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Opinion
"No Backsies," said Frances
When I was a kid, there was a book called, "A bargain for Frances." In the book, two friends have a falling out over some deals that were made. Frances was saving her money to buy a new tea set that she had been eyeing in the store, because she didn't have one. Her friend convinced her to buy her old tea set. Frances bought it. "No backsies," said the friend.
Letter to the Editor: Words of Hope
October 30, 2023EditorVinton TodayAs the first Benton County woman ever to be elected as a Benton County Supervisor - and coincidentally one of the first six women county supervisors elected in the State of Iowa, I had a double reason for seeking the job. In 1965 I had approached the Benton County Board of Supervisors, asking them to hire an activity director for the 50 mental patients who had been sent to the Benton County Home from the Mental Health Institute in Independence, Iowa, and given the brush off.
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Uneasy times as a librarian shuts out other ideas
By Randy EvansThe word for today is optics — but not the kind where your eye doctor is an expert.Instead of eyeglasses, I am thinking about the kind of optics that result when the perception of some person’s or some institution’s values are contradicted by the reality of the actions they take.Here’s an example. This involves poor optics.Librarians across Iowa have been put on the defensive by parents and grandparents who criticize some of the thousands of books that fill a community library or school library.
Letter to the Editor: The squad and Hamas vs Israel
Dear Editor, Israel must defend the holy land given by God. There is no two two-state solution. Hamas must be destroyed to the last person. Same with Hezbollah. That is the only way for Israel to end terrorist attacks on its Arab and Jewish citizens (20% of Israeli citizens are Arab) - period. Iran is responsible for our troops in Iraq and Syria being fired on.
Letter to the Editor: Fundamental Truths
Editor:Fundamental truths:1. Some people tend to believe what they wish to believe regardless of facts or data.2. Some scientists will attempt to prove a hypothesis with data and facts that have a bias toward a preconceived conclusion arrived at before the experiment is even started.3. The bigger the input numbers to a spreadsheet the bigger the potential error.
"Something Wrong with That?"
In last week's regular meeting, the Benton County Supervisors seem to forget that the Benton County Auditor is their official records keeper. A copy of a contract was handed around for the Supervisors, yet the Auditor was not given a copy. Anything presented in an open session is considered a public record according to the Iowa Public Information Board.
Letter to the Editor: VOTE NO TO EMS
Dear Editor,How many of you realize that voting yes to ems will raise your taxes .68 cents per $1,000 of your land value? That is a lot of money! If your land is appraised at $100,000 you are paying an extra $68 a year...after they just raised our assessments 30%. It's already hard enough to live, and this is going to crush some people. How much mo
Reason 1,472,358,234,7453,190 to appreciate our government workers
In my last opinion piece about why to get a government job, it was misunderstood by some government employees, Some thought that I was saying that ALL government employees are privileged simply by having a government job. That could NOT be further from the truth!When I write about the elected officials and what they say in meetings, what they do, how they act, decisions they make and at times when they push the law, in my mind they are the "government" and thus the "get a government job" remark.
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When you don't follow the rules...
If anyone was watching today's Board of Supervisor meeting, I would bet that your blood pressure went through the roof. The frustration of watching and listening to everyone on every side of the room, all boils down to decisions made by the elected officials. People do make mistakes. We all get that.But after watching for an hour hour and a half, I was disappointed by several things.
Letter to the Editor To the Citizens of Benton County
Citizens of Benton CountyI am writing in response to the many statements and insinuations that Virginia Gay Hospital has not been transparent with use of state grant and county funds.Budget information was presented to the Board of Health on multiple occasions and reports were made on activities completed. Financial information was shared at the February 10th meeting.
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