Archive for: August 2008

Plans for the annual Labor Day Celebration at St. Mary’s Church in Riverside are complete. Stop by and enjoy a generous meal with your choice of a Smoked Iowa Chop or Grilled Chicken Breast, along with mashed potatoes, gravy, homemade noodles, green beans, corn, coleslaw, applesauce, rolls, dessert, and drink. A hot dog children’s meal is also available. Carry-outs are available to Riverside residents by calling Betty Kaalberg at (319) 648-2061.
Enjoy the day with great entertainment, kid’s games, kid’s tractor pull at 1 p.m. – sign up starts at noon, horseshoe tournament at 1 p.m. – sign up at 12:30 p.m., crafts, Farmer’s Market, and Bingo.

by Ranee Fladung
Sidewalk problems were discussed during the regular Riverside council meeting Monday, August 18.
Council member Todd Yahnke, after looking at the alley north of resident Mike Meinders home said he didn’t think it would make a difference to dig out the alley. “It’s a small ditch and I think he will still have the same issue of rock running down the sidewalk,” said Yahnke. 

The Riverside community blood drive is Monday, September 8, from 3 to 6:30 p.m. in Trinity United Methodist Church, Riverside, 11 East 2nd Street. Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center personnel will be taking blood.
To make an appointment to donate, contact …

Editor’s Note: Members of the Highland Community School District will vote September 9, to change its Revenue Purpose Statement which would allow the district to spend the new state penny tax on technology, school buses and infrastructure. The state discontinued the SILO funds which previously paid for these items.
The following are a list of frequently asked questions regarding the Revenue Purpose Statement:
Q. What is a Revenue Purpose Statement (RPS)?
A. A Revenue Purpose Statement defines what the district can use certain state tax funds for; in this case, the RPS states the use for the revenue generated from the state penny sales tax.
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Q. Was a RPS previously passed that defined the use of the School Infrastructure Local Option sales tax (SILO) revenue?
A. The Board previously passed a RPS on March 8, 2004, for Washington County and another RPS on December 11, 2006, for Johnson County for the SILO sales tax.
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Cherie Byrum, USDA Rural Development, August 11 presented a plaque to the management at Townview Village to recognize 25 years of providing quality housing services to residents in the Ainsworth area.
“Ensuring that Iowans living in rural communities have decent, safe and affordable housing has been a top priority of USDA Rural Development for many years,” said Mark Reisinger, State Director of USDA Rural Development in Iowa.

Front are Charlie and Janelle Limoges. Back, Dennis Bean, Wilma Chalupa, Kathi Bean, President Marsha Hampsher, Cherie Byrum Area Specialist USDA Rural Development, and manager Jeanie Thurston. All were at the ceremony August 11 when SDA Rural Development recoginzed Townview Village for a quarter century of service. (Photo submitted)

“It’s through housing projects like this one that we are able to help as many rural Iowans as possible have access to adequate housing for themselves and their families.”

Willa Esperanza Siemens-Rhodes, 618 S. Fifth St., Goshen, Indiana, died at 8:22 a.m. Monday, August 11, shortly after being born at home.  She had Trisomy 18 genetic disorder.
Surviving are her parents, Mitchell and Heidi Siemens-Rhodes; two brothers, Theo and Adam, …

There will be new metal roofs installed on Buildings one and three at the county owned Orchard Hill complex.
The Washington County Board of Supervisors Tuesday accepted the bid of $19,585 each from Duwa Roofing & Construction, Wellman, for the work.
Orchard …

By Mary Zielinski
It’s big, it’s cutting edge, it’s geared to the global economy and it sits amid 29 acres in Lone Tree, Iowa.
Due to go into full operation in mid-September, the 100,000 square foot complex was “fast-tracked” late last year, going from design to building in eight months, said Eric Snoke, assistant plant manager for Syngenta Seeds.
The addition makes the Lone Tree facility one of Syngenta’s three largest plants: the first is in Waterloo, Nebraska, and the third is underway in Muscatine. Syngenta held an Open House Thursday to showcase the addition.
The $36 million investment wasn’t done just for local expansion, but to clearly meet global demand, explained Nathan Unger who heads up the supply chain for corn at Syngenta.
The idea is “to stay ahead of the curve,” for demand and seed development, he noted, and while there are no time estimates, Syngenta expects to see good and quick return on its investment.

Margaret Ann Ware, 84, of Charlotte, North Carolina, formerly of Riverside, Iowa, died Monday, August 11, 2008, in her daughter’s home following an extended illness.
Mass of the Resurrection will be held Thursday, August 14, 2008, at 10 a.m. in St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Riverside. Rev. Rich Adam will officiate. Burial will be in St. Peter’s Cemetery, Cosgrove, Iowa. Following the committal service, a time of food and fellowship will be held in the Parish Center of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Visitation was held Wednesday, August 13, 2008, from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Sorden-Lewis Home for Funeral and Cremation Services in Riverside with a 7 p.m. Prayer Service. A memorial fund has been established at the funeral home in memory of Mrs. Ware. Online condolences for the Ware family may be sent to www.lewisfuneralhomes.com.

by Ranee Fladung
The city’s consulting engineer Mike Hart told the Riverside Council Tuesday, August 5 that in order to add parking in front of the new city hall the stree has to be widened by 3.5 feet. This would allow parallel parking on the east side in front of the post office and diagonal parking in front of the city offices, Greene Street Sweets, Tae Kwon Do and dance studio.
Brad Herrig, city employee, said Alliant will move its poles back at no cost to the city and the post office was “okay” with moving its mail box. Waldschmidt expressed concern about how it would affect the car wash business on the corner.

By Mary Zielinski
Faced with losing their long-time medical clinic, Lone Tree residents met August 6 with Bill Watts of Mercy Care to see if Mercy will come in after the University of Iowa Community Medical Services (UICMS) leaves.
UICMS told Lone Tree July 9 that it was looking for a possible new clinic in Riverside. The announcement was especially hard for members of the Lone Tree Health and Wellness Alliance who had worked for more than a year to help with funding and a site for what they thought would be a $1 million new clinic.
In fact, last year a UICMS representative asked Riverside not to consider building a clinic because there was not enough business to support one in Lone Tree and Riverside.

Four Lone Tree softball players earned honorable mention for 2008 Class 1A All-State softball: Makenie Cover, Diana Rice, Hailey Pearson, and Jacki Finley.