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You can’t believe everything you read

8/21/2013

I enjoy the Locker Room column in Cityview, and the weekly in-depth look at unique sports in our community. The article last week, “Get your cornhole on at the Iowa State Fair,” (Aug. 15) got my attention. The author speculated on the origin of the game and left open to further study its exact beginnings. One possible origin he proposed was that “George Washington shot an ear of corn into an empty moonshine barrel.”

As a vice president of the local chapter of Men Yearning to Tell Historical Stories, I feel obligated to shed some light on this theory. While there is no question that George Washington’s barrel was substantially longer than you will see most men of today, the width would not have accommodated an ear of corn (unless it were of the tiny size seen in some Chinese restaurant dishes).

Our organization strives to remind citizens that you can’t always believe everything you read.

Mike Rowley
–Clive

 

Unsung music legend

CNA - Stop HIV Iowa

My wife and I recently attended a concert at the Edgewater Retirement Home, featuring Scott Smith, a well known and respected piano player playing music from unfortunately a bygone musical era. Smith took musical requests, and the results were remarkable. He is known as the man with a musical repertoire of more than 5,000 songs, and he can knock out the music and words to the tunes without any help from the audience or song sheets. Smith has been playing his music on the local scene for 50 some years, and his talents are truly worthy of note. Smith must be in his 70s and still going strong! He truly deserves the status of “legend” from us all, not just senior citizens.

Ray Wilson
–West Des Moines

 

Why pay tickets?

I enjoyed your piece, “Flip the Switch” (Aug. 1). It got me thinking. Does the city even bother pursuing “violators” of its Automated Traffic Enforcement program when the mailed citations are altogether ignored?

Let’s say someone gets “notice of violation” in the mail but never logs into the website using that unique citation number and the provided PIN, never asks for a hearing and, in no other way, acknowledges that he or she ever got the ticket. Instead, the paper hangs on the fridge for over a year collecting dust. What exactly is the city’s policy in that situation?

Dan Robbins
–Des Moines

EDITOR’S NOTE: We called the City of Clive. Police chief Mike Venema explained the city’s collection process may differ from that of Des Moines, but a letter is sent to the person who received the ticket notifying of the money owed. If the violator doesn’t respond within 30 days, a second notice is mailed out. After what Venema believes is a 60-day period, and the violator neither pays the fine or requests a hearing, then the debt is sent to collections. If the violator fails to pay the collection agency, then it’s turned over to the Iowa Income Offset Program, which places a hold on income tax refunds or any future lottery winnings until the debt is paid.

 

Send your opinions to Cityview, 414 61st Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50312. Fax us at 953-1394, or e-mail us at letters@dmcityview.com. Please limit letters to 200 words or less. Cityview reserves the right to edit for length and clarity. The writer’s address and daytime phone number will not be printed, but must be given for verification.

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