January is National Mentoring Month. Helping Services for Youth & Families is celebrating mentoring friendships and inviting others to engage in their community with the theme “Mentoring is simple! Become a mentor.”
Mentoring has a positive impact on youth and the volunteer mentor. The need for positive role models is extremely vital as families deal with the stresses of raising youth in today’s world. There are currently 17 area youth that want a friend to spend time with. One of those kids is Bill. He is 14 years old and likes to swim, bike and go to parks. He wants to be a police officer when he grows up.
Volunteer mentors do not do this alone. Colinne McCann, Mentoring Coordinator at Helping Services shares, “We, at Helping Services, provide you with the tools and training you need to be successful. We share activity ideas and provide fun and safe events, making it a simple process to mentor.”
Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Lansing held their annual Sunday School Christmas Pageant December 18. The young people gave a live performance of the nativity story and they also starred in creative short films that were a part of the event. One such film featured the magi going shopping for baby Jesus in Horsfall’s Lansing Variety Store. Another film includes a Lansing Police Officer pulling over the shepherds because they are speeding to Bethlehem. The pageant can be viewed at the church website: LansingLutherans.org. Pictured above, left to right, Sylvie Pierce, Ardyn Pierce, Jack Schweitzer, Isla Henkes, Sebastian Bell, Alyssa Bell (holding Scarlett Bell), Samara Bell, Arthur Whitlach, Westen Murray, Henrik Whitlatch (baby in the manger), Zoahii Rosas, Eloisa Whitlatch, Paxton St. Mary, Sienna St. Mary, Izzy Hammell.
The Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library will be hosting a presentation Thursday, January 12 at 4 p.m. regarding the historical and archaeological work that continues to take place regarding the Black Hawk Bridge replacement project. Brennan Dolan from the Iowa Department of Transportation and Ray Werner from Tallgrass Archaeology, LLC will make the presentation.
The Iowa DOT is working through the final considerations of the National Historic Preservation Act as the bridge project prepares for letting. The bridge architectural retention schedule and other mitigation efforts will also be discussed.
Join the Allamakee County Conservation Board (ACCB) for a Full Moon Snowshoe Hike Thursday, January 5 at 6:30 p.m. The hike will take place on County Road 527, south of the Lansing power plant. Participants should park at the rural recycling drop-off location on Powerplant Drive approximately 1.5 miles south of the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center.
The Full Moon Snowshoe will be a guided trail hike taking place after dark to enable the participants to see the stars and full moon like they have never seen before. The event requires preregistration for those wishing to use snowshoes provided by the ACCB and is open to all ages. However, anyone under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
It is asked that no pets be brought to the event. In the case of inclement weather or poor snow conditions, the Full Moon Snowshoe may be postponed or canceled and will be announced via the ACCB’s Facebook page.
This is the 18th year for the alumni scholarship instituted by the Allamakee Scholarship Fund (ASF), Inc. Board of Directors. The award is made to a Waukon High School graduate who participated in ASF, Inc. while in high school and received an award as a graduating senior. The scholarship is available to college sophomores through graduate level students.
The ASF, Inc. Board feels it is important to continue the encouragement to ACSD graduates as they continue their education, not just as they start their post-high school program. The group wishes to encourage participation in community service and college activities that are part of their educational growth and preparation for career and community life.
The Iowa 4-H Foundation has announced applications are now available for its 4-H scholarship program. Over 130 scholarship opportunities valued at over $120,000 will be awarded.
Former and current Iowa 4-H members are eligible to apply for 4-H scholarships if they meet individual scholarship requirements, as determined by the scholarship donors. Applicants must enroll as a full-time student to receive scholarship awards.
The various scholarship awards range in amounts from $500 to $5,000. Some scholarships are open to students pursuing any field of study, while others are open to students pursuing degrees in agriculture, food and nutrition, ag business, animal science, and journalism, as well as veterinary medicine and more.
Information and applications for the 4-H scholarships are now available through the Iowa 4-H Foundation atiowa4hfoundation.org.scholarships.
Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) has announced Urgent Care clinics will be returning during weekends, beginning Saturday, January 7. Urgent Care will be offered from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday.
Urgent Care is designed for treating injuries or illnesses requiring immediate care, but not serious enough to require an emergency department visit. Patients may enter through the main entrance of the hospital and ask for Urgent Care. A registered nurse will assess each patient and decide if Urgent Care or ER is the level of care needed.
Vaccination now can still provide protection for the remainder of the flu season, which can last as late as May. Flu Shots are still available at the Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care Public Health Office. Flu shots are recommended for all those who have not yet received the vaccine and will be effective throughout the rest of the flu season.
Flu shots are available with an appointment each Wednesday afternoon during the weekly immunization clinic in the Community and Home Care Department located on the upper level of Veterans Memorial Hospital, Waukon. Appointments can be made by calling them at 563-568-5660.
Memorials were received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Marian Smedsrud by Gladwin and Darlene Anderson, Kay Carter, Carl and Betty Christianson, Don and DiAnne Haler, JoAnn Peake, Danny and Sue Schlitter and Pat Pettingill; in memory of Donald McCormick by Mary Ann Hager, Ron and Nancy Adam, and Dan and Traci Byrnes; in memory of Betty Hahn by Dr. David and Suzanne Hahn; in memory of Helen Knuppe by Chuck and Lois Votsmier and Betty Troendle and in memory of Karen Bresnahan by Marilyn Anderson and Grau Funeral Home.
Five generations of the Lester and Betty Stahl family were present in Waukon during the weekend of Christmas 2022. These photos were taken during the family’s Christmas celebration that weekend. Pictured in the photo above, left to right - front row: father Cyrek Nelson holding daughter Rikka Nelson-Borseth, grandmother Lisa Nelson, all of Decorah. Back row: great-great-grandfather Lester Stahl and great-grandfather Randy Stahl, both of Lansing. Pictured in the photo below: great-great-grandmother Betty Stahl of Waukon holding Rikka Nelson-Borseth. Submitted photos.
