Opinion

To the editor:As an extraordinarily accomplished community, why do we entertain a plan to pay increasingly high bills on our water usage (to fix the sewers) without including a water sustainability design and plan?Between RAGBRAI, Iowa Great Place designation, Best Small Town You?ve Never Heard Of, our own sustainability coordinator, and extremely accomplished students, to name a few, we have the brains to ...

To the editor:I am writing in response to an article published in the July 18 Fairfield Ledger, ?View from across Iowa.?This article was from the July 11 Sioux City Journal, ?Second bullying summit provides opportunities.? This article stated that this summit provides an opportunity to build support for another try at strengthening Iowa?s antibullying laws by addressing cyberbullying thus giving school administr...

Quad-City Times, Aug. 18Diverse energy arises in Iowabackyards Just five months ago, anxious Muscatine County residents crowded the Wilton Community Center and heard a MidAmerican Energy executive outline the prospects for a new nuclear power plant. The company was assessing options for a nuclear plant in their backyard.Fast forward to August when MidAmerican has dropped that nuclear assessment and earmarked ...

To the editor:On July 4 I was traveling west on Highway 34 enroute to Des Moines.Near the top of a long grade my car suddenly died and I coasted to a stop at the corner of Varnishtree Avenue. By a stroke of luck I had stopped right in front of a used car/autobody shop which appeared to be one of the very few businesses along that stretch of road.In just a couple of minutes the shop owner came out to check on ...

I spend too much time on Facebook some evenings.I?m not one to post very often, telling others what I am doing, but I see posts from various pages and share those that strike a chord with me. Of course, it?s much easier to click a ?like? or ?share? button than actually go out and do something; I am guilty of that, I admit.Facebook has been a fertile ground of quotes and ideas. I particularly like:?A society ...

To the editor:I am writing you this letter to congratulate you on the fantastic job being done to promote gymnastics in the Fairfield area.It is wonderful to think there may one day be an Olympic Champion from Fairfield. It takes dedicated people so take time to mold our children into responsible adults, and Fairfield Park and Recreation has a large part to play in this process.The short time that Gymnastics ...

The Des Moines Register, Aug. 10Iowa?s water quality disconnect The Iowa State Fair is now in full swing. This is a grand showcase for livestock, produce and farm machinery, and it is the closest most people will get to the industry that produces the annual bounty for which Iowa is famous around the world.Iowans, however, may have a hard time squaring this wholesome image with growing evidence of the environme...

To the editor:During the 2013 Jefferson County Fair, a family traveling from South Carolina through Iowa had stopped in to experience our Fair.While they were here, a member of the family set their brand new Sony camera down in the Show Arena and forgot to pick it up! Some Good Samaritan found that camera and turned it in to the Extension Office.The next day, the owner of that camera called to see if perhaps, ...

I had to put serious thought into my decision when I was offered the sports editor position here in Fairfield.Two questions kept racing through my head. The first question was whether or not I would even take the job here. I had another job offer in a town just as homey as Fairfield. It was even in Iowa. Which place would be best for my future?The second question that plagued me was could I live in this small ...

When I was in eighth grade I split time between junior high baseball and a YMCA youth football league. I grew up in Quincy, Ill. In the great state of Illinois, junior high baseball is played in the fall and high school baseball in the spring. Everyday after school I would go to baseball practice and then get a ride across town to football practice with a friend.My mindset had to completely change when I ...

Quad-City Times, Aug. 2School boards should set calendar If Iowa legislators actually listen to thousands of locally elected school board members across the state, its decision on school start dates should be easy.The State Board of Education on Thursday wisely dismissed a Department of Education proposal to restrict the start of the public school year until after Sept. 1.?This needs further discussion than ...

I?m starting to think that the more dependent on technology we become, the harder things are for us. The world?s geniuses have come up with so many quick fixes and appliances geared toward convenience that soon, there will probably be a gadget that will get out of bed for us.That?s all well and good, until the technology breaks down. That?s when a back-to-basics movement looks like the ticket after all.A few ...