Opinion

I never let Abraham Lincoln?s birthday go by without thought or comment. He was born 203 years ago on Feb. 12, and I remember when his birthday and George Washington?s birthday (Feb. 22) were public holidays. Sometime along the way when the three-day weekend became popular, Presidents Day was created and it became a federal holiday.At a recent social event, some good-natured rivalry arose pitting people sitting ...

This week the Iowa House passed House File 2274 which reformed Iowa?s 30-year-old property tax system. Our bill from the House is the only property tax proposal that delivers significant tax relief and genuine reform to all classes of Iowa?s property tax payers. Without the passage of this bill in the Senate, Iowa taxpayers will see a $2.5 billion property tax increase over the next 10 years, with a majority of ...

If life?s journey takes you down County Road G-36 as you head toward Highway 218, I encourage you to go a half mile on past the interchange and take a look at the WCCB?s latest addition of structure to Crawford Pond. This is particularly true if you are one of the many people, like me, that feel blessed to have the owner allow us to fish there, and thus are interested in another excellent place to try.This ...

For some reason, I thought a trip up to the Maharishi University of Management campus to take a picture Wednesday morning would be a difficult assignment.Ledger reporter Lacey Jacobs was writing a story about the Iowa Department of Transportation proposing a 5 miles per hour increase in the speed limit on Highway 1 North near the campus. The Fairfield City Council passed the first reading of the ordinance ...

What a disappointment, both of Iowa?s division I football teams losing their bowl bids, Iowa State to Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl, and University of Iowa to Oklahoma in the Insight Bowl. For the first time in our state?s history, both Iowa State and U of I?s bowl games were on the same day, stretching fan support from one end of the country to the other. With Iowa State playing at 2:20 in the afternoon, and ...

Richmond, IowaFeb. 10, 2012 To the Editor:As members of Residents for a Better Richmond (RBR), we read with interest a recent article, ?Wes Rich to chair RUSS? in ?The North Washington County Free Press.? Rich announced his election as chairman of the Regional Utility Service Systems (RUSS) Board at a meeting of the Washington County Board of Supervisors last month. The article reports Supervisor Rich as ...

I ran my first bill of the year on the House floor this week. The bill is not the most exciting piece of legislation, but still important nonetheless. House File 2101 deals with land surveyor corner certificates. The legislation allows for multiple corners to be recorded on a single land surveyor certificate, rather than filing separate certificates for each corner. In our area this is not a problem, it is ...

To the editor: Did you know that there?s not a single public place in Jefferson County where dogs are allowed to legally run off-leash? The Fairfield Off-Leash Dog Park Committee is still working hard to rectify this situation for Fairfield?s dogs and their humans! Fairfield is soon to join the ranks of cities with Off-Leash Dog Parks, but we?ve hit a few snags which require further fundraising for Fairfield ...

I recently came across a video produced by the Cato Institute that was intended to introduce viewers to libertarianism. The video features David Boaz, the institute?s vice president, explaining the fundamental beliefs of libertarians. One of those central beliefs is the desirability of a free market economy as opposed to one that is centrally planned.Boaz says that the way goods are distributed in a free market ...

I blame the sun.Partly because it was convenient. Partly because I was tired of blaming the usual scapegoat: the weather. And partly because the behavior seemed intense even by winter weather standards.I refer to the several classes of students I taught last week that seemed extra squirrely. Now, I was not new to any of the students and most of them I had already taught this academic year. In other words, I ...

My parents just returned from a two-week vacation to Arizona, where they went to visit some friends. This is the third year winter in a row that they?ve gone to Arizona. Before they left, my dad told me he likes to go at the end of January because it ?breaks up the winter.?Iowa?s winter can be very dreary if it?s windy and cold for months on end, so I can understand my parents? desire to take a vacation from it. ...

We are a society that has been immersed in a world of technology. It has become prevalent in our culture and is not something that is going away and will continue to expand. It is incumbent upon the school district to prepare our students for the world they are going to work and live in. That world needs to include the most advanced technology that we can provide. That also includes the ability to adapt and to ...