News Center newsletter

The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital will be holding its monthly Euchre Marathon for all individuals of the community interested Thursday, August 15. Men and women are welcome to attend, even if they are not an Auxiliary member. The Euchre marathons are held the third Thursday of each month at the Senior Citizens Room at the Waukon Wellness Center.

The Auxiliary’s Euchre Marathons begin at 11:30 a.m. with dinner, if chosen.  Call Northland Agency on Aging at 877-838-8077 if choosing to eat dinner.  Card playing will follow at 12:30 p.m. until approximately 2:30 p.m. Anyone wishing to stay and play cards following the Senior Citizens meal is more than welcome to do so. All proceeds go towards the Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital. Prizes will be awarded.

Anyone interested in attending but preferring to play Bridge is also welcome to join in. It is asked that they come with their own table of four players, however.

The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, August 15 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.

For more information on the Diabetes Support Group, call Angie Mettille, RN, at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.
 

The next Caregiver Support Group meeting will be held Monday, August 19 at 1:30 p.m. in the Meditation Room in the front entrance of Veterans Memorial Hospital.  When a person is diagnosed with a chronic illness, a lot of focus and attention is put on how to keep that person as independent and as healthy as possible. When a person loses some of their abilities to care for themselves the burden of care is often assumed by the spouse, a child (or children), or sometimes friends and neighbors. While everyone who becomes a caregiver handles the added responsibility with different skill sets, attitudes and understanding levels, there is no question that there is a very real strain associated with care giving.

Recent studies have estimated that the stress caused just by becoming the caregiver of an adult with a chronic illness or disability will take seven years off of a person’s life. With more and more Iowans aging, this is a real concern in the local community.

In late July, Dr. Michael Luick-Thrams gave a presentation at St. Patrick Church in Waukon.  He covered two themes:  anti-German hysteria during World War I, and Ku Klux Klan activities in Northeast Iowa during the 1920’s. Dr. Luick-Thrams had given other presentations in our community over the summer, including a Memorial Day presentation on POWs from the Midwest in German POW camps during WWII, as well as their German counterparts held at camps near Clarinda and Algona, Iowa. Dr. Luick-Thrams gave example after example of how easy it is to pick a race, an ethnic group, or religious group and use them as scapegoats for what ever we think is wrong with our society. The presentation reminded me of when I was in high school, we told “Polack” jokes. While the dominant group can say this is all “in good fun”, the wounds delivered by our comments and actions can last a long time.

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

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
August 23: CRP Continuous Signup 52 
September 20: Dairy Margin Coverage Program Sign-Up
December 6: Market Facilitation Program

New Farmers.gov Feature Helps Producers Find Farm Loans to Fit Their Operation
A new online tool can help farmers and ranchers find information on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) farm loans that may best fit their operations. USDA has launched the new Farm Loan Discovery Tool as the newest feature on farmers.gov, the Department’s self-service website for farmers.

Submitted by Sara Berges, Allamakee SWCD

If you are thinking of making any changes to your farm lease, the September 1 deadline to give notice of termination is quickly approaching.  If you do not give notice by September 1, your lease will auto-renew under the same terms and conditions as the original lease.  This applies to both written and oral leases and one-year and multi-year leases. Either the tenant or landlord can terminate a lease. Just because you terminate a lease does not necessarily mean that the landlord wants to get a new tenant. This may mean that they want to discuss the terms of the lease, including rent, and make adjustments.   

Topics will include crop price risk and cash flow, weed science research and insect resistance

The fall field day at Iowa State University’s Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm will be held August 28, from 1-4:20 p.m.

The program will begin in the Borlaug Learning Center, with a talk by Steve Johnson, farm management specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, about crop price risk and cash flow management.

Prashant Jha, weed specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach, will discuss weed science research, followed by an on-farm wagon tour featuring Antonio Mallarino, professor and extension specialist in agronomy at Iowa State, and Erin Hodgson, associate professor and extension specialist in entomology at Iowa State.

by David M. Johnson

When individuals are attending school in their early youth, they generally do not give much thought, much attention, to what lays ahead after their education is completed. Many may take it for granted that things will fall into place and they will land that “dream” job or became a member of that occupation that the older generation of their family was involved in.

Today, there is more of an emphasis and concentration on early development, as early as grade school and progressing into middle school and then high school. Many students do not just choose classes to “get by” but classes and subjects that prepare them for their employment later in life.

Faith Palmer (right in photo at right), 17-year-old daughter of John and Meghan Palmer of Waukon, was crowned the Alternate Iowa Dairy Princess during an evening ceremony at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines Tuesday, August 7. Palmer represented Allamakee County and will be a senior at Waukon High School this fall.

Julie Hammerand (left in photo at right), an 18-year-old from Sherrill, was crowned the 66th Iowa Dairy Princess. Hammerand is the daughter of Jerry and Lois Hammerand, and she will spend the year serving as a goodwill ambassador for Iowa’s dairy farmers. Throughout their year-long reign, Hammerand and Palmer will make public appearances to connect with consumers and help them understand the dedication of dairy farm families to their cows, their land and the milk they produce. Hammerand represented Dubuque County and will be a student at the University of Northern Iowa this fall, where she is will major in Art Education.

The Heffern Memorial Award was established by the Heffern family in memory of Bernie Heffern, who passed away in 2008. Bernie was very passionate about all areas of 4-H and its importance in the lives of youth and their families. She and her husband, Bob, were inducted into the Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame in 2007 for their lifelong dedication to 4-H. Each year during fair week, the Allamakee County Fair Board observes families and selects a family who emulates the Heffern family attitude of helping others, working well with each other, and going above and beyond for the fair.

The Hefferns hope that creating this award and honoring a family each year will help to develop the kind of passion and dedication Bob and Bernie showed for the 4-H program. They also hope that it will instill the kind of family involvement that was important to Bernie.