Category: Opinion

Boy Scout troop 534 earlier this week thanked the Greene County Community Foundation and Morning Star Masonic lodge of Jefferson for providing funds for the purchase of new tents. The scouts have enjoyed their new tents on several camp-outs this summer, according to scoutmaster Scott Johnson. He said they were “put to the test” this past weekend with stormy weather,…

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~a column by Colleen O’Brien Thomas Paine (a Founding Father who wrote lot of good radical stuff for his times), in his “Agrarian Justice” said, “All accumulation, therefore, of personal property, beyond what a man’s own hands produce, is derived to him by living in society; and he owes on every principle of justice, of gratitude, and of civilization, a…

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~a column by Colleen O’Brien A woman I know in Florida has gone through about $6,000 and six months of bewilderment, frustration and anxiety because of “guests” in a rental house she owns. “This was the worst time in my life,” said Lucilla. She is 82 and her husband of just more than 60 years died in October. Both of…

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U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R) a member of the Senate agriculture, nutrition, and forestry committee, issued the following statement on the nomination of Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey to serve as undersecretary for farm production and conservation at the U.S. Department of Agriculture:

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~a column by Colleen O’Brien As I travel around the country visiting my kids and friends, I see construction and maintenance at every bend in the road. Within a short distance of leaving my home and the streets and businesses that I don’t have to pay any attention to, I am quickly caught in the surge of vitalness stretching out…

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Attorney General offers disaster relief giving tips DES MOINES – As Iowans answer the call to help Hurricane Harvey victims, Attorney General Tom Miller reminds Iowans to give generously, but to give wisely. “Iowans are already stepping up to help the staggering number of people impacted by this unprecedented hurricane and flooding event,” Miller said. “I want to ensure that…

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To the editor, On Tuesday, September 12, you will have the opportunity to elect three new school board members. This decision, I believe, is a pivot point for the future of Greene County Community School District. I would like to secure one of your votes.

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~a column by Colleen O’Brien The sight of my first palm tree when I stepped off the plane in San Diego as a young Navy bride hit something so familiar in my mind that it took me by surprise: I had been romanticizing palms since my preschool encounter with the line drawings of them in Kahil Gibran’s The Prophet, a…

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~a column by Colleen O’Brien I’ve been stacking rocks for some time . . . since the mid-1990s when I found myself doing it without plan or thought. I was in a slough of despond after my sister-in-law Ellen died of AIDS and there I was in my front yard wandering around like a sad dog. It was a bad…

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~a column by Colleen O’Brien A note from the columnist – It’s difficult to keep up with the goings-on from on high, especially if one wants to write about it. As soon as I sent this manuscript in, it was out of date. Consider it a historical column. COB Now that we are in the middle of making America great again,…

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~a column by Colleen O’Brien I have long held a romantic view of all things Espanol, perhaps from being a Spanish major long ago. It holds to this day – the people, the language, the music, the terrain of south of the border. For reasons I cannot explain, probably a mere lack of will, I have never been to Spain…

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To the editor, The summer school staff at the Greene County Schools would like to thank the following businesses that donated so our summer school students could have snacks: Hy-Vee, $30 gift card;  Fareway, 200 granola bars; and ShopKo, $30 gift card. Julie Neal, Greene County Schools reading specialist

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