National non-profit organization is devoted to tobacco control DES MOINES – Legacy, the country’s largest non-profit public health organization dedicated to ending tobacco use across the nation, on April 6 announced Attorney General Tom Miller as its new chairman. Miller has served on the Legacy board of directors since 2008. “Attorney General Miller is a dedicated advocate for consumers and…
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
Letter to the editor
Our Jefferson veterans groups, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, an the Veterans of Foreign Wars auxiliary, would like to thank the individuals who attended our first fundraiser meal for the year.
Read MoreNot a call to arms but a call to words, photos and videos
~a column by Colleen O’Brien The latest on-the-spot news reporting is not email, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, it’s the “citizen journalist” via a new smart phone application called NewsByMe. The whole idea of this news-gathering and disseminating app will give seasoned journalists the willies; it’s giving me a minor headache as I ponder the possibilities of everyone playing the reporter.
Read MoreTree Tracings
Greene County Genealogical Society ~by Valerie Ogren Meeting notice: The next meeting will be Saturday, April 4, at 10 am. We will be back in the Jefferson public library basement this time. Jane Millard tells me the new elevator is very quiet compared to the old one. Shirley Ross will share her knowledge of “Information Found in the Clerk of District Court…
Read MoreBranstad, Reynolds applaud Iowa Senate’s passage of anti-bullying legislation
DES MOINES – Iowa Gov. Terry E. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds on Tuesday applauded the Iowa State Senate for passing Senate File 345, a bill that works to prevent bullying in Iowa schools. The bill passed with bipartisan support, 43-7.
Read MoreA month or forever
~a column by Colleen O’Brien March is Music in Our Schools Month. It is also National Craft Month, National Frozen Food Month, National Irish American Heritage Month, National Nutrition Month, National Peanut Month, Red Cross Month and Social Workers Month. Most important (to me) is that it’s National Women’s History Month.
Read MoreWord games for the idle
~a column by Colleen O’Brien There are moments in your life when you’re on your own for entertainment — it’s almost like time travel, going back to an era before instant and constant electronics. Getting stuck in traffic can be one of those times. Listening to the radio is fine and the book on tape is compelling, but what if…
Read MoreDMWW files Clean Water Act complaint in federal district court
DES MOINES – Des Moines Water Works filed a complaint March 16 against the Sac County board of supervisors, Buena Vista County board of supervisors and Calhoun County board of supervisors, in their capacities as trustees of 10 drainage districts, for the discharge of nitrate pollutants into the Raccoon River, and failure to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit…
Read MoreAnother 50 years
~a column by Colleen O’Brien In 1965, about 600 people tried to march across a bridge in Selma, Alabama, in what was called by the organizers a non-violent demonstration. Its purpose was to wake people up to the fact that Blacks in the South did not have the same voting rights as white Americans. The non-violence was coming along okay…
Read MoreTree Tracings
Greene County Genealogical Society ~by Valerie Ogren Meeting notice – PLEASE NOTE change of location. The next meeting will be Saturday, March 7 at 10 am, but NOT in the Jefferson public library. We will again be meeting at the courthouse – this time in the second floor auditor’s office.
Read MoreAbout poets
~by Colleen O’Brien A United States Poet Laureate died last week: Philip Levine, Poet Laureate in 2011 and 2012. He was 87 and had been writing poems since he was 14 — can you imagine that? Seventy-three years of metaphoring and rhyming and finding just the right word. Being a successful poet is often a compulsion — there’s many a…
Read MoreReynolds launches statewide ‘Stories of Women’s Lives Tour’
Emphasis on Iowa’s female leaders DES MOINES – Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds announced Feb. 23 that she is embarking upon a statewide tour to celebrate “National Women’s History Month” in March. The Lt. Governor will be traveling to several communities to meet with female leaders and highlight how women are positively impacting Iowa with their ideas, actions and ingenuity.
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