Opinion

My youngest sister, Mary, had a surprise birthday party over the weekend. One of her friends at Iowa State, where she goes to school, organized the party and invited several of her high school classmates and her two siblings. It was a 2 ½ hour drive for me and even farther for my sister, Julie, who drove four hours from Wisconsin. We all gathered at a restaurant in one of its back rooms. Mary?s friend told a fib ...

?When did you learn how to sew?? my mom asked curiously Tuesday night.She held up The Ledger picture of Rustin Lippincott and me promoting the Northside Strippers Quilt Club quilting contest at the Octoberfest art walk.?They?re just having some fun,? I said. ?I?ll give it a shot. That?s about it.?Judie Herzog stopped in The Ledger months ago and asked if I?d picked out some fabric for a quilt and try ...

To the editor:A few days ago on Tuesday, Aug. 23, a 5.9 earthquake shook the east coast of our country, the largest and strongest in some 115 years, shaking and breaking the Washington and other historical monuments, government buildings which were evacuated, and closed airports. This event added to the bizarre and extreme environmental patterns; hurricanes and floods, monster tornadoes, massive wildfires, ...

January 16, 2012Richmond, Iowa To the Editor:Something happened recently which I find deeply disturbing. A tiny notice appeared in The Washington Evening Journal on Thursday, Dec. 29, which announced that RUSS was holding a meeting of The Regional Utility Service Systems emergency board at the Washington County Courthouse on the following morning, Friday, Dec. 30, at 11:45 a.m. It said, ?Agenda items include ...

The first week of any Legislative Session is consumed by ceremony and speeches. This week was no different. Gov. Branstad gave his State of the State address on Tuesday morning, followed by the State of the Judiciary address by Chief Justice Mark Cady on Wednesday.Gov. Branstad called for passage of a property tax solution to assist small business owners and entrepreneurs who create jobs. Branstad claims a ...

The GOP South Carolina Primary is tomorrow and the quest for the nomination is not yet over. Several candidates have dropped out but four remain in the race. At this time, there are usually calls for the minor candidates to get out of the running so they do not ?steal? votes from candidates who have a chance.The theory is that since voters can only choose one candidate, the more candidates there are the greater ...

Ah, the sweet unpredictability of vacation.Since the beginning of time ? and perhaps best told in ?National Lampoon?s Vacation? ? man has often tried to arduously plan trips, only for these ?bulletproof? plans to promptly blow up in our faces time and time again.I haven?t been immune to such Clark Griswold-ian blow-ups. From myself crashing on an alpine slide to my sister being chased by a mountain goat, ...

To the editor:Southern Iowa Economic Development Association wishes to sincerely thank all the organizations and individuals who donated cash, school items and time to the 2011 Jefferson County School Supply Drive! Over 200 children and their families were presented with free school supplies. The children were delighted to receive their bags and in this economy, the generosity of our community is deeply ...

To the editor:This summer, while riding my bicycle around town, I?ve been stopping to pick up cans and bottles discarded by the roadside. I?ve probably recycled a bushel of them, and I tend to ride on the same few streets (D, North B, East Fillmore, East Madison and South Main streets). Had I bothered with cigarette packs, Styrofoam, paper products, rags, etc., it would have taken me hours to get across town, ...

Jan. 9, 2012Richmond, Iowa To the Editor:In response to Mr. Brock?s press release (K. News 12-16), he stated Washington County asked for help from RUSS in 2007. They hired Garden and Associates, who determined a two-cell lagoon was the cheapest and most cost-effective choice.What does RUSS do? The answer, as stated by RUSS, is that they are ?familiar? with these types of systems. They take over the ownership,...

To the editor:Folks, there?s trouble in Mother Gooseland, and you owe it to yourselves to go see ?A Time Out Of Rhyme? at Fairfield?s Sondheim theater and find out why.Little Jack Horner wants to grow up but he can?t. Mary Quite Contrary is in love with Jack, but he has to grow up before he can love her back. And Captain Hook and his sidekick Smee have come on the scene from Never Never Land, taken hostages,...

To the editor:150 Yogic Flyers failed Ron Paul by voting for him in Ames. If those 150 yogic flyers were in the domes on Saturday, Ron Paul would have gotten hundreds more votes and the media could not have ignored his hated libertarianism. We Ron Paul sidhas know that the Maharishi effect research shows the instantaneous transformation of society. Among over 50 other Super Radiance studies, the 1986 study ...