Engineering work for RR quiet zone proposed

The latest thinking on creating a railroad quiet zone in Jefferson is that all four Union Pacific railroad crossings could be left open and modified with supplemental safety structures at a cost of about $350,000. City engineer Jim Leiding of Bolton & Menk named that figure as a “ballpark estimate” as he presented a proposal for consulting services to the…

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More space, not necessarily more books, is wish for Jeff library

Long range planning for the Jefferson public library was the purpose of community forums held Tuesday in the First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall. Library director Jane Millard introduced library consultant George Lawson. Lawson served as a reference librarian and then director of the Ames public library before becoming a library planning consultant. He has done planning studies for more than…

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Supes to consider salaries, continue looking at TIF

The county supervisors will hold the first Thursday meeting of the year tomorrow. The board generally meets Thursday mornings during January and February, in addition to the regular Monday meetings, to keep the budget process moving. The agenda includes consideration of the compensation board’s recommendation of a 2.5 percent salary increase for all elected officials. The supervisors can accept the…

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‘Arch Alley’ concept shared

Plans to create “Arch Alley” in the alley north of State St off the courthouse square were shared with the Jefferson city council’s street committee Tuesday. Arch Alley is intended to make a “space into a place.” Artist Dave Williamson, a 1966 Jefferson High School graduate and the brother of Deb McGinn, chair of Jefferson Matters: Main Street’s Tower View…

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Camping in the county increases for third year

Use of county parks for camping continues to increase, with  revenue now at $180,000, county conservation director Dan Towers told the county supervisors Monday. This is the third year revenue has grown, with receipts up 19 percent in 2015, up 8 percent in 2016, and up another 19 percent in 2017. Camping revenue for 2017 was $167,000, with an additional…

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Local Extension Council officers told

The Greene County Extension Council elected officers at its organizational meeting Jan. 10. The nine-member county Extension Council annually elects officers to comply with Iowa law. Bob Smith of Jefferson is the newly-elected chairperson. Jake Bohnet of Paton was elected vice chairperson. Shari Minnehan of Churdan was elected secretary, and Pam Olerich was elected treasurer.

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Always lessons to be learned

~a column by Colleen O’Brien At a community breakfast in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King on Saturday, I heard two speakers talk about subjects that tailgated remarks made by President Donald Trump two days prior. It was pure coincidence, a kind of magical realism that in a timely manner denounced the bad manners and accompanying constant anger on the…

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Letter to the editor – Bruce Bannister

To the editor, McClure Engineering, who now employs Zack Mannheimer, are back at the trough asking for more money to do a “housing plan”. $93000 has already been squandered on “Vision 2020” planning which produced not one useful, feasible idea. Why would anyone consider hiring these people again? Lutz’s main message was that they “needed to be paid” and would…

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