News

During the annual VU Holiday Open House in Vinton on Sunday, Nov. 23, the What' Up Puppets from Wesley UMC  will celebrate the Christmas season at ECHO Ministries , 109 West 4th St., downtown Vinton The show, suitable for children of all ages, will take place a

On Saturday, November 15th, 2014, the Vinton-Shellsburg FFA members and National Honors Society members got together to hang holiday lights and roping up around down town Vinton. Starting at 9 am, the students and supervisors got to work on decorating different shops for the winter season ahead, and just in time too considering later that night the first real snowfall of the season came!  The students and advisors graciously gave up their morning to freeze out in the cold weather and make the town more festive for the big holidays ahead.

The Vinton Guild Of Fine Arts is requesting sponsorship for 20- 7ft tall ears of corn, to be placed in our community. These ears of corn will each be painted with a different theme to reflect our community and our history. This project was brought to the Vinton Guild Of Fine Arts by member Brian Parr. Brian is one of Vinton’s leading artist and has completed several projects in our community that has brought in consistent bus tours to view his tree carvings complete with visits to his art studio.

For the past 20 years or so, members of the Red Cedar Chapter of the Izaaak Walton League have been making and selling wreaths which appear throughout the area each Christmas season. The Ikes annually deliver a 48-inch wreath, which contains the greenery from one evergreen tree connected with 42 clamps, to Virginia Gay Hospital. The Ikes delivered the 2014 version, which Brenda Hackbarth decorated, to the hospital on Monday.

The Vinton City Council approved the recommendation by the Vinton Parks and Recreation Board to replace retiring VPRD Director Duane Randall with Brad Barker.  Barker has been the assistant director for seven years.  Randall has served as director since 1985, and will retire at the end of 2014.  During his time at VPRD, Barker has worked on many new programs for the youngest participants, including Pee Wee sports clinics and Blastball.

Kirkwood Community College will present The Fall Instrumental Jazz Concert featuring Trombonist James Miller with the Kirkwood Jazz Ensemble and CR Jazz Big Band Saturday, November 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Ballantyne Auditorium. Miller will also host a master class at 12:30 p.m. the day of the concert in the band room at 375 Cedar Hall at Kirkwood. Tickets for the concert will be available at the door.

Residue damage from the 2011 wind storm continues to affect area properties. Two large trees significantly damaged on the north end of the Benton County courthouse lawn are being cut down. The crews from the Graham company cut down the first one last week. 

Family and friends of the late Paul Duello gathered at Riverside Park on Thursday evening to plant a tree in memory of Paul Duello who passed away recently. The tree was purchased and planted by Frazier's Nursery thanks to the generous gifts by Paul's classmates of 1986. Leading the memorial was classmate Michele Sauer who stated "we wanted a strong sturdy tree because that was the kind of person that Paul was and the way he lived.

The Mt. Auburn Legion is the proud recipient of the POW-MIA Chair of Honor, dedicated by Rolling Thunder Inc.  Two Chairs were dedicated on Veterans Day, one dedicated to Mt. Auburn by Robby Taylor, President of Iowa Chapter 1.   "This Chair is in  honor of the 92000 soldiers that have not returned home," Taylor stated.

The Vinton area Girl Scouts are organizing a fund-raiser for Barb Johnson. The leader of Troop #6652 was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. After being cancer-free for five years, Barb learned recently that her cancer had returned. She recently began chemotherapy.  The Scouts are selling shirts that read, "Barb Johnson is one tough cookie," with a graphic of a cookie with boxing gloves.