We are excited about the 2012 West Branch High School football season, not only because this city is crazy about local football, but because of how our school’s tradition helped make this new District 6 so strong.

Your Capitol Voice: Your thoughts on traffic cameras?
by Jeff Kaufmann, state representative · Opinions/Editorials · February 02, 2012
Last week at the Capitol was Muscatine Day so it was great to see so many citizens and friends from home. Almost every day the Capitol is alive with citizens from all over the state.

Cedar Valley Voices: Kaufmann needs lesson on finer points of teachers
by David Hunt · Opinions/Editorials · February 02, 2012
I would like to respond to Rep. Jeff Kaufmann’s (R-Wilton) comments on education in his column in last week’s paper. Several statements were incorrect in fact and questionable at their best.

Letter: Climate of mental and physical abuse worsens
Opinions/Editorials · February 02, 2012
When I read Soapbox last week, it was exactly a week since Eric James Borges had committed suicide.

Letter: Column alienates and isolates homosexuals
Opinions/Editorials · February 02, 2012
In the past I have found your editorials to be distasteful on occasion, particularly when they come to social issues.

Letter: Editor misses coach’s message of respect
Opinions/Editorials · February 02, 2012
The editor of the West Branch Times of course is entitled to his opinions about human nature and human behavior, and we frequently are treated to them in his column, as we were in the Jan. 26 issue.

Letter: Glad Worrell, Miller supporting SRTS grant
Opinions/Editorials · February 02, 2012
I was very pleased to hear council members Mark Worrell and Colton Miller both voice their support for moving forward with the Safe Routes to School grant at the Jan. 17 city council work session.

Letter: Poorly written piece was homophobic, too
Opinions/Editorials · February 02, 2012
West Branch is a wonderful community in which to live and raise a family. Our schools work very hard to teach our children the importance of respect for each other as students, members of this wonderful community and as fellow human beings.

Letter: Weird? All the makings for a detective novel
Opinions/Editorials · February 02, 2012
Last week across First-In-The-Nation Iowa (FITNI) the news media was busily informing us of new affront to up-front winning: a last-minute claim to millions in Lotto winnings had been withdrawn by a New York law firm representing anonymous clients — so anonymous that apparently the lead attorney doesn’t even know the identity of the person or persons.

Editorial: Responsive city officials and responsible citizens
Opinions/Editorials · January 27, 2012
Two things worth discussing from the “recording rule” controversy are the number of residents — not just news organizations — who read and responded to the West Branch City Council packet in advance of the meeting, as well as how quickly city officials responded to those concerns and withdrew the rule from consideration.

Soapbox Philosophy: A desire within, and a choice
by Gregory R. Norfleet · Opinions/Editorials · January 27, 2012
During the football season, at one of the home games, a couple people along the sidelines told me that they heard one of the high school boys — let us call him “Bill” here — shouting inappropriate comments at the opposing team.

Your Capitol Voice: Good and bad of Branstad’s education reform ideas
by Jeff Kaufmann, state representative · Opinions/Editorials · January 27, 2012
The subcommittee on education reform is meeting every week in the House.
Governor Brandstad has taken the most expensive part of the plan off the table in order to build consensus throughout the next year.