~by Valerie Ogren for the Greene County Genealogical Society Meeting notice: The Greene County Genealogical Society will meet Saturday, Feb. 6, at 10 am in the basement meeting room of the Jefferson public library. Terry Clark, children’s library director, will present the program. I’m not sure what the topic will be, but you can be sure that when a librarian is at the helm,…
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
Last presidential candidate in Jefferson – Sen Ted Cruz
The steering committee of the 2015 Bell Tower Festival was a few months ahead of the times when it selected a circus theme. Area residents had the Bell Tower Big Top in June; the Iowa Caucus Big Top had its last act in the county Monday afternoon at the Greene County Community Center. Republican presidential candidate Sen Ted Cruz of…
Read MoreSantorum campaigns in Jefferson
Republican presidential candidate Gov Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania made a return visit to Jefferson Jan. 19 after speaking at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit earlier that day in Des Moines. Santorum spoke to a small group of fewer than a dozen voters at Pizza Ranch. Santorum said he is a proponent of the renewable fuel standard. “The RFS is as important…
Read MoreA mania for glass shards
~a column by Colleen O’Brien I do not have the fire-starting desire called pyromania. That is a kind of common enthusiasm one reads about periodically in the newspapers. My mania is fracto speculomania — a word I made up. It means, loosely, an enthusiasm (that’s the mania part) for broken glass (fracto speculo).
Read MoreLetter to the editor – David and Carol John
To the editor, We have followed Bernie Sanders during his Senate career. After reading Robert Reich’s book, Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few, there is no doubt in our minds that Bernie Sanders is by far the best choice for president.
Read MoreLetter to the editor – John Thompson
You cannot phone in a caucus. Last week the Iowa GOP was told it must provide absentee voting for active duty military stationed outside of Iowa. I am sure I am the only Republican Party of Iowa board member who has never caucused. Two decades ago I joined the Army at the age of 17; I returned to Iowa just…
Read MoreThe Behn Report
~by Sen Jerry Behn January 21, 2016 This week was a short week due to the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday. In our Education meeting on Wednesday, we heard a presentation on dyslexia. The presentation was an attempt to illustrate the issues dyslexic students face in the classroom. It was a fascinating lesson as we used mirrors and our non-dominant hand…
Read MoreThank you volunteers, from JPRD
To the editor, Jefferson Park and Recreation would like to thank all the volunteers to helped make the Steven Silbaugh Memorial Wrestling tournament Sunday, Jan 17, such a success. Vicky Lautner, JPRD director
Read MoreAvant garde tombstone, anyone?
~a column by Colleen O’Brien In France, a new kind of grave stone — avant garde, irreverent, meaningful, amusing to some, annoying to the rest — has sprouted in a cemetery in Montmartre, the historically subversive, bohemian area on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris. The unusual tombstone is the brainchild of a few artists, writers and other…
Read MoreLetter to the editor – Patti Edwardson
To the editor, I am a woman for Bernie. Like many Americans, I want to see a woman elected president of the United States. However, I also want women – and men – from all walks of life to have the opportunities that will get them into leadership positions so the real likelihood of women elected president will last into…
Read More‘Weed Out Hate’ campaign follows presidential candidates
When Marc Daniels stood to address Dr Ben Carson at a campaign stop in Jefferson Monday, Daniels was already familiar to those who attend political events. It was Daniels’ second visit to Jefferson; he also spoke to Gov Chris Christie during a campaign visit in December. Daniels lives in Springfield, IL, and works as a marketing representative selling to Army…
Read MoreDr Ben Carson campaigns in Jefferson
Dr Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon and now a Republican candidate for president, spoke to about 140 persons Monday, Jan. 11, at Abundant Life Ministries in Jefferson. Security was tighter than during other candidates’ Jefferson stops, with screening for weapons required before entering the church assembly room and Secret Service agents, uniformed and not uniformed. Carson was scheduled to speak at…
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