Month: July 2017

Speculation about progress on the addition to the Greene County elementary building is over. “Obviously anybody who’s got two eyeballs knows construction isn’t going as fast as we’d like it,” school superintendent Tim Christensen said at the regular school board meeting Wednesday night. “There’s nothing definite, but it doesn’t look like it will be done Sept. 7.”

Freedom Rock Park is closer to completion with the addition of sidewalks and flagpoles. The work was done before the Greene County Fair, and many fair-goers stopped to visit the park.

Controversy over law enforcement, Community Center ~Courtesy of The Scranton Journal  A large contingent of Scranton area residents attended the city council meeting July 11, sitting through more than two hours of routine business before getting to the two issues of major interest: law enforcement in Scranton and the Scranton Community Center board. (See a post from July 12 about law…

Wild Rose Jefferson paid out more than $140,000 to Greene County and the city of Jefferson during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017. Greene County treasurer Donna Lawson reported to the county supervisors on Monday that payments to the county from the casino were $140,136.23 for the fiscal year. That amount is one-half of 1 percent of the gross…

Members of the Vision 2020 committee are expecting preliminary recommendations from the Community 360 planning group by the end of the month. Ken Paxton, Greene County Development Corporation director, reported to the county supervisors Monday that the Vision 2020 project team has focused on the smaller towns in the county. The team has met with more than 100 community leaders,…

The Thomas Jefferson Gardens board invites the public to use the Education and Welcome Center at the gardens as a cooling center during this unusual heat wave. Persons looking for respite from the extreme temperatures and high humidity are welcome Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 am to 4 pm. Depending on weather, the Education and Welcome Center may be…

The storefronts in downtown Jefferson will eventually be restored, although the project to date looks to be more about demolition than restoration. Jefferson city administrator Mike Palmer and Jefferson Matters: Main Street program director Peg Raney have both made that reminder in updates they’ve provided to various groups recently. Palmer explained to the county supervisors that it’s a small crew…

The Greene County supervisors tabled until March a proposal to increase the term life insurance benefit now offered to employees. Terry Lang, agent for the county’s employee insurance, asked the supervisors to consider increasing the benefit to $10,000 paid at the death of an employee’s spouse or child. The policy now pays $5,000 at the death of a spouse and…

Thomas Laehn, assistant to the county attorney, will have a change of title sooner than anticipated. Laehn reported to the county supervisors Monday that under a new rule of the Iowa judicial branch’s Office of Professional Regulation, he can practice law as soon as he completes the Iowa Bar examination. He will take the Bar exam next Monday, Tuesday and…

Hot, dry weather continued across the state with a few reports of notable precipitation during the week ending July 16, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Statewide there were 5.8 days suitable for fieldwork. Activities for the week included hauling grain, applying herbicides, cultivating, and haying.