News Center newsletter

by Kelli Boylen
Freelance writer

The menu varies not only from year to year, but from hour to hour. One will definitely find themselves choosing from venison, turkey and catfish, but there might also be squirrel, elk, buffalo, rabbit, alligator, duck and goose. There will be hundreds of items between the live and silent auction, and choice beverages will also be available.

It’s time for the annual Harpers Ferry Fire Department Wild Game Feed, and this year marks the 25th anniversary of the anticipated event.

According to Harpers Ferry Fire Chief Dave Cota, the Wild Game Feed started in 1994 when Robert Vavra brought up the idea of a game feed which had been held as a successful fundraiser in Swisher, where he was from. The fire department decided to give it a try and held the event at the local bar which Vavra owned.

As part of the preparation for the All-County Rural School Reunion being planned for Sunday, April 28, the Allamakee County Historical Society has been submitting photos to The Standard in an effort to gather information for a variety of rural schools in Allamakee County, such as the photo above of the Union Prairie School No. 2 taken in the 1960s. According to information provided by the Allamakee County Historical Society, Union Prairie School No. 2 was originally built in 1862 - the same year as St. John the Baptist Catholic Church at West Ridge - and was in operation for 105 years until it closed in 1967 and the Allamakee Community School District Board of Directors sold the building to Robert Rea. It was then sold to James Snitker in 1973 before it was destroyed by fire in April 1976.

State Representative Bruce Bearinger of Oelwein was the guest speaker at the Allamakee Democrats’ Off-Year Caucus held March 30 at Robey Memorial Library in Waukon. “Jobs - Healthcare - Education continue to be  the priorities of the Democratic Party,” said Bearinger. He also explained that Democratic legislators continue to try to get their voices heard about the need for job training and better paying jobs, making healthcare affordable and accessible for everyone, fixing the Medicaid privatization situation, and investing in public schools and state universities. He also advised that efforts to address these “bread and butter” issues are thwarted since Republicans control the State Senate, State House and governorship. Submitted photo.
 

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, April 8 to address a full agenda of items including a survey for the Upper Iowa Watershed Management Authority, consideration of bids for road rock resurfacing and the IDOT Five-Year Secondary Road Construction Program and Fiscal-Year 2020 Budget.

During Public Comment, Executive Director Val Reinke with Allamakee County Economic Development (ACED) discussed the organization’s efforts in collecting information, receiving submissions and promoting events within the county utilizing the ACED website and calendar of events. Reinke presented a handout listing events taking place in April, providing an overview of several recent and upcoming events.

Waukon High School Prom 2019 is scheduled for Saturday, April 27. Parents of high school students are again hosting the annual substance-free Post Prom event at the Waukon High School gym immediately following Prom, from 11 p.m. until 3:30 a.m. the next morning.

Very strong past support from parents of Waukon High School students, as well as from local businesses and civic organizations, has resulted in the continued success of providing Prom-goers a safe alternative for celebrating the annual event. That support has provided these young adults with games, food, entertainment and prizes at the Post Prom event each year.

Assistance is needed for the event in two main areas:

The annual P.E.O. reception for girls from the graduating class at Waukon High School was held Monday, April 1 at Zion United Church of Christ in Waukon, marking the 56th anniversary of the event. Guest speaker Parker Hesse, a 2014 graduate of Waukon High School, presented the program on “Lifelong Learning.” Refreshments were served, Chapter President Sue Torkelson welcomed the group and introductions by members and guests were made. The graduating young ladies from Waukon High School’s Class of 2019 (most of whom are pictured above) then shared memories from their high school years. Submitted photo.
 

by Brianne Eilers

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met a week early for its regular April monthly meeting in order to address budget items that needed to be approved prior to April 15. Two public hearings were held at the opening of the meeting, one regarding the proposed budget for the 2019-2020 school year and the other regarding amending the 2018-2019 budget. There were no written or verbal comments on either item and the public hearings were closed.

Under personnel matters, the board approved staff for after school programming. Ciara Snitker was approved as TLC Instructional Coach/Technology Integrationist. A teaching contract was approved for DJ Scholtes and a Title I/Special Education Teaching Contract was approved for Kendra Vix. Food Service Director Stipends for the 2019-2020 Summer Feeding and Wellness/Food & Fitness Initiative were approved with a 2.95% increase for the 2019-2020 school year.

Owen Schobert, an eighth grader at Lansing Middle School in Lansing, has won the 13th annual statewide financial literacy essay contest for Money Smart Week Iowa and has been named Iowa’s 2019 Money Smart Kid. Schobert also received $1,000 from the Iowa Bankers Association to put toward his college education.

An assembly has been scheduled for April 18 at Lansing Middle School to recognize Schobert’s honoring. His winning essay accompanies this article in the shaded box below.

Forty-one students from across the state participated in the 2019 Money Smart Week Essay Contest. Any Iowa student in grades seven through 11 was eligible to submit a 400-word essay. This year’s prompt asked students to explain what income volatility is and who is prone to experience it. Students were also asked to include tips and resources on how to prepare for sudden fluctuation in income.

Falls from windows are a very real hazard facing children in every city in the United States. During National Window Safety Week, the National Association for Child Window Safety (NACWS) recognized Lendlease Communities, at their New York headquarters, for their pro-active efforts to prevent child window falls. Lendlease, with over 40,000 military family residential units, has begun installing child safety screens that are manufactured by Lansing Housing Products in Lansing. Pictured above at the award presentation are, left to right, Lansing Housing Products President Brian Houlihan, NACWS Executive Director Jim Graham, Lendlease Communities Managing Director Claire Johnston and Lendlease Communities National Director of Environmental Health and Safety Dale Moore, who stated they will be installing the new screens across their entire communities’ portfolio.

The Allamakee County Conservation Board (ACCB) will be partnering with Gundersen Health System to present the Outdoor Health and Safety Day at the Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center in Lansing Saturday, April 27. For those who have ever wondered how to identify and treat poison ivy, what to do about a tick bite, how to stay safe outdoors in a thunderstorm, or who have had any other questions about how to be safe and have fun in the summertime, this program is ideal. ACCB staff and medical professionals from Gundersen will present and take questions on a variety of topics designed to ensure that those attending and their families can get the most out of the outdoors this summer with minimal trips to the emergency room.

The program will start at 10 a.m. at the Driftless Center and conclude at 12:30 p.m. with a live snake demonstration. Attendees can come and go as they please. All ages are welcome.