Opinion

It is kind of amazing how many people I have talked to who don?t live in Iowa and who are tremendously skeptical when I tell them that the common deer is one of the most dangerous non-domesticated animal in the United States.Likewise, people who live in Iowa ? or Wisconsin or rural Illinois ? really don?t have trouble believing that at all. That is because anyone in those areas who values their safety or the ...

November 5, 2015Washington, Iowa To the Editor:Refer ?Voters deny bond,? 4 Nov. issue [of The Washington Evening Journal]. Voters denied bond to construct a building for the Washington County Public Health.? ? Can go back for another vote in six months? and ?We will have to go back to the drawing table? are quoted.In months past I was forced to return to University Hospitals Emergency for a clogged catheter ...

Tammy Mumme (pronounced mummy) of Mt. Pleasant isn't mum about her son, Dillyn. And for good reason.Growing up, Dillyn enjoyed hunting and racing ATV 4-wheelers. He was a strong kid, athletic, and an excellent wrestler. In fact, while wrestling in middle school, he was undefeated and never pinned.One night, just after Christmas, when Tammy picked him up after practice, Dillyn grabbed his chest. Tammy thought he ...

The conversation started on topic. As us adults monitored the fifth-graders building shelters and trying to start fires, someone asked me about winter wild edibles. Would I myself know what to eat in a survival situation? I know more about spring wild edibles, but just a few weeks ago, I had found one of my boss? persimmon trees during another hike.That led another adult to ask if we had checked out the seed for ...

October 24, 2015Washington, Iowa To the Editor:The Washington Tree Committee recently received a grant from Alliant Energy through Trees Forever for a fall tree-planting project in Sunset Park, on the hillside north of Paws and More. The goal in the planting was to provide a windbreak for Paws and More and to provide a visual screen and sound barrier for Sunset Park users. The grant was for the planting of 25 ...

Nov. 2, 2015Washington, Iowa To the Editor:To all Cub fans in Washington and everywhere,A very sincere belated congratulations on your team?s excellent success during the 2015 season. The Cubs won 97 games ? a franchise record. Your team played the Mets seven times during the regular season and won all seven by the total score of 33-11. During the NLCS games, the Mets won four (4) straight ? the last one, ...

I can?t watch the movie ?Tombstone? without thinking of Ed and Pam Hartsock of rural Washington.I had the pleasure of interviewing both of them just shy of two years ago on a very interesting hobby they have. They regularly travel to the town of Tombstone, Arizona, to re-create one of the most compelling incidents of the old West ? the gunfight at the OK Corral. When I interviewed Ed, he said the event they ...

With our enrollment numbers for Washington Community School down over 50 students, we will need to look at ways of leveraging our funding streams in the coming years. There are many funding sources that the Washington Community School District utilizes to fund education. The total budget for the Washington Community School is nearly $20 million, but that includes all funds available to us. I think it is important ...

Washington, Iowa To the Editor:Let me start by stating that we were dog owners for 13 years. She lived in an outside kennel and was taught not to bark and disturb others.Tuesday while walking up to coffee I was suddenly confronted by a large brown pit bull wearing a green collar. As it barked and growled at me, I retreated looking for a porch to escape to for safety. Fortunately, the dog crossed to the south ...

August 19, 2015Riverside, Iowa To the Editor:My name is Abby Sojka, and I will be running for the District 6 seat, on the Highland Community School District Board of Directors. My husband, Grant, and our two daughters, Sophie and Libby, live one mile south of town on a family farm. I am a stay-at-home mom who has volunteered in our school, and I am extremely frustrated with the lack of leadership at Highland....

Washington, Iowa To the Editor:It is my understanding that Public Health?s expense for renting space from Federation Bank totals $49,062. In consideration for the rent, Federation Bank pays all of the electric and water utility bills, maintains the public spaces and fifth-floor meeting room, snow removal, paper products for restrooms, and provides an elevator for all of the Public Health clients.Where will ...

As the year comes to a close, I thought everyone might enjoy a bit of light-hearted fun. Here, once again, are some of those more interesting comments from the students I teach.During a program on soils, I passed out a piece of clay to each of the first graders. ?So, what do we usually do with clay?? I ask. A student in the front row was quick to answer: ?We eat it!"In another program, third graders divide up ...