Relay for Life of Greene County is Today
The Relay for Life of Greene County is happening today at the Greene County Community Center and there is a lot going on.
You can join Raccoon Valley Radio’s Big Red Radio from live remotes from 9am to noon.
Relay teams and Color Out Cancer 5K Run/Walk participants can start registering at 9:30am. Luminarias and silent auction bidding will also begin at that time. The cancer survivor reception will be from 9:30-10am. The survivors will then have their walk from the east side of the rec center to the start of the 5K at Doreen Wilbur’s statue at 10:20am. If it is raining, the walk will take place on the track inside the rec center.
The opening ceremonies will follow with the singing of the National Anthem. The Color Out Cancer 5K will start at 10:30am.
From 11am-1:30pm will be the free-will donation community barbecue meal, served by Beta Sigma Phi, the Greene County Cattlemen’s Association and Greene County Pork Producers. This year’s entertainment includes Prairie Blue Creative Arts, Town & Country Band, lip sync battle, ballroom dancing demonstration, the Rhythm Room Dancers will perform, plus there will be sponsor recognition and kids’ birthday party activities.
In the afternoon at 1:15pm, all silent auction bids will end with the winners announced at 1:45pm along with all raffle winners. The event will close with a luminary ceremony at 2pm.
At 7pm, Rick and Kathy Morain will be the two Fight Back Speakers at Homestead Coffee and Bakery in Jefferson.
New Program Director Announced for Jefferson Matters
Jefferson Matters: Main Street (JMMS) announced its new program director.
Jefferson resident Peg Raney is no stranger to the community, being involved as the chairperson for Relay for Life of Greene County, a retired school teacher, Bell Tower Community Foundation and a board member of Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation; the non-profit license holder for Wild Rose Jefferson.
Raney says she’s excited to help drive the JMMS’ goal which is historic preservation of the downtown district.
“I don’t know all about it, but I’m willing to learn and I’m looking forward to learning as much as I can to help our downtown district thrive. And the time is right for our community, and I just got to thinking, I want to be a part of that.”
Raney is the second JMMS program director. She takes over for Alan Robinson who resigned earlier this year due to family reasons. She will start her new job on May 5th.
Final Recommendation Made for No Parking and Stop Signs Around Jefferson HyVee
The Jefferson Street Committee met on Tuesday to further discuss the no parking and stop sign issues around HyVee.
The committee met with HyVee Store Director Lori Subbert about both situations. The original proposal had no parking marked on all sides of the HyVee property along with both sides of Vine Street and Wilson Avenue, due to the narrow roads. Vine Street’s width is 27-feet and Wilson Avenue is 25-feet. The committee decided to keep the proposed no parking on both sides of Wilson Avenue, but allow parking on the west side of Vine Street since that road is wider. Additional no parking zones include north side of Adams Street to HyVee and south side of Reed Street.
Another issue that the committee discussed was stop sign locations. The proposal had a two-way stop sign intersection at Vine and Reed streets and Reed Street and Wilson Avenue for north and south traffic. One stop sign would be placed on Adams Street for eastbound traffic to HyVee and another one on Adams Street from HyVee for westbound traffic.
The committee decided to make the intersection at Reed Street and Wilson Avenue a four-way stop due to increased traffic from patients to McFarland Clinic. The committee also decided to keep all the other stop sign recommendations.
City Administrator Mike Palmer says the next step is for the City Council to approve the second reading to amend an ordinance for the no parking zones and a resolution approving all stop sign locations. The Council tabled the second reading at their previous meeting so that the committee had more time to make its final recommendation. Because the committee is eliminating some of the no parking zones, they do not have to start over on the three required readings before it can take effect. A resolution only requires the approval of the Council and doesn’t include three readings.
Cobblestone Hotel & Suites Making Progress in Jefferson
Since Cobblestone Hotel and Suites had its groundbreaking almost two months ago in Jefferson, the three-story project is starting to take shape.
President of Development for BriMark Builders, LLC Jeremy Griesbach says they have completed underground utilities and poured the foundation. He points out that crews are working on installing rough carpentry of the first floor with all three loors to be enclosed by Memorial Day. Following that will be plumbing and electrical.
The 37,000-square foot, $5.3 million project includes 73 rooms, an indoor swimming pool, a workout and laundry room and free wifi.
The hotel will be connected to Wild Rose Jefferson with a walk-through hallway. There will also be a circle approach to the hotel and Griesbach adds that Cobblestone will use the casino’s parking lot. He notes that cold weather slowed them down for concrete in the beginning, but they are making up time with the warmer weather.
Griesbach believes they are still on target to have the hotel completed by August 1st.
New Habitat for Humanity Office in Jefferson
Heart of Iowa Habitat for Humanity now has a new office location in Jefferson.
Associate Director Jeff Lamoureux’s office is at 114 South Chestnut Street. He says he’s thrilled about having a permanent office location.
“It is pretty exciting to kind of set up home base here in Jefferson (and) get that recognizable storefront building. There’s a garage in the back that’ll work perfectly for storage. We’re excited about that.”
Lamoureux’s temporary office was at the First United Methodist Church. He will be regular business hours from 8am-5pm, but he says you should make an appointment, since he’s the only one in the office. Lamoureux will oversee housing projects in both Greene and Guthrie counties.
Heart of Iowa Habitat for Humanity recently expanded its services from Boone and Greene counties to include Guthrie County. Erich Kretzinger is still the executive director who operates out of the Boone office.
The phone number for the Jefferson office is 386-3093.