American Legion Post 11 announced Dec. 21 that Isabella Schroeder is the first place winner in this year’s essay contest for fifth graders. She received $50 and her essay will be forwarded to district level competition. She will also be invited to read her essay at the Memorial Day service in Jefferson.
Read MoreDay: December 23, 2015
Lots of Socks netted lots of socks, and cash, too
This year’s Lots of Socks project netted 1,129 items, mostly socks, for needy children in Greene County. That figure puts the total at more than 5,000 items collected by RSVP 55+ in the six years it has organized the project. The project started as a Make a Difference Day project. This year, collection boxes were placed in 19 locations throughout…
Read MorePolar Express at the top of the bell tower
The Polar Express made a fantastic journey to the top of the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower Dec. 15 for children and adults in the Kids With a Connection mentoring program. The train, which belongs to KWS coordinator Janice Harbaugh, was set up for the evening by Greene County sheriff Steve Haupert and Jefferson police officer Blayne Sunstrom.
Read MoreLyrical Iowa includes five local poets
The work of five Greene County poets is published in Lyrical Iowa 2015. Lyrical Iowa 2015 showcases the work of 362 poets, as compiled by editor Lucille Morgan Wilson. The published poems were selected from nearly 1,600 entries in the Iowa Poetry Association’s 70th annual contest. Included are poems by Jerry Roberts, Hollie J. Roberts and Victoria Riley, all of Jefferson, Nancy…
Read MoreGarden Club donates to ARC
Jefferson Garden Club members made a monetary donation to Greene County Christian Action Resource Center at their December meeting. The club donates to ARC each year at this time. In the last month ARC has helped over a 100 families weekly with donations of food and clothing. Pictured are ARC volunteer Dianne Blackmer (left) accepting a check from Garden Club…
Read MoreWhen food is love
~a column by Colleen O’Brien When the food season hits, I think of my mom, the first cook I knew. She was a plain cook, nowhere close to cordon bleu status; and it was the 1950s, a plain-food, Jell-O era in America. But her pork roast gravy . . . mmm . . . delectable. A taste heaven. And I…
Read MoreGreene Co school board okays retirement incentive, hears bond information
The Greene County board of education at its December meeting approved an early retirement incentive for 2016. A similar incentive last year brought about the retirement of seven veteran teachers and three associates with annual salaries totaling $437,019.
Read MoreHoliday construction at GCHS
Greene County High School students did some holiday construction with their advisory groups two days last week. In a friendly competition, the students were challenged to build a structure using all edible ingredients. A very large mansion built by students in Patty Fisher’s advisory group won first place. Second place went to an edible version of the board from the…
Read MoreTen area children ‘Shop With a Cop’
Some holiday service projects are fun for all involved, and the inaugural Shop With a Cop project in Greene County seems to be one of them. All members of the Greene County Peace Officers Association who weren’t working Saturday morning were “off shopping,” but their lists weren’t their own. Wearing their uniforms and driving their patrol cars, they were shopping…
Read MoreOhrt – Treat one another as kin
Dr David Ohrt is a member of the Greene County Community Schools board of education and a mental health counselor in local practice. He made extended, heartfelt comments at the Dec. 16 board meeting during the portion of the meeting reserved for board committee reports.
Read MoreSchools receive their own report cards last week
Just as students receive report cards, Iowa school districts now receive annual report cards from the Iowa Department of Education. Tim Christensen reported to the board of education the “grades” on the Greene County Schools’ first report cards, which were released just that day.
Read MoreMembers approve merger of Farmers and West Central cooperatives
‘Merger of equals’ approved by super majority in dual membership vote AMES, Dec. 18, 2015 – The members of Farmers Cooperative Company (FC) of Ames and West Central® Cooperative of Ralston have both approved the merger of their cooperatives effective April 1, 2016.
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