Andy Hallman

Mick and Julie Murray of Wellman died in a car accident south of Tiffin Saturday afternoon. They left behind four children: Brittany, 21, Nicole, 18, Chase, 16, and Jordan, 14. Julie?s sister Beth Fiordelise and Beth?s husband Bill are taking care of the children.In the days since the accident, many people from the community have stepped forward to coordinate fundraisers for the Murray children and their aunt ...

RIVERSIDE ? The Riverside City Council voted 3-2 Monday to set the bid letting date and the date of the public hearing on the proposed splashpad. The bid letting will be March 5 at 4 p.m. and the public hearing is the same day at 6:45 p.m. Councilors Nate Kasdorf, Christine Kirkwood and Kevin Kiene voted for the motion while councilors Ralph Schnoebelen and Bob Schneider Jr. voted against it.The council talked ...

The warm weather over the past few months was great for farmers in that it allowed them to work in their fields much later than normal. However, the winter has also been kind to the very pests that menace the farmers? crops in the summer.Iowa State University Crop Specialist Jim Fawcet said the this has been the warmest winter since the early 1900s. He said he?s worried about what the warm weather will mean for ...

The public will get a chance to shape the Washington City Council?s comprehensive plan. There will be a session Thursday from 3-8 p.m. at the Washington Public Library where residents can make suggestions to the Comprehensive Planning Committee about upcoming projects in Washington.Washington City Administrator Brent Hinson said the public will learn about some of the projects the committee has talked about.?The...

Parents, grandparents and older siblings got to re-live their childhood today during Lincoln Elementary School?s VIP Day. The day is a time for students to bring a family member to school to sit with them in class and experience what it?s like to be a kid again.Nancy Clawson showed her sixth-grade class how to use a computer program called Google Earth. The program contains a map of the world that is compiled ...

The Washington County Hospital Board of Trustees approved the purchase of a $34,000 gastroscope at its meeting Thursday afternoon. Surgery coordinator Linda Six explained that a gastroscope is a small camera that a patient swallows in order for the doctor to view the inside of the patient?s stomach. The finance committee had earlier approved the purchase of the gastroscope at its meeting.Washington Hospital CEO ...

Local law enforcement and health officials want local residents to be mindful of the laws governing domesticated animals. The police log released by the Washington Communications Center indicated that a 4-year-old girl was bitten by a dog at a neighbor?s residence Saturday morning in Washington. Iowa law states that dog owners shall be liable to an injured party for all damages done by the dog such as when the ...

The Washington Community Y announced its volunteers of the year at its annual meeting Friday afternoon. The volunteers have all given generously of their time and have done so in a variety of ways. Chris and Nicole Harmsen were two volunteers who were recognized for their efforts at the Parkside Activities Center in Wellman. Christina Nash, program director at the Parkside Activities Center, said the Harmsens ...

A text message scam has targeted cell phone users in southeast Iowa in an effort to procure the users? debit card numbers. The text message purports to be from Federation Bank and instructs recipients to call a number because their card has been deactivated. Federation Bank CEO Jamie Collier confirmed that the text message was a scam and was not sent from Federation Bank. Collier said in an interview Friday that ...

Iowa Workforce Development announced in a press release Tuesday that Washington County?s unemployment rate in December was slightly below where it was last year and that the state?s unemployment rate was the lowest it has been in 2 ½ years. State unemployment was 5.6 percent in December, the lowest since June 2009. Iowa?s unemployment is well below the national unemployment rate of 8.5 percent. Of about 1,660,000 ...

Stewart Elementary School hosted a fun night of math-related games and activities for children and their parents. Attendees, of which there were just under 200, were treated to a meal in the gymnasium, where there were also games. Kids had to throw bean bags into buckets or land them in hoops, and each bucket or hoop had a point value associated with it. The exercise was intended to provide a fun way of learning ...

Washington City Administrator Brent Hinson presented a proposed budget to the city council Wednesday which included a $1 increase in the city?s property tax levy. The increase would bring the city?s levy to approximately $15.98 per $1,000 valuation. Homes are now taxed at 51.5 percent of their value instead of 48.5 percent as they were last year. That means a person with a $100,000 house would pay about $820 in ...

A group of weight-loss enthusiasts in Washington lost literally a ton of weight in 2011. The group of 40 to 50 people lost 2,100 pounds over the course of a year. Some group members have given up and significantly cut back on their favorite foods, while other members said they lost weight simply by paying attention to nutrition and by exercising.Millie Youngquist has been a group member for the past 25 years and ...

Washington County Communications Supervisor Cara Sorrells told the E911 board at its meeting Monday that landline funds are down yet again. She said more and more people in the county are dropping their landline, which pays a $1.50 monthly surcharge for emergency services. She said the E911 board doesn?t recoup that money from additional cell phone users because cell phone users pay a much lower rate than ...

[Editor's Note: The following is a press release from Washington County Sheriff Jerry Dunbar concerning unauthorized advertisements that might have been made on behalf of Iowa sheriffs or deputies]It has come to the attention of the ISSDA (Iowa State Sheriff and Deputy Association) Board that a former GOLD STAR ad salesman, Ben Jamison is using letters given to him several years ago, when he was an employee of ...