Free Republic

PARKERSBURG, Iowa — The body of the football coach lies under a rectangular patch of dirt, slowly being covered by creeping clover and crab grass. [snip]The body of the former football player is in a county jail. But there is no doubt among people here that his is a soul lost. An insanity defense for 24-year-old Mark Becker is expected when his murder trial starts next month.For more than 30 years, the Thomas and Becker families were bonded by school, church and the communal raising of boys in this small town about 100 miles northeast of Des Moines. Then their...

(NEW YORK - June 30, 2009) - This week's July 6, 2009, issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, on newsstands tomorrow, features Ed Thomas, head football coach at Aplington-Parkersburg (Iowa) High School, with the billing A GOOD MAN DOWN - TRAGEDY IN THE HEARTLAND: THE MURDER OF A BELOVED HIGH SCHOOL COACH. It was Thomas who had led the townspeople of Parkersburg out of the rubble of a tornado last year, showed them how to live a Christian life and brought honor to a football field he mowed himself. What they can't understand is why Thomas was gunned down by a former...

This is an extraordinary video feature from ESPN, aired in September, about Aplington-Parkersburg football's role in Parkersburg's recovery from the devastating EF-5 tornado that struck the town last May. The football team, and particularly coach Ed Thomas, was one of the keys to the town maintaining its identity through the tragedy. Over 200 homes, dozens of businesses, and the high school were all destroyed by the tornado on May 25, 2008. The tornado killed 8 people and destroyed nearly half the town. Coach Ed Thomas, a living legend, was instrumental in the rebuilding process. The high school coach of four...

Last updated at 4:30 p.m. Tues. May 27, 2008 Summary NWS personnel have rated the Parkersburg-New Hartford-Dunkerton tornado as a Low-end EF 5 (correlated to wind speeds up to 205 MPH) on the Enhanced Fujita Scale at the locations of maximum damage. Additional details on path length, width, etc. will be posted on this webpage Wednesday, May 28. This is the first EF5 tornado in Iowa since the Jordan tornado of June 13, 1976. A large and destructive tornado moved across Butler and Black Hawk counties on Sunday May 25th. The initial touchdown occurred near the Butler and Grundy county...