Community News

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, March 16 to address a full agenda of items including the Public Hearing for the Fiscal-Year 2020-2021 Budget, the hiring of two new City employees and discussion of the mayor’s and council’s decisions relating to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Mayor Pat Stone called the meeting to order with the council approving an amended agenda. The council moved into the consideration of two new hires. Natasha Wilkes was approved as Police Department Administrative Assistant with a start date of March 17, 2020 at $17.29 per hour. Kelby Moose as Water/Wastewater Treatment Maintenance Worker with a start date of March 23, 2020 at $15.96 per hour was also approved.

March 8-14, Girl Scouts are celebrating their groundbreaking accomplishments throughout the organization’s history. In 1912, Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low, created an organization for girls to find their leadership potential before women could even vote. Since, millions of girls have developed into leaders of businesses, government, organizations, and most importantly, their own lives.

Today’s Girl Scouts travel the world, go on extreme outdoor adventures, sell millions of cookies online, learn about advanced technologies from STEM professionals, and improve their communities with innovative projects. Some examples of those activities experienced by local Girl Scout Troops are pictured in the surrounding photos submitted by local Troop leaders.

According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, Girl Scouts are more likely to:

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, March 9 to address a full agenda of items including the consideration of a road embargo resolution, a cooperative agreement for a new federal competitive highway bridge program project and a review of the County’s insurance coverage.

During Public Comment, Jack Knight briefly discussed several matters including the fact that the community of Clermont is exploring the potential use of traffic cameras, Fayette County has spent more than anticipated on gravel and that the Postville City Council will be discussing planning and preparedness relating to the coronavirus.

The Supervisors moved into the Liquor License Renewal for the Old Rossville Store with Board Chairperson Larry Schellhammer and Supervisors Dan Byrnes and Dennis Koenig approving this request.

Those who are heading out to a St. Patrick’s Day celebration this year need to make sure they have more than just the luck o’ the Irish on their side. This holiday, dated as March 17 but often celebrated the weekend prior or after as well, is one of the biggest drinking holidays of the year and this, unfortunately, means more impaired drivers on the roads.

Drunk driving accounts for nearly one-third of vehicle related fatalities in the United States. Nationally, in 2018 alone, 73 people (39% of all crash fatalities) were killed in drunk-driving crashes over the St. Patrick’s Day holiday period and 33% of the pedestrians aged 16 and older killed in crashes had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above .08. In 2019 in Iowa, there were two crashes over the St. Patrick’s Day holiday which killed four people.

Plans have been announced to hold the 2020 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Waukon Sunday, March 15. All are invited to participate in this year’s parade with an Irish-themed entry at no cost. Further details of the annual event will be printed as they become finalized.
 

What does toothpaste have to do with being a good citizen? Clover Kids learned that being a good citizen means showing respect, kindness and being helpful to others in their recent Saturday gathering. After squeezing out all the toothpaste, youth were challenged with putting it back in the tube, a nearly impossible feat.

Youth learned that just like words coming out of their mouths, once the toothpaste is out it is very hard to put back in, therefore they must choose words carefully. Clover Kids then made a cookies in a jar mixture where they learned how to properly measure dry baking ingredients (such as pictured below) and pack brown sugar. After they added all their ingredients and a recipe card with directions on how to complete the cookies from the mixture, they were tasked with sharing their jar (held by the kids pictured above) with someone and being a good citizen.

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, March 2 to address a full agenda of items including a proclamation relating to the fire at Gus and Tony’s Pizza and Steakhouse, a grant opportunity for lighted pedestrian signage and the purchase of a pothole repair machine.

During Public Comment, Director Ardie Kuhse of Waukon Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) discussed the Waukon Chamber of Commerce Banquet taking place the evening of Saturday, March 7 with awards to be presented for Person of the Year and Business of the Year. Kuhse indicated that a new chamber director has not yet been named with the application process ongoing.

Youth Mentoring at Helping Services for Youth & Families is hosting its annual Bowl-A-Thon Saturday, March 21 at Arrowhead  Lanes in Waukon. This event aims to raise $7,000 to connect youth in Allamakee, Howard and Winneshiek counties with a mentor.

Currently, 104 people are involved in Youth Mentoring at Helping Services. Now is the time to strike up a conversation with friends, neighbors, club members and co-workers to form a team to bowl. Proceeds support those youth and adults being friends in mentoring. Participants can be involved in two ways: register to bowl and/or donate to the cause.

Registration is now open at www.helpingservices.org/YMBOWL. Bowlers can form a team of four members or sign up to bowl individually and Helping Services will pair them with others. Anyone can bowl at this event, and bowlers do not have to be associated with mentoring to bowl. Bowling times are 10 a.m., Noon and 2 p.m.

Plans have been announced to hold the 2020 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Waukon Sunday, March 15. All are invited to participate in this year’s parade with an Irish-themed entry at no cost. Further details of the annual event will be printed as they become finalized.
 

Effigy Mounds National Monument announces a series of special events celebrating the American Indian tradition of storytelling in winter. Winter Stories will occur Saturday and Sunday afternoons through the end of March. Activities will take place in the Effigy Mounds National Monument Visitor Center located at 151 Highway 76, Harpers Ferry.

Presentations span multiple genres of storytelling including traditional storytelling, cinematography and art. This weekend’s presentation is scheduled for Saturday, February 29 from 1-3 p.m. and will feature Bill Quakenbush, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin speaking on “Ho-Chunk Oral Stories: Are They Still Relevant Today?”