The Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter’s Giving Tree is completely bare-- a beautiful holiday sight.
Thanks to individuals and groups, almost 200 ornaments representing local children and families were taken off the tree. Gifts and food donations returned to the office will make the holiday season brighter for local families asking for some assistance this year.
Reporter staff are in the process of preparing gifts for distribution. Wrapped gifts, with the Giving Tree ornament firmly attached, must be returned to the Reporter office by Thursday, Dec. 13. Families will be contacted when gifts are complete.
The Mirror-Reporter office is located at 12 N. 4th St.

    A former Clear Lake teacher was among the persons injured in the tragic shooting at an Omaha, Neb. shopping mall Wednesday, Dec. 5.
    Fred Wilson, 61, who taught at Clear Lake High School in the 1970s, was taken to Nebraska Medical Center in critical condition after being shot in the arm.  His condition has since been upgraded to serious.
    Robert Hawkins, 19, opened fire at Westroads Mall on Wednesday afternoon.  It was the worst mass slaying in Nebraska history and claimed the lives of five men and three women, plus the shooter.  Five more were injured, two critically, police said.  An SKS-style assault rifle with two magazines taped together was found at the scene.
    By  Thursday morning, Wilson had been upgraded to serious. Doctors said he was hit in the arm and they hope to save the limb.
    Wilson served as the customer service manager for Von Maur, the department store where the shooting took place.
    Wilson is a retired teacher that taught English at St. Albert Catholic High School in Council Bluffs and Shenandoah, Iowa in addition to Clear Lake.

Mother played dead as daughter allegedly set scene
    An 81-year-old Ventura woman told officials she layed on the floor of her home and pretended to be dead after her daughter allegedly attacked her and then ransacked her home to stage a break-in.
    Tressa Waddingham told Hancock County authorities she was struck in the head four times and knocked to the floor by her  daughter, Valerie Lea Hasbrouck, 47, of Ventura.  Hasbrouck was arrested Monday, Dec. 3, on the charge of Attempt to Commit Murder.  Hasbrouck made her initial appearance before a Magistrate on Tuesday, Dec. 4.  The judge ordered she be held in Hancock County Jail on $200,000 bond.   A no-contact order was also issued to keep Hasbrouck away from her mother.
    Waddingham was hospitalized at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in fair condition. She has since been released.
    Documents filed in Hancock County District Court state the incident began Monday morning, Dec. 3, when Hasbrouck entered Waddingham’s rural Ventura home. 
    Hasbrouck made a 911 call to authorities at 1:55 p.m. and reported she had just found the house burglarized and her mother dead.  But when authorities arrived, Waddingham wasn’t dead and she identified her daughter as the person who had attacked her and then scattered and broke belongings so the home would appear to have been broken into.
    Court documents state Hasbrouck struck her mother with a frying pan and heard her say, “Would you die already?  This is taking way too long.”
     If convicted, Hasbrouck faces up to 25 years in prison.  Her preliminary hearing is set for 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 13.

Dave Marreel, of Clear Lake, was the first person to stop at the Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter last week to claim a Clear Lake Mariner Bear. The Boyds bears are still available to persons bringing in at least $400 in receipts from participating Clear Lake businesses. There are a limited number of the bears, given away on a first-come, first-served basis. Limit one per person. Marreel is pictured receiving his bear from Mirror-Reporter Office Manager Deb Betz. -Reporter photo.

A team representing Make-A-Wish was one of many participating in this year’s Polar Bear Dip for Charity. More than $25,000 was raised for charities, namely Make-A-Wish and Toys for Tots.-Reporter photos by Marianne Morf.

Dailey Betz and Emily Willms
stroll downtown as elves.

Addyson Cooke, daughter of Dan and Holly Cooke, and Jacob Schoby, son of Stephanie Kofron, were crowned as this year’s Christmas By The Lake Princess and Prince. Fourteen children participated in the program, each with sponsors. Cooke was sponsored by Patrick Carney D.D.S. Family Dentistry and Kofron was sponsored by Lake Street Styles, Ventura.

(Left) Sheltered Reality members provided music and inspiration for Christmas By The Lake. (Above right) Children’s activites were held in the former Gwen’s Hallmark Shop on Main Avenue. Fun activities, and a place to warm up, were enjoyed by all ages.

    A man transporting three Opportunity Village clients in his vehicle has been charged with a list of offenses after he refused to stop during a routine traffic stop and ultimately lost control of his vehicle and drove it into the Winnebago River.
    The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office reported Michael Goodale, 26, of Mason City, was charged with speeding, operation without registration, failure to maintain control, failure to prove security against liability, driving while suspended, eluding a police officer and neglect on dependent persons.
    According to Sheriff’s Deputy Tami Cavett, Goodale refused to stop during a routine traffic stop at the intersection of 290th Street and Thrush Avenue at approximately 9:15 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6.  Goodale continued westbound on 290th Street at a high rate of speed.
    Due to road conditions and the excessive speed of the vehicle, the deputy lost contact with Goodale’s vehicle for a short time. Approximately 15 minutes later, a call came into the department from a residence in the area of 290th Street and Poplar Avenue stating a vehicle had gone into the Winnebago River.  
    Passengers in the vehicle were Chad Rugland, 29; Brian Baker, 40; and Frank Boyle, 41.
    Upon the arrival of deputies, Boyle was still trapped in the vehicle, which had come to rest on its top in the river.  He was freed by deputies.
    All four persons were treated and released at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa.
    According to the Sheriff’s Department, Goodale was employed by Opportunity Village as a personal assistant.  
    Opportunity Village Executive Director John Severtson said in the days following the incident he and staff members have been reviewing information and have determined that procedures in place concerning hiring and operations were followed.

University of Northern Iowa senior forward Megan Keefe has left the team, Head Coach Tanya Warren announced on Tuesday, Dec. 11.
“My heart and focus is not in basketball anymore,” said the UNI senior. “I have struggled a lot with this decision and stayed in it for my coaches, team and parents. I’m now ready to move ahead in a new direction.”
Keefe said she hopes to start the half-semester internship required for her Interior Design major early next year. Previously she was scheduled to complete the internship after the basketball season. She plans to receive her degree in May and has plans to be married in August.
Keefe, who was a Clear Lake High School stand-out athlete, played in 90 games for the Panthers in her career. She averaged 5.6 points per game. She had started seven games this season, averaging nearly 25 minutes per game. Keefe suffered a broken nose in an early season game, which limited her recent play time.

Lions win Dick Kennedy Dual Meet Tournament
    The Clear Lake wrestling team went 4-0 and won the Dick Kennedy dual meet tournament on Saturday at Webster City. Five Lion wrestlers went undefeated on the day.  They were Joe and Jacob Colon, Rudy Wieck, Patrick Kolker and Zach Linquist.
    The tournament was named after former Webster City coach and wrestler Dick Kennedy who passed away last year after battling cancer.
    Among the highlights of the day was Clear Lake’s dual with Ankeny. Both teams had four ranked wrestlers.
    Clear Lake beat Ankeny 41-27, Webster City 29-21, Roland Story 55-21 and Pella 63-13.
    The coach has provided comments about each wrestler’s performance at the event:
    103- Jacob Colon, 4-0.  Jacob has really looked this year. The Predicament has him ranked 10th in the state and he deserves it. He beat a very good Webster City kid on Saturday.
    112- Joe Colon, 4-0. Joe has picked  up right we he left off last year.  He will have a real test Thursday when he will wrestle Brandon Helgeson who placed third at state last year.
    119- Tucker Weber, 3-1.  Tucker lost to the fourth ranked kid in 3A.  Tuck got behind early and never really got his style going. Losses only make you better.
    125- Joe Bieber, 3-1. Joe had the toughest weight Saturday. He beat two state qualifiers and was leading a state place winner 7-1 when he was pinned. Again, I think he too will get better and learn from his loss.
    130- Jake Kopriva, 3-1. Jake wrestled three very intense matches after losing his first match of the day.  He is going to have a good year.
    135- Ray Teasdale, 2-2. Ray has made a huge improvement in just three weeks. He really looked good on Saturday.

No stopping him now
Cody Kadolph goes in for an easy two points for the Vikings. Also pictured for Ventura is Aaron Christians (52) and Josh Henely. -Reporter photo by Michelle Watson

The Ventura boys basketball team hosted Woden-Crystal Lake-Titonka on Friday, Dec. 7, for a Cornbelt Conference-East Division showdown. The Vikings easily handled the Tigers, 71-55.
W-CL-T played a tough first quarter and stuck with the Vikings, 14-11. Ventura pulled away in the second quarter and took a 32-23 lead into halftime.
“We played pretty well on both ends of the floor,” said Coach Nick Schauf. “We shot better than we have and we had four players score in double figures, which is really good for the team concept that we want to have.”
Cody Kadolph led the team with 21 points. Tyler Betz and Tyler Peterson each contributed 14 points and Josh Henely chipped in 11. Peterson was on fire from the three-point line, collecting 12 of his points from beyond the arc. Kadolph connected on two three pointers and Brian Mostrom hit one.
Rounding out the scoring for Ventura was Jeremiah Hagen with six, Mostrom with three and Aaron Christians had two points.
“We forced some turnovers and converted them into points, which helps out,” said Schauf. “If we can use our defense to score that is a big asset that most teams don’t have.”