Doug Lindner

NORTH LIBERTY– Kim McCarty made it back to North Liberty.
It was where he started with the United States Postal Service (USPS) in 1979.
“Believe it or not, one of my goals in my career was I always wanted to come back and retire from North Liberty,” McCarty said. “I was fortunate enough to be able to make the right steps to be able to do that.”
McCarty, 61, the North Liberty Postmaster since 2012, retired from the USPS at the end of the day Friday, Feb. 1.
Postal customers lucky enough to visit were treated to cookies and other treats.

SOLON– They know it’s a big building.
They know it’s a lot of money.
But here’s the analogy Solon firefighters made as they introduced a plan for a new $5 million firehouse.
The current fire station on Iowa Street was built in 1959, explained department member Greg Morris.
“Where we’re sitting right now was built by the firefighters in ‘58 and ’59,” Morris said. “My grandfather’s one of the guys who signed the personal note to guarantee payment. The only actual construction cost for the fire station to this community was from the bond issue in 1990.”

SOLON– Fore!
A trio of local residents, with deep roots in city and school government, have banded together to organize a new annual charity golf tournament to benefit Solon’s youth.
Fore Solon’s three-person best shot golf outing will be held Monday, July 9, at Saddleback Golf Course, with an 11:30 a.m. lunch and a 1 p.m. shotgun start.
“This is going to be something we see as an ongoing, annual event,” Steve Duncan said.

SOLON– There’s a lot of recreation news, folks.
The agenda for the Solon City Council last week was dominated by decisions about new recreation programs and projects, including continued appointments to a new recreation advisory team, the dissolution of the Solon Parks and Recreation Commission, an application to Iowa Great Places for the Solon Recreation and Nature Area (SRNA) in support of a splash pad and the selection of Mushroom Park as the location of a new farmers market.
Whew.

SOLON– The big bump is going bye-bye.
A section of Short Street between West Street and Iowa Street will be reconstructed this year to add parking and address a hump in the road where an alley intersects.
The project, along with two others, was approved by Solon City Council members at an April 4 meeting as part of the city’s proposed 2018 street improvements.
Also included for this season will be an asphalt overlay for a part of Kingston Drive, and another section of Short Street between Iowa and Dubuque streets.