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Waterville School alumni, friends and family can help with efforts to preserve the school’s history

Following the decision by the Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors to close Waterville Elementary School at the end of this current school year, a small group of Waterville alumni formed a committee and have been working to make arrangements to make sure the trophies, pictures and other school memorabilia items from the past history of the school would be preserved.

Recently, arrangements were settled on to display a few of the trophies in a trophy case at Waukon High School, with the majority of the items displayed in a proposed area in the Waterville Public Library. To prepare for that plan, an area located within the Waterville Library building needed to be renovated to accommodate the memorabilia display. Bids were obtained to complete that project, with an estimated cost of $14,000 being revealed.

With the end of this current school year in the Allamakee Community School District also marking the end of an era with the Waterville School as part of this area’s formal education system, The Standard will be dedicating pages in an upcoming issue to historical reflections on the Waterville School. Whether alumni of Waterville High School or the more recent Waterville Elementary School, a former staff member or just an interested history buff, members of the general public are asked to contribute photos, reflections or simply their favorite or most vivid memory of their experience with the Waterville School to be published in an anticipated May 23 edition of The Standard.

A call received by the Allamakee County Dispatch Center Monday, April 16 at 3:23 p.m. reporting an accidental shooting at 49 Jean Road in the Parkview Trailer Court in Waukon is evolving into the first murder case in Waukon in nearly 40 years. The caller, 32-year-old John Michael Quanrude, a resident of the mobile home at that Jean Road address, has since been charged with Second Degree Murder, and his roommate - who is also his step-father, 60-year-old Dean Elliot Russell, was the victim.

The Iowa Department of Transportation has announced that maintenance work on the Black Hawk Bridge at Lansing will result in alternating lane closures and delays for travelers the middle of next week. The maintenance work will require traffic to be narrowed to a single lane with traffic control for alternating directions of traffic. A width limit of nine feet will also be in effect, with the work scheduled to take place beginning Tuesday, May 1 at 7 a.m. and expected to be completed Thursday, May 3 by 5 p.m.
 

The presentation on “Opioid Overdose Crisis: A Local Perspective” originally scheduled for Tuesday, April 3, had to be rescheduled due to weather. The presentation has now been slated for Wednesday, April 25 at 7 p.m. in the Community Room at Farmers and Merchants Bank at 201 West Savings Main Street in Waukon.

Experts say the United States is in the throes of an opioid epidemic, as more than two million Americans have become dependent on or abused prescription pain pills and street drugs. Some of these Americans may be family members, neighbors, co-workers or friends to those reading this article.

To learn more about how the opioid crisis is impacting Iowans, area residents are invited to the April 25 presentation. The panel of experts presenting at the event includes Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman, Robin Esmann, RN  and Joan Parker, RN. Those attending can find out what is happening on a local and state level to address this serious nationwide issue.
 

The 2018 Waukon High School Prom is scheduled for this Saturday, April 21 at the current Waukon Middle School gymnasium. Doors will open at 7:15 p.m. to the public for the 8 p.m. Grand March, with seating available in the Waukon High School auditorium. Following the Grand March will be the coronation of this year’s Prom King and Queen. Visitors are asked to exit the building after the coronation in order for students to start the dance. This year students will need to either attend the dance or participate in alternative activities in the Middle School cafeteria in order to attend the Post Prom event in the Waukon High School gymnasium. The Post Prom doors will open at 10:45 p.m., with activities, including games and the hypnotist, taking place from 11:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. Pictured at right are the senior class Queen and King candidates for the 2018 Waukon High School Prom.

The 2018 Kee High School Prom is scheduled for this Saturday, April 21. Pictured above are the senior class Queen and King candidates for the annual event. Left to right - Front row: Eric Rud, Nicki Wood, Annika Stahl. Back row: Kyle Hitchins, Caleb Conway, William Mitchell. Not pictured: Hallie Vinson. The annual banquet will be held at TJ Hunter’s Banquet Hall on Main Street in Lansing, with doors opening at 5:15 p.m. The dance will take place from 8 p.m. to 12 midnight in the banquet hall as well. The public is invited to attend the Grand March, which is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., with doors opening to the public at 7:45 p.m. and a free-will donation being taken. Following the Grand March, this year’s Prom King and Queen will be crowned. Post Prom festivities will follow the dance until 4 a.m. at the former Lansing Middle School gymnasium. Photo courtesy of the Kee High School Yearbook.
 

The presentation on “Opioid Overdose Crisis: A Local Perspective” originally scheduled for Tuesday, April 3, had to be rescheduled due to winter weather. The presentation has now been slated for Wednesday, April 25 at the same time and location as the previously scheduled event.

According to statistical reports, every day, more than 115 Americans die after overdosing on opioids. Those reports also show that overdose is the leading cause of death in Americans under the age of 50. The misuse of and addiction to opioids - including prescription pain relievers, heroin and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl - is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare.

by Lissa Blake

After only nine months in operation, attendance at the Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center in Lansing has surpassed projections for an entire year. That’s according to Allamakee County Conservation Board (ACCB) Director Jim Janett and Assistant Director Jarrod Olson.

“A normal average for the first year of an education/visitor center is between 10,000 and 14,000,” explained Janett, adding he was hoping for at least 10,000. “We’re at 11,000 with three months to go.”

Janett and Olson explained attendance numbers at the new center were compiled from a combination of people from the general public, youth groups like Allamakee County 4-H, and 11 field trip groups from seven different school districts. About 400 visitors stopped in during RAGBRAI® last summer.

When asked how attendance is tallied, Olson said, at this point, it is a manual count.

Late Tuesday afternoon, April 17, the Waukon Police Department, in coordination with the Allamakee County Attorney’s Office and Department of Criminal Investigation, filed Second Degree Murder charges against John Michael Quanrude, age 32, of Waukon in the District Court for Allamakee County in connection with the Monday, April 16 fatal shooting at 49 Jean Road in the Parkview Trailer Court in Waukon. This charge comes as the result of an initial criminal investigation conducted by the Waukon Police Department, Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office, Department of Criminal Investigation, Iowa State Patrol, and Allamakee County Attorney’s Office, which involved the execution of at least two search warrants and several interviews.