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Don and Julie Ash of Waukon are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Lindsey, to Mitchell Nims of Ames. They plan to exchange vows this June in Decorah.

The bride-elect is a graduate of Postville High School and is currently studying Fashion Design at Iowa State University.

The groom-elect is the son of Robert and Luann Nims of Clermont. He is a graduate of Valley High School and Upper Iowa University. He is currently employed at Cornerstone Church of Ames and at Nevada High School.

Jamie Means and Scott Bodley of Hawkeye are happy to announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. They plan to exchange vows February 14 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Fayette. A reception will be held following the ceremony at the church.

The bride-elect is the daughter of Mary Weatherly of Palo and Jerry Means of Mapleton. The groom-elect is the son of Allen and Susan Bodley of Hawkeye.

Melissa Ehrhardt of Monona and Randy Wedo of Castalia are happy to announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. They plan to exchange vows February 7 at Zion United Church of Christ in Waukon. A reception will be held following the ceremony at the Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon.

The bride-elect is the daughter of Mark and Sandra Ehrhardt of Monona. She is a 2005 graduate of Waukon Senior High School and is currently employed in office administration at Innovative Ag Services in Monona.

Thursday, January 22, Veterans Memorial Hospital staff held a welcome luncheon for Jenny Stegen, Physician Assistant (left), and Becky Gesing, Nurse Practitioner (right). Both Stegen and Gesing recently joined the Gundersen Lutheran Waukon Medical Clinic staff and will be providing care to the patients they admit to Veterans Memorial Hospital. They will also be sharing the emergency room call time with the providers in both the Gundersen Lutheran Waukon Clinic, the Franciscan Skemp Waukon Clinic and the Postville Medical Clinic.

January 25-31 is National Nurse Anesthetists Week. Pictured at right are the two anesthetists at Veterans Memorial Hospital. The top picture is Rich Keppler, CRNA and the bottom picture is William "Skip" Loebig, CRNA. These two share the responsibilities of administering anesthesia at the hospital for all surgical cases and any emergency cases needing anesthesia. Whenever anesthesia is delivered by a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, the patient is in the care of a health care professional who is committed to watching them from the time they go to sleep until the time they wake up.

The next Blood Center of Iowa blood drive will be held Thursday, February 5, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus building in Waukon.

Blood drives are held the first Thursday of every month in Waukon to allow more donors to give. The Blood Center of Iowa supplies Veterans Memorial Hospital with its blood and blood products. Here are some interesting blood facts from the Blood Center of Iowa:

• Every three seconds someone needs blood.

• Blood makes up about eight percent of a person's body weight.

by Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN, American Institute for Cancer Research

Better food choices could do a lot to decrease our incidence of obesity, heart disease, cancer and other health problems. But thanks to oversized portions and a "clean your plate" mentality, many of us also simply eat too much. Fear of going hungry keeps many from starting (or sticking to) the traditionally restrictive diets that typify many Americans' weight loss efforts. Fortunately, research suggests there is another way.

To the Editor:

This is our final acknowledgement to the community from the Allamakee Community Schools Alumni Foundation. We want to express our appreciation to everyone who helped us reach the goal we set in 2002 to raise $35,000 to replace the Waukon High School roof.

Your donations in response to our fund appeal, letters to high school alumni, plus the checks received from Quillin's Share Program have made it possible.

To the Editor:

We, as members of the First Presbyterian Church in Waukon, want to take this opportunity to thank Pastor Larry Olson for his 23 years of dedication to this church. He has adhered to the Bible, teaching us all God's message of hope and love through His son, Jesus Christ.

Not only has he been a teacher, but a friend and advisor, and a true example of what a Christian is. He has also been there for his community.

We will miss him and his wonderful wife, Claudia, their daughter, Hannah, who is a walking miracle of God, and their son, Andrew.

... that one of the ways I judge a writer is by his or her ability to talk to me about things that mean something to me. Which may explain why I have never cared for science fiction, for example.

Anyway, while I was recently feeling sorry for myself because it seemed I had to remove snow every other day, and at the same time came down with a cold and cough, I picked from a shelf a book of verse by Ogden Nash. It is one of four small volumes of his works that I bought many years ago. This one is "I'm a Stranger Here Myself."