Opinion

Iowa pheasant hunters can expect to find the best bird numbers in northwest, north central and central Iowa and while the number of birds in the field is well below peak years, good hunting opportunities do exist.?Even with low counts some hunters will have excellent hunts and plenty of opportunities and others will be able to flush a bird or two and put one in the bag,? said Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife ...

Claude Nicholson picks apricots from a tree on his and his wife Sharon?s 40-acre organic farm in rural Fairfield. The 75-year-old man picks apricots and cherries standing on a platform attached to the bucket of his tractor. He reaches a platform by climbing up a ladder place along the side. Since his retirement, Nicholson has been busy doing what he loves: farming and gardening. He makes Aronia granola bars in ...

DES MOINES ? Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey is encouraging Iowans to consider visiting a local apple orchard this fall.Apples are maturing, so now is a great time to visit an apple farm or pick some up at the local farmers market.?While the cool, wet spring challenged many Iowa farmers, it has been near perfect weather for Iowa?s apple trees and the result is many orchards are reporting a bumper ...

An estimated 50,000 archery deer hunters will climb into tree stands in Iowa, and an untold number will fall.One in every three hunters who hunt from a tree stand will fall at some point in their hunting career, and of those, 75 to 80 percent occurs while ascending or descending the tree.Nationally, 300 to 500 hunters are killed annually in tree stand accidents and another 6,000 will have tree stand related ...

Avoid fall plowing to leave food, cover for wildlife Fall tillage practices, even reduced tillage techniques such as disking and chisel plowing, can eliminate waste grains and crop residue that provides important food and cover for species such as pheasants, quail, partridge, turkey, and deer.Studies of harvested untilled crop fields show wildlife consume 55-85 percent of the waste corn and soybeans between ...

Revival meetings planned Burkhalter Ministries will lead revival meetings Sunday through Wednesday for First Church of the Nazarene.The revival meetings will be at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday at the church; 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at the church; and 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, preceded by the church?s weekly meal, featuring soups, at 6 p.m., at the Nazarene Family Center,Burkhalter Ministries includes Evangelist ...

MONDAYF.A.C.T. Auditions, for ?The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,? Fairfield High School Auditorium, 7 p.m.Jefferson County Master Gardeners, Jefferson County ISU Extension Office, 5 p.m.Birmingham Lions Club, carry-in supper, Birmingham Lions Building, 7 p.m.Youth Fitness Class, for third- through eighth-graders, Roosevelt Community Recreation Center, 5:15-6:15 p.m. $3 per class; free with membership. No ...

The Fairfield Senior Citizen Center has listed its menu for the coming week.Meals are served at 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday at the Fairfield senior center and at noon Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Lockridge senior center.Monday ? meatloaf, baked potato with sour cream, breaded tomatoes, peaches, orange juice.Tuesday ? creamed turkey, mashed potatoes, Green Beans Amandine, tossed lettuce salad with ...

Fairfield Community School District?s menu for the coming week:Monday ? breakfast: cereal, cereal bars, Nutri-Grain Bars, orange juice, milk. Lunch: pig-in-a-blanket, baked beans, peas, fresh apple, milk.Tuesday ? breakfast at FMS and FHS: cereal, scrambled egg on bagel, orange juice, milk; breakfast at elementary schools: cereal, wheat toast with butter and jelly or cereal/Nutri-Grain Bar, orange juice, milk. ...

The Rough Riders 4-H Club will hold a can drive this weekend at the Jefferson County ISU Extension Office.The 4-H?ers will be collecting cans from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.The 4-H?ers plan to use the profits from the can drive to fund the club?s community service projects.

Farewell reception planned Sunday afternoon for KochsFirst Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) will host a farewell reception for Keevin and Marcia Koch from 2-4 p.m. Sunday.Community members are welcome to come say good-bye to the Kochs before they relocate to Spring Hill, Tenn., to be near their three children and two grandchildren.The Kochs moved to Fairfield from Fairday, La., in 1975 to fill the pulpit ...

Fairfield Park and Recreation Department is offering a Little Tumblers class for toddlers and early preschoolers.The class for boys and girls 18 months through 4 years of age is designed to help the children begin to develop skills in balance, coordination and socialization.Parents or caregivers will accompany their children on various gymnastics apparatuses. A portion of the class will be reserved for free ...