Anrose Foster always longed for a cool drink of water as she tirelessly worked the downtown business district she so loved.

Now, thanks to her, the rest of Marshalltown will soon be able to enjoy that cold drink with a pair of state-of-the-art drinking fountains that will be built on the courthouse square.

Foster, who died Feb. 22 at the age of 80, willed $12,000 to Marshall County for the expressed purpose of erecting and maintaining the fountains, said the attorney for her estate, Stephen Irvine.

Irvine said Foster, called by many the "First Lady of downtown Marshalltown," wrote in her will that she wanted the two units built "in order to continue to beautify the downtown area of Marshalltown."

The fountains will be made of stone and will have a brass plaque on each base dedicating them to the development of downtown Marshalltown. A built-in refrigeration system will keep the water ice cold.

"It will be a nice addition to the courthouse square," Irvine said. "They are quite impressive."

The fountains are currently being constructed with the hope that they will be in the ground for the start of the city's annual Oktemberfest celebration Sept. 23.

The drinking fountains presently on the northern corners of the square will be torn out to make room for Foster's, which will have a short level for children and a taller one for adults.

County officials said they had no idea Foster had planned to leave them money until they received the check.

"Downtown was her passion, but the gift came as a total surprise," said Supervisor Gordie Johnson. The $12,000 is enough to pay for the construction of the fountains and their maintenance well into the future, Johnson said.

Despite the sudden nature of Foster's request, Supervisors Ron Goecke, Johnson and John Soorholtz were extremely open to her wish, Irvine said.

"The supervisors were very helpful with this," he said. "They know how hard she worked for downtown. She probably thought a lot of people would like the same thing she wanted."

Foster was a well-respected and influential proponent for Marshalltown businesses, especially those around the downtown area. She was a former president of the Central Business District and owner of the Woodbury Building, a downtown landmark located at the corner of First Avenue and Main Street.

In addition to Marshall County, Foster left a portion of her estate to organizations like Trees Forever the Marshalltown Public Library, Irvine said.

An online version of the Times-Republican showcasing key local news, sports and many more features can now be found on the Internet.

The web site, found at www.timesrepublican.com, began posting local news stories late last month and is updated each weekday with weekend news available the following Monday.

The site will be most beneficial for those outside of Marshalltown who want to keep tabs on the news here, said T-R publisher and general manager Mike Schlesinger.

"It'll give people outside of the community a sense of what's going on in Marshalltown," Schlesinger said. "It's going to be very nice."

One of the features sure to get attention, Schlesinger believes, will be a soon-to-be-offered voting link. The T-R will provide a voting box on the site where visitors can voice their opinion on various community issues like the proposed switch of several downtown streets from one- to two-way.

The results of the voting will be reported in both the newsstand and web editions.

The site currently features a handful of news and sports stories, national and international news, classified ads information and a link that allows residents to submit a letter to the editor.

Future additions, Schlesinger said, will likely include community school information, an extensive local news archive, a way to send birth, wedding or engagement announcements to the T-R and a weather link with access to statewide Doppler radar.

The site is usually updated with the current day's stories by 5:30 p.m.

Linda J. Voss, a former resident of Green Mountain, was recently awarded with the VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Award.

This year, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and its Ladies Auxiliary started to recognize teachers in grades kindergarten to 12 for their promotion of citizenship education in their classrooms with a national recognition program.

Voss, now an eighth grade language arts teacher at Winslow Junior High School in Winslow, Maine, has taught for 26 years in Iowa, Germany and Maine. On March 2, she was selected from entries submitted by local VFW Posts in every state, Europe and the Pacific areas. Three national recipients, Voss included, received an award, a $1,000 donation to their individual professional development account and another $1,000 to their school, a well as an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C.

While in Washington D.C., April 6-9, the recipients participated in the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary National Community Service Conference. More than 1,000 teachers were recognized by the VFW at various levels during the competition, with more than $100,000 in awards being presented.

Voss' success is reflected in the accomplishments of her students, such as raising $1,500 for various community and global causes, and shipping more than 500 stuffed animals to orphans in Bosnia as part of the "Bears for Bosnia" project.

"We are very proud of Ms. Voss and all teachers who participated in the program," said VFW Commander-in-Chief John Smart. "Their commitment to teach good citizenship to their students will be of great benefit to their commuinities as these students grow into informed and involved adults."

Michael Gormalley, VFW's Director of Citizenship Education and Community Service, and director of the competition, felt the same. "These teachers are providing a great service to America. We hope this recognition will encourage other educators to include citizenship activities within their curriculum. Their communities will be better for it."

Although this is the the first year for the program, participation in the VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Awards is expected to double in 2001.