Education

The Waukon Lions Club hosted the annual Waukon High School Honors Banquet at the First Presbyterian Church in Waukon Wednesday, May 1. Students in the top 15% academically of the graduating class of 2024 were honored. The evening included a meal served by the Presbyterian Women and the inspirational talk was delivered by guest speaker Jessica Everman, Physician Assistant at Gundersen Health System Waukon Clinic. The graduates told the audience of their future plans and then were presented certificates and medallions by Waukon High School Principal Jennifer Garin and Waukon High School Guidance Counselor Amy Wasson. Pictured above are the honor students and speaker Jessica Everman. Left to right - Front row: Ashlin O’Neill, Kyrie Snitker, Brooklyn Ottaway, Madison Torson, Kaitlyn Krambeer, Lynsey Houg; Back row: Paisley Vine, Cameron Johnson, Ryan Kolsrud, Speaker Jessica Everman, Dylan Hogan, Gabriel Weighner, Kloe Hemmersbach, Olivia Bossom. Not pictured: Olivia Marti.

by Brianne Grimstad

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) School Board met for a special board meeting Tuesday, April 30 to act on a handful of personnel items. The following recommendations were approved, pending a satisfactory background check: Dani Bucknell, Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach; Kelli Olson, High School Computer Science Teacher/TLC Leader/Education and Curriculum Specialist; and Scotti Hagensick, Student Success Coordinator/At-Risk Interventionist.

The board also approved a pay increase for the Food Service Director which was a total package increase of 4.65%. The increase gives ACSD a more competitive salary and will also include two personal days and two temporary days, to be more in line with other 11-month directors and administrators. The board accepted a resignation from Taylor Seibert, Paraprofessional and also approved a transfer for Caleb Ferring from assistant to head varsity boys wrestling coach.

Officials with the Allamakee Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) announce that Olivia Marti of Waukon has been selected as the 2024 Second-Place State Scholarship winner by the nine Regional Directors of the Conservation Districts of Iowa (CDI). She will receive $2,000 to assist with her future academic expenses.

Marti, a senior at Waukon High School, is among the special group of young Iowa high school graduates who earn a well-deserved “thank you” for making natural resources and/or agriculture their higher education goal. CDI and local Iowa SWCDs award scholarships to seniors in each of the nine Iowa conservation district regions who demonstrate leadership and scholastic achievement, and who aim for careers in conservation-related fields.

In response to the nation’s mental health crisis, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in Allamakee County will bring Mental Health First Aid training to Waukon Tuesday, June 4. This groundbreaking skills-based course gives people the tools to identify, understand and respond to someone who might be struggling with a mental health or substance use challenge - and connect them with appropriate support and resources when necessary.

One in five Americans has a mental illness, and the pandemic has dramatically increased depression and anxiety, but many are reluctant to seek help or don’t know where to turn for care. Unlike physical conditions, symptoms of mental health and substance use problems can be difficult to detect.

Friends and family members may find it hard to know when and how to step in. As a result, those in need of mental health services often do not receive care until it is too late.

In Iowa, mushroom hunting is quite common. However, knowing the peak time to hunt for a particular mushroom can be challenging.

Chelsea Harbach, a plant disease diagnostician in the Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, shares helpful guidelines when hunting for common mushrooms.

Three common types of mushrooms are regularly sought out. While using the mushroom foraging calendar key, Iowans can find peak times to hunt for common, white, black or half-free morels in the Spring; Chicken of the Woods in late summer; and oysters May through September.

When hunting for mushrooms, hunters can determine whether the mushroom is edible or inedible by asking:

Does the mushroom have a stem or cap?

Does the mushroom have gills or pores?

Where is the mushroom growing?

How is the mushroom growing? Out of the soil or out of a tree?

What is the time of year?

The Standard newspaper office in Waukon hosted some special visitors the morning of Wednesday, May 1. First grade students from the classrooms of Ms. Deb Hauber and Mrs. Thea Troendle at St. Patrick School in Waukon toured The Standard office for a field trip to learn more about the newspaper and its importance to the community, along with the jobs and processes involved in publishing a newspaper. The day coincided with a Pajama/Comfy Clothes Day being observed in each of the two classrooms.

The students and newspaper staff also discussed the similarities between publishing a newspaper and the book that each classroom recently had published that involved stories written and pictures drawn by each of the students. One of the focal points of their discussion was the “5 Ws” involved in writing a story, including “Who, What, When, Where and Why”, in addition to the “1 H” of “How” that is often used in further writing a more complete story as well.

Iowa Girls State sponsored by The American Legion Auxiliary of Iowa is scheduled to be held June 16-21 this year on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines. American Legion Auxiliary Scenic Unit #722 of Harpers Ferry has selected Waukon High School junior Molly Peake, daughter of Jeremy and Jodi Peake of Waukon, as its Girls  State Citizen for this year’s event.

American Legion Auxiliary Iowa Girls State is one of the premier programs sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary and was started by a dream of four women over 75 years ago in hopes of teaching young women about the political process. Girls State is a “learning by doing” program, which takes the girls through the entire political process.

Learn all the basics of water bath canning, making pickles and pickled products at a Food Preservation Workshop Tuesday, May 14 from 5-9 p.m. The workshop will be held at Ms. B’s Quilting, 201 Allamakee Street in Waukon, and is part of the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Preserve the Taste of Summer program.

Jill Weber, a human sciences specialist in food and health with ISU Extension and Outreach, will lead the workshop. During the hands-on workshop, participants will:
• Learn the basics of water bath canning and pickling
• Hear the most up-to-date canning recommendations
• Make and can pickles
• Take home and enjoy a jar of pickles that they canned.

“These workshops are fun and helpful for beginning canners as well as experienced canners,” states Weber, workshop instructor. “We will provide the most up-to-date science and guidelines for water bath canning.”

The annual P.E.O. reception for girls from the graduating class at Waukon High School was held Monday, April 22 at Zion United Church of Christ in Waukon, marking the 61st anniversary of the event. The evening began with refreshments served. After a welcome by Chapter EK President Caroll Schreiber, introductions were made by members of Chapter EK and guests. Kristin Mathis presented the program on “Follow Your Path and Do What You Love.” The girls attending from the 2024 Waukon High School senior class then shared memories from their high school years. Submitted photo.
 

First-year student Emma Palmer of Waukon is nearing completion of the 2023-2024 President’s Leadership Class at Iowa State University in Ames. Palmer majors in kinesiology and health and is a 2023 graduate of Waukon High School and the daughter of Eric and Stephanie Palmer of Waukon.

Each fall, Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen invites 30 first-year students to participate in the program. They are selected for the class based on high school leadership experience, academic achievement, and involvement in school and community service. The President’s Leadership Class builds on these abilities and experiences, serving as an important training ground for students who will go on to become campus leaders; and ultimately, leaders in their professions and communities.