&(1785< - TownNews

[Pages:2]$1.00



IN LOCAL, A2

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS JOIN LEGACY

Southeast Iowa's Best Newspaper

IN LOCAL, A3

POLLING SITES ANNOUNCED

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

IN SPORTS, B1

OHS FOOTBALL SEEKS IMPROVEMENT

City weighs public

Dog party at Beach Ottumwa

Courthouse may have hidden expenses

safety

Supervisors want report on equipment

Figures assessed

By MATT MILNER Managing Editor

OTTUMWA -- Public safety is always a priority for candidates running for office. Once elected, the question of where the balance lies between that priority and the available money often proves tricky.

Councilman Matt Dalbey put the issue plainly: "Our main job is public safety. Number two is financial responsibility."

The question spilled over Tuesday into the biggest public meeting at city hall in years, with every seat filled in the council chambers and crowds spilling into the hallways. The side doors to

Please see COUNCIL, Page A4

Winona Whitaker/The Courier The Beach Ottumwa opened its doors to swimmers of the canine variety Tuesday evening. Hosted by Heartland Humane Society, admission to the Dog Paddle was a donation of pet food, treats, dog or cat toys, blankets or shelter supplies. Doors opened early, allowing 30 dogs to already be in the water by the time the event was set to begin.

Dream job is at Hugo Awards for southern Iowan

Day allowed to present Guinness

now lives in Fairfield, is best known for his video

brought Day up. Day was there to present the show's

world record to sci-fi society

game connections. But he organizer, the World Sci-

loves science fiction. This ence Fiction Society, with a

By MARK NEWMAN

ence fiction. But the 2017 month, he flew to Helsinki, world record announcement

Courier staff writer

ceremony also has a story Finland, where the Hugo from a big name: Guinness

that's a little more down Award Ceremony was being World Records.

OTTUMWA -- The Hugo to earth.

held. Before the first author For the Hugo Awards,

Awards are a big deal in

Walter Day, a former even stepped onto the

the far-flung worlds of sci- Ottumwa businessman who stage, host Nicholas Whyte

Please see HUGO, Page A6

By MARK NEWMAN Courier staff writer

OTTUMWA -- The county may have to spend some money after a window inspection revealed potential safety concerns.

The Wapello County Board of Supervisors was looking into new windows for the courthouse. They weren't cheap to begin with. Looking at the courthouse from outside provides clues as to why.

"We need a large number of them," said the current board chair, Jerry Parker. "And they have to meet certain standards -- we're on the historic register, and we'd like to stay on that list."

But as the inspection continued turning in reports to Parker, he discovered the

Please see COURT, Page A4

&(1785<

)$506

Stories presented by: Al Martin Real Estate & Auction

&RPPXQLW\VW&UHGLW8QLRQ RJ Performance

Historic farm known for its Red Angus

By WINONA WHITAKER Courier staff writer

STOCKPORT -- The James B. Watson family arrived in Iowa in 1833 after the Blackhawk War. "We had corn growing before the surveyors came," said Dorothy Gilbert of her family.

They settled toward Hillsboro in Henry County, and the farm passed to the oldest son. The other 19 children in the family had no inheritance in the farm.

"The children didn't stay," Gilbert said. Some of them, including Gilbert's ancestors, followed the Oregon Trail.

Telling family tales comes easily to Gilbert. The stories fascinate her. "I love history."

She tells of the family raising a large herd of cattle in Oregon, of the mothers among the settlers wanting their children to be educated and of the resulting trek back to Iowa.

Driving a large herd of cattle east from Oregon, the group stopped at Brigham Young's compound, said Gilbert, and several of the kids broke in.

The family sold its cattle, but the stock market crashed, and the family never received its money.

The original home of William and Anna Watson is seen in this historic photograph.

Photo provided

Back in Iowa, James and Cynthia Bailey settled in Van Buren County because that's

where the rest of the family was living. The family probably built the barn first and

lived in a log cabin until they could build the house, Gilbert said. "They were looking

for land with timber and water." That's not what they would have found, said Gilbert.

Stockport was a swamp area at the time. "It wasn't really a productive land until later

years."

Please see FARM, Page A6

TWO-DAY FORECAST

Today ... Patchy fog before 10 a.m. Otherwise mostly sunny with a high near 82. Calm wind becoming north northeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. Tonight ... Patchy fog after 5 a.m. Otherwise, mostly clear with a low around 59. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Thursday ... Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 81. Light north wind becoming east northeast 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Thursday night ... Partly cloudy with a low around 54. East northeast wind 6 to 8 mph.

Weather, Page A6

INDEX

A2, A3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Local A4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Obituaries A5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opinion A6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Weather B1-B3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sports

B4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Business B6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Features C2-C5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Classifieds C6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comics C7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Features

Call or Stop in to Schedule Fast Friendly Service

ASHLEY

??y !? ?j .?^ #????? V ??|???o|y???

DUSTY

Weather Wednesday



A6, Wednesday, August 30, 2017

National weather

Forecast for Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Bands separate high temperature zones for the day.

H

HARVEY

Fronts

Cold

Warm

Stationary

Pressure

HL

High Low

Showers

Rain

T-storms Flurries Snow

Ice

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download