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Pictured are West Elementary students (left to right) Tyler O’Neill, Taylor Hardy, Madison Snitker, Peyton Hesse, and Marshall Lyons are ready for Spell-a-Thon. East and West Elementary Schools are conducting a Spell-a-Thon for grades K-6 in an effort to raise money for the schools and for the Tsunami relief effort in Southeast Asia. Money pledged to the Spell-a-Thon will be used to buy many needed items for classrooms. Each grade will receive an equal share of the proceeds.

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, March 21. A public hearing concerning the proposal to enter into a maximum $1.5 million loan agreement to fund the Gundersen Clinic project was first on the agenda. There were no public comments concerning the proposal. The loan amount will be split equally between Waukon State Bank and Farmers and Merchants Savings Bank. Gundersen’s lease payment will fund the debt service.

DEPARTMENTAL

During its Monday, March 21 monthly meeting, the Allamakee Community School District Board of Education looked at the proposed budget levies for 2005-2006.

Allamakee Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) will be hosting a Methamphetamine Support Group Tuesday, March 29 at 7 p.m. in the Large Conference Room at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Family members and others directly impacted by meth use are invited to attend the meeting.

The Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division and the National Weather Service have designated March 28 - April 1 as Severe Weather Awareness Week. During that week a voluntary statewide tornado drill is planned for Wednesday, March 30. The exercise will consist of a tornado watch being issued around 10:20 a.m., followed by a warning, and a

notification of the end of the drill at around 10:30 a.m. If severe weather threatens Wednesday the test will be delayed until Thursday.

All Iowa District Court offices will be closed this coming Friday, March 25 as part of measures taken after the Iowa Supreme Court approved a $5 million budget reduction in July of last year.

Clerk of courts, juvenile court services, and court administration offices will be closed and no regularly-scheduled hearings will be held. The offices will resume business Monday, March 28.

Allamakee Historical Society to hold March 31 meeting
The Allamakee Historical Society will open its 2005 season with a meeting Thursday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. at Robey Memorial Library in Waukon. Rev Lonning is hostess for the evening and all interested parties are encouraged to attend.
Chad Burroughs of New Albin will present the program on the Oneota Culture and show artifacts from the Upper Iowa Valley near New Albin.

By all accounts, Christa Hammel made the jump from high school to college basketball very easily. The Waukon native had a record-setting year during her freshman season at Upper Iowa University.

Hammel, a 2004 graduate of Waukon Senior High and daughter of David and Karla Hammel, helped the Peacocks finish 8-19 during their first NCAA Division II season.

Tami Magner (Fr.) helped Luther ‘s softball squad sweep Augsburg March 11 in a doubleheader. In the opener, Magner blasted a double in her only at-bat, smacking an RBI before scoring herself in the 12-1 win. In the night cap, she was 1-for-3 with a single and a run in the 15-0 victory.

The Waukon girls track and field squad will build around a strong nucleus of letterwinners during the 2005 season. Overall, numbers are low with only 34 athletes out for the spring season.

“This is probably one of the smallest squads we’ve had in the last couple years,” said Waukon head coach Don Steffens. “We still have 34 kids, but we’d been running in the 50s in the last few years.”