News Center newsletter

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon has begun to transition to a new electronic medical record system as of March 7. This new system will now link to all departments, encompassing all areas of the hospital, including the billing department.

With this change, patients will see a new statement following any hospital service which will be a completely different look from what they are used to receiving due to the use of a new vendor. In addition, patient account balances will also be handled by a new system that will be unfamiliar to the current patients.

Since this transition will take place over the course of a few months, the hospital wishes to inform patients they may receive statements within just a few days of each other. Also, the statements from the two different vendors do not look alike, which may also cause confusion, and the hospital wishes to apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Dick Delphey by Carol Paus and Dane Zarwell, Scott and Sandra Zweep, Betty Staggemeyer, Pearson Families, Keith Pearson, Agnes Pearson, Kent Pearson, Marjorie Pearson, Richard and Joan Leiran, Evelyn Burke, Brian and Karen Burke, Mike and Heather Hanson, Ray and Mary Ann Burke, Rosanne Sweeney, Mavis Berns, Don and Dawn Blocker, Betty Hogan, Jim and Margo Sweeney, Kevin and Kaisa Norwood, Jim and Dolores Schmitt, Harold and Marlene Payne, Jim and Sallie Driscoll, Randy and Amy Densberger, R. and Ann Deames, Mike and Diane Bols, Ed and Janey Schulte and Mary Kay Delphey.

Micah and Emily Boyum of Elgin announce the birth of their son, Benjamin Andrew Boyum, born February 22, 2017 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. He weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and measured 20-1/4 inches in length at the time of his birth.

Grandparents are Michael and Kimberly Boyum of Ossian and Erika (Andrew) Ciszewski of West Union.
 

Zack and Chelsey Woodbeck of Waukon announce the birth of their son, Greyson Charles Woodbeck, born February 22, 2017 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. He weighed 8 lbs. 6 ozs. and measured 20-1/2 inches in length at the time of his birth. He joins a sister, Kinley (2).

Grandparents are Robert and Peggy Woodbeck of Waukon and Richard and Kathy Speicher of New Hampton. Dana Waters of Waukon is a great-grandparent.
 

David and Amanda Reinhardt of Waukon announce the birth of their son, Nolan Dean Reinhardt, born February 24, 2017 at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. He weighed 8 lbs. 5 ozs. and measured 22 inches in length at the time of his birth. He joins a sister, Charlie (1-1/2).

Grandparents are Rick and Cindy Reinhardt of Waukon and Randy and Lori Hover of Dorchester.
 

by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director (563) 568-2148

This past month has been filled with solid manure applicator trainings. We’ve had the opportunity to have Drs. Antonio Mallarino and Mazhar Haq, ISU agronomy department, present their work on phosphorus management. This presentation was extremely informative with discussions relevant to balancing fertility management and water quality challenges, why transport factors need to be considered along with soil test concentrations, and it had specific information relevant to manure application decisions and phosphorus management. A couple of which we wanted to specifically point out.

Why would farm landowners be interested in the topic of soil health?  Managing soil health helps to increase water infiltration, water holding capacity, and nutrient availability and reduces runoff, erosion, and nutrient leaching.  Because the economic value of cropland is largely based on its ability to produce a crop, improving soil health helps to protect the long-term value of this investment.  As a landowner, do you understand soil health and what your renters do to impact (improve or decrease) soil health? What practices can you encourage to improve soil health?

NRCS recommends farmland owners ask (potential) renters these five soil health questions.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that I have not taken a photograph since I retired after 44 years of using a camera, but there have been times when I wished I could.

An example came one recent morning, after that overnight thundersneet (snow and sleet) event. What I heard against my bedroom window made me expect to see ice covered utility wires at dawn, but they were clear. However, a day later, as I looked toward the rising sun, I noticed the bare limbs (bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang, as Shakespeare wrote) of two trees between me and the sun were glistening with a thin ice coat, first rose-tinged and then silver as the sun rose higher.

Very pretty.

That storm did deposit a layer about an inch thick of white frozen ice and snow on my driveway, however, which was not so pretty.

To the Editor:

During the last twelve years, there has been a local organization, “Corner of Hope”, operating in this community. During those twelve years, over $300,000 has been raised. These funds are sent to the Food Resource Bank (FRB), a faith-based organization whose sole purpose is to help alleviate world hunger in the poorer regions of the world.

The funds we send are equally divided between Catholic Relief Services, Lutheran Relief and Church World Relief Services. These organizations then use these funds, not by giving food, but by showing them how to raise their own food. This can be done in a variety of ways; different and better seed, tillage practices, pest control and water management. In one instance, land was purchased by the FRB and parceled off and sold to the peasant farmers. This was done because the good agriculture land was owned by big corporations.