Greene County Genealogical Society ~by Valerie Ogren Meeting notice: The next meeting will be Saturday, Dec. 6, at 10 am in the Jefferson public library. One of our newest members, Bob Tucker, will present a program “The Hoppes Family from Switzerland to America.” Bob has done extensive research on several of his family lines and we appreciate his willingness to share…
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
‘Celebrate Iowa’ Gala Dec. 12 at State Historical Museum
Celebration of Iowa’s art, history and culture features legendary Hollywood producer and Honorary Iowan Norman Lear DES MOINES – Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds invite Iowans to attend the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs’ (DCA) third annual ‘Celebrate Iowa’ Gala Dec. 12 in Des Moines. The Celebrate Iowa Gala is a showcase of Iowa’s most iconic experiences in…
Read MoreWell, Thank God ‘That’s Over’ and we can get on with Thanksgiving
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Try this on: You are the majority, of a particular skin color – White – in a town where everyone in charge is of a different skin color – let’s say Black. You live in a town in middle America; I’ll call it “Jefferson” – a busy little county seat. Blacks own most of the…
Read MoreCollege: The next stepping stone after high school?
Editor’s Note: Logan Hoyt is a 2014 Greene County High School graduate and is now attending Iowa State University with a double major in management information systems and supply chain management. Hoyt is a Christina Hixson Opportunity Award scholar and was asked by the Hixson program to share his insight on furthering one’s education after high school with his hometown…
Read MoreTime travel, 2014
~by Colleen O’Brien I generally get to leave Iowa before sock-weather hits. The very act of pulling on the socks because of cold toes goes against the grain. This year I didn’t get outta Dodge in time. The morning I left Jefferson for southern climes I had to put on socks because as I loaded the last bag into my…
Read MoreLetter to the editor
Dear Editor, On behalf of the veterans of Greene County, I wish to publicly thank all who are responsible for the courtesies extended to us during this year’s Veterans Day activities. The delicious hot breakfast in the high school Ram Restaurant followed by a rousing vocal and instrumental concert in the packed high school auditorium were overwhelming to many of…
Read MoreChanging the world one story at a time
~a column by Colleen O’Brien “Putting the brakes on hate” is the motto of a non-profit called — what else? — HateBrakers. Founder Susan Margolis Balk, who spent her career writing for the big boys – New York Times Magazine, Travel and Leisure, Playboy — launched HateBrakers, now in its third year, as a teaching tool. She is already transforming…
Read MoreLetter to the editor
Editor, I saw the movie “Fury” tonight and it bothered me. The new guy got into the tank and cleaned out the blood from the guy he replaced. After my team was ambushed in Iraq, we pulled in the remains of my best friend and fled the attack. His blood covered the seats and floor. We cleaned and bleached that…
Read MoreThank you for a great first year
GreeneCountyNewsOnline’s inaugural year has concluded, as Nov. 6 is the first anniversary of the launch. It has been a very good year for me. I learned about community journalism from Rick Morain, longtime Jefferson Bee & Herald publisher/editor, and I’ve tried to stay close to his standards for fairness and balance. News writing is news writing, regardless of where it…
Read MoreA year already? Time flies when you’re reporting the news
~a column about Jefferson by Colleen O’Brien The first week in November a year ago (Nov. 6, 2013, to be exact), Victoria Riley launched a newspaper for Greene County. She called it GreeneCountyNewsOnline.com, and here you are reading it, she hopes on a regular basis. When Victoria hired me as a columnist, it was my first attempt at regular, weekly,…
Read MoreThe girl from Ferguson
~a column by Colleen O’Brien I was in St. Louis the other day, and I met a girl named Morgan. She lives in Ferguson, Missouri, a town that’s been in the news since Aug. 9, when a policemen shot an 18-year-old boy who in two days was going to enter his first semester at a trade school to learn heating…
Read MoreLetter to the editor
To the editor, As we head toward the holiday season it is time for all of us to think about the THANKS we get in GIVING. It is at this time of the year when charities and organizations put out their pleas for us to donate so they can be of help to others. It is a time for us…
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