Andy Hallman

The Riverside City Council voted to reappoint Les Lamping as its city attorney Monday, although the vote was not unanimous. Councilors Chris Kirkwood, Nate Kasdorf and Kevin Kiene voted in favor of reappointing Lamping while councilors Bob Schneider Jr. and Ralph Schnoebelen voted against the motion. Lamping will be paid $75 an hour. Schneider said he would like to interview other attorneys. Schnoebelen said he ...

The first legislative briefing of the year will be this Saturday in Washington. The briefing will last from 10 a.m. to noon on the second floor of the Washington County Courthouse. Locals will be able to ask questions of their elected representatives in the Iowa Legislature. State Representative Jarad Klein (R) and State Senator Sandra Greiner (R) are scheduled to attend. Greiner is the ranking member of the ...

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has expanded the list of illnesses linked to Agent Orange. According to the veterans affairs? Web site, Agent Orange was a defoliant used to destroy forests in South Vietnam from 1962 through 1971.The Veterans Administration has a list of diseases that are linked to Agent Orange. In August 2010 it added three illnesses to the list. Veterans who served in-country ...

Many people enjoyed the unusually low heating bills in December but perhaps none more so than the students and faculty of the Washington High School. The school is supposed to have two functioning boilers, but one of those is operating at 40 percent efficiency and the other boiler wasn?t working at all. That boiler was recently removed. Schools superintendent Mike Jorgensen said the high school was fortunate to ...

Thursday morning?s snowfall might have set a record. The record was not the amount of snowfall ? for it was no more than a few inches ? but rather that it was the first time this winter city crews have moved snow. City maintenance and construction director J.J. Bell has worked for the city for 15 years and said he cannot remember another year when the first major snow event happened so late in the season. Bell ...

Michael Powers, originally of Pleasant Plain, sang before a trio of celebrity judges in his audition earlier this year to appear on the television show American Idol. Powers performed in front of the show?s judges, Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez. Powers may be featured on the show when it premiers its 11th season Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. on Fox.Powers works as a 911 dispatcher at the Washingto...

The Personnel and Operations Committee of the Washington County Communications Commission met Monday in the former library to discuss the commission?s upcoming budget and the new 911 dispatch center.The committee is composed of three of the commission?s six members: Bob Shepherd, representing the city of Washington; Ryan Miller from Wellman, representing the surrounding towns; and Adam Mangold, representing the ...

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the Iowa Department of Natural Resources? (DNR) designated use changes for 430 water bodies and disapproved proposed changes for 89 water bodies. One of the proposed use changes for a creek in Washington and Keokuk counties was not approved, and that was to Richland Creek, which is less than one-half mile north of Rubio and which runs through the Rubio ...

Ken Wagner (left) records his score and that of his competitors in a game of Pinochle at the Central Park Center in Washington Monday morning. This group of card players meets the second Monday of the month to play cards at the center. Wagner was filling in for Maxine Peiffer, who normally plays with the other three women pictured who are from left Maxine Martin, Audrey Finke and Ken?s mother Thelma Wagner.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation has released its annual report ?Iowa Kids Count? about the well-being of children in the state. The report contains statistics on matters such as child abuse, child poverty, educational proficiency and graduation rates.The report begins by stating that Iowa?s figures are better than most states year after year. However, the report also shows that Iowa has not improved on all fronts. ...

Two Washington Police Officers were injured while making an arrest last weekend. Washington Police Chief Greg Goodman said the officers were treated for their injuries in the emergency room at Washington County Hospital and Clinics and were released. He said they are back with the force and are performing their normal duties. He did not disclose the identity of the officers.Goodman said the officers responded to ...

The Riverside City Council voted 3-2 to approve the full payment of $26,500 to Ann M. Menke CPA for the audit the company performed in 2011. Councilors Christine Kirkwood, Kevin Kiene and Nate Kasdorf voted in favor of the motion while Ralph Schnoebelen and Bob Schneider voted against it.The bill for $26,500 was more than double that which Ann M. Menke quoted the council at $11,000. That was an estimated fee to ...

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has won the Iowa caucuses by eight votes over Rick Santorum, according to data released by the Republican Party of Iowa. Romney received 30,015 votes to Santorum?s 30,007, each candidate earning about 25 percent of the vote. The Associated Press reported that more than 122,000 ballots were cast in the 1,774 precincts, a record for the GOP caucuses.Ron Paul placed ...

The Washington Community School District received a $100,000 donation from Carl and Helen Dallmeyer. The money was pledged to the district last fall and is specified to be used to help pay for an electrical system upgrade for the current high school building. A check was delivered to the district on Dec. 22.The district has committed $807,000 to renovate the 1918 structure in preparation for conversion to a ...

The U.S. Bancorp Foundation has donated $2,500 to the Community Chest of Washington. Aaron Kness (third from right), market president at U.S. Bank?s Washington branch, presented the check to members of the Community Chest of Washington last week. Members pictured are, from left, Angela Langstraat, Heather Fedler, Andy Hallman, (Kness), Marge McClure and Dan McClure.