Also okay funds to digitize newspapers
~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
A petition to address blight in rural Greene County was presented to the board of supervisors at the regular meeting March 2. Residents Carroll Perkins, Randy Wittrock, and Randy Monthei presented the petition signed by 16 people and spoke specifically about the deteriorating motel property west of Jefferson on County Road E-53 (old Highway 30). The motel is currently owned by Bruce Banister.
Described now by petitioners as “an eyesore beyond repair,” the motel was a popular overnight stop for travelers on the Lincoln Highway during the highway’s heyday. There has been recent interest statewide in keeping up the land along the route of the Lincoln Highway for historical reasons.
The petition asks the board of supervisors and the county attorney to “promulgate rules that would allow the county to address the issue of eyesores and dilapidated properties with no intrinsic value that are creating blight in Greene County.”
The petition notes “Eyesores of this type would long ago have been removed from the incorporated cities along old Highway 30 in Greene County. These cities have powers to remove blighted properties, and we are seeking the same remedy from Greene County.”
A farmhouse and outbuildings nearby, east down Danger Hill, are also owned by Banister and are falling down. The board discussed the idea that, unlike the dilapidated motel, the farmstead could be considered to have aesthetic qualities to photographers and people interested in farm history.
Perkins, Wittrock, and Monthei were of the opinion Banister does not intend to do anything about the motel property.
After board discussion, chair John Muir said the board “could reach out to Bruce (Banister)” to discuss the possibilities of an historical sign at the motel spot if it were to be improved.
The Greene County Librarians Association, represented by Jefferson public library director Jane Millard and librarians from Churdan, Rippey, and Scranton presented a request to the supervisors for $3,000 from Louis Dreyfus funds to digitize county newspapers as was done in 2013 with the Jefferson newspapers from 1866 to 2018.
Advantage Preservation of Cedar Rapids, represented by Jeff Brown, would digitize The Churdan Reporter (1891-1964), Grand Junction Globe (1870-1999), and Scranton Journal (1884-2018) and archive them online.
Rippey and Paton news was also contained in the Grand Junction newspaper in years past. Advantage Preservation will also digitize pamphlets and small books of county history such as cemetery records. Dana, Cooper, Farlin, Angus, and Adaza will be included.
These publications would then be available online free of charge for researchers and genealogists around the world. The cost would be $21,506 with a yearly fee of $400 to update each year for each newspaper still in publication. Millard said much of that has already been raised.
For the current Jefferson newspapers archived online, Millard said that in the past month, 727 people in 10 states and 14 countries used the online archives. Over the past 6 years, news articles have been accessed 11,295 times with 479,000 images downloaded.
Rick Morain spoke from the audience concerning the deterioration of printed newspaper. He said newspapers before 1875 used rag content in the paper and hold up pretty well. “After 1875, tannin was used in printing and it breaks down.” Morain said these newspapers are disintegrating and will be lost.
Microfilm was used in the 1980s to record some old newspapers but is now outdated and requires special equipment to access. Millard said online preservation is needed to “preserve history, increase access, and reduce storage.”
The board unanimously approved the Library Association’s request for $3,000 in Dreyfus funds. The county receives $50,000 per year from Louis Dreyfus LLC in Grand Junction in lieu of property taxes. Half that goes toward property tax relief; the remaining half is used at the supervisors’ discretion.
In other business, supervisor Dawn Rudolph reported Scranton Mfg. is interested in building four-plex housing and “will put money into the project.”
Rowland Construction is building several four-plexes in Jefferson east of St Joseph Catholic Church and has expressed interest in building more in other communities in the county.
“We need to decide.” Rudolph said, “Are we going to help financially?”
After board discussion, Muir said, “We need to figure out a formula per capita.”
Supervisor Peter Bardole reported on a juvenile court program called “Skills for Success” which teaches life skills to help young people stay out of the system. The program meets on Saturdays and provides transportation, meals and snacks for participants.
