If loud and powerful motors don’t bother you, then you might want to head to Harrison County this weekend, where two different tractor pulls will take place Saturday. The first event takes place in Persia at 1-p.m., Saturday. Tickets sell for $7, with pit passes going for $10. Mike Olson, member of the Persia Fire Department, says they expect to have great participation this year. He says they’re expecting a great crowed and hoping for 70-to 80 tractor pull hooks and about the same number during the garden tractor pull.

The tractors and garden tractors will be performing at the same time on alternate tracks down at the Persia ball diamond. And what would a tractor pull event be without food? Olson says Hussy’s BBQ will serve pulled pork sandwiches. In addition, there will be  hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos.

If a tractor pull isn’t really your thing, Persia will have several other events going on throughout the day. Olson says they’ll have mixed league end of the year softball tournament taking place  all day. There will  also be pig pasture bingo. Tickets are available today (Friday) for $5 a ticket, with the winner getting $300 and good neighbor winning $50. Olsen says there will also be  duck races Saturday. Purchase a duck for $5 a duck. He says they hope to sell 50 of the plastic ducks, with the winner receiving half the money. That event will take place after the tractor pull.

The softball tournament begins at 10am Saturday morning. All proceeds from the Persia Tractor Pull go towards the Persia Fire Department to their equipment fund. Persia isn’t the only one sporting the big engines this weekend.

The Thunder in the Valley Outlaw Truck and Tractor Pull will be held later on Saturday afternoon in Dunlap. That event features some of the biggest machines around with Super Farm, Unlimited and Diesel Super Stock and 4-by-4 stock pickups. The Outlaw Truck and Tractor Pull will serve food inside their food stand along with a beer garden, and a DJ will entertain with music before and after the event.

Couples can get in for $25, single tickets are $15 and kids 12 and under are will be admitted for $5. The Outlaw Truck and Tractor Pull is in memory of Jason Hoffman who passed away near Dunlap last year in a car accident. A new announcer stand has been built in memory of Jason with his likeness on the back of it. The Dunlap Outlaw Tractor Pull starts at 4-pm Saturday. For more information on the Thunder in the Valley, visit www.outlawpulling.com

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

A man from Stanton escaped injury after the car he was driving smashed into the Casey’s General Store in Essex, Thursday morning. According to the Shenandoah Police Department (which covered the accident), just before 11-a.m., 82-year old Homer Hammers, of Stanton, was pulling into a parking slot in front of the store, when he accidently stepped on the gas instead of the brake. His car crashed through the front entrance of the convenience store.

In his report, the investigating officer recommended Hammers driving skills and knowledge be re-evaluated in order for him to retain his driving privileges.

Police in Red Oak report a Stanton man was arrested this (Friday) morning on numerous charges following a traffic stop for speeding. 22-year old David Joseph Byers was pulled over a little after 4-a.m. A check of his driver’s license indicated it was suspended. In addition, Byers’ vehicle had license plates that did not belong to that vehicle. A further investigation revealed the vehicle’s registration was expired.

Byers was charged with Driving While Suspended, Operation without Registration, Improper use of Registration and Speeding. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $566 bond.

In other news, the Red Oak P-D reports the arrested Thursday night, of 37-year old Rachel Charise Kathleen Hadden, from Red Oak. Hadden was taken into custody on a warrant for 5^th degree theft. She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $500 cash bond. And, 40-year old Tom Oren Murphy, of Essex, was arrested Thursday in Red Oak, for Driving While Suspended and having no insurance. Murphy was being held on $1,132 bond.

The parents of student wrestlers who were sexually abused by other wrestlers with the Nodaway Valley School District in 2011 are suing the district, demanding it enforce state anti-bullying and anti-harassment laws, and school policies that are already in place. According to KCCI-TV, the attorney for the plaintiffs said incidents of assault, harassment and bullying have continued since the original matter was brought to his attention, but none of the original victims have encountered such incidents. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from the district.

Allegations of sexual assault were revealed in late 2011 involving members of the high school wrestling team. The victims were also members of the team.  Two students, one of whom was 18 at the time, the other 17, were formally charged with 2nd degree sexual assault in January 2012. Both pleaded guilty to lesser assault and harassment charges in August 2012, and were sentenced to 90 days in jail.