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Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative (ACEC) employees and board of directors members held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate completion of the Cooperative's Community Solar project, known as ACEC SunSource. The 100-kilowatt array is located at the Cooperative’s headquarters facility near Postville. It contains 360 panels; each panel is comprised of a primary, south-facing panel and a secondary, north-facing panel. Effective July 1, ACEC member-owners participating in the Community Solar project will begin earning energy credits. The solar project offers Cooperative members the opportunity to power their homes with solar without a signifi cant fi nancial investment or installing and maintaining their own solar array. By grouping solar panels together, costs can be shared and power output can be maximized. Visit acrec.com to view today’s solar production. Subscriptions are offered on a per-panel basis for varying lengths of time.

Wednesday, July 12, the Ferryville Tourism Council is sponsoring the second of this summer’s evening bonfire programs in Ferryville’s Sugar Creek Park at 8 p.m. The event will be held under the pavilion at the south end of the park just off of Wisconsin Highway 35, the Great River Road.

The program is “From Weeds to Wild Flowers on Gobbler Ridge” and will be given by Tim Eisele, a writer from Madison, WI. He and his wife, Linda, have restored a large section of their land in Crawford County, WI from regular land to native prairie. The resulting prairie is an attraction for birds, insects and animals that are native to the area. Eisele will use multi-media to show the process he and his wife went through during this years long process.

Attendees are asked to bring lawn chairs and bug spray.

Eight youth who attended the June 20 Bike Camp hosted by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach now know how to change a flat bike tire and also know proper bike riding etiquette. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach partnered with Troy Carter, Safe Routes to School Director, and Ashley Christensen, Regional Safe Routes to School Coordinator, to host Bike Camp for youth in third through fifth grade. They spent the morning learning about riding etiquette, rules of the road, hand signals and the ABCs of riding. While getting their bikes ready to ride, youth had to check the air in their tires to make sure they were at the appropriate pressure, checked the brakes to see if they were hooked up and working, and looked at the chain to make sure it was in place and oiled. Once the youth had their bikes fitted correctly, they were ready to hit the trail.

Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation’s (NEICAC) Board of Directors, at its regularly scheduled board meeting June 26, regretfully accepted the letter of pending retirement from the agency’s Executive Director, Mary Ann Humpal. Humpal has been with NEICAC since August of 1972 and has been the Executive Director since June of 1989. She has set December 21, 2017 as her last working day.

By that time she will have served the residents of northeast Iowa for 45 years and four months. NEICAC Board Chairman Les Askelson credits Humpal's dedication and leadership for establishing NEICAC as one of the top Community Action Agencies not only in Iowa but also nationally recognized. Askelson, says that the board of directors will be working with the Iowa Community Action Association (ICAA) in the search for a new Executive Director.

The Waukon baseball team was dealt some early week losses before recovering to win two of three final games during this past week. One of those early losses had already played out to Waukon’s first Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) victory and win streak of the season in the previous week, but a 7-4 home victory over Charles City from Friday, June 23, instead, was ruled a forfeit loss after this season’s new pitch count rule revealed a miscalculation in the Indian pitching rotation that did not allow enough rest time, wiping that lone NEIC win for the Indians away on a technicality.

The Waukon softball team wrapped up its regular season schedule this past week, getting the week off to a strong start with a doubleheader sweep before having that favor returned two-fold, all six of its games this past week coming in Northeast Iowa Conference play. The Indians began the week with home mercy-rule victories of 14-3 in six innings and 12-2 in five innings over Oelwein Monday, June 26 in a twinbill rescheduled from June 22. The softball Tribe had that fortune reversed in its final two regular season dates, being swept in a doubleheader at New Hampton by scores of 8-7 and 10-0 in five innings Tuesday, June 27 and suffering a similar fate at home against Crestwood by final results of 11-1 and 8-0 Thursday, June 29.

It was a fateful final week of Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) play for the Kee baseball team, as the Hawks were dealt an early blow to their hopes of a repeat as UIC season champions but could not get the help to recover from that blow later in the week. That UIC damage was done by a rare home doubleheader loss to North Fayette Valley Monday, June 26 by scores of 6-0 and 8-0 that dropped the Hawks to three UIC losses on the season, just one loss behind Clayton Ridge/Central’s two conference losses on the season that, ironically, were handed to them by Kee.

The Kee softball team turned in some ending results on each end of the spectrum during its final week of the regular season this past week. The Hawks completed a second consecutive undefeated Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) campaign to win their fourth straight UIC season championship, but brought their regular season to a close with just their second loss of the season, completing their best-ever regular season record of 32-2 with an unblemished 18-0 mark in UIC play.

Allamakee County will be taking part in the 2017 Iowa 99 County Bible Reading Marathon once again this year, inviting people to read 30-minute or more segments of the Bible Thursday, July 6 throughout an 8 a.m.-8 p.m. timeframe. This is the second year Allamakee County has participated in the event, with some changes in location and longevity of the event taking place this year.

This year’s event for Allamakee County will take place at the Waukon City Park at the small shelter between the wooden playground and the ball diamond, a different setting than the Allamakee County Courthouse lawn used last year. The timeframe of this year’s event has been pared down from a three-day event to just a 12-hour format on a single day.

Those wanting to participate are asked to bring a Bible and a lawn chair to that Waukon City Park shelter house and local volunteers will meet them with a portion of the Bible to read aloud on their own in the park.

Colleen (Welch) Gebel, 83, of Charles City died Thursday, June 29, 2017 at the Floyd County Medical Center in Charles City. A Funeral Mass was held Monday, July 3 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Charles City with Father Gary Mayer celebrating the Mass. Burial followed at Calvary Cemetery in Charles City.

Mary Colleen Welch was born May 8, 1934 in Waukon, the daughter of Ray and Rita (Ryan) Welch. She graduated in 1952 from St. Patrick’s High School in Waukon. Following high school, she began her career with Northwestern Bell Telephone Company in Waukon and in the years following she worked for the telephone company in Independence, Oelwein and Charles City.

April 18, 1964, Colleen was united in marriage to James Gebel at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Charles City. Jim and Colleen made their life in Charles City, where they raised their three children, Suzanne, Patrick and Elizabeth.