By Mary Zielinski

David Patterson, the Washington County Engineer, Tuesday submitted his resignation to the Board of Supervisors, effective January 13, a move that caught the members by surprise.

Patterson explained he is leaving the county employ to become “at least for a short time” the construction supervisor for the Church of the Living Word Fellowship which includes Shiloh just south of Kalona.

“The supervisors died very suddenly,” said Patterson who is very familiar with the work underway in Brazil.  He has been to the South American county eight times and decided to take over the post “because I have the skill sets needed.”  He said he also will oversee projects in Washington, D.C. and “be back in Kalona probably this summer to help with the trail projects.”

The Washington County 4-H & Youth Committee, along with the Washington County   4-H County Council, held an Award Family Fun Night on Saturday, November 12, at the Washington County Fairgrounds.  The event was held to recognize 4-H’ers and volunteers for their hard work throughout the year.
Each year a family is recognized as 4-H Family of the Year for their ongoing involvement as volunteers.  They have a willingness to give back and embody the four-fold development of our youth through their head, heart, hands, and health.  This year three generations of the Robert and Janet Spenner family of Riverside were recognized.

George A. Herring, 70, of Lone Tree, passed away  Thursday, November 10, 2011, at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City.

Funeral services will be 10 a.m.  Tuesday, November 15,  at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Hills.  Fr. Jason Crossen and Fr. Bill Kneemiller will officiate the services.  Burial will be in the St. Stanislaus Cemetery in rural Hills.

Visitation will be held 4-7 p.m.  Monday, November 14,with a 7 p.m. prayer service at the Sorden-Lewis Home for Funeral and Cremation Services in Lone Tree.

Rep. Jarad Klein (R-Keota) has announced he intends to run for the Iowa House in district 78. After redistricting, this newly-formed district is comprised of Keokuk County and most of Washington County.

Klein, was born and raised in Keota, where today he is a fifth generation family farmer.  Klein attended Drake University in Des Moines, and is a 1999 graduate of Keota High School.   Klein is also active in St. Mary’s Catholic Church, the Washington County Pork Producers, the Washington County Farm Bureau, the Iowa Soybean Association, and the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

“For too long, a conservative perspective has been lacking in state government. This year I have been working to eliminate excessive spending, instill commonsense budgeting practices and protect Iowa taxpayers,” said Klein. “I’m proud of the work that’s been completed, but there’s still more to do. I am humbled to have the opportunity to do the work of Iowans.”

In his first year, Klein has already taken on various leadership positions in the Legislature. He currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the House Labor committee. Additionally, he serves on the House Environmental Protection, Local Government, and Public Safety committees.

Jarad and his wife, Rachel have two young children and reside north of Keota on the family’s farm.

Former Riverside mayor Bill Poch was re-elected Tuesday by 198 voters to incumbent Brian McDole’s 169 in an election that saw a 51 percent voter turnout with 376 of the city’s 737 registered voters casting ballots.
Incumbent council member Christine Kirkwood with 194 votes won her first full four term and will be joined by newcomers Robert Schneider, Jr., 177 votes, and Nate Kasdorf, 161.  However, Kasdorf edged out Tom Sexton by only one vote with Sexton receiving 160 votes.  Incumbent Rodney Waldschmidt received 154 votes, Larry Simon, 151 and Joette Armbruster, 86. Highest vote getter was Poch, followed by Kirkwood.  The close votes for two could lead to a request for a recount.
The ten year local option sales and services tax (LOSST) passed by 221 yes to 120 no.
The newly elected members will take office in January.
In Ainsworth, Teresa Hazelett and Troy McCarthy, unopposed, were elected to the council with 41 and 38 votes, respectively.  Brad Brown was elected by 39 votes to fill a vacancy, and the LOSST passed by 37 yes to 7 no.

Polls open Tuesday, November 8 from Noon – 8 p.m. in Riverside City Hall.
In next week’s election, without question, the major contest for offices is in Riverside with a total of nine candidates: two seeking the mayor’s office and seven seeking one of three council seats.  Incumbent Mayor Brian McDole and former mayor Bill Poch are matched again (both were among three mayoral candidates in the last election), and incumbent council members Christine Kirkwood and Rodney Waldschmidt are running with (or against) Joette Armbruster, Nate Kasdorf, Robert J. Schneider, Jr., Tom L. Sexton and Larry R. Simon for one of three council seats.  The third incumbent Todd Yahnke did not seek re-election, which no matter how the voting goes, means there will be at least one new council member.  There would have been a slate of 10 but former council member Sam Torrey withdrew as a candidate for mayor.  Still, there is no doubt that Riverside’s 737 registered voters definitely have some choices.

Ainsworth election
In Ainsworth, there are three council seats, including one to fill a vacancy for a term expiring in December 2013, and all three incumbents, Teresa Hazelett, Troy McCarthy and Brad Brown are running.  In Brighton, the three seats have three new candidates: Bill Farmer, Scott Hughes and Ron Rich, with a similar situation for two seats in Crawfordsville with Larry Black and David Neff running.

Sandra Jean Mallory, 63, of Riverside, passed away on Sunday, November 6, 2011, at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City.

A Celebration of Life Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, November 8. 2011, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Riverside.  Burial will be in the Hampton Cemetery in Hampton, Iowa on Wednesday, November 9, at noon.

Memorials may be directed to Iowa City Hospice or the Nature Conservancy in memory of Sandy.

Sandra Mallory

The Sorden-Lewis Home for Funeral and Cremation Services is caring for Sandy’s arrangements and her family.

By Mary Zielinski
He’s ticketed friends who later would not talk to him, been offered “a bribe or two,” was the first officer at a murder scene and in 21 years as a deputy sheriff never had to fire his gun.
Major health problems forced Tom Ulin to retire, but he has hopes of returning at least part-time because being a law enforcement officer is what he really wanted to do and still does.
The Wellman native and graduate of Mid-Prairie High School turned in his badge and gun August 31, but there is more than a slim chance he “could go back” to serving with the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.
Ulin started his career with the Reserves, serving from 1986-89 and attended the Cedar Rapids Reserve Deputy Academy. He began part-time and went full-time in 1989, graduating from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in 1990.
Although he did some other things after high school graduation, at age 30, “I decided I wanted to do it,” that he had thought about for “quite a while” and talked with Deputy Jack Seward about what would be involved in being a cop.
(Read the completed article in the Riverside Current)

By Ranee Fladung
Running out of patience with Bi-State Contracting, Inc., the Highland Board of Education Monday wanted to set a final completion date for the district’s $3 million project or Bi-State loses the $30,616.36 retainage money.
The project, which initially was to have been done by the end of summer, 2009, still has unfinished bits and pieces, including the library’s air conditioning system that tends to shut itself off at random. There also are still some chipped ceiling tiles in the library and unfinished tile work at the building’s south side, among other things
Superintendent Chris Armstrong noted that the heating,ventilation and air conditioning system is not finished, either.
Construction manager Tim Ruth, provided an update on the project, noting that the contractor “is not making a good faith effort to get things done.”
Board members discussed that the only way may be to withhold the $30,000, all of which is actually Bi-State’s, not the subcontractors. Ruth noted that the retainage could be used to hire someone else to get the work completed.
A completion deadline of November 1 was suggested and if not met, then someone else would be hired. However, the board wanted further discussion with the contractor before setting such a deadline.

Read more…

Attention sports organizations and teams in the Keota, Wellman, Kalona, Riverside, Ainsworth and Lone Tree areas – here’s your chance to gain the visibility you desire, the coverage you deserve and the fan network you dream of. We want you to “Tell Us What You Play.”
Three Chicks Publications has teamed up with CommunitySportsDesk, a national sports software and service company, to create EnglishRiverSports.com (ERS), a website designed to further enhance the newspaper’s coverage of youth teams and adult leagues.
Beginning next week, the Wellman Advance and Riverside Current will publish Fall Preview articles – both online and in its print edition – highlighting a number of local organizations and teams. (See “How to Get Started” below for information on submitting your stories and photos to http://englishriversports.com.
In addition to submitting your Fall Preview, please add your organization’s or team’s name and information to the Directory on the website, then regularly submit your game results, announcements, listings, photos and videos to this easy-to-use site. You can share information with family, friends, fans and the community; build a fan base; and share in advertising revenue…all by actively using this new, fun and innovative system.
ERS is not just for sports organizations, teams and participants. Fans are also a big part of the equation. In addition to keeping up to speed on all of your favorite teams’ activities, you now have the opportunity to offer them encouragement with a “High Five,” a “Cheer” and other reactions, as well as sharing the team’s accomplishments with your friends and families.

Read more…

by Ranee Fladung
Getting around Riverside will be a matter of black and white once the city installs some 114 street signs.  The new signs will replace the green and white ones with a more conventional black on white and includes adding some signs where previously there were none. Cost is $18.25 per sign and total estimated cost to -resign the entire town is $4,200.
Large names on the signs will required a 30 inch sign, available from Iowa Prison Industries for $22.80 each.
The new stop signs will be on Kleopfer Avenue, where the street is being extended to the Riverside Elementary School.  The first sign will be on the north edge of Kleopfer at the intersection of Buckeye Lane on the east side of the street, and the second south on Kleopfer at the intersection of Buckeye Lane on the west side of the street.
The council also approved adding crosswalks at the east end of Buckeye Lane and the north end of Kleopfer Avenue and  held a first reading to establish a 15 mile per hour speed zone for Schnoebelen Street,  Buckeye Lane and Kleopfer Avenue.  All three roads are in the vicinity of the elementary school and the changes are related to providing safety measures for students in the area.

Read more…

There will soon be a change to the way the traffic flows in the parking lot at the Highland Middle/High School. The change was precipitated by the newly constructed sidewalk that extends along the length of both buildings.

“This plan allows us to create handicap parking in front of both the high school and middle school entrance and should create a better, safer flow of traffic.”

The plan is to use the northeast entrance on 170th Street as a one way entrance into the parking lot. The northwest entrance of the north parking lot would become an exit only and the southeast entrance in front of the middle school would become an exit only. Cars will angle park in front of the middle/high school building,  facing the south,  and cars will angle park in the north lot,  facing west.
The school hopes to have the front lot redesigned for the week of August 30and the north lot redesigned soon after.
“This change will take a while to get used to,” said Superintendent Chris Armstrong, “but it makes sense considering the changes that we have made at the middle/high school.”
The buses are now loading and unloading in front of the sidewalk so the school needed to create an unobstructed loading zone for them. The parking lot is wide enough to accommodate a lane for a loading zone, two adjacent stalls for angle parking, and a lane for traffic flow along the east side. Armstrong said, “This plan allows us to create handicap parking in front of both the high school and middle school entrance and should create a better, safer flow of traffic.”
This plan allows us to create handicap parking in front of both the high school and middle school entrance and should create a better, safer flow of traffic.