Saturday, June 27, 2009

Washington Superintendent worked with Parkersburg football coach

Washington's Schools Superintendent says the death of Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas is a great loss to Iowa's education system. Dave Sextro worked with Thomas on the state high school athletic association. Sextro says Thomas "was an icon for the school, and will be greatly missed." Thomas was shot to death this week by a former player at a weight room facility next to the school. He'd served as football coach for Aplington-Parkersburg for 34 years.

10 positions up for election on school boards

Ten board positions in three school districts will be up for election this September in Washington County. Three of those are in Highland, three in Mid Prairie and Four in Washington. Every position is for a four year term that ends in 2013, with the exception of Washington's district 5, which is to fill a vacancy ending in 2011. The first day for candidates to file with school board secretaries is July 6. The deadline to file is July 30. Each position requires a certain amount of signatures to file, although the county auditor's office suggests exceeding that minimum.

Lone Tree subdivision home buyers to receive tax credit

First time homebuyers may be getting some help in finding a house in Lone Tree. A meeting will be held on Tuesday to discuss $20,000 in tax credits for buyers in the citys Black Otter Subdivision. These tax incentives range from a $2,500 loan from the city itself, and an eight-thousand dollar grant from the Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The USDA is currently holding similar meetings across the state in an effort to encourage the growth of rural homeowners in Iowa.

Bandstand project moves forward

Architectural plans for renovating Washington's Central Park Bandstand are complete, and almost ready for city council approval. Moline, Illinois based architect John Mahon presented the blue prints at yesterday's (6/26) park board meeting. He says maintaining the structure's historic charm will be one of the biggest challenges. The city council is expected to set a public hearing date at their next meeting. After that they would approve the plans. Construction could start as early as this August.

30,000 kids to enter Hawk-I program

Laws passed by the Iowa Legislature go into effect next month. Fairfield State Senator Becky Schmitz says one of the most sweeping changes provides health insurance to more children through the Hawk-I program. Hawk-I is partially funded through the federal State Children's Health Insurance Program. It provides coverage based on income.

Riverside Farmer's Market

The city of Riverside will be holding their monthly Farmers Market tomorrow (6/28) at the Riverside Casino. Public relations director Sharon Hazelhoff says although their event is only once a month, it still provides citizens with quality, home-grown produce and many other goods. She says the casino is proud to be a supporter of the Farmers Market because it is good for the community and a fun event for the public. Hazelhoff says the event will be held in the casino parking lot from 10 2 tomorrow.

Washington couple takes eyeglasses to Panama

A couple from Washington are heading to Panama with more than 20,000 pairs of eyeglasses. Craig and Barb Swift work with One Sight, a non profit group that aims to bring corrective eye-wear to under served areas of the world. They say there are many people in the world who have poor vision, and don't have the means to do anything about it. Craig and Barb will spend the next week in the Central American country. There, volunteers keep a data base of donated eyeglasses and with the aide of optometrists, find one's that best fit certain individuals. Their goals is to help eight thousand people