The $22.5 million building project at Greene County Medical Center is officially underway, as 50 members of the community and persons involved in the project took their turns with shovels in a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony Thursday afternoon. Medical center CEO Carl Behne served as master of ceremonies. More than 125 persons were on hand, including Bill Menner, USDA Rural…
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Community Foundation awards almost $121,000 in grants to community projects
Smiles were plentiful as the Greene County Community Foundation awarded a total of $120,644 in grants for 27 projects at the ninth annual grant award celebration March 31 at the First Presbyterian Church in Jefferson.
Read MoreScranton wind farm still a possibility
Scranton area residents were invited to a meeting March 26 with representatives of MidAmerican Energy for a status report on a proposed 52-turbine wind project, but according to MidAmerican, the project still isn’t a definite “go.” Volkswind USA developed the project and received the necessary conditional use permit from the Greene County board of adjustment in March 2013. The company…
Read MorePublic meeting first step in Highway 30 bridge projects
About 25 persons attended a public meeting hosted by the Iowa Department of Transportation Tuesday in Grand Junction. The topic of the meeting was a pair of bridge projects proposed for Highway 30 – a new overpass across the Union Pacific railroad tracks in Grand Junction, and a new structure over Beaver Creek east of Grand Junction. According to Tony…
Read MoreVoters approve revenue purpose statement for Greene County schools
A relative handful of voters turned out in a special election Tuesday that was a state-required step in the process of reorganization of the East Greene and Jefferson-Scranton school districts. On the ballot was a revenue purpose statement to authorize expenditures from the state one-cent sales tax for schools, service and use tax funds. Both districts already have the revenue statements in place;…
Read MoreRelay ‘Fight Back’ speaker to kick off awareness activities
The Greene County Relay for Life will kick off April with geneticist Anne Heun as the “Fight Back” speaker Friday, April 4, at 7:30 pm at Greene Bean Coffee in Jefferson. She will speak for about 30 minutes and then be available for general questions following. Heun is a 2005 graduate of Jefferson-Scranton High School and is the daughter of Tom and Jane…
Read MoreJeff city council sets non-union salary ranges
The Jefferson city council at its March 25 regular meeting set new salary ranges for non-union city employees. To come up with the ranges, city administrator Mike Palmer researched salaries paid in Iowa towns with populations comparable to Jefferson’s.
Read MoreCost of Home Base Iowa designation increasing
Greene County Development Corporation executive director Ken Paxton thought he was asking the Greene County board of supervisors for a relatively small amount of money when he talked with the board Monday about signage for the Home Base Iowa initiative. He requested funding for six signs – one each for Jefferson, Scranton, Churdan, Paton, Grand Junction and Rippey – at…
Read MoreTiered diplomas on agenda for Greene County school board
The Greene County school board will consider at its regular meeting April 9 providing a tier of diploma options for graduates, depending on the classes they take. The proposal was first presented to the Jefferson-Scranton board last October. That board made suggestions and deferred action to the Greene County board. The tiered diplomas were presented as an information item to…
Read MoreDemolition of Rippey building proceeding with care
~by Mary Weaver, special to GreeneCountyNewsOnline Ninety-three years ago in August of 1921, Claude Johnson, school board director of the Rippey Consolidated School, proudly stood at the west entrance of the newly constructed building welcoming 286 students. The students were picked up in six buses that first day. Seven students graduated that year, with their class motto being “Not Luck,…
Read MoreAgreement on Viacom contract with cable providers
Jefferson Telecom reported Tuesday at 8:45 pm that an agreement has been reached between NCTC and Viacom/MTV Networks. Jefferson Telecom carriage of all Viacom channels are now protected by the new agreement, and Viacom consumer messaging about losing signals (crawls and ads) have been removed.
Read MoreGreene County Schools budget lowers levy rates
Property owners in the Greene County Community School District will all see a decrease in the portion of their property tax bill that goes to the district for the coming fiscal year. The levy rate in the East Greene district will fall by $1.42 (per thousand dollars of taxable valuation), and the Jefferson-Scranton levy rate will fall 92 cents. The…
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