Community News

A new round of workforce training agreements between businesses and Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) will help employers remain competitive and hire new skilled employees in the next year.

These agreements, as part of the 260E Iowa Industrial New Jobs Training program, will offset training costs for businesses seeking to upskill their workforce. Training can include hard skills such as welding, industrial maintenance, heavy equipment operation, workplace safety and computer skills, as well as human resources, management and leadership training.

The 260E program allows NICC and its business partners to enhance the region’s workforce through employee upskilling and education. Businesses also participate in the program to retain employee talent.

Robey Memorial Library’s “Reading Colors Your World” Summer Reading Program began Monday, July 5 and runs through Saturday, July 31. Activities include Reading Challenges with prizes for all ages, Kids and Teens Grab and Go Activity Bags, craft events and fine forgiveness.

Although rain was very much needed in the local area as drought conditions prevailed through most of the month of June, the early Saturday morning, June 27 storm that passed through the area brought too much of it at once for creek beds and many roadways to handle in southeast Allamakee County and the Yellow River State Forest specifically, as pictured above with rushing water crossing roadways and causing wash-outs in many locations. Amounts hovering on either side of the seven-inch mark have been reported for rainfall totals from the storm in the vicinity of Harpers Ferry and the State Forest area, with that storm dumping reports of as much as nine inches of rain just across the Mississippi River in Crawford County, WI, resulting in the National Weather Service issuing a Flash Flood Warning for southeast Allamakee County and in northeast Crawford County in Wisconsin from 6-9:30 a.m. that Saturday morning.

by Lissa Blake

The public is invited to stop in during Nightingale Drug’s grand opening Thursday, July 1 from 4-7 p.m. The newly opened pharmacy is located at 606 Rossville Road in Waukon.

Co-owners Linda, Eric and Sylwia Nightingale are eager to meet the community, where they recently opened their eighth small-town pharmacy.

Linda Nightingale is a graduate of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Iowa. In the late 1970s, she convinced her father, John Law, to remodel a building that would become her first pharmacy. Despite the odds, Linda was able to grow a successful practice and expand. She has always felt it was important to bring pharmacy services to small-town Iowa.

Robey Memorial Library in Waukon is connecting its community of readers together during the next Big Library Read, the world’s largest digital book club. From June 28-July 12, readers can solve a compelling mystery in S.F. Kosa’s debut thriller, “The Quiet Girl”, and ebook from their library. Robey Memorial Library card holders can borrow the ebook for free without waiting by visiting https://bridges.overdrive.com/ or downloading the Libby app.

Readers can then discuss online at https://biglibraryread.com/join-the-discussion/. Robey Memorial Library is also discussing “The Quiet Girl” in its Online Book Discussion group on Facebook. Access that book club information at https://www.waukon.lib.ia.us/services/programs/adult/book-clubs.

First Baptist Church of Waukon held its 2021 AWANA Grand Prix Car Race earlier this spring at the Church. Pastor Duane Smith gave the AWANA Challenge, and the evening was opened with the pledges to the American flag, the AWANA flag and the Bible. Grand Prix Chairman was Larry Gelo, and he also announced the race.

Jeff Goettel was the Starter Chairman and Chris Kerndt was the Chart Keeper. Judging the cars on Design were Pam Kerndt, Paul Promnitz and Kari Roney. Finish line monitors were Cole Kruse and Gabe Goettel, and weigh-in judges were Dale Roney and Craig Schrick. JoAnn Gelo was in charge of decorations, and refreshments were served by Brenda Schmidt and Jean Buntrock.

Beginning July 1, Robey Memorial Library in Waukon will return to its normal program and event calendar that has been interrupted for the past year-plus by the COVID-19 pandemic. This means the return of programs like Story Time, Tech Tutor and Chess Club. Those who have never been to a library program are especially invited to see what the library has to offer in the following returning programs:

Tech Tutor - Technology help session Thursdays from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Stop in for basic help with computers, gadgets and popular software programs like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and more.

Chess Club - Mondays from 3-6 p.m. through the month of November. Children eight and under must be accompanied by a responsible adult. All skill levels are welcome. Come to learn or just to play with a new opponent.

Providing a service unique to this area and being able to create her own schedule while doing what she loves are just some of the reasons Amber Murphy has opened WAX by Amber, a body waxing salon, at 102 West Main Street in Waukon. Murphy opened her new location in Waukon at the beginning of this year, creating the best possible scenarios for both herself and her clientele.

“I offer services that aren’t found in the area,” she explained. “I’m also very flexible with my hours and days I work. It’s amazing to make my own schedule to accommodate customers. I love what I do and wanted a space of my own to make people hairless. I love making people smile when they leave; when people leave happier than when they come in. I have always been a people-person, working on my service to the community.”

Nightingale Pharmacy, newly opened at 606 Rossville Road in Waukon as of May 14 of this year, recently received a First Dollar Visit from the Waukon Chamber of Commerce. Pictured above at that First Dollar presentation are, left to right, Certified Pharmacy Technician Cherrie Christopher, Pharmacist in Charge Matthew Maker, and Nightingale Pharmacy owners Linda Nightingale, and Sylwia and Eric Nightingale. Photo courtesy of the Waukon Chamber of Commerce.
 

Aerial treatment to control the invasive gypsy moth is scheduled for this Friday, June 25 in specific areas of Allamakee and Clayton Counties. Map images and more specific descriptions of the treatment areas can be found in the images accompanying this article.

Low-flying airplanes will be applying a mating disruption product called SPLAT GM-O. The product does not kill the moth but it disrupts the mating process by using a pheromone to inhibit male gypsy moths from finding female mates. SPLAT GM-O is an organic product and is not harmful to bees, birds, plants, pets or humans.

In Allamakee County, the treatment includes two rural areas around Black Hawk Point and Lansing Wildlife Management Areas totaling 5,018 acres. In Clayton County, the treatment will focus on a 590-acre site including Marquette and the surrounding rural area. Survey data has identified these three areas where gypsy moth populations are starting to grow.