Opinion

Hello again, readers! Cherokee had an amazing opportunity last Wednesday to host regional training for librarians on the topic of building story time toolkits. I know that story time doesn’t sounds necessarily like a “skill”, in that what typically comes to mind is sitting in a circle on our pockets with our hands on our lap. Don’t make a sound though, or the librarian will give you a “SHHHHH” hurricane of shame!...

“Pay the Price.”— Lynn Jolly, Cherokee Coach, 1988-2017. That’s the first thing you read when entering Cherokee’s weight room in the old armory building on the Washington High School campus here. The next thing you’re likely to see is Cherokee’s ‘gentle giant’ Kaleb McGee “paying the price.”...

“October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!” – Rainbow Rowell, Attachments October is a great month in the Freking-Smith household. We’ve got pumpkins, Funfetti cake with orange frosting, leaves, skeletons, Halloween movies, and lots of sweaters. October is the gateway to Fall and we celebrate it so hard...

How far are we willing to let Donald Trump go? The White House is in turmoil. The United States is a global embarrassment. He uses taxpayer dollars to recruit aid from America’s most feared rivals to further his cause. He lies and then lies about the lies. And if he loses in 2020, it’s all his supporters’ fault. He said so!...

After 64 years of its unique and enjoyable success, we all should do a better job of supporting the Cherokee Symphony. Especially when such support is so badly needed in this herky-jerky world of social media deference and nano-second attention spans...

The news was good generated out of Tuesday’s Cherokee City Council meeting that a contract was approved for the removal of the gooey, messy, stinky flood debris from Wescott Park. Following record and frequent flooding on the Little Sioux River this spring and summer, the City has floundered with what to do with the mounds of gooey sand and silt deposited by the frequent flood waters. ...

It is encouraging and refreshing to see more than usual State dignitaries filter through Cherokee County, leading us to the conclusion that CAEDC Director Bill Anderson may have something to do with it. A humble grinder with an innate Iowa work ethic obviously cultivated by sound “schoolhousin,’” Anderson is adept at his job by keeping his eyes on the prize while retaining focus on the periphery...

As I am sure most of you know by now, there have been a lot of changes at the Cherokee Public Library over the last few months. Our first major change was from our old inventory software to Apollo. The migration has gone extremely well thanks to staff who were willing to learn new workflows, processes, and take on extra responsibilities. ...

It is heart warming and reassuring to see the dedication to cause of the CYSBA members on display at many recent Cherokee School Board meetings as they seek answers to replacing their ball field lost in the new PK-4 school construction. We also applaud the Board and administration for staying the course and working closely with CYSBA to rectify this unavoidable issue. ...

Like the 3-person simple majority of the 5-member Cherokee School Board, we, too, would like to think that all is hunky-dory in the School District. And on many fronts, we know that’s true because of the quality of those carrying the load, including teachers, coaches, principals, and support staff...