Chris Umscheid

NORTH LIBERTY– Thanksgiving is a holiday steeped in tradition, but like just about everything you can think of, it too has been altered this year by fears of the COVID-19 virus. Case in point, for nine years people in North Liberty gathered at the South Slope Cooperative Communications facility on North Front Street for a free Thanksgiving dinner.

NORTH LIBERTY– For now, the Bolts are benched.
Tuesday, Dec. 1, would’ve been the season opener for the Liberty High varsity boys’ basketball team, with a visit from non-conference competitor Washington (Iowa).
However, the Iowa City Community School District extended its 100 percent off-site learning through Friday, Dec. 11, due to continued high COVID-19 positivity rates in Johnson County, and all extracurricular activities, including athletics, are on-hold for the duration.

NORTH LIBERTY– A very dark year got even darker for the Liberty High School community as 17-year-old Liberty High senior Brooke Anne Langland died on Friday, Nov. 13.
She was born on Dec. 17, 2002, to John and Traci Langland. A senior, she had been accepted into the University of Iowa to pursue a career in healthcare, and was planning to try out for the Iowa Dance Team. “Since the age of three, Brooke had lived and breathed dance,” her obituary said. She was a member of Liberty High’s three-time state championship dance team.

OXFORD– If all goes well, students in the Clear Creek Amana (CCA) Community School District will return to their classrooms on Monday, Nov. 30. The district moved to virtual learning on Monday, Nov. 9, after a wave of positive COVID-19 cases and quarantines sidelined a significant number of transportation department employees. Coupled with a high COVID positivity rate in Johnson and Iowa counties, the district applied for, and received, a waiver to return to online learning until Tuesday, Nov. 24. The district is on Thanksgiving Break Wednesday through Friday, Nov. 25-27.

TIFFIN– Due to the Clear Creek Amana (CCA) Community School District returning to all-online learning, extracurricular activities, including athletic practices, are on hold until the students return to in-person/onsite learning on Monday, Nov. 30. However, the Clipper wrestlers aren’t just sitting around biding their time.
“The kids are running, working out and practicing individually,” said Coach Kyle Forness.