Doug Lindner

SOLON– Although it’s been rarely used in the last 20 years, there are still a lot of memories for Solon residents in the former St. Mary Catholic Church.
But the need for cemetery space and concerns about the continuing dilapidation of the building have prompted a church committee to recommend its demolition, which led to an informational meeting held July 26 in the church’s parish hall.
Close to 100 people attended the meeting to listen to Father Tim Sheedy and architectural consultant Alan Wieskamp describe the condition of the church building and discuss potential next steps.

DES MOINES– Well, why not?
Solon absolutely thumped the No. 1 seed in the opening round of the 3A baseball tournament Tuesday, advancing to a semifinal against Harlan (28-5) Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Principal Park in Des Moines.
The Spartans shelled Dubuque Wahlert, 12-2, in a game shortened to six innings by the mercy rule.
Solon jumped out to a first-inning lead right off the bat, but salted the game away with four-run spurts in the fifth and sixth innings. The Spartans loaded the bases with no outs in each of those innings.

SOLON– Within a month, the intersection of Highway 1 and Main Street will likely be fully signalized.
According to City Engineer Dave Schechinger, construction of the traffic signals was expected to begin after Beef Days and be completed some time in August.
Schechinger reported on the status of the project at a July 6 meeting of the Solon City Council, noting a pre-construction meeting had been held with contractor Advanced Electric Service.
Advanced submitted the lowest of six bids for the project– $98,430– and was awarded the project at a March 2 meeting.

SOLON– It was a bright and sunny morning on Sunday, June 5, at Sts. Peter and Paul Chapel.
Across the road from the former Catholic church, a large tent was set up in a grassy area of the cemetery, the site of a special Mass featuring Most Rev. Martin J. Amos, DD, Bishop of the Diocese of Davenport.
At the conclusion of the service, a stream of young children carrying baskets filled with white and pink flower petals strew them in advance of a processional leading to altars situated on the edges of the cemetery.

It’s been morbidly fascinating to watch.
First, full disclosure: I’m a registered Democrat and I skew to the socialist side. I have my gray areas, but I’m mostly shading toward the line in left field.