I sympathize with the 20 percent in last week's NSP Online poll who called Eldridge's LeClaire Road and First Street intersection construction "insane" – but actually, the votes of the 67 percent who said it is "a minor inconvenience for a much-needed project" were more realistic. more

Sometimes change is difficult, and there comes a time when you have to set tradition aside, look to the future, and step outside the box. more

Sept. 30, 1982: After an all-day public meeting at the basement of Eldridge Coop, the Eldridge City Council voted 4-0 against allowing fired police chief Bill Welty to serve as a sergeant on the force. Carol Goetzke abstained, as she served on the public safety committee. Meanwhile, Eldridge would continue without a police chief until the deadline had passed for Welty to appeal his termination. Sgt. Dale Heiser would take over the day-to-day duties of running the department in the interim. more

Peace is not present in Ukraine, as we know, but let this be a time also when we shine a light on the peacemakers. I met one such individual Friday at a big regional Rotary event in Minneapolis. more

At first glance, you’d never know something was missing. In fact, for an entire basketball season, North Scott assistant coach Colin Woods was oblivious. more

Sept. 24, 1997: The highlight of the annual Dixon Fall Festival was a frog jumping contest. The object was to get the frog to jump from one circle to another, without actually touching the frog. more

The moment I heard that Queen Elizabeth died last week at age 96, I knew that for the next several days – maybe longer – we would see wall-to-wall Queen Elizabeth coverage in the newspapers and on TV. So far, the media have not disappointed. more

Sept. 19, 2007: U.S. senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama visited Eldridge to help stump for state senator Frank Wood, who announced his re-election bid at Lancers Grille. more

Many businesspeople, including restaurant operators, are hurting. They are dealing with higher prices, product shortages and fewer job applicants. more

I have little to add or subtract from opinions previously expressed on these pages in support of next Tuesday's Vision North Scott bond referendum. Unlike many of the referendums I've covered over the years, this one has less to do with survival – providing classrooms or keeping a roof over kids' heads – and more to do with striving for excellence. more

Sept. 9, 1982: Nearly 1,200 runners participated in the Donahue Sodbuster road races, and several new records were set. Winners were Carl Junginger of Clinton and Muriel Naumann of Iowa City (10K); Rich Fuller of Davenport and Karen Kokesh of Manchester, Mo. (5K); and Matt Curran of Davenport and Wendy Bare of Eldridge (one-mile). more

Fifty-one years ago this week, Linda and I came to Eldridge to raise a family and pursue the dream of building what was then the 3-1/2-year-old newspaper, The North Scott Press, to be the best that it could be. more