Community News

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Tuesday, January 2 due to the New Year's holiday falling on the council's usual meeting day of Monday. The meeting's full agenda of items including the appointment of City employees and Council Committees, a Water and Sewer Department vacancy and the WW Homestead Dairy forgivable loan.

Prior to Tuesday's meeting, newly-elected Waukon Mayor Pat Stone and Waukon City Council members Gayle Decker and Arvid Hatlan were all sworn in for their first terms in office after being elected in the November City Election. Councilman Ben Rausch was absent from the meeting.

Following the veto issued by newly-elected Waukon Mayor Pat Stone of an ordinance changing the meeting time of the Waukon City Council that was passed during the Tuesday, January 2 regular council session, research by Waukon City Clerk Allen Lyon reveals that a Waukon mayor has only used veto power on three other occasions throughout the recorded history of Waukon city government proceedings. According to Lyon's findings, those three instances involved the following:

November 21, 1927 - Mayor P.M. LeTourneau, MD vetoed a resolution repealing an ordinance prohibiting the Sunday showing of any theatrical shows and exhibitions, vaudeville shows and performances, and motion picture shows and exhibitions.

Hello, I hope everyone is enjoying the New Year. What a cold end to 2017 and start to 2018! But, hopefully by the time this article is printed, we enjoyed a warm Sunday and a warmer current week than the previous ones.

With my upcoming articles, I wanted to shift away from weather readiness and take some time to talk about emergency management itself and answer the question that I am often asked: what does Emergency Management do?

by Brianne Eilers

While the month of November was an active month at Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon, VMH Administrator Mike Myers said the hospital's financial staff was unable to get a financial report printed out in time for the Board of Trustees monthly meeting, due to training on the facility's new computer system.

Myers reported that November was not as busy as October, as far as patient volumes. "We still did a lot of surgeries and had a lot of outpatient volume," Myers noted.

The hospital continues to move forward with its conversion to the new Evident computer system. Myers noted that it was a "big push" in the beginning, but he feels the staff is settling in to the system and they are getting a lot of support from Evident advisors.

The hospital will be looking at options for its MRI services. The contract for that service will be expiring in a couple of years, but the hospital would like to upgrade the technology.

Identity theft is a significant problem and if it has not happened to an individual directly, then they likely know someone who has been victimized. While identity theft can happen to anyone, there are some things that can be done to reduce the risk. Proper disposal, at the right time, of documents and items that contain personal, confidential information is key to protection.

Waukon State Bank offers a free shredding service once a month to help community members safely dispose of their confidential information. Some of the following items that may contain personal information should be considered for shredding, once their recommended retention has passed, including bank statements, expired credit or debit cards, credit card offers, paycheck stubs, canceled checks from years past, medical or legal information, along with anything that contains financial information or personal identification, such as social security number or signature.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Wednesday, December 27 due to the Christmas holiday being observed both on the board's regular Monday meeting day and the following day, December 25 and 26. The board addressed a full agenda of items including the Fiscal-Year 2019 Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) funding request, the consideration of appointments to County Boards and Commissions and the approval of the Green Valley Bridge plans.

Chairperson Larry Schellhammer called the meeting to order with the current agenda and meeting minutes of December 18 being approved. During Public Comment, Jane Regan with Upper Iowa Insurance provided an overview of Allamakee County's Workers' Compensation insurance and discussed that a dividend check for $16,673.00 has been issued to the County.

Members of Cub Scout Pack 64 of Waukon collected toys at their December Pack meeting for donation to the Allamakee Giving Tree sponsored by the Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation (NEICAC) Allamakee County Family Service Office prior to the Christmas holiday. The donated toys pictured in photos at right were taken by the Cub Scouts to the NEICAC office in Waukon, where they were distributed to families in need for Christmas. Submitted photos.
 

Monday, December 18, the Waukon Police Department received a report of checks returned to local businesses in Waukon from their financial institution because they were reported as forged. After completing an investigation, 40-year-old Jill Marie Schroeder of Prairie Du Chien, WI was charged with five counts of forgery, each being a class D felony, and five counts of theft. An arrest warrant was issued for Schroeder on these charges.

Saturday, December 23, the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office and the Lansing/ New Albin Police Department took Schroeder into custody in Lansing on the arrest warrant. A criminal charge is merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The top three winners of the viewer’s choice Gingerbread House Decorating Contest sponsored by the Robey Memorial Library Foundation were recently announced. A total of 17 displays were entered in the contest in early December and library patrons voted on their top choices over a several week period. The entries that received the top three vote totals are pictured above and at left in the surrounding photos with the individuals who created them, including Ashlee Thorstenson (top far left), Diana Torres (immediate left) and Natalie Byrnes (top right above). Each of the three top vote recipients received an Amazon Fire 7 tablet from the Robey Memorial Library Foundation. Submitted photos.
 

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, December 18 to address a full agenda of items including the City application for the Community Catalyst Grant, discussion of changing the Hotel/Motel disbursement percentages from 75% to 50% for Park Improvements and Police Department evidence storage. The Public Hearing on rezoning a parcel from “R-2” to “M-1” was opened and closed without any written or verbal comment.

During Public Comment, Coordinator Ardie Kuhse with Waukon Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) briefly mentioned WEDC’s proposal for commercial tax rebates. Under Departmental Reports, Park and Rec Wellness Director Jeremy Strub discussed that the Wellness Center traffic volume is picking up and that the winter youth programming is beginning.