To the editor, We are very fortunate in Greene County to have multiple industrial companies that provide jobs which contribute many times over the initial payroll back to the community. Several of these companies reside in the outlying municipalities and support the rural communities. Scranton Manufacturing, as one of those businesses, has been fortunate to experience significant growth with over…
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
Letter to the editor – Dick Finch
To the editor, If the proposed bond election for a community college regional academy does not pass, here’s my prediction for Jefferson and Greene County: I believe we will see our population continue to decrease to levels that will reflect on poorer education, decreased property values, loss of more businesses, the possibility of losing our courthouse offices, and the loss…
Read MoreThe Behn Report
March 16, 2018 Friday is our second major legislative deadline as we make our way towards adjournment. These deadlines help us focus on our priorities during the session and spend time on the issues that have enough support to pass through both chambers of the Iowa Legislature. Since our first day, our focus has been on a pro-growth agenda for…
Read MoreLetter to the editor – Jan Rosdail-Aegerter
Dear Voters, I can think of over 1000 reasons to vote YES on the upcoming bond issue –OUR KIDS! For those of you who are considering voting NO in favor of building a new high school on the current site, I would like to address an issue which has been a growing concern- Ram Drive. In 1975, I started my…
Read MoreLetter to the editor – Tyler Lowmiller
Dear editor, My name is Tyler Lowmiller and I have called Greene County my home for all of my 24 years. I graduated from Jefferson-Scranton High School in 2012, and I am currently in college pursuing a degree in education. I am currently a special education para-educator at the Greene County Elementary. The upcoming bond vote has me excited as…
Read MoreWhy We’re Here
~by Thomas & Susan Laehn At a social gathering a few weeks ago, one of our friends commented, “I hate living in town; you can’t see anything!” We chuckled politely, unsure of what our friend, who is a farmer, meant. Indeed, most of the members of our generation would assert precisely the opposite: the city, not the country, is where…
Read MoreRacial monologues inspire the teaching of history
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Each year to celebrate February’s educational Black History Month, a group of people I know produce a public reading of anecdotes and short stories that have to do with race relations – how they themselves have been affected or how they have affected others regarding race.
Read MoreLetter to the editor – Kate Mumma
To the editor: Three and a half years ago, I moved back to Jefferson with my daughter, Maggie. I was excited to be back in my hometown and watch her grow up and go to school where I did. I wasn’t planning on her having the exact middle school I did, though. When we walked into the middle school to…
Read MoreLetter to the editor – Mary Weaver
Dear editor, I am writing about the proposed Greene County School Bond, schedule for a vote on April 3. I am thinking how our early settlers in Greene County promoted education for young people. Greene County citizens have a long legacy regarding education. The first school in Greene County was the Brand School, a subscription school. That meant people had…
Read MoreLetter to the editor – Ryanne Hommer
To the Editor: My husband and I moved to Jefferson in the fall of 2016. Though we are new to the community, this is our home where we plan to settle down and raise our children. The new school bond is exciting because not only will it benefit all children in Greene County, it will also safeguard the future of…
Read MoreLetter to the editor – Jim Last
To the editor, I have been a resident of Greene County all of my life except for the two years I went to and graduated from AIB in Des Moines and the one year I worked for a CPA firm in Des Moines. During those three years in Des Moines I was always hoping a job opportunity would come up…
Read MoreLetter to the editor – Darren Jackson
To the editor, “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are hours where decades happen.” The author of the quote, Lenin, probably would not appreciate the way I am going to use his words in this letter. I’m not encouraging a communist revolution, but rather an educational and capitalist one.
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