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by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that the older one gets, the more things there are that remind us of events long past. And sometimes those memories are a bit hazy.

Whenever President Trump appears in front of a crowd with reporters and cameramen present, the noise of camera shutters clicking is very loud and intrusive. I suspect that was true of past presidents as well, but I probably notice it more since President Trump makes himself available for many more such appearances than did, for example, his predecessor.

That reminds me of my first experience with cameras in the courtroom. It was probably in the 1970s when the state legislature gave its approval, despite objections from the judiciary. Judges were afraid trial pailicipants, and attorneys in particular, would play to the cameras.

To the Editor:

The Luster Heights facility is now closed just two weeks after State House Representative Kristi Hager and State Senator Michael Breitbach cast their votes for a budget which cut $5.5 million from the Department of Corrections. Their votes have had negative ramifications for Allamakee County, those employed at Luster Heights, the inmates, and the taxpayers.

The many ways the Luster Heights inmates benefited the county were underscored at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting. Since the 1990s, Luster Heights inmates worked 200 days a year on secondary road maintenance for a nominal fee of $5 per day. This saved the taxpayer a great deal of money. The work the inmates did at the Waukon City Park was described as the benefits far outweighing the costs.

To the Editor:

With Iowa’s underage and binge drinking exceeding national averages and overdoses from prescription drugs near all-time highs, Iowa lawmakers fear that legalizing medical cannabis is a “slippery slope” to harder drug use and say that the medical cannabis intended for children like my four-year-old son with intractable epilepsy would end up in the “wrong hands”.

According to a 2016 document titled “Drug Trends in Iowa” from the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy, 50% of Iowans use alcohol, making it the “drug of choice” and between 72 - 82.1 out of 100 Iowans have pain killer prescriptions. Yet, our state continues to lag behind in helping Iowa’s most medically complex individuals.

In states with medical cannabis laws, opiate abuse actually declines. According to a study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine in October 2016, opiate-related deaths decreased by 33% within six years in states that legalized cannabis from 1999-2010.

Additional awards distributed at Friday’s annual banquet can be found on Page 4A in this week’s print and e-edition of The Standard.

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by Lissa Blake

The conditions for the 57th annual Yellow River bird count were perfect. That’s according to Larry Reis, the northeast Iowa naturalist who compiles the results each year.

Each year, the Yellow River bird count is among hundreds taking place across the nation. Data is compiled and submitted to the National Audubon Society.

The 2016 Yellow River bird count took place Tuesday, December 20. Eight area birders spent the day counting birds in a 15-mile radius spanning from north of Effigy Mounds to Waterville, Harpers Ferry, Wexford, Marquette and across the Mississippi River to Prairie du Chien, WI. Reis said December 20 was a sunny day that stayed around 30 degrees.

“We had eight observers, but we could always use more,” said Reis.

The December count spotted a total of 51 different species making up 2,912 individual birds. Highlights included two American black ducks, which were found along the Mississippi.

The Northeast Iowa Council, Boy Scouts of America recognized 46 scouts who earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 2016 at a brunch at the Grand River Center in Dubuque Sunday, February 19, where keynote speaker was U.S. Army Major Clayton Degenhardt. Scouts from Waukon's Troop 64 recognized with the Class of 2016 Eagle Scouts are pictured above with Scoutmaster John Troendle (far left) and include, left to right, Jacob Dougherty, Adam Hansen, Dolan Jones, Tyler O'Neill and Kyle Gordon. The Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than two million young men. Requirements include earning at least 21 merit badges and demonstrating Scout Spirit through the Boy Scout Oath and Law, service and leadership. This includes an extensive service project that the Scout plans, organizes, leads and manages.

Paul Cienfuegos, a nationally known community rights educator, will lead a discussion with northeast Iowans interested in protecting the health and beauty of the region at a gathering Tuesday, March 7 at 7 p.m. at Fiesta Vallarta in Waukon.

“Anyone interested in learning more about what we can do to protect our rights to a healthy community are welcome to gather at 6:30 p.m. at Fiesta Vallarta. Formal discussion will begin at 7 p.m.,” said event co-organizer Mary Klauke Abbas. “Cienfuegos has been a leading educator and organizer in the Community Rights approach to dismantling corporate power in many successful local endeavors across the nation. He can explain how corporations have come to claim the protections of the Constitution for themselves, often to the detriment of local people, and how we, the people of a local community, can protect ourselves from corporate power.”

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in a pair of regular sessions within this past week due to the President's Day holiday falling on the board's usual Monday meeting date February 20. Coverage of both the Tuesday, February 21 and Monday, February 27 regular meetings of the Board appears below.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21
The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Tuesday, February 21 due to the President's Day holiday Monday, February 20. The Supervisors addressed a full agenda of items including an insurance quote presentation by Upper Iowa Insurance Services, consideration of a bridge embargo and a public hearing for a Fiscal-Year 2017 budget amendment.

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Tuesday, February 21 as a result of the President's Day holiday falling on its usual meeting night of Monday. The Council discussed a full agenda of items, including the repair or replacement of City Hall windows, the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI®) and the review of Town & Country Sanitation's new contract options.

A Public Hearing was opened for an Amendment to the TIF District, which City Attorney Jim Garrett clarified as being an amendment to the Urban Renewal Plan to include the proposed Waukon Police Station facility, not to exceed $500,000. There were no written or verbal comments from the public and the hearing was closed.

The Ninth Annual Bald Eagle Watching Day is scheduled to take place this Saturday, March 4 in Ferryville, WI at the Village Community Center located on State Highway 35, “The Great River Road”. This program is sponsored by the Ferryville Tourism Council, co-sponsored by Friends of Pool 9 and free to the public.

Event activities are scheduled to take place from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Doors will open at 9:45 a.m. New to the program is the Decorah Raptor Rearch Project Eagle Cam organization presenting at 12:30 p.m. on “What we learned from an Eagle’s Nest”. John Howe of the Raptor Resource Project and his team will be in attendance for the first time.

Free refreshments and children’s craft activities will be available throughout the event. There are many eagle nests in the Ferryville, WI area, including a new one just south of Ferryville. The Pool 9 section has more nests than in any other part of the Mississippi River.