Andy Hallman

The Washington County Compensation Commission awarded John and Jan Berdo just under $1 million in compensation for a 63-acre parcel of land northwest of the Washington Airport. The city of Washington has sought to acquire the land through eminent domain in order to extend one of the runways 750 feet farther northwest, to move it away from the Airport Road east of it.    The six commissioners met at the sheriff?s

The Washington Community School Board has asked the city?s police department about having an officer work in the school district full-time. Police Chief Greg Goodman said the school board and the police department are just in the initial stages of the negotiations, but he said both groups think a ?school resource officer? is a good idea.    Goodman said that if the plan goes through, the police would move an

Washington County 4-H and Johnson County 4-H joined forces Saturday to put on the ?Family Youth Day Shoot? at Highland Hideaway Hunting a few miles south of Riverside. The Washington County 4-H club known as ?Bows and Bullets? provided a number of fun activities involving archery and firearms.    The purpose of the Family Youth Day Shoot was to educate young people about Shooting Sport activities and to recruit

The Washington County Compensation Commission held a hearing Tuesday morning to decide a compensation case. The City of Washington will acquire roughly 63 acres of land northwest of the airport for the purpose of extending the runway 750 feet farther northwest. That land is owned by John and Jan Berdo. The commission met to decide how much money the City owes the Berdos for taking the land.    In February, the

The Washington County Zoning Board of Adjustment granted a variance to Dave and Jessica Waite to build a house in the 2300 block of 263rd Drive, in the Autumn Acres subdivision south of the Washington Golf and Country Club. The board did so at its meeting in the Washington County Courthouse Thursday night. The four board members present voted to approve the ordinance, and they were Tim Trotman, Rose Jaynes, Jim

A group of nearly 100 people gathered at Sunset Park in Washington Saturday morning to raise awareness of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The participants walked around the park wearing shirts from the Iowa SIDS Foundation, which is the organization that put on the event. People also gathered in a shelter for activities such as face-painting, door prizes and an auction.    The SIDS walk in Washington Saturday

The West Chester High School graduating class of 1951 is a close-knit group if ever there was one. All six women who graduated that year have kept in touch even after they moved to other towns or other states. The women have written letters to each other several times a year every year since then. Joyce Nebel, a member of the letter-writing group, said she and the ladies have no plans to stop any time soon, and will

The City of Ainsworth received a grant from the federal government to make four homes in the city more energy efficient. The city received $56,812 from the USDA Rural Development Housing Preservation Grant in January, and since then has been at work finding and disseminating the money to eligible families. The city contributed a 10 percent match to the project.     Ainsworth Mayor Dawn Stewart said the money goes

I often hear the phrase ?common sense? bandied about by candidates who promise ?common sense solutions? to our problems. The other day I looked up the phrase in the dictionary, and according to Merriam-Webster, common sense is defined as ?sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.? Who could be against that? Who could deny that sound and prudent judgment is a virtue?    At the

The Washington County E911 Board discussed telephone surcharges at its meeting Monday night. The entirety of the E911 Board?s budget comes from telephone surcharges, which for landline is $1.50. The board voted to support the continuation of the $1.50 surcharge at its June meeting, which must be approved by voters this November. If it is not approved, it will drop to $1.    The board also receives money from

Bernard and Judith Bartholow of Muscatine are on the verge of selling a farm that has been in the Bartholow family for almost 70 years. The Bartholows own a 126-acre farm west of Elm Grove Cemetery that the city of Washington has expressed an interest in purchasing. At its most recent meeting, the city council voted to offer $1.5 million for the property. The Bartholows and their tenant, Winter Farms Inc., must sign

Monday was the first day of school for students in the Washington School District. Students and teachers alike said they were happy to see one another again after nearly three months of vacation. High school secretary Kaylene Miller said it was nice to have a break over the summer.    ?My summer was good but it went very fast,? said Miller. ?Our family took a trip to the Ozarks, and we relaxed most of the time.?   

Bodywrx in Washington has accepted a $250,000 grant from the state of Iowa to remodel its second floor and turn it into two apartments. Bodywrx is one of 24 projects in Main Street Iowa communities to receive a grant from the state?s I-JOBS program.    Main Street Washington director Amy Vetter said Bodywrx was chosen because it had already received a Main Street challenge grant earlier in the year. That grant was

A special Washington County Democratic convention on Aug. 6 chose Richard Gilmore to represent the party in the District 5 race for county supervisor. Gilmore will face Republican Ron Bennett in the general election in November. The Fifth District includes the southern half of the city of Washington.    Gilmore grew up on a farm between Anamosa and Monticello. He has fond memories of his youth on a farm that was

I recently heard about an interesting social experiment involving traffic lights. A city of 22,000 in Britain called Portishead covered the traffic lights at a busy intersection in town as a way of reducing the long cues and waiting times. The experiment lasted just two weeks but proved to be a success. Commute times fell and there were no accidents or injuries.    Similar results were seen when a city of 55,000 in