Essential ingredients of high-quality early childhood education highlighted in Week of the Young Child™ celebrations WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) Week of the Young Child™ (April 6-12, 2014) draws attention to how a high-quality early childhood experience the first few years of life set a child’s path for success in school and…
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
Getting along in America
~a column by Colleen O’Brien You’d think that after 150 years of emancipation and 50 years of civil rights, racism in this country would be past history, not current. I recently attended a class on a 2012 non-fiction book called The New Jim Crow, by Michele Alexander. The lawyer-professor from Columbus, Ohio explained concisely how the justice system in the…
Read MoreBaltimore to run for third term in Iowa House
State Representative Chip Baltimore (R- Boone) recently announced that he will seek re-election for Iowa House District 47 in the November election. Baltimore is currently serving his second term in the House, representing Greene and Boone counties.
Read MoreTree Tracings
Greene County Genealogical Society ~by Valerie Ogren MEETING NOTICE: The next meeting will be Saturday, April 5 at 10 a.m. in the basement of the Jefferson Public Library. Our guest will be General Nathaniel Greene. If the name sounds familiar, Greene County, Iowa was named for him 160 years ago. Come and meet Roger Aegerter and ask lots of questions. …
Read MoreWho are you really?
~a column by Colleen O’Brien My computer flashed a message at me: You’ve gone incognito. How did I do it? Why did I do it? What did it mean? The message faded away. I could not find it again. I’ve felt invisible, like when I take off my glasses — can’t see you, you can’t see me. But incognito? This…
Read MoreLetter to the editor
Dear Editor: Often times you hear about how bad kids are these days. However, as a teacher I get to see the good side of kids every single day. Last week at Paton-Churdan Community School, we celebrated World Down Syndrome Day in honor of one of our students. Together we learned about Down syndrome; how people are different from each other,…
Read More‘It’s important to assume positive intent on the part of others regardless of their behaviors. They are doing the best they can at the moment.’
~a column by Colleen O’Brien This quote above has been floating through my life for a year or two. I wrote it down without attributing its owner, which I regret. I searched Google, but even the Great G herself could not come up with the person who said it. (Obviously, Google does not know all. This was disappointing as well…
Read MoreGreene County Farm Bureau marks National Ag Week
From the cotton shirt on your back to the ethanol fueling your car to the after-dinner glass of wine, agriculture is everywhere in your everyday life. And, every day, Iowa farmers raise the crops and livestock that contribute to the nation’s affordable and abundant supply of food, fuel, and fiber. In addition, agriculture represents a strong part of the state’s…
Read MoreFSA celebrates American agriculture producers on National Ag Day, March 25
USDA Greene County Farm Service Agency (FSA) staff encourages everyone to take a moment to appreciate the hard working farmers and ranchers in Iowa on March 25, National Ag Day. This year’s theme is “Agriculture: 365 Sunrises and 7 Billion Mouths to Feed.”
Read MoreLt Gov Reynolds urges eligible Iowans to use state’s Free File tax system
Free File program helps eligible Iowa residents file their federal and state taxes easily online at no cost Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, accompanied by Iowa Department of Revenue director Courtney Kay-Decker, urge eligible Iowa residents to use the Iowa Free File program to save money at tax time. This program allows taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $58,000…
Read MoreRewrite
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Age seems to color memory; the stories get better. Enhanced by a bit of rearranging of sentences and paragraphs and chapters, my stories suit me or they’re tossed. I alter dialogue. I get tired of always being the spineless wimp in my true memories, so periodically, I make myself the hero. After 50 years I…
Read MoreCounty Day at the Capitol
WEST DES MOINES – County officials and employees from across the state will travel to Des Moines on Wednesday, March 12, for the sixth annual County Day at the Capitol hosted by the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC). The event will give county officials and employees the opportunity to be involved in the legislative process by promoting legislation that is…
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