Street in Vedic City named after John ESTLE - 2016

ESTLE

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 6/2/2016 at 14:00:03

"The Fairfield Ledger"
Monday, May 16, 2016
Front Page

Maharishi Vedic City names street after John ESTLE

As supervisor, ESTLE instrumental in paving roads to development
by Andy Hallman
Ledger news editor

MAHARISHI VEDIC CITY - Maharishi Vedic City renamed a street in honor of the late John E. ESTLE, and members of the community held a ceremony Saturday to commemorate the event.

A group of 30-35 people fathered on what was formerly 170th Street limits to honor a man who had done so much for the city and for Jefferson County. The idea to name a street after ESTLE was floated to the council soon after his death in October at age 72.

Wally DeVasier, ESTLE's neighbor and one of his closest friends, sent the councilors an email the night ESTLE died, reminding them of the ways he had helped Maharishi Vedic City. Chris Johnson, who has been on city council ever since the city was incorporated in 2001, pitched the idea of naming a street after ESTLE, and less than two months later the council had passed an ordinance renaming the portion of 170th Street in city limits as John Estle Street.

The choice of 170th Street was fitting since it was one of several roads paved as a result of ESTLE's leadership. ESTLE was the chairman of the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors during his one term from 1996-2000 when the board was contemplating paving gravel roads in the housing development that would become Maharishi Vedic City.

"Even though there was political opposition to it, John felt it was the right thing to do," Johnson said. "We felt it was appropriate that one of the paved streets be named after him."

Johnson said he became friends with ESTLE through working with him and the other supervisors on the road project.

"He was a good well-meaning guy who did what he felt was right, not just for Vedic City but for the whole county," Johnson said. "There was no real debate about the street naming. Everyone involved had great respect and appreciation for John."

In attendance Saturday was former county supervisor Frank Stever, who served alongside ESTLE. The other supervisor he served with, Dick Simmons, died three months before ESTLE. Also present were ESTLE's immediate family: wife Connie, daughter Chris and sons Robert and Sam, along with daughter-in-law Denise and nephew Jonathan.

"It is comforting to know the work he and the other supervisors put in was worth it in the end," Chris said. "Road infrastructure was very important to my father. Without good roads to travel, you can't get form point A to point B."

Chris said the supervisors used tax increment financing to fund the project, which was one of the first times the county had used TIF. It has since used TIF for other county projects.

"My dad put a lot of thought into it," she said. "He knew it needed to be a surfaced road with the amount of traffic that was going to be on it."

Chris celebrated her dad's memory by raising $5,500 for Jefferson County Relay for Life's Angels team, and by shaving her head during the relay in April.

DeVasier said he met ESTLE when the two became neighbors on Mahogany Avenue. He said ESTLE knew people wouldn't build houses in the burgeoning development near the airport unless the roads were paved. Though the plan ruffled a few feathers, the county was able to repay the TIF in just a few years.

"The result was a lot of growth for the county and nice roads," DeVasier said.

ESTLE was also a proponent of expanding the runway at the Fairfield Municipal Airport. DeVasier said ESTLE believed the airport was the key to economic growth.

"He liked to say, 'people don't come here by bus; they come here by plane,'" DeVasier recalled. "Now we have jets coming in, and one of the biggest airports in southeast Iowa."

ESTLE loved to fly, but after he was diagnosed with diabetes, he lost his pilot's license and could not fly alone. DeVasier often joined him in the cockpit, and together the two had many adventures. During the floods of 1993, power generators in Cedar Rapids were failing, and the water was so high vehicles could not reach the power plant. ESTLE and DeVasier hopped in a plane, landed at a Caterpillar factory to fetch parts for the generators and flew the supplies to the power plant to keep the generators running.

The two also helped the Army Corps of Engineers assess water levels of the Des Moines River in Ottumwa during the same flood. According to a press release from Maharishi Vedic City city clerk Kathy Petersen, Wally stood in disbelief as John took a door off his airplane in order to better see the water levels from the air. Things like this were done with immediate willingness to help, without pay and for the adventure they brought."

The press release also details ESTLE's involvement in creating Utopia Park in the early 1980s.

"While enjoying Thanksgiving dinner with his family in 1983, he received a phone call from Stuart Zimmerman asking for his help in creating a trailer park on campus to accommodate course participants," stated the press release. "Duty called and he got up from his family Thanksgiving dinner to meet with Stuart. His family didn't see him again until midnight. And they probably didn't see much of him over the course of the next six weeks. So, if you stayed in Utopia Park during that course, of if you've lived in Utopia Park, you can thank him."

ESTLE supported the incorporation of Maharishi Vedic City, which was a hot topic at the time because some believed its incorporation would deprive the county of tax revenue. Ultimately, a majority of the board favored incorporation and recommended it to the city development board in Des Moines.

*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I have no relation to the person(s) mentioned.

Note: In the photo below, Members of John ESTLE's family, Maharishi Vedic City city councilors and his friends gather Saturday afternoon on 170th Street for a ceremony to rename the road John Estle Street. The banner seen here was given to ESTLE's wife Connie, center.

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