Opinion
Watching from the sidelines
This job is sometimes weird. Only because of the range of emotions that you go through in a single day. Most days begin with cracking open the laptop to see what needs to be put on the website. That means looking through obituaries from around the area to see who needs to be included aka who is from Benton County. Sometimes the ages of those who have passed affect me with, "they're younger than I am" or "they lived a very long life.
When it feels like You matter...every 4 years
On Saturday, Governor Ron DeSantis one of the many Republican presidential candidates, made his way to the metropolis of Vinton for a meet-and-greet type stop. Arriving in the campaign bus, escorted by the State Patrol, they arrived half an hour behind schedule, but with good reason. They spotted the home of Peg Kelley on the route and had to stop to thank her for her support. A love letter for my teachers
By Bruce LearBruce Lear lives in Sioux City and has been connected to Iowa’s public schools for 38 years. He taught for eleven years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association regional director for 27 years until retiring. He took the photo above of Shellsburg School (now Vinton-Shellsburg).Teachers have earned appreciation for more than a week in May or during tragedies like school shootings or a pandemic. Letter to the Editor: Maybe...It's not so bad!
Dear Editor, When I was teaching school in Kansas, I got up at 5:15, so I could get to school by 6:15 and get ready for all my classes. No one was there that early except for the cooks. After I retired, it was hard to remove the clock from my brain. I solved it by working the night shift as a correctional officer for the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office for 8 months before returning to Vinton.
Letter to the Editor: ALERT VINTON ROADS
Dear Editor, As a citizen of Vinton, I want to rally people to make our voices known to the Town Council. I live on West 3rd Street between the Courthouse and Hwy 218; first this is the BUSIEST street in Vinton. Our inter-structure of Vinton roads are HORRENDOUS! Why is there not anything being done to upgrade our roads???? WHY??? Someone please explain.
Try that in a small town
Song by Jason Aldean - Try that in a Small Town Country singer, Jason Aldean the guy who was onstage during a mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert in 2017 dared to record a song called 'Try That In A Small Town.'As a result, everyone is melting down. The song was released in May and is just now getting people all up in arms...about the song, not about the behavior he's describing in the song. Letter to the Editor: Food Truck Court Request
Dear Editor, It would be great if there were a food truck court in town. People are often confused about “where” the trucks can be found, just how many there are, the times and menus. It’s a pain to try and follow each one. C’mon people let’s get together.Betty Thorsvig
78° is the Perfect Temperature for Air Conditioning
...according to Alliant Energy. As I was driving, I had the radio on and heard a gal from Alliant Energy come on. She was giving tips for energy consumption. "Turn your thermostat up to 78°." I glanced at the thermostat in my car. It was cranked down to what my car labels "cold" which is below 70°. Most of the time that is just about right. Of course, that's if I have the fan on low. The words we don't say out loud
I attended the meeting this week of a new organization in Benton County called the Benton County Suicide Prevention Coalition (BCSPC). The group is still in the forming stages. They are setting up the legalese, the tax forms, the logos, the messaging, in other words, all the details.I went to the meeting mostly because the topic hits home with me.
Letter to the Editor: What a mess!
Dear Editor, Today, after a doctor's appointment, I was watching Scripps News. Suddenly, all this gibberish was thrown out at me. I turned the television off. For me, that's a big deal.This country is in a gigantic mess!! *We have severe drought in the Midwest,*We have flooding on all the coasts.*We have outbreaks of tornadoes daily.