Fairfield News

My month of May.This month seems to go forever ? spring is in full force with flowers blooming, gardeners gardening, crops being planted ... well most years at least ... the school year winds down, and a three-day weekend/holiday near the end of May entices us to be outdoors.In my world, May 3 was a joyous day. My first grandchild was born, Colin Vance, son of my one son and his wife, only an hour?s drive ...

To the editor:My mother, Thelma Ridlinger, called me this morning (March 30) to inform me that Denny Kemp had passed away.Denny graduated from Fairfield High School, Class of 1959. Most of us knew Denny from the FHS band and the 34th Division National Guard Band. His mother, Louise, and father, Warren, a dentist, also lived in Fairfield.Denny was a talented trumpet player and played high school football. Some ...

To the editor:I?ve noticed yards around Fairfield are looking good!The RAGBRAI bikers coming to Fairfield July 26 will about double the size of Fairfield and in that group could be potential business people looking to invest or conduct other business which could help our community. They will ride down many streets, not just Main and Burlington.If you take pride in Fairfield, and in your home and yard, this is ...

To the editor:When FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski recently called for at least one gigabit broadband community in all 50 states by 2015, Fairfield sent notice to the FCC that LISCO already met the Gigabit Challenge for Iowa! Today, only about 42 communities in 14 states are known to be served by ultra-high-speed fiber Internet providers. LISCO transformed Fairfield into a gigabit city and a pioneer in fiber ...

To the editor:After hearing of some requests made of Master Gardeners, as a MG I think it is time to make clear what a Master Gardener is, and is not.The mission of Master Gardeners is stated on the Iowa State University Extension Master Gardener website as follows:?The mission of the Master Gardener Program is to provide current, research-based, home horticulture information and education to the citizens of ...

To the editor:May is School Board Appreciation Month, May 8 is the morning that the school district holds its Staff Appreciation and Teacher of the Year Breakfast, and May 4 was another successful Faculty Follies program organized by the Education Foundation for Fairfield Public Schools. I am full of appreciation for the hard work and talents of the many groups and individuals serving Fairfield area students!FCS...

Faculty Follies 2013 is over and congratulations are in order to the talented teachers and administrators that volunteered their time to this fundraiser for the Education Foundation of Fairfield Public Schools.Your hard work raised more than $7,000 in one afternoon that will go in our endowment fund. The interest off that fund is used twice a year to award grants to teachers for extra materials needed in their ...

To the editor:On May 13, American Legion Post #47 Commander Jim Kennedy and I, Department of Iowa Vice Chairman, addressed your city council. We are encouraging community support for a public awareness effort so that we can continue to do the great things that we, as a patriotic community, may have taken for granted.While being a member of the local American Legion Post #47 is beneficial to the military ...

To the editor:The hard part of Jefferson County Alcohol Consumption Task Force Coalition (ACT) efforts to reduce youth alcohol abuse is how to measure ?prevention.? For example, recent youth alcohol use decisions during the Fairfield Prom may have prevented potential emergency room visits, auto accidents and parent worries. How do you measure that?The 2012 Jefferson County Youth Survey (IYS) reported 46 percent ...

To the editor:They?re charged with protecting our water and airAnd keeping the land from becoming too bareWannta fend off 10,000 hogs from Batavia?The Iowa DNR will most likely save yaWhen confronting pollutionThey?ll find a solutionThey?re a government department that cares But yet they avert their porcine eyesWhen faced with those filthy factory pigstiesCan it be our protection is only a sham?Do ...

In my 15 years experience as a newspaper reporter, Tyler Webster?s murder trial earlier this month in Jefferson County was the first of any type of trial I have covered for an assignment.At my previous newspaper, the Daily Gate City in Keokuk, (1997-2010) another reporter covered the police beat and courthouse. I sat in with her one afternoon during a murder-by-arson trial and another time in a sex abuse trial ...

To the editor:Many former ?Parsonites? will be gathering at the civic center to be a part of the dedication of the beautiful windows that had been loved so many years ago in Barhydt Chapel.I well remember the evening we were all gathered at the Barhydt Chapel. It was people who came from near and far, who had close attachments to Parsons. There were many tears.The vice president of the ?new? owners of the ...