shape,” Shelby County Engineer Dan Ahart said this week.  The two weeks of warm temperatures toward the end of February followed by rain, snow, ice, colder temperatures,

    CHICAGO, IL -- McKenna Boardman and Ellen Keast from Harlan Community High School Student Council joined thousands of other student leaders at a Leadership Experience and Development (LEAD) Conference in Chicago, IL on February 10-12.    LEAD Conferences offer experiential leadership skills development to students and advisers, and are a program of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), which also administers the