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The
Official Newspaper of Manchester and Delaware County, Iowa
Tuesday,
September 12, 2006 | |
Living the dream ...Championship may have to wait
by Brian Cook |
It rained on what Richard Putz hoped would be a 260 mile-per-hour parade to a championship in front of fans, friends and family.
The NHRA West Central division racers were to close out their 2006 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series season this past weekend at Tri-State Raceway in Earlville. But the hometown hero, Putz, and others racers will have to wait until Sept. 29-30 decide things as rain washed out Sunday’s activities.
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Richard Putz prepares for his first run in top alcohol dragster
racing at Tri-State Raceways Friday, near Earlville. |
Putz entered the weekend second in points in the West Central Division, which covers an area from Denver to Earlville and from Brainerd, Minn., to Great Bend, Kan. The NHRA has seven divisions across the nation. Putz also sits 10th nationally among top alcohol dragsters.
If Putz can come away with the victory and division title, it may be his one and only in top alcohol dragsters. He said next year may be a reality check unless he gets corporate sponsorship to pay for everything.
Putz, who started in the lower classes 18 years ago has worked his way up and raced fulltime the past two seasons. He says sponsors like Delhi Lumber and Robinson deeptrenching.com have been super in helping him along the way, but that he pays most of the expenses.
“It’s the most brain dead, money-throwing-away deal I’ve ever been in,” Putz said of his racing career. “You can’t be a miser in this deal.”
To make just one quarter-mile pass down the track costs $1,000–1,500 in just parts and maintenance on the car. To win a race Putz would make a total of six passes. He has people who help him at the track, but at home he does all the maintenance on the car himself, working 12 hours a day tearing down and rebuilding the motor.
All of the parts on the car only last for so many passes. There are a lot of breakdowns, which is why he said they carry tons and tons of spare parts, including a motor and four transmissions.
“It’s been my dream. Though everybody waits until they get too old in life,” Putz said explaining why he races. “The older you get the lazier you get. I had to wait 10 years.”
The former farmer and used car salesperson saved his money for 10 years to be able to race fulltime. He grins slyly when talking about blowing through those savings in two years.
“I believe in living life to the fullest – do what you can when you’re able. Most people wait until they’re retired to fulfill their dreams,” Putz added. “And by then they can’t. A lot aren’t able to do what they want at that point.”
Richard Putz isn’t like most people as he rides a 3,000 horsepower rocket of a car down a quarter-mile run in 5.3 seconds at over 260 miles per hour. He fondly recalled his first top alcohol run at Tri-State Raceway when the parachute failed to open, to slow him down, and he went shooting through the gravel trap at the end of the track and ended up on a rock road. |
| Iowa woman walks state for cancer |
 In July 2005, Jody Moats’s father Darwin Hartnett, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. In his honor and in the honor of others who have survived, are living with and have passed away from this devastating disease, she will be walking across the great state of Iowa to raise money for pancreatic cancer research and awareness.
Hike Iowa for Hope is scheduled to take place Sept. 1 through Sept. 18. The route that Jody will follow will be U.S. Highway 20 from Sioux City to Dubuque. Along the way, Jody and others will be averaging 15 to 20 miles a day and stopping and staying in different towns hoping to raise awareness and meet people who have been touched by pancreatic cancer. She will arriving in Manchester on Sept. 14 from Independence and will be leaving Manchester Sept. 15 for Dyersville.
The money raised will be donated to two important organizations. PanCAN (Pancreatic Cancer Action Network), the first national patient advocacy organization for people with pancreatic cancer, will receive 80 percent of the money and the June E. Nylen Cancer Center in Sioux City will receive the other 20 percent.
“Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers and one of the least funded,” said Moats. “I hope this walk gives people hope and raises enough money to make a difference in their lives. I know I can not get my dad back, but raising awareness can hopefully save someone else’s loved one.”
If you would like to know more about Hike Iowa for Hope visit www.hikeiowaforhope.com. To make a donation, send a check to First National Bank, c/o Hike Iowa for Hope, 251 Reed Street, Akron, IA 51001. |
XL Trailers give tours to Ambassadors
by Latisha Sand |
XL Trailers in Manchester recently put out their first trailer since their expansion.
“We started up on Aug. 14 and we invoiced our first trailer last Friday (Sept. 1),” Scott Wall, general manager of XL Trailers, told a large group of Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassador members.
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LATISHA SAND / Press
XL Trailers and the Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors recently held a ‘ribbon’ cutting for their first trailer at their expanded Manchester plant. Donna Boss, Delaware County Economic Development director; Jack Klaus, Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce director and Tim Vick, Manchester city manager helped Wall (with scissors) cut the reflective tape. |
Wall and Dan French, also of XL Trailers, broke the 26 people up into two groups to give tours of their existing and new areas, including the new office area, which is painted a soft, pale yellow and dark red.
“We put out about three to four trailers a day now and hope to increase that to eight,” said French.
“When you order a trailer now, it could take 16 months to get it. We hope to decrease that to eight or even six months. I think we can actually sell more trailers if we can get the time down.”
XL Trailers is one of three trailer companies and French said the demand is pretty high right now.
“We make them for a system of dealers, trucking firms and even the U.S. Navy,” he told the group.
The trailers are custom ordered and built and can be painted pretty much any color the customer wants. French said they just recently finished a lime green trailer and a purple trailer.
The new facility, which bumped up the square footage of the site to 100,000, includes 11 cranes and will have four people working on a trailer at a time instead of just two like in Oelwein. A third shift will also be added soon. Since the addition, Wall told the group that the first 70 employment opportunities advertised received over 1,000 applicants and that the company has people from Dubuque, Waterloo and the surrounding areas employed there.
“We think the new sign and building next to Highway 20 has brought a lot of (trailer) business for us already,” said Wall.
After the tours, the groups met out by the first trailer produced for a ‘ribbon,’ actually reflective tape, cutting.
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Cardiologists P.C. opens clinic in Manchester
by Latisha Sand |
Cardiologists P.C., a leading private practice cardiology group providing consultative and diagnostic services at their primary facility in Cedar Rapids, recently opened a clinic in space leased in Regional Medical Center.
“We are now able to provide more regular, timely and comprehensive services to Manchester and the surrounding areas both in terms of patient consults as well as diagnostic tests, such as nuclear imaging, echo, Holter monitoring, treadmill testing and EKGs,” said Dr. A Ersin Atay, a cardiologist who has worked at Cardiologists P.C. for 20 years.
Atay, and his partners who have been providing cardiology services in Manchester for several years at RMC’s outreach specialty clinic, said that they are now providing services in their new office on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
Dr. A Ersin Atay |
“If there becomes a need for more hours or more days, we can and should be able to meet that need,” said Trudy Marovets, administrator of Cardiologist P.C.
Marovets said starting this month, some of their diagnostic testing can be done during the extended hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The office specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of all cardiovascular diseases, including Congestive Heart Failure (Cardiomyopathy), Pulmonary Hyper-tension, Heart Disease during pregnancy, Adult Congenital Heart Disease and more. Their comprehensive sub-specialty cardiac care includes electrophysiology, advanced heart failure and nuclear cardiology imaging. Starting early next year, they plan to offer vascular screening in Manchester.
“Scheduling for all locations is primarily done in Cedar Rapids,” said Marovets. “However, patients can schedule a return visit in Manchester as they leave the clinic.”
Within Regional Medical Center, the Cardiologists P.C. patients can enter the clinic by going through the old emergency room doors. Their reception desk is located on the left-hand side.
“We are trying to make things as convenient for our patients in the Manchester area as they are for our patients in Cedar Rapids,” said Marovets.
Another area of convenience for both the doctors and patients includes their electronic medical record.
“It allows our providers to access a patient’s medical record from anywhere and to communicate with their nurse about patient care,” said Marovets. “There is no longer the need for a paper chart.
“Our providers are able to electronically access echo and nuclear tests performed in Manchester which means that tests can be read by one of our cardiologists in Manchester or in our Cedar Rapids clinic,” explained Marovets.
Cardiologists P.C. also provides outreach services in Anamosa, Independence, Marengo, Monticello and Vinton. To contact Cardiologists, P.C., call 319-739-2036 or 800-982-1959.
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