The Fairfield Free Press

06/27/2023

Establishment Clause Challenge to Transcendental Meditation Program in High School Moves Ahead

In Williams v. Board of Education of the City of Chicago, (ND IL, May 16, 2023), an Illinois federal district court refused to grant summary judgment to either side on an Establishment Clause challenge to a high school's elective instruction in Transcendental Meditation brought by former student Amonte Williams. The court said in part:

[T]here is evidence that a Transcendental Meditation instructor separated Williams from his classmates and brought him individually to a different classroom for the initiation. A reasonable jury could find that Williams, having arguably signed up to be trained in Transcendental Meditation, was then required to observe a religious ceremony in order to learn meditation and was misled about the ceremony's religious nature. The scenario as presented by Williams differs from the school prayer cases ... because there was no imposition or mention of any specific beliefs by the defendants. But the initiation ceremony distinguishes this situation from those cases involving the simple practice of Yoga in schools.... The evidence in this record— most notably the details of the initiation ceremony—suggest that a reasonable jury could find that the Transcendental Meditation training as implemented was religious in nature or at least included a required religious ceremony....

Full 23 page legal opinion from the court's site:
https://www.docketalarm.com/cases/Illinois_Northern_District_Court/1--20-cv-04540/Separation_of_Hinduism_from_our_Schools_et_al_v._Chicago_Public_Schools_et_al/250/?fbclid=IwAR0NowU98BbEAm0ByAXYh5DpQZVxE6H90cb28H6o0HrkIc1fEu59WfJbz5M

Consequently, "there remains a genuine issue of fact as to whether the board had, as a matter of custom, delegated final policymaking authority to" school ...

05/27/2023

Sat, May 27, 12pm – 5pm
Fairfield Recreation Center, 1000 W Burlington Ave, Fairfield, IA

Outdoor swimming at the rec center officially opens for the season.
Sat: 12-5
Sun: 1-5
Mon: closed (holiday)

04/30/2023

Jefferson County Park Campground Clean Up
Sat May 6, 2023 10am – 1pm

Join Youth Librarian Sara Martindale and ICEC & AmeriCorps volunteer Maggie Voyles for an all ages clean-up event at Jefferson County Park. We will meet at the Campground at Jefferson County park for a short storytime led by Sara, and an informative chat with Maggie before we get to work cleaning up the camp ground area. Clean up supplies provided, but feel free to bring your own as well!

04/06/2023

City Easter Egg Hunt
Sat, April 8, 10am – 11am
Chautauqua Park, East Burlington Avenue and Park Street,
Fairfield, IA 52556

02/28/2023

Southeast Iowa Farm Show 2023

The 8th Annual Kenny Norton Southeast Iowa Farm Show is rapidly becoming one of Iowa’s best exhibitions of agriculture machinery, seed technology, grain handling and more for today’s farming operation. Admission to the Farm Show is free and open to the public.
Exhibitor ‘Early Bird’ registration received before January 3, 2023 | $200
Exhibitor registration received on or after January 3, 2023 | $250

Visit https://fairfieldacc.com/event/southeast-iowa-farm-show-2023/ for registration forms and more information.

When
Sat Mar 4, 2023 9am – 3pm Central Time - Chicago
Where
Fairfield Arts & Convention Center

The 8th Annual Kenny Norton Southeast Iowa Farm Show is one of Iowa’s best exhibitions of agriculture machinery, seed technology, grain handling and more for today’s farming operation. Admission to…

01/20/2023

Cambridge Little Achievers Center opened Monday

Citing local news sources:

The Cambridge Little Achievers Center held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Monday afternoon to signify completion of the new child care center on Libertyville Road on the south side of Fairfield.

The center’s director, Tiffany Finch, had the honor of snipping the ribbon with a pair of giant scissors while about 90 people gathered around her outside the entrance.

The center opened its doors for its first day of operation on Monday, Jan. 16, when its staff of 17 welcomed 60 children. The center’s hours are from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and it will serve kids as young as 6 weeks old up through age 12.

The building is 14,000 square feet, which is enough space to house up to 185 children. Finch said the center wanted to start with a more modest number, and then as interest in the center grows, she can hire more staff to meet the greater demand.

Children at the center are divided into six groups, and will be supervised by staff trained especially for that age range: infant; 1-year-olds; 2-year-olds; 3-year-olds; 4-year-olds; and school age, meaning kids aged 5-12.

Finch and her staff members said that the children get breakfast, lunch and two snacks during the day. Each age group will have opportunities to play and learn at the same time. For instance, the rooms include age-appropriate books and educational materials covering geography, anatomy, science, literature and art. Finch said kids will get a chance to hone their fine motor skills, and do fun things like “dramatic play,” where they get to dress up in costumes.

The center has playground equipment outside in three distinct areas reserved for children of different ages, one for infants, another for toddlers and the third for children aged 5 and above.

Finch said she is partnering with Fairfield High School and Indian Hills Community College to bring in high school and college students to work at the center. She said the center has been fortunate thus far in being able to find enough workers to fill its positions.

The Cambridge Little Achievers Center has a five-member board of directors consisting of President Bryan Hunger, Vice President Teri Bockting, Terri Kness, Kate Van Pelt and Joshua Laraby.

FUNDING

The amount of money pledged toward the child care center is about $4.8 million, which was raised from early 2020 to the end of 2022. Cambridge Investment Research was the largest donor with a pledge of $1.25 million. TrafFix Devices was the first entity to make a pledge, coming in at $500,000. The Greater Jefferson County Foundation pledged $250,000, and two businesses each contributed $125,000: Agri-Industrial Plastics and Dexter.

State and local governments played an important role, too. The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors granted $400,000, while the City of Fairfield contributed $250,000. A Community Development Block Grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority amounted to $600,000, and grants from other state agencies – Iowa Workforce Development and the Iowa Department of Human Services – totaled about $890,000.

Forty additional individuals, organizations and businesses also made contributions to the center ranging from $50 to $100,000.

The center would not have been possible without the Jefferson County Health Center donating 3.5 acres of land.

01/19/2023

Kayaking through Russian Siberia: A Presentation by Author Hans Frischeisen

Date & Time: Saturday, January 28, 2022 from 11:45-1:00 PM
Location: FPL Meeting Room
Audience: All ages

Join us for a presentation and book signing by local author Hans Frischeisen, author of Pedaling, Paddling and Pedes: A Pronoic Adventure around the World by Means of 'Muscle Fuel'. Attendees will delight in Mr. Frischeisen's tales of traveling from Siberia's southern mountains to the Antarctic ocean by kayak. Free pizza will be provided for attendees on a first come first serve basis.

If you need disability-related assistance in order to attend this event, please contact the FPL Front Desk at 641-472-6551, Ext. 2.

01/15/2023

This is a comprehensive book about the TM Organization since inception till now. It is free online[one can also save the pdf file] until Jan 27th. Below we present the abstract and a link to Cambridge University Press.

The Transcendental Meditation Movement
Elements in New Religious Movements
DOI: 10.1017/9781009365482
First published online: January 2023
Dana Sawyer
Maine College of Art
Cynthia Humes
Claremont McKenna College
Author for correspondence: Dana Sawyer ([email protected]).

Abstract: This Element provides a comprehensive overview of the
Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement and its offshoots. Several early assessments of the TM movement as a cult and/or new religious movement are helpful, but are brief and somewhat dated. This Element examines the TM movement’s history, beginning in India in 1955, and ends with an analysis of the splinter groups that have come along in the past twenty-five years. Close consideration is given to the movement’s appeal for the youth culture of the 1960s, which accounted for its initial success. The Element also looks at the marketing of the meditation technique as a scientifically endorsed practice in the 1970s, and the movement’s dramatic turn inward during the 1980s. It concludes by discussing the waning of its popular appeal in the new millennium. This Element describes the social and cultural forces that helped shape the TM movement’s trajectory over the decades leading to the present and shows how the most popular meditation movement in America distilled into an obscure form of Neo-Hinduism.

Keywords: meditation, Maharishi, Beatles, Neo-Hinduism, gurus, New Age, Ayur Veda, Deepak Chopra, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Cambridge Core - Religion: General Interest - The Transcendental Meditation Movement

01/05/2023

ROCK in the Blues Year with BLUZILLION
January 14, 7:30pm – 10:30pm
Elks Lodge #1192

Get set to ROCK the 2023 Blues Year! The BLUZILLION Band is bringing their experienced sound AND unbeatable ticket price of just $10 bucks to Fairfield Iowa Elks Lodge on January 14th. BLUZILLION is a 5-piece band based out of Southeast Iowa and features some of the finest area musicians.

Get ready for some your favorite seasoned blues cranks starting at 7:30 PM but stop in early for smooth sipping beverages and warm, delicious pizza. There’ll be plenty of room to dance, hang out and enjoy the blues. Tickets available at the door.

Mark January 14th in your calendars 'cuz this night of fun awaits you!

Hosted by the Southeast Iowa Blues Society; Let's keep the blues alive in Southeast Iowa!

01/04/2023

Magazine Sale
Monday, Jan 9, 9:30am – Fri, Jan 13, 6:00pm
Location: Fairfield Public Library
Audience: Adults & Teens

Every January, our library removes older magazine back issues from our collection and this coincides with our biggest magazine sale of the year. Peruse hundreds of titles including specially-priced vintage magazines such as Life and National Lampoon Magazine! All regular magazines are just 10 cents each!

If you need assistance related to a disability to participate, please contact the FPL Front Desk at 641-472-6551 Ext. 2 or email [email protected]

12/14/2022

Jefferson County Farm Bureau was recognized as an “Outstanding County Farm Bureau” during the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation’s 104th annual meeting held Dec. 6-7 in Des Moines.

The “outstanding” designation is awarded to Farm Bureaus that find unique ways to share about today’s modern agriculture, discuss important ag-related topics with elected officials and support community members in need.

To become an Iowa Farm Bureau member, visit www.iowafarmbureau.com.

12/06/2022

Free Scholarship Workshop
Sun Dec 11th 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Fairfield Community Center, 209 S Court St, Fairfield, IA 52556, USA

Event hosted by The Greater Jefferson County Foundation.
https://www.greaterjeffersoncountyfoundation.org/

The workshop will explain how to properly complete a scholarship application, review the Foundation's Scholarship Website, and more!

Space is limited. Registration is requested.
Please call 641-472-0758
or email:
[email protected]

Our Mission The Greater Jefferson County Foundation receives, accepts and distributes funds for educational, cultural, civic and charitable purposes for the benefit of the greater community of Jefferson County, Iowa. Our Goals The Community Foundation achieves its mission by assisting qualified orga...