Andy Hallman

The Republican and Democratic parties held their respective primary elections Tuesday night. Ron Bennett won the Republican primary over Jim Rosien in the Washington County Supervisor District 5 race. Steve Davis won the District 3 supervisor race in the Republican party, defeating John Hahn and Bill Walker. The results released by the Washington County Auditor?s office are unofficial because not all of the absentee

Main Street Washington will hold its annual ?Spring Forward and Savor Washington? this Saturday night, which will feature specialties at nine downtown businesses. Each of the nine businesses will have a $3 item from their menu that sets them apart from the other businesses. Savor Washington will run from 5:30 to 9 p.m.    The nine participating businesses are the 207 Night Club, Dino?s Pizza and Steakhouse, Dodici?s

Washington County voters will head to the polls Tuesday to vote in the 2010 primary election. The primary election is when voters select the candidates from either the Republican or Democratic parties to represent that party in the general election in November. The primary races that will be decided Tuesday range from local county supervisor contests to nominating candidates for national office in the U.S. House and

Tuesday?s primary elections are just around the corner, and some potential voters may be wondering if they can still register to vote. Washington County Deputy Auditor Phyllis Hofer said county residents can register the same day they vote. If you are registering for the first time in a precinct, you must present a photo ID and proof of your current address.    ?The best form of ID is a current and valid Iowa

By Andy HallmanThe JOURNAL    The day did not begin as planned. The flea market vendors who had set up in Central Park before 7 a.m. struggled to stay dry as light rain fell for most of the morning Saturday. By early afternoon, the rain had let up, the sun had come out, and so had the people to enjoy Ridiculous Day in downtown Washington.     Main Street Washington?s Ridiculous Day featured a number of activities

The nationally recognized telephone number for emergencies is 9-1-1. There are other three-digit numbers ending in 1-1 that people can dial to summon a variety of non-emergency services. For instance, every resident in Iowa can dial 2-1-1 to find out information about health and human services. First Call for Help Iowa Inc. is the organization that fields those calls from Washington County. First Call for Help Iowa,

The JOURNAL    The Washington City Council listened to a request to make a sand volleyball court on Iowa Avenue for Main Street Washington?s ?Celebrate Your Senses? party on Aug. 7. Main Street Washington Executive Director Amy Vetter made the request at the council?s regular meeting in the former library Wednesday night. After some discussion, the council voted to table Main Street?s request and take up the issue

The Grace C. Mae Advocate Center is a non-profit mental health care facility that opened in Washington a few months ago. The Advocate Center is renting an office space in Hamakua Place on South Iowa Avenue. Therapists at the center treat patients with mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).    The Washington office is the fourth

Washington youngsters were entertained Friday night by one activity after another at the annual ?Kidzfest? held in Central Park. The Washington County Hospital and Clinics organized the event, which is designed to teach kids about health, wellness and safety.    Hospital marketing coordinator Carrie Garman said she was worried that attendance would be down because the event was held on Memorial Day weekend when many

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that has been going on since late April has prompted people around the country to look for ways of soaking up the oil. Some people are sending human hair and animal fur to be gulf, which will be stuffed into pantyhose that will collect the oil from the surface of the water. Harold and Louise Frakes, who live just west of Brighton, have agreed to send fiber taken from alpacas that

Last week I wrote about how voters? poor incentives to gain information lead to their ignorance of political issues. The implication was that better incentives would lead to better information. The question is how do we improve incentives? Secondarily, is there any evidence to show people with an incentive to collect information actually do it?    A number of opinion surveys have shown that the general public has

Iowa?s unemployment rate rose in the month of April but is still a few points below the national average, according to a press release published last week from Iowa Workforce Development. Iowa?s unemployment rate was 6.9 percent for April, slightly above March?s 6.8 percent rate and well above the rate in April 2009, when it was 5.5 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate for April was 9.9 percent, up a whole percentage

The Walmart in Washington was evacuated Tuesday morning at about 9 a.m. because of a possible gas leak. Assistant Manager Jonathan Ford said Walmart alerted Alliant Energy and the Fire Department of an odor in the building that was believed to be natural gas. Walmart closed down for about 20 minutes while Alliant Energy and the Fire Department tested for natural gas. Ford said that, upon investigation, there was no

The three Republican county supervisor candidates for Washington County?s third district squared off in a debate at the Highland Elementary School gymnasium in Ainsworth Wednesday evening. Washington County Supervisor Steve Davis and challengers Bill Walker and John Hahn answered questions from the audience and from the moderator, Jeff Johnston.    The issue of wind farms in the county was a topic that drew much

Local law enforcement agencies have a number of youth outreach programs to educate kids and help them become law-abiding citizens. Washington County Sheriff Jerry Dunbar said that the schools in the county are a frequent stop for him and his deputies.    ?We come to the schools to give safety tips to the students,? said Dunbar. ?We have programs on drug safety and ?stranger danger.??    Dunbar said that another way