Andy Hallman

A former Washington High School student died over the weekend when a tree fell on a tent she was camping in. Jennifer Lewis, 31, was camping at Lake Macbride State Park near Solon Sunday morning with her sister and some friends. According to the Associated Press, a thunderstorm came through the area and knocked over a tree on an adjoining property, which fell on Lewis? tent. She was transported by ambulance to ...

Visitors to Washington?s Farmers Market on Thursday were treated to quite a sight. Former Washington resident Tim Wehr had on display his crafts of a most unusual nature. Wehr was selling wooden items that were engraved with a laser. Not only that, but the laser used to make the engravings is on a machine Wehr built himself.Wehr?s brother, Tom Wehr of Washington, told Tim about the lively Farmers Market in ...

A tornado devastated the town of Joplin, Mo. last Sunday. It was the deadliest tornado in the country in over 60 years, killing at least 125 people and injuring over 1,000. Several area residents are gathering supplies to send to Joplin, and some are even making the 7 ½ hour drive to the town that?s on the Oklahoma border. Washington resident Bob Shepherd left early Friday morning for Joplin, where he will spend ...

Motorists traveling on Highway 92 east of Washington were subject to a traffic stop Thursday evening. Law enforcement officers were positioned on the east edge of the city. From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the officers pulled over every fourth car that passed by. The officers checked features of the car to see if they were working properly and checked to see if drivers had the appropriate documents on them, such as a ...

The Washington City Council discussed the future of the city administrator position at a work session Wednesday evening. The council has hired an executive search firm, Voorhees Associates LLC, to look for qualified applicants. The company?s vice president, Karl Nollenberger, spoke with the councilors at their work session. City Administrator Dave Plyman will leave at the end of this week to take a job as the ...

Former Crawfordsville City Clerk John Hamil, 63, has been ordered to pay restitution of roughly $33,000 after he pleaded guilty to first-degree theft. In March 2010, Hamil was charged with first-degree theft of more than $10,000 and felonious misconduct during his time as the city clerk. On May 2, Judge Lucy Gamon issued a deferred judgment for Hamil. The charge of felonious misconduct was dismissed as part of a ...

The three cemeteries in and around Crawfordsville will be restored over the next few weeks. Crawford Township won a Riverboat Foundation grant of $10,000 to restore the three cemeteries, two of which are on the west edge of Crawfordsville and one of which is a few miles southeast of town. Rick Fulton is a Crawford Township trustee along with Randy Finke and Jack Erwin. He said the restoration of the cemeteries ...

Iowa Mennonite School graduated 42 students with its Class of 2011 Sunday evening. Graduates include, not listed in order, Blake Austin Albright, Meridyth Kristine Bates, Ashley Marie Beatty, Carlie Jo Bender, Malachi Justice Bontrager, Maureen Kay Brenneman, Jackson Aaron Brokaw, Cameron James Cook, Mollie Beth Ferguson, Paden Michael Finnegan, James Robertson Fox-Poulsen, Taylor Alexandria Fulton, Gretchen Etta ...

Lightning set a house ablaze early Wednesday morning a few miles east of Washington. The house burnt to the ground. No one was inside at the time and no injuries were reported.The fire occurred at 2574 Redwood Avenue, which is about three miles southeast of Washington. The house that caught fire was built in the 1800s. It was abandoned and had not been used for several years. Steve Stone and his wife Kim ...

Spring planting has gone according to schedule. According to Iowa State University crop specialist Jim Fawcett, nearly all of the corn is in the ground and a majority of the beans is in. He said that 98 percent of the corn has been planted in east central Iowa and that most of it is already visible. Eighty-four percent of soybeans in east central Iowa is in the ground. Fawcett said April was an unusually cold ...

The Community Y?s Little League Baseball program has received a large infusion of cash and supplies from a local business. On Saturday, John Gretter of Gretter Autoland in Washington presented a $500 check to Josh Riffel and Greg Woller of the Washington Community Y. Gretter Autoland also donated 10 buckets of balls and 10 equipment bags to the Washington chapter of the Cal Ripken Youth Baseball League.Gretter ...

Stewart Elementary School held a graduation for its preschool students Thursday night, May 19. After the ceremony, the students and their parents drank lemonade and ate cake. Those who want to have their cake and eat it too are, from left, Alec Ulin, his brother Aidan Ulin, Gabrielle Goodwin and Gage Brock. Alec and Aidan are the children of Mike and Wendi Ulin. Gabrielle is the daughter of Scott and Cassie ...

Alan Milder has taken up a hobby of producing agricultural-themed art. Milder makes miniature wooden tractors, which serve not only as lawn ornaments but also as flowerpots. Milder had his tractors on display at the Farmers Market in Washington on Thursday.Milder grew up on a farm near Conesville and later moved to Columbus Junction where he lives now. He worked at an office furniture company in Muscatine for ...

The Washington City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance to raise the city?s sewer and water rates. The vote was 4-0 as councilors Bob Shepherd, Russ Zieglowsky, Merlin Hagie and Karen Wilson-Johnson all voted in favor. Councilors Mike Roth and Fred Stark were absent. No one from the public spoke on the matter. The ordinance must be approved twice more before it becomes law. If it is accepted into ...

Ambulance workers put in grueling hours and put up with unpleasant sights on a daily basis. But it?s all worth it when they see their neighbors recover from an accident or rebound from a fall. This week is Emergency Medical Services Week and is a time to recognize those who provide life-saving care. Michael McCandless and Pat Curl have done just that since the 1970s and now they both work for the Washington ...