Andy Hallman

The Washington High School has welcomed three exchange students into its student body this year. The three students are from three different countries, Ukraine (in eastern Europe), Russia and Kazakhstan (in central Asia, south of Russia). They arrived in August and will stay until the end of the school year.Alyona Neygebauer is a senior from Russia and has studied English for the past 10 years. She said that ...

A barn near Wellman caught fire Saturday night and burned to the ground. No injuries were reported. The barn was located at 1555 180th St., about four miles south of Wellman. Jared Kinsinger, assistant fire chief in Wellman, said that he and other Wellman firefighters were dispatched to the fire at about 11:30 p.m. When they arrived at the scene, the barn was already engulfed in flames.?The barn was a total ...

The municipal elections for all the towns in the county are Tuesday. The pools are open from noon until 8 p.m. for all polling places. Washington residents will vote on one contested race in the city, and that is for an at-large seat on the city council. Incumbent Karen Wilson-Johnson is competing against challenger Mark Kendall. Bob Shepherd is running unopposed for Ward 1. Larry Bartlett is running unopposed ...

The Community Foundation of Washington County hosted its third ?chef cook-off? fundraiser Tuesday at Holy Trinity Parish Life Center in Richmond. The foundation will distribute the money raised at the event to various local charities.For the past three years, the Community Foundation has held a cook-off at its annual dinner in which one team of chefs is pitted against another team of chefs. Both teams prepare ...

The Washington City Council approved a bid Wednesday from Cornerstone Excavating of Washington to demolish the collapsed buildings on South Marion Avenue. The bid was for approximately $156,000. The vote was 4-0 in favor of the bid. Councilors Karen Wilson-Johnson, Bob Shepherd, Merle Hagie and Russ Zieglowsky voted in favor, while Fred Stark and Mike Roth were absent.This most recent round of bids was the ...

Volunteers of Main Street Washington will soon begin surveying downtown residents about the possibility of recycling service. Residents of Washington pay $4.35 per month on their water bill to pay for recycling and the spring clean-up. However, residents who live in those areas of town zoned commercial, such as the downtown, do not receive curb-side pickup. Suzanne Ackermann, a volunteer who serves on Main ...

The last day to request an absentee ballot by mail from the Washington County Auditor?s office is Friday. The last time an absentee ballot can be cast at the auditor?s office is 11 a.m. Tuesday. After that point, the ballot must be submitted at a precinct location while the polling place is open on election day.Washington County Auditor Bill Fredrick said he has received 70 requests for absentee ballots this ...

Kids dressed up for Trick or Treat Around the Square Monday in Washington.

A crowd of more than 200 people descended upon the Washington County Hospital for Seniorfest Saturday morning. The attendees toured more than 40 booths set up on the east side of the hospital that included information about fitness and exercise, energy assistance, Alzheimer?s, lifeline and much more. Attendees were also treated to live entertainment provided by singer and musician Lyle Beaver.Washington County ...

Participants in Washington?s youth soccer program have had to play on less than ideal fields in the past year. They hope that will change next year when the city will allot 9.5 acres on 18th street for four soccer fields, two youth and two adult. In the meantime, the Washington Area Soccer Club must practice in whatever green space it can find outside the elementary schools of Lincoln and Stewart.Sidney Ryan ...

The burn ban for Washington County has been lifted. The ban was in effect from Oct. 6 until 10 a.m. Friday morning. Residents in the county were notified of the ban at approximately 10:15 a.m. through e-mails, text messages and robo-calls to their cellular phones or landlines. Washington County Communications sent out the messages through a service known as WENS (Wireless Emergency Notification System), which ...

The deer in the area on the move, and motorists should take note. Wildlife depredation biologist Greg Harris of the Department of Natural Resources said deer will be crossing the roads quite a bit in the next month.Harris said that one reason deer are moving now is that many of them have fed on and even lived in corn and bean fields. As these fields are harvested, the deer need to find somewhere else to go and ...

Keota was devastated by a fire last December that consumed the former lumberyard and two brick structures. Bill Miller, who owns Miller Autobody, one of the buildings that was damaged in the fire, has a plan to renovate that block on Main Street where the lumberyard once stood. Miller has six lots on that block next to Miller Autobody. He plans to leave the lot east of his business vacant for the time being and ...

Several towns in the county will vote on whether to continue a local option sales and service tax (LOSST) on election day. Eight towns in the county have a 1 percent sales tax which they use for various purposes depending upon the wishes of each city. The residents of six of those eight towns will vote Nov. 8 on whether to continue to collect the tax within their city. If approved, the tax would be renewed July ...

Dan Dolan is a Republican candidate for Iowa?s second U.S. congressional district, a seat currently held by Democrat Dave Loebsack. Dolan lives in Muscatine, which he has called home for the past 25 years. He grew up in the Bronx, as did his wife, Celeste. ?We started going out when we were 15 years old,? Dolan said. ?When she and her father came here for a job in Muscatine, I chased her here. There were people ...