JANUARY: The North Scott Press opened its 50th year in community journalism by asking readers for input to improve the newspaper’s coverage, content and design, and by reprinting the original issue of The NSP from Jan. 31, 1968.
JANUARY: Retired Iowa Guard Brigadier General Randy Warm traded training soldiers for students as he signed on as a substitute teacher at John Glenn Elementary in Donahue.
JANUARY: Two separate house fires in late December claimed the lives of nine people — four in Blue Grass and five in Davenport.
JANUARY: Tony Knobbe succeeded Carol Earnhardt as chairman of the Scott County Board of Supervisors. Earnhardt had announced in December that she would not seek reelection.
JANUARY: Lewis Machine & Tool Inc. executives broke ground on a new 60,000-square-foot plant site just east of U.S 61, a big step toward their move from Milan, Ill., to Eldridge
JANUARY: Eldridge Park Board members and North Scott Soccer Club leaders pitched a plan to the city council to create soccer fields on 20 acres next to Eldridge’s sewage treatment lagoons, which will be shut down within two years.
JANUARY: North Scott musicians selected to play in the WEISTA Honor Orchestra concert included Gabe Jensen, Elsa Trieber, Natalie Romanick, Ben Council, Ivy Jensen, and Kaeden Mickey from the high school; and junior high students Kaitlyn Wood, Zachary Johnson, Aviana Holst, and Tailor Varner.
JANUARY: The Eldridge council took initial steps toward financing a $13.9 million sewer system upgrade by raising sewer rates 7.5 percent and borrowing $9 million.
JANUARY: A new assessment of Scott County’s Wapsi Nature Center urged a revitalization to create more peak experiences for visitors that would include the Wapsipinicon River.
JANUARY: The longtime managers of the popular Operahouse Theatre in DeWitt turned over the reins to the next generation. Bim and Dianne Prichard entrusted the running of the local landmark to their daughter, Laura, and her husband, Ben Miers.
JANUARY: The Lancers claimed back-to-back Mississippi Athletic Conference wrestling titles for the first time in school history, with all 14 wrestlers capturing top-5 finishes. Three emerged with conference championships: Caleb McCabe, Cael Bredar and Jake Matthaidess. Pictured is Caleb McCabe.
JANUARY: Meanwhile North Scott’s boys’ bowling team shattered the school record en route to a 3354-2799 win over Clinton. The previous winning total was 3173.
FEBRUARY: Lancer Productions presented “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” for its annual Children’s Theatre.
FEBRUARY: North Scott’s girls’ basketball team shared a rare title with Pleasant Valley: MAC champions, riding a 14-game winning streak.
FEBRUARY: Meanwhile, the boys’ team was breathing rare air at the top of the MAC, and thanks to a win over Clinton, grabbed their share of the conference championship alongside Pleasant Valley.
So, for the first time in North Scott history, three Lancer teams were crowned MAC champions in the same year.
FEBRUARY: Lancer wrestlers qualified for State Duals in Des Moines, where they ended up placing sixth in a total team effort.
They also rolled to their second straight Class 3A district title, qualifying seven for the State Wrestling Tournament: Cole Ernst, Caleb McCabe, Collin Lewis, Austin Clark, Jake Matthaidess, Zach Petersen and Quentin Albright. The Lancers finished 15th in the final Class 3A team standings at the state tournament, with Zach Petersen claiming third place at 220, and Caleb McCabe finishing fourth at 126. Pictured is Zach Petersen.
FEBRUARY: More than 600 mourners attended the funeral for 15-year-old S.J. Madden at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Long Grove. The North Scott sophomore died in a two-vehicle collision just north of Sheridan Meadows Park in Eldridge on Feb. 14.
FEBRUARY: Eldridge resident Bill Wilford was named 2017 Builder of the Year by the Quad City Builders and Remodelers Association.
FEBRUARY: North Scott’s boys’ bowling team qualified for the state tournament in Waterloo, with junior Brock Larson rolling his way to a second-place individual finish. The team placed sixth in the final standings.
FEBRUARY: Grace Bjustrom advanced to the state tournament by winning the individual title at Mount Pleasant and ended up finishing 42nd at state.
FEBRUARY: Marie Tharp, received the 2018 Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s Golden Plaque Award.
FEBRUARY: Cold shooting spelled doom for North Scott’s girls as they fell in the regional final with Fairfield, ending their road to the Des Moines to defend their state basketball title.
MARCH: Two weeks after Eldridge police made a drug paraphernalia arrest during an East LeClaire Road traffic stop, Scott County deputies raided an Eldridge home and jailed that same suspect and two other longtime drug felons on charges of operating a crack cocaine drug house in the 500 block of West Price Street.
MARCH: North Scott FFA adviser Jacob Hunter was named the 2018 Emerging Leader by the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
MARCH: In just its first year of competition, North Scott’s archery team navigated an eight-tournament season and finished 26th in the 29-team field state tournament. Representing the school were Lily and Kaitlyn Bendickson, Carson Youngquist, Ivory Butler, MacKenzie Duncan, Nick Upmeyer, Corinne Tyler, Cora Kroeger, Nolan Fahrenkrug, Title Jiwapornkup, Isabella Richards, Megan Triplett, Madison Warhurst, Draven Esser, Bailey Vanacker and Delaney Norris.
MARCH: The Lancer boys’ basketball team booked their fourth trip to the state tournament with a 53-52 come-from-behind victory over Dubuque Senior. Their tournament run ended with a 52-44 loss to West Des Moines Valley in the state quarterfinals.
MARCH: Named to the All-MAC girls’ basketball first team were Lancers Presley Case and Grace Boffeli. Rylie Rucker was named to the second team, and Brooke Corson earned honorable mention. Boffeli also earned Class 4A second-team all-state honors in voting by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association. Pictured is Presley Case.
MARCH: Class of 2008 alum Kevin McKee sought another Paralympics sled hockey gold medal in Pyeong Chang.
MARCH: Lancer Corvon Seales was a repeat first-team selection when the all-conference teams were announced. Tavi Seales was a second-team choice, while Reece Sommers earned honorable mention.
MARCH: The North Scott School Board held the first of several open forums at Neil Armstrong Elementary in Park View. Members of the community expressed concerns about traffic safety, bus safety and more.
MARCH: Princeton’s elected leaders looked into the future and supported expanding the town’s size by 25 percent, seeing a corporate campus intended to employ more people than live in the town right now. The city council unanimously supported Paul and Marijo Anderson’s proposal to bring their family’s 400 acres of hilly farmland into Princeton city limits. Their plan for the annexation is to build a corporate office site.
MARCH: Countryside Community Theatre presented “Godspell” at Boll’s Community Center in Princeton
MARCH: A 107-year-old home on South First in Eldridge was slowly and carefully lifted up and moved a block south in preparation for the new Villas at Century Farms development.
MARCH: A blaze uprooted a family of six from their rented Princeton home, but firefighters in Princeton and LeClaire helped move the family and furnish their new house with a truckful of donations.
MARCH: Renovations on McCausland’s century-old bank building are transforming it into the town’s new city hall.
MARCH: Virgil Grissom Elementary School’s team of readers placed first in the district’s annual Battle of the Books, held at the Scott County Library in Eldridge.
MARCH: A late March snowstorm dumped 8-10 inches on rural Scott County.
APRIL: Division Street closed for construction to widen Division and Slopertown to make room for the Sterilite plant, which began production April 2, and for Kraft Foods, which moved operations from downtown Davenport.
APRIL: North Scott junior and senior high school students observed the 50th anniversary of the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by hearing from Dr. Terrence Roberts, who was one of the Little Rock 9, a group of African American students who volunteered to desegregate the Arkansas city’s Central High School.
APRIL: Garrett Jahns was sworn in as the new police chief of Blue Grass, replacing retired chief John Jensen.
APRIL: Faith Lutheran Church in Eldridge celebrated its 65th anniversary with more than 150 old and new members.
APRIL: Lancer Productions presented its spring musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
APRIL: Sheila (Erps) Gillespie (Class of 1980) was chosen to be inducted into the North Scott Athletic Hall of Fame.
APRIL: Mindy (Heidgerken) Gardner ( Class of 2003) was chosen to be inducted into the North Scott Athletic Hall of Fame.
APRIL: Members of the 1988 Lancer girls’ cross country team were chosen to be inducted into the North Scott Athletic Hall of Fame.
APRIL: North Scott High School students participated in a student-organized walkout to draw attention to gun violence and school safety issues. About 100 attended the event in Lancer Stadium on a Friday morning, marking the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shootings in Colorado, and honoring the 17 victims of the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida in February.
MAY: The owners of Advanced Eye Care in Eldridge, Drs. Diane Papke-Cole and David Cole, sold the practice they opened in 1980 to another married couple of optometrists and Eldridge residents, Aaron and Ammie Chizek.
MAY: The Scott County Pork Producers named its first-ever Pork Youth Ambassador, Evan Keppy, at their annual banquet.
MAY: Eldridge mail carriers returned to the city’s own post office after nearly seven years of sorting and hauling mail from the Northwest Station in Davenport.
MAY: Chloe Engelbrecht became North Scott FFA’s first statewide officer in 30 years when she won election as the Northeast vice president for the Southeast Iowa FFA district. Scott County farmer Matt Wilson was the last Lancer to hold that post, in 1988.
MAY: The Lancer girls’ golf team placed fifth in the MAC, with junior Whitney Ockerman carding a 97 to finish fifth.
MAY: In boys’ tennis, the Lancers finished sixth in the MAC, with junior Brock Larson placing third at No. 5 singles.
MAY: In Class 4A district competition, the boys’ track team finished fourth. Qualifying for state were Cole Graham (high jump), Taylor Hendricksen (shot put), Cole Ernst (discus), Spencer Thomas 110 high hurdles), Jacob Porth (400) and the shuttle hurdle relay team of Thomas, Marquan Quinn, Luke Kroeger and T.J. Yates. Pictured is Spencer Thomas.
MAY: The girls’ team claimed third place, qualifying eight for state: Shelby Schmidt (shot put), Alexis Hayes (high jump), Sydney Fuller (100, 3 relays), Abbi Lafrenz (800, 2 relays), Brooke Kruse and Brooke Corson (sprint medley relay), Camryn Hanson (4x100), Tarynn Kuehl (distance medley, shuttle hurdle relay), Avery Rowlands, Dana Loussaert and Brittany Bullock (shuttle hurdle relay). Pictured are members of the sprint medley relay team.
MAY: At the state track meet in Des Moines, senior Alexis Hayes brought home the seventh-place medal in the high jump.
MAY: Senior Cole Graham placed sixth in the long jump at the state track meet in Des Moines.
MAY: North Scott’s boys’ soccer team went down fighting in the substate opener after a 6-12 season.
MAY: The North Scott Educational Foundation awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships to members of the Class of 2018 at the high school’s annual Honors Assembly. Pictured are Sandy and Steffan Nass, who presented a scholarship in memory of their son, Francis, to Ellie Stonskas.
MAY: Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling, a distributor across Iowa, announced its move to Walcott, bringing 143 jobs and building an $8 million plant with state and local taxpayer incentives.
MAY: Donahue resident Kirk Fifer considered himself lucky after surviving an accident in which the van he was driving collided with a cow near 115th Avenue and 290th Street.
MAY: Students and staff at Neil Armstrong Elementary honored the late Bill McDonald, who had taught P.E. at Armstrong for 34 years, by renaming their school’s annual running event the Bill McDonald Memorial Eagle Marathon.
JUNE: Alan Shepard principal Sherri Marceau retired after serving 15 years at the Long Grove school, wrapping up a 34-year career in education.
JUNE: North Scott’s girls’ soccer team was stunned in their 16th consecutive regional final, losing 2-1 to Burlington Notre Dame. Brenna Kundel and Rylie Rucker were named first-team all-state by the Iowa Girls’ Coaches Association. They were named to the all-MAC second team, and Kaitlynn Ruwe earned honorable mention in the conference. Pictured is Rylie Rucker.
JUNE: North Scott junior Zach Ramsey and his teammate Justin English of Pleasant Valley, placed first in the varsity double event at the Midwest Rowing Championships on Lake Harsha in Bethel, Ohio.
JUNE: The Lancer trap team defended its doubles title and captured the prestigious singles championship at the Iowa State Clay Target Championships in Cedar Falls.
JUNE: District 49 state senator Rita Hart of Wheatland joined the Democratic ticket as Fred Hubbell’s running mate in the Iowa gubernatorial race.
JUNE: Storm water continued to be an issue for North Scott towns due to a housing boom. Long Grove officials faced an ultimatum by a frustrated developer and began considering the town’s first-ever storm water utility.
JUNE: In Eldridge, the Century Villas development on South First Street led to frustration for at least one Sawgrass Court homeowner, whose backyard easement resulted in a 2-foot storm water pipe pointing direction at his patio.
JULY: County road crews are being challenged with the growing number of subdivisions in rural Scott County, causing county engineer Jon Burgstrum to question if the department is large enough to maintain new streets, either already built or planned.
JULY: For the second time in just over four months, the North Scott community was grieving the loss of a Lancer student. Jacob Fenn, 14, died at the scene of an ATV accident northwest of Princeton.
JULY: The Orphan Brigade, a local junior roller derby team, qualified to compete in the national championships in Philadelphia. The co-ed team of 7- to 17-year-olds ended up placing 9th in the nation.
JULY: Kids kickoff the 2018 Moonlight Chase runs in Eldridge.
JULY: North Scott’s baseball team won the Mississippi Athletic Conference crown with a sweep over Davenport West. The Lancers advanced to the state tournament with an exciting 3-2 win over Davenport West in the substate final. Brooks Sunny was named the 2018 MAC Player of the Year, and joined teammates Tony Barreca and Grayson Drezek on the all-MAC first team. Kyle Denison, Cayle Webster, Jake Matthaidess and Chase Moseley were second-team selections. Eric Dobbe, Austin Helton and Trevor Lynch were honorable mention choices. Lancer co-coaches Brad Ward and Travis Ralfs shared Coach of the Year honors with Davenport Central’s Chris Cartee. Denison, Drezek, Barreca, Sunny, Webster, Matthaidess and Moseley also nabbed first-team honors in the Class 4A all-Southeast District team.
The Lancer softball team’s tourney trail came to an end in the Class 4A regional semifinals with a 9-6 loss to the Keokuk Chiefs. Freshman pitcher Ryann Cheek and junior Abby Moeller earned first-team all-MAC honors. Sam Lee was a second-team choice, while Kendal Newman, Ashlynn Shannon and Brooke Kilburg received honorable mention.
JULY: Lancer senior baseball player Tony Barreca became North Scott’s all-time hit leader and also established new marks for runs scored in a career and a season.
JULY: A 72-year-old Eldridge woman survived a harrowing accident when the bicycle she was riding failed to navigate a sharp bend and cartwheeled into Hickory Creek by West Iowa Street.
AUGUST: North Scott Community Enhancement Project members planned a Night Out event, with a human chain along the trail from connecting Eldridge and Long Grove.
AUGUST: Long Grove council member Mike Oeschner resigned from the council, citing a move to Eldridge. Council members voted to appoint former member Cindy Blinkinsop to fill Oeschner’s seat.
AUGUST: The Lancer baseball team lost its opening game in the Class 4A state baseball tournament, falling to Western Dubuque. Tony Barreca and Brooks Sunny were named first-team all-state.
AUGUST: At the Scholastic Clay Target Program National Championships in Marengo, Ohio, North Scott’s trapshooting team defended their titles in doubles and handicap, and also won gold in singles and skeet, with a second-place finish in sporting clays. Senior Eric Long, Jr., became the first North Scott shooter to bring home an individual national title (doubles) and finished fifth in singles. He also won the prestigious Browning Scholarship.
AUGUST: NSP publisher Bill Tubbs was honored by his alma mater, Iowa State University’s Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, with the 2018 James W. Schwartz Award.
AUGUST: Chad Ruth, former assistant principal at Ed White Elementary in Eldridge, began the school year as the new principal at Alan Shepard Elementary in Long Grove, replacing Sherri Marceau, who retired at the end of the 2017-2018 school year.
AUGUST: Arliss Whisler was honored for his volunteer efforts at the Eldridge Community Center meal site. A Farm Bureau Services retiree, Whisler had prepared, served and delivered meals to Scott County residents for more than 23 years.
AUGUST: A new electronic sign named in honor of Dick Hagen, late mayor of Walcott, will offer messages regarding upcoming events and organizations in the community to Walcott residents.
AUGUST: Dawn Spring was hailed as a hero after the North Scott Junior High teacher intervened when a 12-year-old student displayed a gun in her classroom. According to witnesses, the boy told his fellow classmates to get down, then pointed the gun at Spring. He pulled the trigger, but the gun did not go off. Spring talked the student into going out into the hallway and to the guidance office, where she and counselor Holly Leinhauser disarmed him.
Immediately expelled, the boy was arrested and ordered held in juvenile detention. In December, a judge ruled he should be tried in adult court. Another judge also ordered that court hearings and records will remain open, but forbid news reporters from naming or photographing the defendant.
SEPTEMBER: About 30 miles of Iowa 130, from Tipton to Davenport, was dedicated to Bennett native Gary Hein, who died in the Vietnam War.
SEPTEMBER: A strong storm with 65-75-mph winds toppled trees in Long Grove, Grand Mound and DeWitt, but spared most of Scott County.
Bob Williams of Long Grove was recognized by the Hershey Company for his longtime practice of handing out chocolate bars to everyone he meets. The 93-year-old was mentioned on several national television news programs, and Hershey filmed a two-minute video of him to appear on their company website.
SEPTEMBER: Thirty-one John Glenn elementary school students emerged unharmed after their bus slid into a gravel-road ditch near Donahue. Bus driver Stan Ray was backing out of a driveway on 130th Avenue when the rear wheels of the bus went beyond the roadway and dropped into the ditch. The 14-year veteran driver was also involved in a collision with another North Scott school bus in March of 2017.
SEPTEMBER: Scott County supervisor, treasurer and recorder candidates gathered at the Scott County Library in Eldridge for The NSP’s first candidate forum Sept. 20. State legislative candidates gathered the following week for Q&A sessions that filled the library’s First Amendment Room.
SEPTEMBER: Glenn Keppy was chosen as the new chairman of the North Scott School Board. He replaced John Maxwell, who was running for a seat on the Scott County Board of Supervisors but remained on the board.
SEPTEMBER: After months of construction, North Scott High School unveiled its refurbished, $3.7 million fine arts auditorium. Construction was funded by the local option sales tax, equipment and lighting by the Scott County Regional Authority, and enhancements supported with $200,000 from donors to the Lancer Legacy Fund.
OCTOBER: Peggy Ohl, along with sons Charlie and Tom, as well as other family members and friends, launched the Dr. Brent Ohl Strong Pancreatic Cancer Support & Awareness Endowment. The account is funded through donations and proceeds from the Ohl Strong annual pickleball tournament. The endowment will help patients who are battling pancreatic cancer.
OCTOBER: Ten North Scott seniors vied for homecoming king and queen. Queen Rylie Rucker was selected among candidates Maddie Allison, Rachel Drechsler, Katie Jackovich, and Lauryn Youngers. King Connor Oetzmann won over candidates Gordy Field, Caleb McCabe, Nile McLaughlin, and Jacob Porth.
OCTOBER: Retired Shepard Elementary Principal Sherri Marceau and junior high teacher Luke Lubben served as parade marshals.
OCTOBER: Approaching storms caused the homecoming game to begin two hours early. Then lightning delays kept players off the field until 9 p.m. The game resumed under heavy rains as the Lancers beat Clinton 37-7 in a contest that didn’t finish until 11:30 p.m.
OCTOBER: Friends of former North Scott High School Principal Linda McClurg launched a memorial fund for the esteemed educator who died Sept. 16. Tax deductible donations may be sent to the North Scott Education Foundation, PO Box 16, Eldridge, Iowa 52748.
OCTOBER: The Scott County Conservation Board recognized park ranger Josh Sabin for rescuing a fisherman from a capsized boat at West Lake Park.
OCTOBER: Lancer football’s 45-7 thumping of sixth-ranked Clear-Creek Amana secured a playoff spot in the Class 3A division. The Lancers ended the regular season with a 48-14 win over rival Assumption, Oct. 19. Then they beat Waverly-Shell Rock 39-9 in the 3A playoff opener.
OCTOBER: North Scott High School junior Chad Prichard impressed school board members with his plan to launch a bass fishing club.
OCTOBER: Lancer Productions’ fall show, “Rehearsal for Murder,” opened in the newly renovated high school auditorium.
OCTOBER: North Scott’s volleyball season ended with a fizzle in a heartbreaking semifinal loss to Clinton. The girls wrapped up the season 22-12.
OCTOBER: Twenty-three North Scoot High School musicians qualified for the all-state concert, beating the school record 22 all-staters in 2017.
OCTOBER: North Scott High School’s FFA members earned a best-ever 3 Star Chapter recognition at the annual FFA convention in Indianapolis.
NOVEMBER: Republican Mike Fennelly beat Democrat Jane Duax to succeed his father, Bill Fennelly as county treasurer.
NOVEMBER: Republican Chris Cournoyer defeated Democrat Patti Robinson to succeed Sen. Rita Hart in state Senate District 49. Hart resigned to run as lieutenant governor with Democrat Fred Hubbell. They lost to incumbent Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg.
NOVEMBER: North Scott class of 2016 alumna Baylee Drezek, of Eldridge, became Miss Iowa USA. Her Oct. 7 win over 22 candidates was celebrated in the Nov. 7 edition of The NSP and allowed her to advance to the Miss USA competition in 2019, where the winner will represent the nation in the Miss Universe pageant.
NOVEMBER: Scott County will see its first vineyard. County supervisors changed zoning rules, then rezoned 13.2 acres of the former Olathea Golf Course near LeClaire for Julie Rubino and Bryce Flaherty’s plan for a vineyard, winery, tasting room and event center. The couple plans to be the first to be married at the center.
NOVEMBER: North Scott’s football team saw its playoff run end on Nov. 3, as Western Dubuque claimed a 45-21 win in the Class 3A semifinal at Lancer Stadium. Quarterback Nile McLaughlin was named District Offensive Player of the Year, while Carson Rollinger took top defensive honors. Andrew Lundvall was all-district kicker, and McLaughlin also shared top-punting honors with Assumption’s kicker. Coach Kevin Tippet was named district coach of the year.
NOVEMBER: The Eldridge City Council recognized the lifesaving efforts of Police Chief Dave Kopatich, Sgt. Joe Sisler and Officer Jack Schwertmann for separate rescues that saved two heart attack victims. Kopatich performed CPR April 17 on Gene Moore, of Eldridge. Sisler and Schwertmann helped revive Dave Genztler Aug. 17 in Eldridge.
NOVEMBER: A Nov. 25 storm dropped the heaviest November snowfall in Scott County history. Depths ranged from nine inches around Walcott to 14 inches in DeWitt.
NOVEMBER: Long Grove council members selected Brandon Cronise to fill the vacancy created by Al Pawloski’s resignation.
NOVEMBER: Davenport police, with help from Eldridge officers and Scott County deputies, busted in the door of a home in the 100 block of Eighth Street to serve a misdemeanor marijuana possession warrant. A 10-man team detained three suspects and arrested the 19-year-old drug possession suspect, who bonded out hours later.
NOVEMBER: Park View seated two new members to the Park View Water and Sanitary District board. Valerie Van Ee was elected from the ballot and Ken Uhlenkamp won as a write-in candidate. The board expanded from three to five members. Incumbents Joe McKeown and Myron Scheibe won reelections without opposition.
DECEMBER: The family of slain soldier Larry Gronewald received the silver star, bonze star and other medals awarded for his combat service in Vietnam. Rep. Dave Loebsack presented the medals to family members Dec. 2 at a Donahue American Legion event.
DECEMBER: The North Scott Community Enhancement Project offers North Scott-opoly, a local version of the famous board game. Profits from the $31 game will fund the project’s community-building work.
DECEMBER: North Scott’s girls basketball team rolled to a 6-0 record in the first month of competition, earning a No. 2 state ranking.
DECEMBER: North Scott’s Silver Shakers dance team finished as runners up in the Pom competition and third in the Lyrical Division at the 2019 Iowa State Dance Team Championships in Des Moines.
DECEMBER: Eldridge’s annual Hometown Holiday filled Second Street downtown with revelers, carolers, and for the first time, a living nativity scene presented by Cornerstone church.
DECEMBER: Park View resident Peyton Reese was one of eight Iowa seniors named to the all-state choir for the fourth time. Peyton, the daughter of Michael and Angela Reese, attends Davenport Central, where her father directs the choir.
DECEMBER: Lancer girls’ basketball coach T.J. Case reached his 100th victory on Dec. 7 with a win over Assumption in The Pit. The milestone victory comes in his sixth season as head coach. Case twice took the girls to the state tournament, and earned the title in 2017.
DECEMBER: North Scott seventh-grader Camden Russell is homebound, but attends junior high with the help of an iPad robot that scoots throughout the school. Camden’s face is displayed on the iPad and a camera allows him to watch lessons and interact with students and staff.
DECEMBER: The 2018 North Scott Community Fine Arts awards were presented Dec. 9 to alumni Mark Mess, for his photography and support of Lancer Productions; and Nick Hansel, for his leadership of Lancer Legacy, which donated $200,000 for the high school auditorium renovation.
DECEMBER: James Fisher, 49, of LeClaire, died in a Dec. 10 fire at his home at 23340 277th Ave.
DECEMBER: North Scott’s boys’ basketball team finished the first part of the season with a perfect 8-0 record. The Lancers were ranked second in the state after overtime victories over No. 6 Bettendorf and No. 4 Davenport Central.
DECEMBER: Scott County Treasurer Bill Fennelly retired after 24 years, capping a 52-year run of elected service as Davenport alderman, Scott County Supervisor and treasurer. He is succeeded by son Mike, who won election in November over Democrat Jane Duax.
DECEMBER: The Arp family published a special family edition of their mother Ethel’s 75 years of diary entries. The 590-page book includes photos and observations of daily rural county life since 1939 through 2014, the year before she passed.
