Viewpoints

The first part of this three-part series, printed in the September 24 edition of The Standard, gave an overview of the process the Public Safety Committee has taken to make the recommendation to build a new Public Safety center at the County Farm and to send a $4.9 million bond referendum to the citizens of Allamakee County for a vote in November.
This second part of the series will take a look specifically at federal and state requirements for jail facilities as they relate to the shortcomings of of the current facility and how those same regulations determine the size and space needs of the new facility.

To the Editor:
I would like to acknowledge and express my appreciation for the recognition of our Kewaskum High School football program’s 100th victory during my tenure as head coach.
As I said on our Kewaskum Football Facebook page the day after the game, I’ve been blessed to work with many great kids and families over the past 12 years as head coach and have also had great coaching staffs. We’ve had great support from our community, school and administration. I’ve also had the blessing of a supportive family. This is far from any sort of individual achievement. While the win total is a nice achievement, there are lots of other “victories” we are proud of too.
Your support from afar is very much appreciated.  There is much to be said for the special relationships with your hometown community.

Sincerely,
Jason Piittmann
Kewaskum, WI

by State Represtative Patti Ruff

This is the first in a three-part series.

To the Editor:
I am writing and co-producing a documentary in conjunction with Iowa Public Television titled “West by Orphan Train.” It’s based on my book, Emily’s Story:  The Brave Journey of an Orphan Train Rider. It’s the true life story of my paternal grandmother, who rode an orphan train to Iowa in 1906. I’m on a search for a school photo of my grandmother that would have been taken at Jefferson School #2, (which was also known as “Oak Grove School” and stood in the northeast corner of Section 8 and is now the Freddie Miller farm) between about 1907 and 1909. She was taken in by the Edwin and Mary Kellogg family who were renting a farm in Jefferson Township. Some last names of farm neighbors that lived around them on the 1910 census were Walter, Pettit, Baldwin, and Woodmansee.

by Dick Schilling, Editor Emeritus

To the Editor:
I am a bit late in getting around to writing this but I would like to echo the sentiments that Jim Magner expressed in a letter printed a couple weeks ago. Bravo to everyone involved in this year’s Corn Days celebration.  It was great to see something happening in town, it was great to see people from all around town enjoying themselves, and it was great to see people from other towns coming to Waukon.  
My schedule did not allow me to attend all of the festivities but I enjoyed the events I could and I felt as if I was really missing out on something when I could not. The 5K walk/run Saturday morning is a breathtaking way to start the day and get people into town and the car show was a great place to refuel on ice cream and curds.
All the experience gained this year by expanding to a thee-day festival should pay off as time goes on and we should all be looking out for more opportunities to make something fun happen right here in town.

To the Editor:
Football is a tough contact sport. We expect the players to inflict a lot of hurt on the guy across the line. We also expect them to leave it on the field. When a player is in the community, with their family and friends, or on a date, we expect them to be gentle giants.
Many of these weekend warriors are just that. Some are not and recent media coverage of Ray Rice and his violence toward his wife, Janay, causes many to wonder how this could happen. But it does happen often, quietly and locally. You probably know people who experience it behind the closed doors of their home - out of sight and not heard.
Last year our Domestic Abuse Resource Center served 367 of your neighbors whose experience was not flashed across your TV screen, and which was not dissected by “talking heads” and instant experts.

To the Editor:
I am going to vote no on the jail bond issue. Why? Because over the 75-year life, the location will add a tremendous operating cost.
One could build a on pillars on the west side of the courthouse that would create a garage and access to the courthouse in inclement weather (no snow removal either).
At the County Home, the following would be constant operating expenses:
1. Additional deputy and car, probably part time.
2. Additional standby generator.
3. Additional heat, higher priced LP than natural gas.
4. Additional janitor and groundskeeper.
The transportation of inmates for court appearances and trial would be a constant expense.
At the parking lot you’d have an easier handicapped entrance at the side door (currently kept locked?).

by Deb Winke
Allamakee County Recorder