Opinion

So much goes into our coverage of the GJCF

Published by admin on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 8:09am

     The Monticello Express takes great pride in covering everything associated with the Great Jones County Fair, not to mention publishing our annual GJCF souvenir issue.

     Many 4-H and FFA families treasure this special issue featuring all of the champions and reserve champions from every livestock-judging show during the week, as well as the official show results.

     These kids work tremendously hard in the days leading up to the fair to make sure their animals are in top-notch condition.

The GJCF is fabulous in many ways

Published by admin on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 8:08am

     What a week!

     That’s all I need to say. However if I ended my column there, what kind of writer would I be? (A writer who sums it up in just three words.)

Save our dam

Published by admin on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 8:03am

To the Editor,

     Should the Jones County Conservation Board vote to remove most of our dam, the Mon Maq Dam at Monticello, we need to know what options are on the table to do with what’s left. There WILL NOT be a whitewater park, as was the thought years ago. There WILL NOT be walking/biking trails along the river, cost and other factors eliminating that option. There WILL BE an irreversible hole in our dam that we don’t want or need.

Save our dam

Published by admin on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 8:02am

To the Editor,

     I am writing this letter to inform the people of Monticello of the plans of the Jones County Conservation Board to destroy the Mon-Maq Dam.

It’s dam near unanimous

Published by admin on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 8:02am

To the Editor,

     Recently the Jones County Preservation (Historical) Society took a survey of 483 Jones County citizens. The survey asked citizens to decide if destroying the Mon Maq Dam without water park-type activities, just to let fish move up and dam the river, was worth doing. Ninety-seven percent of Jones County citizens were opposed. The margin of error on the polling was just 3.3 percent.

Dam elimination includes many benefits

Published by admin on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 8:01am

To the Editor,

     The residents of Jones County have an opportunity to re-connect to their river in a proactive, positive manner. Consider the factors associated the existence of the Mon Maq low-head dam:

Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act

Published by admin on Thu, 07/27/2017 - 7:59am

     Making sure that Iowa seniors who have worked hard and played by the rules their whole lives get the benefits they have earned was one of the reasons I ran for Congress. That’s why I am a co-sponsor of the Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act, H.R. 2552, which will end the double taxation of our Seniors’ Social Security benefits. With the government collecting all time record tax revenues, there is no reason why politicians in D.C. should hurt seniors by taxing Social Security benefits twice.

Wyoming Fair carries on the success

Published by admin on Wed, 07/19/2017 - 3:57pm

     The Express (Pete Temple and myself) covered the 83rd Annual Wyoming Fair over the weekend, July 14-16.

     This was our first time covering the sacred small-town fair in southern Jones County. Shirley Jones with the Midland Times had always heavily covered the fair in the past, and did an exceptional job at it, despite being a one-woman show at the newspaper.

     I spent four hours at the Wyoming Fairgrounds on Saturday, and witnessed so many dedicated volunteers coming together to make sure this fair went off without a hitch.

Budget mess is a bad deal for Iowans

Published by admin on Wed, 07/19/2017 - 3:56pm

     The State ended Fiscal Year 2017 on June 30 with a $105 million budget shortfall. Analysis by Iowa’s nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency indicates that hole could grow.

     The Revenue Estimating Committee, a panel of budget experts, overestimated how much our economy was growing, what the state was taking in and how much it could provide to departments, initiatives and services that Iowans depend on.

     Iowa’s revenues are growing but at a slower rate than projected.

Memories made again at Camp Hertko Hollow

Published by admin on Wed, 07/19/2017 - 3:49pm

     If you know me at all, you know that a huge part of my childhood was Camp Hertko Hollow. I recently got to relive that part of my childhood, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

     Camp Hertko Hollow is a camp for kids with diabetes. I began attending when I was 7 years old. I had to take a break from going when I was 15 for other obligations. I was not planning on attending this year, but I decided to apply when I learned they did not have enough female counselors.

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