Archive for March, 2009

Kalona is prepared for severe weather

Posted: Thursday, March 26th, 2009 at 7:25 am

The City of Kalona is one of the few cities in the area that have manually operated alarms instead of an automated system. Fire Chief Steve Yotty says they test the alarm every day to make sure they stay in working order. Yotty says it is very important to know what to listen for. He says the tornado warning signal is a steady 3 minute siren and the all clear is a minute and a half signal that gives everyone the all clear.

Bandstand project expected to get started by summer

Posted: Thursday, March 26th, 2009 at 7:25 am

A plan to renovate the city of Washington’s Central Park Bandstand is expected to get underway by the end of this summer. That news comes after former Washington resident John Jackson made a 175-thousand dollar donation to the project. Washington Parks Superintendent Tim Widmer says one of their goals is to keep the bandstand’s historic look. Widmer says even though Mr. Jackson’s generous donation gives them enough money to start on the bandstand, they’ll continue to raise money for other Central Park needs. He says that includes maintenance funds for the fountain and money to remodel the bathrooms. The volunteer committee spearheading the project will meet this evening at 7:00 at the Washington Public Library.

Science education

Posted: Thursday, March 26th, 2009 at 7:24 am

The Obama administration sees science education as key to economic recovery and American prosperity. That’s an assessment Washington High School biology teacher Diane Gray agrees with. She feels students at W-H-S are given ample opportunity. Gray says science education is also valuable for a few other reasons. She says the emphasis on math and critical thinking helps them in other coursework. She also says being well informed on emerging science issues, helps them to become better citizens as many of those issues have begun to enter the political arena.

Post Office cutbacks

Posted: Thursday, March 26th, 2009 at 7:24 am

Faced with new technology, and private package delivery services, the U.S. Postal Service isn’t doing as well as it once did. Many have been forced to cut services and reduce routes. John Marshall is the Post Master in Washington. He says two people at his Post Office have chosen to take early retirement. Marshall says there are no immediate plans to cutback on services, but he admits having fewer people does put them behind schedule from time to time. He says some Post Offices have begun to utilize automation systems, which has spurred a reduction in employees elsewhere. He says right now, there are no plans for such an operation in Washington.

IA City Walmart donates $1,000 to local playground

Posted: Thursday, March 26th, 2009 at 7:22 am

Iowa City Wal-Mart has given $1,000 dollars to the Kalona Elementary Playgournd Improvement Project Committee. Store Manager, Kurt Penfold presented a check to Committee Chairperson, Jan Knebel. Knebel says the money will be used to purchase new equipment for the large playground which will be installed on June 12 and 13th.

Local drug task force looking to add officer

Posted: Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 6:57 am

The Washington-Lousia County Drug Task Force could be getting an additional officer. Currently one officer is shared between the two counties, as well as the cities of Washington and Columbus-Junction. Washington Sheriff Jerry Dunbar says whether or not it happens, depends on if one of those agencies is able to hire on an additional officer. Dunbar says his department lacks the financial resources to hire additional personnel at this time. He says another agency might be able to. Dunbar feels the extra officer could cut down on overtime costs and make area drug enforcement more effective.

Washington Jail almost complete

Posted: Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 6:56 am

A contractor from Mount Pleasant will put the finishing touches on the renovations at the Washington County Jail. The Board of Supervisors voted yesterday to award the the job to H-E-S construction for at total cost of just over 192-thousand dollars. Sherrif Jerry Dunbar says this will essentially make the project complete. Dunbar says H-E-S will complete the work release areas which were purposely left unfinished,one for men and one for women. He says this adds another 24 beds to the facility. He also says this is not an addition to what Washington County voters approved for the new jail.

Washington Mental Health lays out three year plan

Posted: Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 6:56 am

Washington County's Mental Health and Disability Services agency is laying out its three year strategic plan. Director Bobbi Wolf says the plan is required by the state, and lays out the agency's goals and plans for that three year period. She says that includes a recovery center. Wolf says they will try to fund the recovery center through grants from the state, and the local river boat foundation. The Strategic plan also provides a way for Wolf's department to lay out its services and access points.

Empowerment could see funding cuts

Posted: Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 6:56 am

Iowa's fledgling financial situation could mean some rather drastic cuts for certain early childhood programs. Tasha Beghtol with Washington County Empowerment, says her organization could be looking at a nearly 15-percent cut in state funding. She says no decisions have been made as to what areas would suffer due to such cuts. Empowerment covers a wide array of early childhood needs from education to healthcare. Beghtol says locally, the organization provides things like the Parents as Teachers program, dental programs and preschool scholarships.

Marek, Schmitz question I-Jobs

Posted: Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 6:55 am

Governor Chet Culver has proposed issuing around 750-million dollars in bonds for projects around Iowa designed to create jobs and jumpstart the economy. However, two southeast Iowa legislators say the I-Jobs program isn't as "shovel ready" as some might think. State Senator Becky Schmitz and Representative Larry Marek say there's still a lot more to find out about the proposal. The Governor spent yesterday traveling around eastern Iowa to pitch his bonding plan.