Community

The Washington County Alzheimer's Support Group will meet at 6:30 p.m. March 2, at the United Presbyterian Church in Washington. Guest speaker, from UIHC research, will be present to speak of present and upcoming research. This is open to the public, for anybody looking for further understanding of Alzheimer's/dementia. If you are a caregiver,spouse or family member of a person with Alzheimer's/dementia, this is ...

Five generations of this family got together for this family photograph. In the back row are Tammy Schrier, grandmother, and Karyl Miller, great-grandmother. In the front row are Jessie Blaylock, great-great-grandmother, Addison Janecek, and Jessica Janecek, mother.

This picture was taken at a Y's Men's Club play practice during the 1950s. Practices were held at Dave Elder's home. The plays were staged at Washington High School. Pictured are Jean Van Meter, Betty Osincup, Bob Ferrell, Mary Lynn Wehr, and Clint Stewart.

Chinese New Year 2015, Year of the Ram, was celebrated at the United Presbyterian Home with special music and festive decorations. Brightly colored lanterns and dragon puppets adorned the Activity Center. Gwen Ying and Martha Chalupa provided a piano-and-violin duet. Chong Ying surprised the musicians by singing a traditional Chinese opera song that he and Gwen had prepared for their wedding ceremony. Chinese ...

4-H?ers involved in the bucket bottle project are invited to attend an informational meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at the Washington County Extension Office. This is an introductory meeting to the Bucket Bottle Project. Department superintendents will discuss deadlines, records, and fair requirements. Workbooks will be available for purchase as well.Bucket bottle project starter kits available to 4-H ...

Angela Langstraat is the 2015 Community Chest President. She is pictured with the 2014 president, Amanda Greiner.

For millions of people with epilepsy, life comes with too many restrictions. If they just had a reliable way to predict when their next seizure will come, they could have a chance at leading more independent and productive lives.That?s why it is so encouraging to hear that researchers have developed a new algorithm that can predict the onset of a seizure correctly 82 percent of the time. Until recently, the best ...

The Washington County Master Gardeners are offering a $500 scholarship to a deserving Washington County resident pursuing a horticultural related degree or certificate from a college or university in the state of Iowa.Graduating high school seniors as well as county residents returning to school are eligible. Applications are available at all Washington County high schools, at the Washington County Extension office.

The Washington Soil and Water Conservation District will hold their meeting on March 5, at 7:30 p.m. at the USDA office. The tentative agenda items for the meeting include financial statements, bills for payment, and cover crop applications. The meeting is open to the public. If you need accommodations, please notify Washington SWCD as soon as possible at 319-653-6654.

The immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect our bodies from infection. The system must fight off invading microbes, infected cells, and tumors while ignoring healthy tissues.There can be significant variation in immune system function between people. It?s not known how much of the variation is caused by genetic differences (heritable) and how much is due to ...

Justina Anderson is one of 183 students from Northwestern College who will travel across the United States and overseas for the college?s annual Spring Service Projects (SSP) Feb. 28 through March 9.Anderson is a junior and a music ministry major at Northwestern College. She will serve with Shelter Youth Hostels in The Netherlands. Anderson is the daughter of Paul and Cynthia Anderson of Washington.

Despite known risks, older people often take benzodiazepines, a class of drugs that helps treat anxiety and sleep problems. New research raises questions about why benzodiazepines are prescribed so often when safer alternatives may be available.Benzodiazepines include the medications alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium), and lorazepam (Ativan). Although effective for short-term use, they can have serious risks. ...