Andy Hallman

Jefferson County Attorney Tim Dille will not press charges relating to the death of David Bittner because he believes Bittner died as a result of a justifiable homicide.Bittner, 46, of rural Mount Pleasant, was shot in the abdomen while at a residence in Lockridge on Sept. 4. Dille said Bittner was shot by his son, Steven, who fired a shotgun slug into David after David had broken through a locked door and ...

(This story has been revised since its original publication) Delta Zeta sorority has filed a lawsuit against a house in Fairfield for allegedly falsely advertising itself as a Delta Zeta chapter.The house is on Fourth Street near Maharishi University of Management. According to the Associated Press, the national Delta Zeta organization, based in Oxford, Ohio, claims the house in Fairfield is luring young women ...

Employers in Fairfield are being asked to complete a survey about the housing needs of their employees.The survey is the result of a joint effort between the city of Fairfield, the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce and the Fairfield Economic Development Association. The three entities plan to share the survey data with developers to encourage them to build in the area. They also plan to use the data to form ...

Two new deputies have joined the Jefferson County Sheriff?s Office.The two deputies are recent college graduates and neither of them had to travel far to start their law enforcement careers. Jacob Riley, 22, hails from Burlington and Justin Smith, 23, grew up in Mount Pleasant.Both men have known they wanted to be deputies for many years. Smith began thinking about a career in law enforcement in middle school. ...

The Fairfield City Council took a step toward developing land near the Jefferson County Health Center at its meeting Monday.The council passed the first reading of an ordinance to rezone land east of the health center on the other side of Highway 1 to accommodate Pilot Grove Savings Bank, which is planning to build a bank there.The council also passed the first reading of an ordinance to enlarge an urban ...

LOCKRIDGE ? Law enforcement officials are in the process of interviewing witnesses with information pertaining to the death of David L. Bittner, 46, who died Wednesday night.Bittner, of rural Mount Pleasant, suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen Wednesday. He was shot at 105 W. Main St. in Lockridge.A person at the residence made the 911 call that alerted authorities to Bittner?s gunshot wound. A Jefferson ...

French-Reneker-Associates and the city of Fairfield sent letters to 120 households earlier this month to let them know their backyard could be under construction in the not-too-distant future.The city of Fairfield is about to begin a project to upgrade its wastewater treatment facility and its conveyance system. The city will focus on rebuilding the major sewer line on the east side of town, because that is ...

The Fairfield City Council passed the first reading of an ordinance Monday that would increase sewer fees 20 percent.The vote was unanimous as all seven councilors voted in favor of it. The seven city council members are Daryn Hamilton, John Revolinski, Martha Rasmussen, Connie Boyer, Jessica Ledger-Kalen, Tony Hammes and Michael Halley.The ordinance calls for the sewer fees to take effect on the first full ...

RICHLAND ? The Richland Community Club is giving away three lots to anyone who wants to build a house on them.The club purchased three lots in the southeast part of Richland from the city earlier this year. Two of the lots are in the 200 block of East Main Street and another is in the 200 block of East South Street.Club member Steve Roberts estimated the lots? value at $12,000 a piece. They all have water and ...

The Fairfield City Council Utility Committee met with the Ways and Means Committee Wednesday to discuss increasing the city?s water rates.The committee members did not vote on any of the proposals for increasing water rates, although a few of them made known their attitudes about the process.Councilor John Revolinski said he was hesitant to fund the kind of improvements McClure Engineering has recommended to ...

Summer vacation came to an end this morning as school children in Fairfield and throughout the region returned to the classroom.The Fairfield Police Department has compiled a list of tips for parents and guardians that will make the school year run smoothly for them and their children. TrafficVehicular traffic will increase significantly in the areas surrounding each school and bus stop. Drivers are encouraged...

Fairfield City Hall will be a busy place in the next few days as it hosts a meeting Wednesday to discuss upcoming water rate increases and a meeting Thursday to discuss façade improvements to buildings around the square. Water ratesThe utility rates will be discussed during a joint meeting of two Fairfield City Council committees ? the ways and means committee and the water and sewer utilities committee. They ...

The Jefferson County Environmental Health Department found an elevated level of radon in half of the test kits it gave away earlier this year.The department distributed 125 free radon test kits to county residents in January. Of the 123 results the department received, 51 percent were at or above the United States Environmental Protection Agency?s ?action level? of 4 picocuries per liter of air, meaning those ...

PACKWOOD ? Mandy Hammes of Packwood won $30,000 from the Iowa Lottery Aug. 5 and plans to give a portion of her winnings to the Richland Fire Department.Hammes said she will donate a large share of the money to the fire department so it can purchase grain bin rescue equipment. That particular equipment is important to her because she lost her father-in-law to a farming accident in January 2012. She started ...

The Fairfield City Council?s push to rezone the former Nelson Nursing Home on West Taylor Avenue has proven to be a thorny issue all spring and summer long.John Kuster plans to turn the vacant building into an apartment complex capable of holding 19 units. However, to do that the council must change the building?s zoning from R-2 to R-3 because that level of density is not allowed under R-2 zoning.At an earlier ...