Headlines I'd like to write

Here are some of the stories I'd like to have the opportunity to cover (and I'm trying to be realistic rather than hoping for headlines like "Gas prices fall to $1.30 per gallon."

City to build theater building on lease-purchase plan
- Evidently, this project is still in the works, so I'm not giving up hope

Rotary begins construction of new Washington monument
- I think this would be one of the greatest new developments in Washington for some time. Something to put on a post card. They are still working on this and I hope to hear more about it soon.

Pool vote passes on second try
– I believe a little legwork by some supportive volunteers will get this necessity passed, even without drastic reductions in the plans.

Deli opens on courthouse square
- I know restaurant owners don't like to hear us talk about a need for more dining options, but I think this is a food segment that is missing in town.

Enrollments show stability across county
– Maybe this is a dream headline, but I really look forward to the day when all of the schools either see increases or no decreases.

New fair barn to be built in 2009
- I would love to see the fair board have success with their new livestock barn effort. Our fair is one of the county's greatest events, so progress with their facilities would be great. They should also hang curtains on the stool stalls at the restroom south of the rock barn.

Pat Bruna to continue local fireworks efforts
- Pat didn't know whether or not he'd be able to continue organizing the fireworks displays at Hanover Fourth of July and other area events now that he is working in KC. His skills are remarkable and it would be a shame to lose his talent.

All for now.

The story list

We have a lot of feature stories on our "to-do list" here, but I'm curious if there are stories you'd like us to consider. We try to do a mix of breaking news and human interest, besides the regular community coverage, but some weeks are easier than others. I'll personally never complete my story list, but some of the stories are large projects and I often need smaller filler stories to fill the gaps. Tom and Cynthia can usually fit suggestions in too, from time to time.
So if anyone wants to leave suggestions for stories on this blog, we will certainly consider them. We can never promise when we'll get them done, but we always like to build the list. --DT

Political scandal!

Scandals of two different varities in the headlines.
I tried to buy a National Enquirer in Washington, but couldn't find any for sale. I was wanting to see the story they broke on John Edwards having an affair and a possible love child! Must have been embarrassing for the big news companies to be scooped by the National Enquirer. Something tells me there is still more to this story too.
And the most recent is that Colin Powell might endorse Barak Obama at the Democratic National Convention. Powell is denying this right now, but if I've learned anything from politicians, denials don't always mean much. We'll see what happens.
What were Republicans thinking when we made McCain our man???!?!?!?!?!?! And the latest on McCain is that he might even consider a pro-choice vice presidential running mate. Come on people!! What's the matter with the GOP!

Busy week

I thought things would be back to normal after getting last week's fair issue out. But for some reason, this week didn't go so well and I didn't get the USD 108 school board story done, or the continuation of last week's Washington City Council meeting or some other content I wanted to include.
I usually type until about 2-3 a.m. on Tuesday nights at home, but last night around midnight, I was literally nodding off while I typed. So I said forget it, and I went to bed. I was full today anyway, so I will try to get caught up next week.

New fair barn

I heard a rumor yesterday that the fair board was wanting to build a proposed horse/beef barn on the race track site. Nope. I talked to Dr. Johnson and we have also done stories in the past on this project and the fair board has always intended on building this new barn south of the gold barn (where the current horse stalls sit.) In fact, this site was written up on an explanation letter that was set out near the fair office by drawings of the fair barn.
So no, they're not going to try to take the race track.
We'll have a story on it again next week and we'll try to include the pictures of the building design.

County fair reaction

I'm curious what people liked or disliked about this year's fair since there were several changes, including the parade route, several livestock show changes, etc. I'd like to hear the good and the bad.

Primary results

Just a quick list of results:

Washington pool vote (1.2% sales tax) lost by 10 votes - 245-255. Wow. That was close.

Of the other county races:
Republican county commission - Roger Otott, 489; Kathryn Stigge, 168
Democrat county commission - Brad Owen, 50; Mike Uhlrich, 42
County sheriff - Bill Overbeck, 852; Jim Mueller, 664
County treasurer - Ann Hawk, 636; Larry Stigge, 571; Christina Metz, 319
Taddiken won easily in his Senate race
Bill Pannbacker won the county easily over Kathy Martin (1120 to 395), but lost overall 15329 to 14149.