Viewpoints

by Rev. Lynn Groe

Lighten Up Already!

Matthew 11:28  - Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest..

These days, it seems that all of us are much too serious! People are frustrated and uptight about virtually everything – from being five minutes late, to having someone else show up five minutes late. From being stuck in traffic to seeing someone look at us wrong or say the wrong thing; from paying bills, waiting in line, overcooking a meal, or even making an honest mistake – you name it, we all lose perspective over the simplest and silliest of things in our life. Did you ever stop to think that a hundred years from now, even one year from now, perhaps even next week – no one will even care! 

To the Editor:

How desperate can Waukon be for entertainment and pleasure when it must reenact the worst carnage of war ever fought in North America - the Civil War? The Civil War accounted for at least 529,332 military deaths plus thousands of civilians. Don’t you know war is hell on earth!

War is not pretty ladies dressed in fancy costumes and soldiers clad in clean, pressed uniforms. War is mutilated bodies of young men, husbands and fathers, injured or dying in a muddy field of battle while weeping widows, mothers, fathers and children struggle to understand.

Why don’t you show the realities of war? It is not entertainment and games. War is not the answer and never will be.

Respectfully submitted,

Peter W. Bieber
Waukon
 

To the Editor:

A “shout out” to the Mental Health Awareness Team (MHAT) of North Fayette Valley High School. It would be impossible to calculate the amount of time and emotion that the team of young adults put into its efforts providing support for mental health concerns while struggling through adolescence and going to school.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Those of us involved in mental health awareness efforts, and/or who have lived experiences of mental health issues, wore the color green for the MHAT North Fayette Valley school assembly Friday, May 6.

The moving presentation involved speakers, members of the community and students stepping forward to present on the reality of their experiences. On behalf of North Fayette Valley’s MHA Team, senior Krista Moellers also presented the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Northeast Iowa with a generous donation they raised through events the team sponsored throughout the school year.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that my paternal grandmother, whose parents emigrated from middle Europe, knew the weather folk wisdom of that area. They were not “blessed” with today’s modern forecasting system.

She always cited the effect of the weather just before the ides of May, the 12th, 13th and 14th, as predicting how the summer’s weather would be. They were called the “ice days” because they could be rather cold days. They were the predictors for June, July and August, respectively.

If that holds true this year, we are not in for a warm summer season. All three were less than ideal spring days. In fact, that Sunday morning, there was widespread frost. I didn’t think much about it. The flowers seemed to have survived. But Monday morning when I went to cut the sparse asparagus my patch is producing, I found several spears which were soft and wilting, apparently affected by that frost.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... about a couple of “natural” things I recently observed.

Those who have had occasion to travel Waukon’s 11th Ave. S.W., south of the park, the past several months have observed the effort to dredge silt and deepen the pond;

One day during the first full week of May as I was heading west from the highway along the quarry, I noticed a pair of geese and at least four very young goslings on the shoulder on the quarry side of the road; I could only assume this is the same pair that has raised families there for the past several years, since geese mate for life and live long lives. But the difference this year, is there was no pond! I know water is necessary for the eventual training in safety measures and flight, but can the little ones get along without the pond? I did notice a few days later that the pond was being filled again, so maybe a crisis was averted.

To the Editor:

One of the most serious threats to our youth may be lurking right in your medicine cabinet. The nonmedical use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs is becoming more of a serious health problem in the United States and in northeast Iowa. The Iowa Governor’s Office states that almost one in four (24%) of Iowa middle school and high school students do not know that using prescription drugs, not prescribed to them, puts them at harm. Every single day in the United States, 2,500 youth ages 12-17 abuse a pain reliever for the first time, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

CAUCUS vs. PRIMARY

by Denise Beyer, County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections

What is the purpose of the caucus?
The caucus is held in every state as an opportunity for each state to give their “vote” for who the Republican and Democratic parties should nominate as their candidate for President. The office of President/Vice President is not on the Primary ballot because that nomination is determined at the conventions of the Republican and Democrat parties.

What is a Primary election?
A primary election is held to nominate candidates for public offices for the Republican and Democrat parties, such as U.S. Senator or Representative, State Senator or Representative, and County offices. The Primary is unique because no one is actually elected, just nominated for the General election. The candidate(s) with the most votes at the Primary are put on the General election ballot.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that yesterday (as I write this) was May Day. The name comes from the 1917 Russian revolution by workers against an oppressive government. And as has become the usual thing, there were “worker” riots in many nations, including the United States, again this year.

That bothers me, because the current presidential election seems based on a conflict between the “haves” and the “have nots.” I fear that if the “have nots” are successful, the same fate could await that movement as happened in Russia, because by November of that year, the Communist party was able to stage a coup and take over the government, and that has lasted to this day.

So, when I think of May Day, I really think more of “mayday,” which is roughly the translation into English of the French term m’aider, which means “help me!” It’s what naval aviators are taught to broadcast in the event of a dire in-flight emergency.

To the Editor:

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors is considering a proposed ordinance to increase public roadway access to all-terrain vehicle (ATV) traffic and recreational use. As an emergency medicine physician and an ATV injury prevention researcher, I cannot stress enough how dangerous this decision would be. Although only a small percentage of ATV riding presently occurs on the road, over 60% of all ATV-related deaths have resulted from roadway riding.

Some argue that the ATV riders will be safe as long as they stick to lower-traffic roads, but this is incorrect: Two-thirds of ATV deaths and an even greater percent of roadway injuries do not involve another vehicle. In addition, 49% of Iowa ATV roadway deaths have occurred on unpaved roads.

by Hugh E. Conway

Children in Wexford
Cemetery - Part V

From 1880 to 1900, at least 27 children were buried at Wexford. During the next 20 years, there were at least 42 young lives lost and buried at Wexford. The majority of child births were at home but often a doctor would be called.

Doctors were now available to assist at the home but the main means of transportation was by horse and buggy. Many rural residences did not have telephone service and a person was sent to find and fetch the doctor. Distance and time were factors working against sick children and for problematic home childbirths.

Additional listings for young deaths in the Wexford Cemetery include: