HARLAN -- Bernadine Gaer, 99, Harlan, died March 15 at Elm Crest Retirement Community.    Services will be held Monday, March 21 at 10:30 a.m. at First Baptist Church, Harlan, with burial in the Harlan Cemetery.  Visitation is Sunday, March 20 from 5-7 p.m.

    SAN RAFAEL, CA -- Ellen Eric Christensen (Mrs.Ivan Christensen), 94, died March 12 in San Rafael, CA.    Christensen is a former Walnut resident.    She is survived by children Linda in Virginia, Eric in California, and stepchildren Sara in Illinois, Clark in California and David in South Carolina.    Christensen will be interred in the Walnut Cemetery at a later date. 

    EARLING -- Larry and Shelli Schaben of Earling will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary on March 16. The couple resides at 1829 Road M16, Earling, IA 51530.    The Schabens have three children: Christopher, Urbandale; and Tyler and Kelsey both of Earling. Larry farms and is employed as a fuel truck driver at Farm Service Coop. Shelli is a hairstylist and teacher’s associate at the Shelby County Catholic School. 

    OLATHE, KS -- Julie Zimmerman and Eric Hartwell both of Kansas City, MO exchanged marriage vows on October 3, 2015 at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Olathe. Pastor Joel Schultz performed the double ring ceremony.    Parents of the couple are John and Bonnie Zimmerman, Earling, and Dain and Debbie Hartwell, Overland Park, KS. 

    COUNTY – With warmer weather and the first signs of spring arriving this month, soon there will be increased traffic on the roadways, including the rural roads in Shelby County.    The Shelby County Engineer’s Office and Iowa County Engineer’s Association are reminding motorists this week to be specifically aware when traveling in rural parts of the county, specifically where there may be uncontrolled intersections.    A number of serious

    AVOCA – Three culinary students from AHSTW High School earned top honors last week at Iowa Western Community College’s Culinary and Baking Competition March 7.    Held for area family and consumer sciences high school students, the AHSTW group of Holly Hatch, Cassie Renfeld, and Anna Bauer earned first place in the baking competition.    Nine schools and 40 students participated in this year’s event.

    HARLAN – The Harlan Community School District has learned this month it has been selected to receive $435,563.24 in state Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) monies, to be utilized next year to fund educational processes including putting teachers in coaching roles, providing mentoring and opportunities for observing instructional practice.    The TLC system was created through bipartisan legislation with a goal of all school distric

    HARLAN – The number of sections of elementary classrooms in the Harlan Community Schools next year will be reduced as part of overall cost-saving measures, as well as anticipated lower enrollment numbers in PreK-5th grades.    Total cost savings to the district will be approximately $581,013.05 next year through elimination of 6.5 positions district-wide that are being absorbed through retirements, reassignments (see accompanying TLC story

 DES MOINES -- IKM-Manning faced a small margin for error in the opening game of the Boys State Basketball Tournament Monday morning. Allow West Hancock an open three-pointer and it was likely going to make it.