News

The City of Shellsburg is participating in an assessment concerning our housing needs. ISU Extension is facilitating this process and has developed a survey for our community. Broad community input is needed from current residents, anyone working in Shellsburg and prospective residents. The brief survey will take just a few minutes to complete, but your ideas and concerns are important and we encourage you to fill it out.

Yesterday, Ronnie Kerkman was presented with a Quilt Of Valor for his service during the Vietnam War. A roomful of people greeted Ronnie in the Community Building at the Garrison Library to thank and honor him for his service. Ronnie is the epitome of a veteran. Not only did he serve our country by risking his life in the jungles of Vietnam, but he also continues to serve our community in a large number of ways.

The City Council meeting on Thursday night opened with Mayor Bud Maynard giving the oath of office to the new Vinton Police Officer Tyler Annis.  Annis used to work at the Linn county jail and is already a certified law enforcement officer. The Vinton Police Officer joined the VPD as a part-time officer originally and agreed to join the force as soon as a full-time opening became available.

Well, the silly republicans in Des Moines have finally started to realize that for the most part, newspapers are sooo last century. I remember a conversation with a gal who had been in the newspaper business longer than I've been around. She declared that "newspapers will never go away!" In one sense, she's right. There will always be a newspaper in one sense or another.

The family of Evelyn Mather would like your help to celebrate her birthday. Evelyn will be turning 100 this year. If you can send her a birthday card, it would mean so much to her!To help her celebrate her special day, send a card to Evelyn Mather, 3203 59th St. Tr., Vinton, IA 52349

A very important point of business came before the council at the top of the meeting Thursday night, the appointment of a 3rd Ward Council Member to replace Valerie Bearbower who resigned last month. The council made a motion to appoint Zach Parmater to fill the 3rd Ward Council seat, and the motion passed with the approval of the full council.  Parmater had previously served on the council around 2014 or 15.

For the first time I chuckeled when I read through the information for Thursday night's council meeting. There was a page that said, "Water Loss Report." Well, I just had to ask, how does THAT happen?Last year, Vinton pumped 184,700,000 gallons of water, billing out 129,775,000 gallons. Water that is not billed included:Hydrant flushing 1,500,000Water main breaks 605,000Fire Department 270,000Cleaning Sewer Mains 500,0003 Dead Ends Flushings 660,000Automatic Flusher @County Home 12,960,000Automatic Flusher @Anderson Creek 3,240,000Main leak at 8th St.

Three teams of Iowa 4-H members received honors from the Western National Roundup held Jan. 4-7 in Denver, Colorado. These members, ages 14 through 19, earned the opportunity to compete nationally through state competitions and events held throughout the year.The Western National Roundup provides a place for youth to compete nationally while encouraging teamwork, self-confidence and leadership through participation  in animal science educational events.

On National Slam the Scam Day and throughout the year, we give you the tools to recognize Social Security-related scams and stop scammers from stealing your money and personal information. Share scam information with your loved ones. Slam the Scam!Recognize the four basic signs of a scam:Scammers pretend to be from a familiar organization or agency, like the Social Security Administration.

In the unofficial voting results, the Benton Community School District Public Measures were defeated. The Measure BE, with 2,099 votes, 1,349 voters said no while 750 said yes. A whopping 64.27% to 35.73%.In the second measure BF, the same happened with 2,117 votes. 1,372 voted no,  while 745 voted yes. 64.81% to 35.19%.Registered Voters 7,608 - Total Ballots 2,175 : 28.