Andy Hallman

For several months, a handcrafted wooden lamp has illuminated the first floor of the Washington Public Library. The lamp?s creator is James Blakeney, a resident of Washington. Blakeney began working on the lamp in August of 2008. He spent his weekends turning, planing and smoothing the wood until the lamp was ready to put on display in September 2009.    Blakeney explained that the lamp is made from several

The third and final state legislative briefing was held in the Washington County Courthouse Saturday morning. State Senator Becky Schmitz (D) and State Representative Larry Marek (D) spoke to a crowd of about 20 people in a courtroom on the second floor of the courthouse. Schmitz and Marek spoke about the proposed ban on text messaging while driving. Schmitz said that the Senate has added ?reading a text? to the list

The Washington Community Y held its annual meeting Friday afternoon in the YMCA. The Community Y gave awards to four local entities who earned the title of ?Friends of the YMCA.? The award winners were the Washington County Riverboat Foundation, the Y?s Men and Women?s Club, Washington Community Chest and the City of Wellman.    Liz Hall and Patty Koller are both board members of the Riverboat Foundation and were at

Washington County dispatcher Sandy Lovetinsky will be recognized as the ?telecommunicator of the year? in the state of Iowa at an awards banquet in Des Moines later this month. The Iowa Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) announced that Lovetinsky won the honor for her performance during one especially harrowing call she took nearly a year ago.    Lovetinsky fielded a call from a woman who

The Iowa River is still flooding after last week?s rain and high temperatures that melted nearly all of the snow in the area. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the river last Tuesday and reported Monday morning that the river was still a foot above its flood stage of 15 feet. The weather service is predicting that the river will fall below its flood stage Tuesday.    Assistant County Engineer

A spokesman for the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) addressed the Washington City Council Wednesday about the speed of vehicles on Highway 92 near Walmart. The council had requested that a speed study be done on the road to find out the average speed of vehicles and whether or not they respected the posted speed limits. Frank Redeker, who spoke on behalf of the DOT, said that the speed study revealed that

Customers of Alliant Energy will soon be paying more for their electricity. The company recently announced that it will raise rates for its residential customers by 11.7 percent effective March 20. Alliant filed a request with the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) to phase in the rate increases over a three-year period. At the end of the three-year period, the final residential rate will be 19.4 percent higher than the

Former Crawfordsville City Clerk John Hamil, 62, was arrested Wednesday and charged with first-degree theft of more than $10,000 and felonious misconduct during his time as the city clerk. Hamil was released without bail on his personal recognizance. His preliminary hearing has been set for March 24.    First-degree theft carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Felonious misconduct in

The English River that snakes through the northern part of the county is flooding because of the recent rain and melting snow. Washington County has closed a portion of 130th street south of Kalona because there is now standing water on the road. Assistant County Engineer Jacob Thorius said Wednesday morning that people who live on the road will be able to use it but that it is now closed to through traffic.    ?The

Hospice of Washington County held an informational public forum about Medicare Monday night in the library. Jayme Colby, the director of nursing services and the patient care coordinator for Hospice, gave a PowerPoint presentation that outlined what hospice services are covered by Medicare.    Colby began her presentation by reviewing what Hospice does. She said the focus of Hospice is providing comfort to people

During Friday?s school lockdown in Washington, the police stayed in close contact with the school to alert them of any new developments. The police department was informed earlier in the day by the Waterloo Police Department that someone on Facebook was threatening to take a gun to ?Washington High School in Iowa.? Police and school officials alike breathed a sigh of relief when they learned later that afternoon that

All Washington schools were put into a lockdown Friday afternoon following a threat to ?Washington High School in Iowa? posted on Facebook. The schools were placed in the lockdown shortly before 2 p.m. and roughly a half hour later the lockdown was canceled. During that time, all the interior and exterior doors of the schools were locked and no one was allowed to enter the buildings. The schools that were locked down

The Washington City Council has spent the last few months debating the issue of establishing a TIF district for the Mills Seed Building that was moved a week ago. Many residents in town are scratching their heads over what a TIF district is and how it affects the taxes they pay and the amount of money the City spends.    A TIF district is essentially a way for the City to promote economic development by promising a

Washington Police Chief Greg Goodman said the police department is making progress on the investigation into the death of Robert Blankenship, who died Nov. 22 after he was found unconscious outside the Fourth Avenue Bar and Grill. Goodman said that the department would likely issue a press release in the next two weeks concerning the information it has gathered in the past four months.    ?We?re trying to get this

The employees of Planned Parenthood in Washington are enjoying their new digs located at 311 N. Fourth Ave. They like it so much they are having an open house Tuesday from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at the clinic.    The Planned Parenthood clinic was moved to the Fourth Avenue location on Jan. 26 from its former location south of the courthouse on Main Street. Carol Greiner, the clinic manager, said they have more space in the