News

Editor's Note: Marcia Booth is one of three candidates running to fill the vacancy left by the recent resignation of  Tim Bird from the Vinton-Shellsburg School Board. We asked Marcia to share some information about herself and her experience, as well as her views on school issues. Below, is her response: My name is Marcia Booth.

A praying mantis captured the attention of workers and customers at the Ehlinger's Express/McDonald's business on Friday morning. Many customers stopped to take photo of the insect.  Mantises do not reach their adult stage until late August or September, and are rarely seen other months of the year. The insects were introduced to the southeast U.

The Celebration Park river wall -- which will also serve as a stairway from the park to the river -- will be completed today, said Dan Hatch, the owner of Hatch Grading & Contracting. Building a wall along a river bank, by stacking 174 blocks of limestone weighing up to 3,000 to 4,000 pounds, is not something that Hatch and his crew have done often.

The MS volleyball teams will get a little reprieve from the heat tomorrow.  The 7th and 8th grade volleyball practice will be held from 6:00-7:30 a.m. in the HS gym Friday morning.  Showers are available.  Bring your own towel.  Hopefully next week will bring more seasonal temperatures. 

On Tuesay, August 27, 2013, WWII Veteran John Gualtier brought his Quilt of Valor to the Benton County Legion Meeting in Van Horne.  John was one of the WWII Veterans in the State of Iowa to receive one, which was made by The Iowa  American Legion Auxiliary.  We support our Veterans in many ways and this is just one example.

The next time you go hunting for giant mastodon, you may want to invite Sophie Storey. The Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School eighth-grader hit targets with three of the four large darts she threw with an ancient device known as an atlatl. Pronounced pretty much like it sounds, an atlatl is a wooden lever about two feet in length that was used thousands of years ago to hurl large darts at prey -- and at times, enemies.

Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of profiles of the seven candidates for Vinton-Shellsburg School Board. Mike Timmermans of Vinton, the former Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School principal, has been on the Vinton-Shellsburg School Board since December. He recited the oath of office then, as well as after the special election to fill a vacancy in February.

Accompanying this story is a picture with a sample of the Vinton Fire Department's fleet of life saving equipment.  This picture was taken from the top of the 110 foot aerial truck that Vinton has and it shows a glimpse of what you can expect to see throughout the community just a short week away.     Vinton has the great opportunity to host thousands of firefighters from across the state of Iowa and below is a little information to help you prepare as a resident of Vinton, a business owner in the community, and or just someone interested in what's taking place in the next week and a half.

The Benton County Conservation Nature Center will be open to the public this Saturday, August 31st, from 1-4 p.m. Highlighting your visit to the Nature Center is the traveling display “Tallgrass Prairies - Past, Present and Future”. This exhibit will be at the Nature Cente rthrough October 10th and is located in the Cargill room downstairs.

The Celebration Park landscaping actually begins in the Cedar River, where a river wall will extend from above the water to the ground level of the park.  The large stones -- some weighing as much as 4,000 pounds. will be placed along the riverbank, forming a wall that looks as natural (not man-made) as possible. Each stone has an uncut end that will face the water, allowing crews to build a wall with a natural appearance.