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Eleven years ago on Feb. 10, 18-year-old Leticia Barajas was stabbed over 37 times by her ex-husband Pedro Sanchez.

Barajas said she and her husband were having problems and she was through with the marriage when he showed up at her trailer at 420 W. 30th Street, Lot 8. After telling him she was washing her hands of the marriage, Sanchez went outside and returned with a boning knife that he used to repeatedly stab her while her son and nephew were in the next room.

"It was only a grace of a miracle that saved my life," Barajas said.

While falling in and out of conscious Barajas was able to dial 9-1-1 only to have Sanchez hang up the phone. He called 9-1-1 and said "I think I've killed my wife" then hung up the phone. However, the opertor called back and asked to talk to Barajas. Paramedics arrived and Barajas was transported to Mercy Medical Center, then Marian Health Center

She received over 57 pints of blood and did not wake up for close to three days. But, when she did wake up, her parents knew their daughter was back when she told them she was thirsty for water and hungry for a baked potato and a steak.

Sanchez went to court where he was found guilty and is still serving time.

After sinking into a depression, Barajas was watching the Maury Povich Show with her son, Franky, whose now 12 years old. The show was asked for people with life changing experiences to call in. At the urging of her son, Barajas called in and was flown out to New York City to appear on the Maury Povich Show.

That was the first time Barajas told her story to someone outside her family. It was an emotional experience that left her wanting to do more, especially with the support of her son and daughter, Anahi, 7.

She decided to organize a blood drive, and this is the third year she and the Siouxland Community Blood Bank are working together. Barajas also got the support of Old Home Bread, Curly's Foods and John Morrell.

"I'm very proud of these companies," Barajas said. "Not only are they helping with domestic violence, but they are saving lives."

The third annual "Second Chance at Life" blood drive will be held on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Michael's School gymnasium.

"God gave me a second chance to do a good thing for the community," Barajas said. Barajas added that she hopes to get 57 pints of blood donated on the anniversary date of her attack.

Quiet zone proposal does not pass Planning and Zoning

By Sarah LaBrune

The South Sioux City Planning and Zoning Board met last Thursday to discuss the possible quiet zones in South Sioux City.

The estimated cost of the project is $830,000 with Burlington Northern picking up $410,000 ($60,000 cash and $250,000 for C Street and $100,000 for Dakota Avenue signal upgrades) and the city paying $420,000. A portion would be funded through sales tax and federal funds.

The proposal calls for the closing of the crossings at 2nd Avenue between 39th Street and North Railroad Street and a second closing at West 30th Street and 4th Avenue. With closed crossings, the trains would not need to blow their whistles.

The idea to create quiet zones came after residents complained about the loud train whistles that are heard throughout the day and night. There are approximately 16 trains that roll through South Sioux daily.

City Administrator Lance Hedquist estimated that one-third of the town can hear the train whistles.

Former Econolodge owner Dick Salem said he originally was against the idea of creating quiet zones three years ago, but after owning a property near a train crossing he is all for a quiet zone.

"I am sorry now that I was actually against it when I bought the motel," Salem said.

Salem said the customers were upset about the loud horns and often said they would not come back to stay at the Econolodge.

Dr. Robert Billiar, owner of the South Sioux City Animal Hospital, said he is against the quiet zones, because he does not want 2nd Avenue closed. His office is located at the corner of West 29th Street and 2nd Avenue.

"I think closing any crossing that goes north and south is wrong," Billiar said. "The 2nd Avenue crossing is vital to traffic flow of the city."

Billiar suggested putting gates at the crossing instead of closing it completely.

Krogh mentioned keeping the Second Avenue crossing open in order for rescue vehicles to get to the south side of town, however, Rapp stated that was why the south firehouse was built.

Steve Derry, an engineer with Burlington Northern Railroad, spoke on his own behalf at the commission meeting and said 2nd Avenue is the worst crossing for trains in town.

Derry added the trains roll through town from Dakota City to G Street at 30 miles per hour and are federally mandated to blow their whistles when approaching a crossing and while the engine continues through the crossing or they could be fined $1,000.

"We as engineers don't like to blow that thing," Derry explained. "What do you think the noise is like inside a cab? It's like being inside a snare drum." Derry said an air whistle's volume can be adjusted, but the electronic whistle is nonadjustable, which is what is being put in the new engines.

Chad Kerht, South Sioux City engineer, said the proposal calls for all the remaining crossings to have to have a constant warning device. Burlington Northern would install the two on Dakota Avenue and C Street. The warning device will have directionalized sound, which means it will be heard more by people in traffic and not in the residences.

A center median on Dakota Avenue, West 29th and C Streets is also in the proposal as a supplemental safety measure. No intersections would be closed during the construction.

"Obviously closing the crossings is a way to help us financially achieve the quiet zones and the quiet zone itself is somethingÉwe have heard from various residents that the train horn is a nuisance," Kerhrt said.

A motion to deny the quiet zone proposal died on the floor as the vote was 4-4. Planning and Zoning Commission member Ron Rapp said he hopes to continue working on the proposal.

Milt Peters suggested talking to Burlington Northern while Jane Krogh said, "having done this so many times we're just spinning wheels."

The proposal moves onto city council. There will be a public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m.

Cards win! Cards win!

By Mike Renning

The South Sioux City Cardinals got the proverbial monkey off their backs last Saturday with an air-cleaning 55-50 win over Omaha Roncalli in the Mini-Dome. The Cards snapped an eight-game losing streak by beating a team that had beaten the Card earlier in the season and had beaten the No. 5 rated Class B team in the state the night before.

The Cards used a monumental effort in the come-from-behind victory that saw them battle back from a deficit reached double digits in the first half. Roncalli led the Cards 13-11 after one quarter and 32-23 at the half time buzzer before South Sioux City started whittling away at the Ram's lead.

The Cards bolted out of the locker room at the half and trimmed the Roncalli lead to six at the end of the third period then raced past their visitors in the fourth, outscoring Roncalli 19-8 to claim the five-point win.

Shea Whitsell led the Cardinal scoring attack with 16 points off the Cardinal bench. Jordan Spirk tossed in 13 while Nick Horan added a dozen. The Cardinals hosted Ralston last Tuesday in the South Sioux City Mini-Dome and will travel to Omahato take on Gross Catholic tomorrow night. They will host Sioux City North next Tuesday.

Lady Knights reach Lewis and Clark finals

By Mike Renning

The Homer Lady Knights ended an exciting and pressure-packed week last Monday in the Lewis and Clark Conference finals in Laurel. The Lady Knights posted a 69-50 quarter final win over Wausa in Homer Jan. 30, won an overtime thriller over Bancroft-Rosalie in Winnebago last Friday in the semi finals and were edged by Newcastle in the championship Monday in another nail-biter, 51-46.

The week that ended in such dramatic fashion began with little fanfare as the Lady Knights used relentless defensive pressure and the spoils that come with it to build a 16-point lead in the first half and ended the half leading by a dozen.

"We did not shoot the ball well early in the game," said Homer head coach Merlyn Tremayne. "We had a big third quarter with a lot of high percentage shots off of our press."

That third quarter saw Homer increase their lead to 61-36 at the end of the stanza before the final was set at 69-50 with reserves playing a good share of the fourth.

Tricia Hoffman led the Lady Knights with 33 points, most of them coming from inside the paint and from sharp passes from her teammates. Ase Overfelt was all over the court for the Lady Knights and put in 112 points while dishing out seven assists and taking away nine steals. Kelsey Krusemark also had 11 points and led the Lady Knights with seven rebounds.

The win over Wausa earned the Lady Knights the right to take on the Bancroft-Rosalie Lady Panthers in Winnebago last Friday night for the right to advance to the Lewis and Clark Championship in Laurel. The Lady Panthers and Lady Knights had already played twice this season with Bancroft-Rosalie winning 62-47 on Dec. 15 and 48-40 on Dec. 28 to give the Lady Knights their only two losses for the season. This night would be different.

"This was about as good of a girls game that I have been involved in," said Tremayne. "The quality of play, intensity, both teams playing hard, big play after big play and a full house of screaming fans, it was great."

Both teams began the game understandably tight. Krusemark opened scoring for the Lady Knights underneath. Both teams traded a couple of turnovers then Overfelt drilled a jumper with 5:32 left in the opening quarter before Krusemark added her second bucket with an offensive rebound and put back to give Homer a 6-0 lead. They increased the lead to seven at 10-3 when Bridget Tighe was fouled on a drive to the basket with 4:04 left, she failed to complete the conventional 3-point play. Krusemark added a another bucket for a 12-3 lead before the Lady Panthers battled back to end the first quarter with a 16-10 advantage for Homer.

Eight seconds into the second quarter, Jenny Oligmueller tossed in a 3-pointer to put the Lady Knights back up by nine but it would be their only points until the 2:35 mark in the half when Overfelt got a steal and a lay up to put Homer ahead 21-16. Bancroft-Rosalie scored the final points on a pair of baskets to make it 21-20 in favor of Homer at the break.

He teams battled back and forth early in the third quarter when a pair of Oligmueller 3-pointers about a minute apart gave Homer a 38-34 lead with just over a minute left in the period. Neither team scored in the final minute and the stage was set for the heart-thumping fourth.

The Lady Panthers battled to tie the score at 38 as the Lady Knights struggled a bit offensively. Homer actually didn't score until a Hoffman bucket with 3:20 left in regulation gave them a lead at 40-38. BR tied it up and the score was tied again at 42-42 before Overfelt got a trademark steal and lay up with 11.1 seconds left to give her team the lead 44-42. The Lady Panthers called timeout with 8.7 seconds left to set up a play. The play worked as Breanna Beutler hit a jumper from the free throw line with .9 seconds left to tie the game. Homer's inbounds pass fell to the floor and the teams were headed to overtime.

Overfelt was fouled after grabbing the opening tip of the overtime period and racing for another lay up. She converted one of the free throws to give the Lady Knights a 45-44 lead. The Lady Panthers answered with a 3-pointer but Overfelt wasn't finished.

She raced around the court the next minute and a half grabbing a steal and tipping several BR passes but the Lady Knight failed to score until Overfelt swiped a Lady Panther pass and was fouled while making the layup with 2:36 left in the overtime. She missed the charity toss and the score was deadlocked 47-47.

Krusemark scored inside with 1:52 left and Hoffman hit a free throw and a drive to the hoop with 56.0 seconds left to put the Lady Knights ahead 52-49. A couple of Overfelt free throws on two trips to the line were followed by a BR basket with 6.2 seconds left to make it 54-51. Hoffman was fouled with 2.7 seconds left and sealed the victory with two more free throws to make the final score 56-51.

"Bancroft-Rosalie shot better than us (23-of-39 compared to 18-of-45) but we caused more turnovers (25-10)," said Tremayne.

The emotional win over Bancroft-Rosalie lifted the Lady Knights to the championship game against the Newcastle Lady Raiders last Monday at the Laurel-Concord gym. The Lady Knights owned a win over the Lady Raiders 55-52 on Jan. 12. the Homer win was the only loss on Newcastle's record.

The game had every bit of emotion and drama as the game the Lady Knihgts had played in the semi finals and could have gone either way right up to the final buzzer but the Lady Raiders made a couple of plays at the end that sent Homer to only their third loss on the season 51-46.

"We shot twice as many times as they did and caused 30 turnovers and we still did not win," said Tremayne. "It was disappointing to get that far and fall a little short."

The Lady Knights were a frigid 0-for-10 from behind the 3-point line and 20-for-49 (41 percent) from inside the arc. The difference of the game may have come from the charity line where Newcastle was 15-for-25 and Homer made six of only 11 free throw tosses.

Newcastle held a slim three-point lead after the opening quarter at 13-10 and increased the lead to 18-12 with 5:37 left in the first half after a 3-pointer. The Lady Knights battled back with a Hoffman lay up and a Krusemark steal and assist to Hoffman to make it 18-16. A pair of Lady Raider buckets inside put the lead back at six for Newcastle when Tremayne called a timeout to gather his troops. Krusmark cut into the Newcastle lead with a pair of baskets inside at the 2:52 and 2:28 marks to make it a two-point game but the Lady Raiders finished the half with a free throw and 3-pointer to build the advantage back to six.

Homer battled in the third quarter and got the lead down to only a single point at third quarter buzzer at 34-33.

Overfelt tied the game early in the fourth and gave the Lady Knights a lead with three free throws on two trips to the line, she increased the lead to 38-34 with a basket with 6:34 left. Krusemark gave Homer their biggest lead with a rebound and put back with 6:05 left in the game and her team leading 40-35. It would prove to be Homer's last score until a Hoffman bucket with 2:55 left brought the Lady Knights to within one at 43-42. Newcastle opened up a 47-42 lead with just over two minutes left in the game before Krusemark answered with a basket and Hoffman converted another steal into a lay up with 40.4 seconds left to make it Newcastle 47, Homer 46. A Lady Raider bucket with 33.2 seconds left gave them a 49-46 and Homer squandered a couple of opportunities to tie it up before Newcastle sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds left.

Hoffman and Krusemark led the Lady Knight offense with 19 and 16 points respectively, Krusemark pulled down eight rebounds.

"The coaches and girls would like to thank the Homer fans for their great support," said Tremayne.

With the conference tournament behind them, the Lady Knights took a 17-3 record into South Dakota last Tuesday to take on Elk Point-Jefferson. Homer will host Lewis and Clark Conference semi finalist-Ponca tonight (Thursday) in the Homer gym.