News Center newsletter

Veterans Memorial Hospital will begin the next Prepared Childbirth Education classes (formerly called Lamaze) Monday, October 7, and will continue for two more consecutive Monday evenings beginning at 6 p.m. in the Large Conference Room.

The Prepared Childbirth Education classes at Veterans Memorial Hospital are offered in three sessions that allow the expectant parents to choose which topics they wish to learn more on. They may choose to attend one, two or all three sessions. Session 1 covers labor, delivery and the postpartum period following delivery; Session 2 includes relaxation, breathing and pain management; and Session 3 covers infant care. Tours of the OB Department are available with each session as well.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, September 19 at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held at Veterans Memorial Hospital in the Large Conference Room, located on the lower level of the hospital.

This diabetes class is open to everyone who has diabetes or a friend or loved one with diabetes. For more information on the Diabetes Support Group, call  Angie Mettille, RN at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

The local Grief Support Group will hold its monthly meeting at Veterans Memorial Hospital Tuesday, September 10 at 5 p.m. in the Education Conference Room. This informal meeting is open to anyone suffering from any type of loss, whether it be death, divorce, illness or some other grief.

Feel free to attend and bring a friend. This grief support meets the second Tuesday of each month at Veterans Memorial Hospital.

Brian and Lori Gardner of Lancaster, WI, parents of the bride-to-be, and Jeff and Sara Melcher of Waukon and Brian and Chris Koth of Elkport, parents of the groom-to-be, wish to announce the engagement and upcoming wedding of their children, Brianna Gardner and Jared Melcher, to take place September 14 at Vesperman Farms near Lancaster, WI with a reception to follow at the same location.

The bride-to-be is a 2013 graduate of Lancaster High School and a 2018 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education. She is employed as a second grade teacher at Fennimore Elementary School in Fennimore, WI.

The groom-to-be is a 2012 graduate of Waukon High School and a 2017 graduate of Iowa State University with a Bachelors Degree in Agricultural Engineering. He is employed as an automation engineer at Lancaster Machine and Tool in Lancaster, WI.
 

All branches and siblings of the Wilhelm/William Jarchow Sr. family are welcome to attend the 89th Annual Jarchow Family Reunion. The reunion will be held September 8 at the Methodist Church located one block north of the bank in Hawkeye. A potluck dinner is scheduled at noon with a meeting to follow with visiting and family stories.

Feel free to bring photos to share or to have identified. Bring written information about weddings, births and those who have passed away. Descendants are asked to share this announcement with their families.
 

To the Editor:

Inappropriate adult behaviors at high school athletic events across the country have reached epidemic proportion.

When more than 2,000 high school athletic directors were asked in a recent national survey what they like least about their job, 62.3 percent said it was, “dealing with aggressive parents and adult fans.”

And the men and women who referee or umpire those contests agree. In fact, almost 60% of new officials registered in Iowa in 2016-2017 did not return to officiate in 2017-2018, and unruly parents are often cited as a major reason why. As a result, there is a growing shortage of high school officials here in Iowa, and in baseball, football, track and field, and wrestling, the IHSAA is seeing record lows. No officials means no games.

If you are a parent attending a high school athletic event this fall, you can help by following these six guidelines:

To the Editor:

How about some good news? Here’s some! At our own local hospital, Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH), anyone can go to the Wellness Clinic, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., for very inexpensive and comprehensive lab tests. It took me 15 minutes last week for a complete package of lab tests. Call 563-568-3411 for more information.

What a great way to help support our small, hometown hospital, instead of “big box” clinics which charge over $1,000 for fewer tests! Of course, Medicare helps pay for us seniors, but isn’t this part of the reason we hear Medicare is having trouble?

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

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
September 20: Dairy Margin Coverage Program Sign-Up
December 6: Market Facilitation Program

Managed Haying Requests
For those who have stopped in to request managed haying on your CRP ground, make sure the bales are off as soon as possible to avoid killing of the seeding underneath, but no later than September 30. Any seeding destroyed due to the bales needs to be reseeded. 

Elections for the 2019 County Committee
The election of responsible agricultural producers to FSA county committees is important to ALL farmers and ranchers with large or small operations. It is crucial that every eligible producer take part in this election because county committees are a direct link between the farm community and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Three certifications were offered to Iowa manure applicators in 2019, in compliance with state law
 
Now in its 21st year, the Iowa manure applicator certification program continues to train and certify the state’s manure applicators on the best ways of handling, hauling and applying livestock manure.

Three programs were offered this year, in partnership with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Nearly 1,300 confinement site applicators attended the Confinement Site Manure Applicator Certification trainings, required for producers who have more than 500 animals in confinement. Currently, there are more than 1,960 certified confinement applicators in Iowa.

Some 2,218 commercial applicators attended the Commercial Manure Applicator Certification workshops. There are currently 605 certified commercial manure applicator businesses in Iowa, compared to 562 last year.

The Allamakee County Engineer’s Office has announced that a portion of County Road A16/Dorchester Drive, the paved roadway exiting Dorchester to the south and climbing the hill to the west, will be closing as of 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, September 4 for approximately two months in order to complete culvert repairs along the roadway. The closed road portion of A16/Dorchester Drive (highlighted in orange in the above map) is between Steinbach Road and Waterloo Creek Drive, with a detour (highlighted in red in the above map) being signed in those areas directing traffic to instead travel Highway 76 just to the east of Dorchester south to its intersection with the paved Bear Creek Drive, then head west to W60/Balsam Road, taking the graveled portion of that roadway north to reconnect with Dorchester Drive approximately four miles west of Dorchester. Image courtesy of Allamakee County Engineer’s Office.