Andy Hallman

The testimony in the Andrew Tyler Brock trial began Monday afternoon and concluded Wednesday morning. Brock, 19, of Washington, is charged with three counts of vehicular homicide in connection to a three-vehicle collision on May 23, 2009, in which three people died. The attorneys for both sides will give their closing remarks Wednesday afternoon, after which the 12-member jury will go into deliberation.    Paul

The trial of Andrew Tyler Brock is now under way. Brock, 19, of Washington, is charged with three counts of vehicular homicide in connection to a three-vehicle collision on May 23, 2009, in which three people died. The jury was selected early Monday afternoon, after which the prosecution and defense delivered their opening statements.    Assistant Attorney General Laura Roan laid out what the prosecution would

The Riverside Area Community Club (RACC) requested $6,000 from the city council Monday night. The council informed the RACC members in attendance that RACC needs to complete a form indicating they are a non-profit group. City Administrator Tina Thomas said that she needs to receive the completed application by Wednesday, March 16, if the council is to consider the monetary request at its next meeting on Monday, March

The jury selection in the trial of Andrew Tyler Brock began earlier today. Once the jury is selected, the trial will commence immediately. The trial was originally scheduled for April 25. When defense and prosecution attorneys met Feb. 18, they agreed to move the trial up to March 1 because of a vacancy left by the postponement of another trial. Shortly thereafter, the trial date was moved again, this time to March

The Washington City Council dug deeply into its budget Wednesday night. The council looked at a few proposed cuts from the finance committee. One of those was to eliminate the city engineer?s position and replace him with contracted help. The city engineer is Rob McDonald. His salary is about $74,000 a year.    Councilor Bob Shepherd said he was ?dead set? against removing the city engineer?s position.    ?I don?t

Riverside and Ainsworth Elementary students participated in a fun and educational program at Riverside Elementary Friday morning. Guest speaker Craig Olson led the students in skits and songs about building character, saying no to drugs and walking away from bullies. Olson is a member of the Des Moines-based group ?Rock In Prevention,? which performs this sort of presentation all over the country.    The Highland

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) presented crash statistics on three-lane roads at a Washington Street Committee meeting at the former library Wednesday. The DOT plans to repave West Madison Street in 2012, and when it does so it can repaint the lines from a four-lane to a three-lane configuration. The DOT wants to know by April which configuration the city council supports. The repaved portion would

The Washington City Council approved the purchase of the house east of city hall. The new property will give city staff more space to park near city hall. The council approved the purchase at its meeting Wednesday. The vote was 4-1 in favor. Councilors Bob Shepherd, Fred Stark, Mike Roth and Merlin Hagie voted in favor, and Karen Wilson-Johnson voted against. Councilor Russ Zieglowsky was absent.    The property is

Stewart Elementary students and their parents enjoyed a night of books, word games and songs at the school?s annual Reading Night on Tuesday. Music teacher Linda Soukup gave the kids a workout in her room, teaching them the motions to the song ?Tony Chestnut.?    The song is full of homophones, which are words that sound the same but mean different things. Throughout the song, the kids act out the homophones

The ground may be covered in snow, but now is the time gardeners begin planning for the growing season. Many people enjoy the fruits and vegetables of a garden without owning one themselves. For those who want fresh produce grown locally, they can purchase them through an arrangement called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).    A CSA is an agreement between a gardener and a buyer whereby the gardener supplies

The Iowa Department of Transportation has recommended that West Madison Street change from a four lanes to three lanes. The DOT plans to repave the street from the intersection with Highway 1 to Second Avenue in 2012. When it does so, it can repaint the lines on the street. At the Washington Street Committee meeting in January, DOT engineer Jim Phillips said a three-lane road would be safer.    A number of residents

Members of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) gave a presentation on water quality in the Washington Free Public Library Wednesday evening. Rochelle Cardinale, the DNR?s water quality standards coordinator, gave a Power Point slideshow on the issue in the Nicola-Stoufer Room at the library.    The DNR revises its water quality standards every three years, in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act. DNR

The Washington City Council unanimously awarded its farm lease to the Washington FFA Wednesday night. The lease is for about 90 acres of farmland on the north side of town that the school district previously owned. The Washington FFA bid $27,001 for the three-year lease.    Two bidders came in above the FFA?s bid. Josh and Jonathan Vittetoe were the highest bidder at $31,600. Mike Berdo bid $30,471.14. The Vittetoes

Iowa?s big cities got even bigger, and its small towns got even smaller. That is what the 2010 Census indicates. The U.S. Census Bureau released information about Iowa?s 2010 census earlier this month. Washington County grew 5 percent, or about 1,000 residents from 20,670 to 21,704.    The city of Washington added just over 200 residents, moving from 7,047 to 7,266, which is a 3 percent increase. Ainsworth

The snow is nearly gone, but the memories of it are not. Earlier this month, the county experienced one of its worst snowstorms in several decades. At Tuesday?s Riverside City Council meeting, a few of the town?s residents expressed their displeasure at the speed and manner in which the city removed the snow.    Robert Schneider was one of those residents. A few weeks ago, Schneider called four of the six councilors