News

Melvin Roster of rural Vinton escaped injury when his house burned to the ground late Tuesday night. The house at 2480 54th Street, about 5 miles north of Vinton, was totally destroyed.  Roster told firefighters he smelled smoke and was able to escape with his pets. No injuries were reported. The Vinton Fire Department and North Benton Ambulance responded to the scene at around 11:30 p.

The 2013 Benton County Grand Jury recently spent a day touring the Benton County Courthouse and other county facilities. The supervisors received the jury's report and suggestions during their meeting on Tuesday. The jury's top concern was courthouse security; the panel is recommending changes in security procedures that include leaving just one access point that is supervised at all times by an armed deputy.

The Benton County Fair is looking for young women who are interested in serving as a representative of the fair by becoming the Benton County Fair Queen.  As a representative for the Benton County Fair, the queen will be asked to assist with various contests and activities during the county fair in July as well as helping with other promotional activities.

As we quickly approach the upcoming summer season, it is time to think about how you will want to best fill your days. As one option, we invite you to consider summer employment with the Vinton Parks & Recreation Department. As we gear up for all the programs our department has to offer, we will need to fill a variety of positions with motivated individuals looking to gain work experience in an array of fun summer settings.

Vinton native Jessica Rundlett says she has a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to help place a statue of Iowa agricultural pioneer Norman Borlaug in Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. A few days ago, Jessica, the daughter of Bill and Deb Rundlett of Vinton, helped unload a statue of Borlaug in Des Moines. This week, she is watching the artist complete that statue.

Vinton-Shellsburg band members and chaperones have returned from Florida, where the band marched as a featured band in the Saturday "Electrical Parade" on Disney's Main Street USA. Accompanying the band in the parade was a variety of brightly-lit floats representing many of the most famous Disney characters, along with an impressive electric flag honoring America.

At the beginning of the year we all start our diets and exercise regimens to improve ourselves so we can lead healthier lives.  That should be the same for any person suffering from a neurological disorder such as Parkinsons’ Disease.  There should be New Year Resolutions established to make changes in your lifestyle to help with coping with the Disorder, finding support and proper education on advancement of exercise, medication guidance, and nutrition to help with overall health and making sure it does not offset certain medication.

Every spring runners dust off their shoes and hit the pavement.  By changing the running surface, increasing mileage, beginning a new program, or breaking in a pair of shoes many develop new aches and pains.  When we ignore these pains they often grow into injuries that limit your ability to continue working out.  This is where we come in: physical therapy can help decrease pain associated with running injuries.

On Friday, the band participated in the “You’re Instrumental Workshop,” at Disney’s Performing Arts area. In the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) endorsed workshop, the students experienced what it is like to be a professional musician. Students sight-read and prepared a polished performance of Disney musical selections in a studio recording environment.

The weather was -- for Florida -- cool and breezy at the beach, with highs in the 60's, but that didn't stop band members from checking out the ocean - for many their first time seeing the ocean. They also ate their BBQ lunch near the beach. Seeing Epcot's Illuminations laser light show was a great way to end the first official day.  On Friday, band members students participated in an animation studio session and spent the afternoon at Hollywood Studios.