June 21, 2000: Business owners were upset about a spate of vandalism in downtown Eldridge. The most recent was graffiti on a mural at the Eldridge Library Annex, where vandals defaced characters from “Sesame Street.” Eggs were also dropped in the book return box. Others downtown reported spray painting on vehicles and private property, dog feces in the video return box at Movies To Go, and the removal of an “S” on the Chambers & Sass Funeral Home sign. more

June 16, 2010: Iowa Gov. Chet Culver visited the Eldridge Preschool to announce a $90 million expansion in access to preschool programs throughout the state. Just over half of the 85 students at the Eldridge Preschool attended on “scholarships” from the North Scott School District. The state provided funding to the district to provide the scholarships to families that met certain criteria. more

June 4, 1975: As a strike the by Iron Workers Local 111 continued into its fifth week, construction remained halted on the new North Scott Junior High building. With completion on the building now slated for no earlier than Oct. 1, the North Scott School Board voted to institute a split shift schedule for students in grades 7-12 so all students could start the school year in the high school building.  The shifts would run from 8 a.m. – noon and noon – 4 p.m., although no decision was reached on what instruction levels would go in the morning or afternoon. more

May 27, 2020: Frank Wood wrapped up a 47-year career in education, with 35 of those years spent at North Scott. He came to the district as a gym teacher fresh out of college in 1973. In that time, he served as a teacher, coach, athletic director, associate principal and elementary school principal. His career at North Scott bookended a 12-year stint in Rock Island and Riverdale in Illinois. “Up until the day he leaves, he will give 110 percent to make the high school and the district a better place than it was,” said superintendent Joe Stutting. “That’s just Frank.” more

I’ve written about this before, but high school has changed a lot since my day. more

In honor of North Scott's graduation on Sunday, we present a favorite Impressions column of Bill Tubbs', originally published May 15, 1974. more

May 22, 1985: As several area communities made plans to mark Memorial Day, Elmer and Dorothy Gronewold of Donahue were remembering their son, Larry, who was killed in Vietnam in March of 1968. While the Gronewolds said they had always paid tribute to deceased family and friends on Memorial Day, the event became more poignant to them after they became a Gold Star family. The American Legion Post in Donahue was named after Larry. more

May 14, 1975: Construction work halted at the site of the future North Scott Junior High after Local 111 of the Iron Workers Union went on strike. All other unions working on the project decided to honor the strike until the iron workers had a new contract with the Quad Cities Builders Association. District officials said they were concerned, because construction on the project was scheduled to be completed by the end of July or middle of August so students could begin the school year there. Superintendent Melvin Heiler was exploring several options, from delaying the start of school at all levels, postponing just seventh and eighth grade, starting the junior high students at the high school in extremely overcrowded conditions, or splitting shifts at the high school until the junior high could open. more

May 8, 1985: The North Scott School District was considering offering a district-run day care service. The Iowa legislature recently passed a bill encouraging school districts to offer this service. Superintendent Doug Otto had been exploring the possibility since February, and said he had two concerns. First, he wanted to know if families were interested in utilizing the service. He also said he didn’t want to go into direct competition with existing services. “Our intent isn’t to take kids already enrolled in a program, but to find a way to help the kids that aren’t enrolled someplace,” he said. more

So, upon first glance, “9 to 5: The Musical” may not be everybody’s plate of biscuits. Truth be told, I was pretty ambivalent about the choice when it was announced last May. I just kind of felt like Lancer Productions had already done the show, and I was more intrigued by the other shows, “Radium Girls” especially. more

May 5, 2010: The North Scott girls’ soccer team upset Pleasant Valley 2-1. It was believed to be the first win over the Spartans in the program’s 23-year history. Shalynn Eldredge-McMillian’s game-winning goal came in the match’s final minutes. more

Last Thursday, I was interviewing cast members of Lancer Productions’ upcoming “9 to 5: The Musical.” The show is based on the 1980 film of the same name, starring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton. more

April 24, 1985: Craig Hintz was chosen to succeed Ed Fischer as principal at North Scott High School. Hintz was currently serving as associate principal and athletic director. He had been with the district for 11 years, starting in 1974 as a math teacher at the junior high. Superintendent Doug Otto said a search was underway for a new associate principal, and he expected the duties of athletic director would continue to be combined with that position. more

Ever since I first tore tiny, perforated receipts for Mrs. Cordell’s Indianapolis News subscription in 1967, I’ve made most of my living selling newspapers. more

April 19, 2000: Gov. Tom Vilsack signed a bill that raised the cap on the amount of money that could be used towards early retirement in IPERS. As a result, three North Scott principals, Dennis Albertson, Joe Ragona and Barry Lahann announced they would retire at the end of the school year. The three represented 92 years of administrative experience and more than a century in education. Albertson had been with the district since 1967 and had been a principal for the last 33 years, including at Grissom and Armstrong, a record for the district. more

April 10, 1985: Dean Bassett announced he would close his International-Case farm equipment dealership in Eldridge effective July 1. Bassett said the closure was due in part to a diminishing agricultural market in Scott County. “We stuck it out longer than anybody thought we would,” said Bassett. “We just can’t keep losing money and losing money.” more

April 1, 2020: Seven city employees in Eldridge who took trips over spring break returned to face a two-week COVID quarantine ordered by Gov. Kim Reynolds in their absence. Meanwhile, the Eldridge City Council met online for the first time. The Iowa Department of Public Health confirmed six new cases of COVID in Scott County, bringing the total number of cases in the county to 16. more

March 27, 1985: The school day at North Scott High School on March 19 got off to an interesting start. A man was parked in the parking lot, sitting on the hood of his car and wrapped in a blanket. As students began to arrive, he dropped the blanket and sprinted around the parking lot in his undershorts shouting, “Look, Captain Naked!” He drove off but was later apprehended by Eldridge Police. “It was so nice out that morning that I just felt I owed the students a moment of joy before they went to class,” he reportedly said. On recommendation of school officials, he was not charged with disorderly conduct or indecent exposure, but he was banned from school property. The individual was not named, but it was noted he was a recent North Scott graduate. more

March 19, 1975: Eleven-year-old Patrick Richards was safely in the United States after his family was evacuated from Ethiopia. Patrick and his parents, Arthur and Patricia, had been living near the city of Asmara, where Arthur worked for a top-secret satellite communications post. A civil war broke out in the country. Arthur was injured and airlifted to a military hospital in Frankfort, Germany. Patrick and Patricia were able to pack a few belongings before taking shelter at a military base in Asmara. They then flew from Addis Ababa to Athens to Rome before joining Arthur in Germany for a week. Now, Patrick was set to spend the rest of the school year with his grandmother, Mrs. Jessie Richards, in McCausland. He was enrolled in the sixth grade at Virgil Grissom Elementary School. Patrick vividly recounted his recent adventure to The NSP. more

March 13, 1985: North Scott High School principal Ed Fischer announced that he would step down after 21 years at the school, effective July 1. Fischer said that he had mixed emotions about leaving, and that he had no solid future plans yet. He added that a factor in his deciding to step down was that his children were grown, and he was no longer tied to the school. more