Andy Hallman

The Mills Seed Building has not been a topic of discussion at the Washington City Council since the building was moved to North Iowa Avenue in late February, but it was Wednesday. At Wednesday?s council meeting, councilor Mike Roth said too little progress has been made on the building since its move and that it may even be a danger to public safety.     ?In late February, we moved the Mills Building from North

The Brighton City Council decided to request $300,000 from the state to help pay for sewer main repairs downtown. John Meyer, president of the engineering and surveying firm French-Reneker Associates, attended the meeting to inform the council of its options.    Meyer said the City badly needs to repair the sewer main that runs underneath Washington Street between Benton and Farmer streets.    ?The sewer is in very

The Riverside City Council voted Monday to approve the third and final reading of an ordinance that will change the city?s sewer rates. The sewer rates are now $9 for the first 3,000 gallons and $3 for every 1,000 gallons after that. The new sewer rates will be $9 for the first 1,000 gallons and then $3 for every 1,000 gallons after that. However, residents will be charged $5 for every 1,000 gallons they use over

The Washington Park Board has requested that the city council approve the purchase of eight park benches to be placed around the Central Park fountain, which the council could do as early as Wednesday night at its regular meeting. Two of the eight benches will not have backs and will be placed between the fountain and the bandstand. The money for the benches was acquired through donations from service clubs and

Justin Hayes Sobaski, 27, of Washington, was given three years probation and a suspended sentence of five years in prison at his sentencing hearing Friday afternoon. In June, Sobaski pleaded guilty to committing assault causing serious injury against Barry Stout of Washington stemming from an incident that occurred outside the Hoodwinks Bar and Grill on June 14, 2008.    Sobaski will not be required to serve any

A wave of vandalism befell the city of Kalona late Thursday night and early Friday morning. According to Washington County Communications Supervisor Cara Sorrells, four cars parked outside Engineered Plastics Components (EPC) had their brake lines cut, which rendered the brakes useless. She said there was another report of a vehicle that had air let out of its tires. Sheriff Jerry Dunbar was also aware of that

The McCreedy Building on Washington?s Main Street is getting an exterior makeover. The building houses the county engineer?s office, and the engineers spotted some problems inside the building. Assistant County Engineer Lyle Moen said moisture is getting through the bricks and damaging the interior walls on the north wall and the north side of the east wall.    ?The (interior) paint is bubbling up and the plaster is

The trial of Washington resident James Dean Blum, 70, has been moved to Oct. 5 at 9:30 a.m. in the Washington County Courthouse. It was originally scheduled for Aug. 24. Blum?s pretrial is set for Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. and the hearing on pending motions is now Aug. 23 at 2 p.m.    James Blum is charged with the second-degree murder of his wife Patricia Blum, who was found unresponsive in the couple?s home at 1009 East

Washington resident Randy Stalder likes to keep a low profile and stay out of the limelight. But in a few weeks, the spotlight will be on Stalder when he accepts the Governor?s Lifesaving Award for saving the life of 24-year-old Amanda Vittetoe. One year ago, Vittetoe fell into a manure pit and was submerged for more than a minute before Stalder came to the rescue and pulled her to safety. Stalder will be given his

A group of farm specialists and wildlife enthusiasts took a guided tour of CRP ground (Conservation Reserve Program) Thursday morning to learn how to maintain a healthy environment for humans and animals. Private lands wildlife technician Jason Gritsch of the Department of Natural Resouces (DNR) led the tour, which was on the Carol Flickinger farm two miles south of Washington. The farm contains examples of a dozen

A group of community members met with a structural engineer concerning the future of the collapsed buildings on South Marion Avenue Tuesday afternoon. City Administrator Dave Plyman was in attendance, and remarked that the group addressed the ongoing problem of water leakage into the building north of the collapsed buildings, which is a dentist?s office.    Dr. Sergey Floryanovich owns the dentist?s office and

The United States Senate passed a financial reform bill two weeks ago meant to dramatically alter the way business is conducted on Wall Street. Local bankers say the reverberations of the legislation, known as the ?Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,? will be felt in small-town Iowa.    Steve Schlabaugh, Washington branch manager of US Bank, said he has not yet been briefed on the legislation

Fair participants and fair workers wrapped up another Washington County Fair Friday. Ten-year-old Kylee Porter was at the fair the entire week. She has two horses named Jeffey and Star who were to perform Friday. Porter competed in the halter horse, walk-trot, showmanship and trail and was all-set for the barrel racing when a storm descended on the fairgrounds and suspended competition. Fair officials decided to

The Washington County Fair came to a close Friday night after a week of shows, attractions and games. Fair activities were interrupted by rain on Monday and Friday. The tractor pull, which was originally scheduled for Monday, was rescheduled to Saturday, but that, too, was rained out. Friday?s rain occurred during the Horse and Pony Show?s pole bending competition. That event and the barrel racing which was to follow

The Washington Model Railroad Club has its own building at the fairgrounds in which to take refuge from the blazing sun. The club has been at the fair since Monday and will be there until Thursday, showing off its trains and other models in the building. The club can run a dozen trains at a time that are of different styles and sizes and from different eras in the history of the locomotive.    The tables the tracks