Community News

The recent passing of George H.W. Bush prompted Waukon resident Joanne Liddiard to share this photo (at left) from when her sister-in-law, Waukon native Suzanne Hart O’Regan, met then Vice President Bush when he was campaigning for the U.S. presidency in 1986 in Neenah, WI. The host of one of Bush’s campaign stops had asked O’Regan to present Bush with a copy of her book “Family Letters: A personal selection from Theda Clark’s life”, which was written by O’Regan and featured the life of Theda Clark Peters, daughter of Kimberly-Clark Corporation co-founder Charles B. Clark who helped fund the building of a hospital in Neenah, WI with money designated for a community project in her will after she died from complications three days after giving birth when no hospital was available to her.

The Hartig Drug Company wishes to announce the retirement of Neal Daley, PharmD and congratulate him on 38 years of dedication, service and professionalism. “On behalf of Hartig Drug, I want to thank and congratulate Neal for the many years of quality service he has provided for Hartig Drug and the entire Waukon-area community. We wish him nothing but the best in his well-deserved retirement.” said Aaron Vandermillen, Director of Pharmacy.

Daley grew up in Charles City. After graduating from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy in 1980, he worked in a pharmacy in Northwood before settling in Waukon taking a job at Regan’s Pharmacy in Waukon in 1984. Daley continued to serve as pharmacist-in-charge as Hartig Drug acquired Regan’s Pharmacy in October of 2000.

Join the park staff and the newly formed organization Friends of Yellow River State Forest on a free, guided hike New Year’s Day, January 1, 2019. Hikers can meet at 9:30 a.m. at the cabin in the park for a two-mile moderate hike led by park staff. The hike will begin at 10 a.m. and will travel through hardwood and coniferous stands of timber.

“We hope people will join us for a couple hours and explore the Driftless area,” says Park Ranger Rylan Retallick. “Hot chocolate, coffee and a warm fire inside the cabin are free.” Those attending are encouraged to bring adequate clothing and good footwear for traction to best enjoy the hike.

Those who have any questions may call the park office at 563-586-2254. In the case of inclement weather, cancellation information will be made available on the Friends online presence or on a message at that phone number.

Midwest Dental is introducing Dr. Krista Kukarans to the Waukon community. Dr. Kukarans joined the Midwest Dental office located at 22 East Main Street in September of this year.

Dr. Kukarans was born and raised in DeWitt. At a young age, Dr. Kukarans discovered her love for baking. After high school, she decided to take courses in Marketing and Management to help her learn about business and then decided to start her own bakery called Krista’s Creations, where she baked and created wedding cakes.

She decided to make a career switch and took a part-time job as a Dental Assistant at a local dentist office. The dental assisting position gave her the opportunity to help people as well as work with small details and her new objective began to form.

“I was that person who asked a million questions about what the doctor did and why. It was intriguing to me and I really liked the interactions with patients,” she said.

Several Waukon High School alumni among the many talented performers

A holiday voice recital featuring area musicians, some of whom have graced this area in the past with their talents and others who continue to do so, will be held this Sunday afternoon, December 23 at 2:30 p.m. at Zalmona Presbyterian Church, located at 371 State Highway 9, Waukon.

The performance is being held in an effort to raise money to fund a music scholarship in memory of Faith Ericson, a local pianist/musician who passed away this past fall. Ericson was well known for her musical accompaniment and other performances throughout the area, and she provided accompaniment for more than half of those who are performing at this Sunday’s event.

Those participating include the following:

Tuesday, December 11 at 11:37 a.m., the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a liquid manure tanker that had overturned on Highway 9 approximately three miles north of Waukon. A report from the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office indicates that Jason Michael Sweeney, age 22, of rural Waukon was traveling southbound on the shoulder of State Highway 9 driving a tractor/tanker combination when the tanker began to slide on the icy shoulder and entered the ditch. The tanker overturned in the ditch spilling approximately 1,500 gallons of liquid manure in the ditch (as seen in the left foreground of the photo). The Iowa Department of Natural Resources was notified of the spill and efforts were made to recover spillage. No injuries were reported. Standard photo by Joe Moses.
 

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, December 17 to discuss a full agenda of items including police compensation, sidewalk snow removal and bids received for the new Wastewater Treatment Plant. The meeting began with a pair of public hearings.

The Public Hearing to review an application for a State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan and to make available contents of an Environmental Information Document (EID) and the City’s project plan was opened and closed without written or verbal comment. The Public Hearing for the proposed plans, specifications, form of contract and estimated cost of the Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements Project was also opened and closed without written or verbal comment.

There was no Public Comment on any other matters either, and the council moved into Departmental Reports. Street Superintendent Keith Burrett indicated that tree trimming and vehicle maintenance have been ongoing.

The Iowa Area Development Group (IADG), on behalf of Iowa’s rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and independent telecommunication companies, honored eight distinguished Iowa companies with the Iowa Venture Award at a luncheon held in conjunction with the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives’ annual meeting in West Des Moines December 6-7. Among those honored companies is Trinity Fabricators, Inc., located near New Albin.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, December 10 to address a full agenda of items including the signing of a letter requesting breach planning and design assistance from the NRCS for the English Bench Watershed #9, consideration of quotes for replacing a tag trailer for the Secondary Roads Department and the consideration of the Allamakee County 2019 holiday schedule. There was no Public Comment.

LuAnn Rolling, District Conservationist for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Allamakee County, discussed a letter presented to the Supervisors requesting breach planning and design assistance from the NRCS for the English Bench Watershed Site #9. Rolling indicated that commissioners met last week and have signed the letter requesting assistance.

by Brianne Eilers

At its November 27 monthly meeting, the Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Board of Trustees learned that the month of October ended on a positive financial note for the hospital, with a net income of $55,668, which translates to a 3.4% profit margin. Acute patient days volume for the month was up 10% while skilled patient days were up 41.7% in comparison to last year at this same time. Total surgeries were up 20.8% and most outpatient areas were up as well. Emergency room visits were down 11.4% and deliveries were down 16% in comparison to October 2017. Expenses were also down, 3.1%.