Community News

Despite winter weather making an early spring appearance just a couple days earlier, a lively collection of more than 250 area boys and girls took part in the Easter Egg Hunt held at the Waukon City Park Saturday morning, March 26, collecting their share of the 9,000 eggs that had been scattered for the event. The hunt was coordinated for the second consecutive year by Mandy and Tyler Halverson of Epic Wear in Waukon, with help from a variety of volunteers both prior to and during the event, as well as sponsorships received from local businesses and organizations.

The Waukon City Council met in a special session Monday, March 28 with just three business items on the meeting agenda. That brief agenda, however, took just over an hour and a half to wade through, with an hour of that timeframe centering around discussion about the street situation within the community and the need for a plan.

Brittany Coleman, Registered/Certified Dental Assistant at Waukon Dental for the past four years, will be taking the dental skills she has been performing on local patients to a more global level for a week this next month. Coleman will be joining several other dental and surgical professionals on a mission trip to Honduras through the Sharing Resources Worldwide (SRW) organization.
"I’ve always wanted to go on a mission trip and help provide for others," Coleman said of the opportunity. "I love to travel, and what a perfect opportunity to use my skills and training as a Registered and Certified Dental Assistant and go on a mission trip."
Coleman learned of the mission trip through the CEREC (One Appointment Crown) Study Club she is part of out of La Crosse, WI. She will be one of three registered dental assistants making the trip along with one dentist, three registered dental hygienists and a pediatric ocular plastic surgery team.

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday evening, March 21 to address a number of agenda items. Councilman Ben Rausch was not in attendance at the meeting.
During the Public Comment session that typically opens such meetings, resident Wayne Martin asked for the Council's assistance in determining how to handle a property access issue with his new neighbors for his seemingly landlocked property once accessed via the dead end portion of Eighth Street NW. Having had no such issues with previous neighbors in his 50 years of residing in that same location, the Martins are now met with No Trespassing signs on access property that, in essence, belongs to the new neighbors.

It was reported in the March 9 edition of The Standard that the Waukon City Council approved May 6 as this year's spring clean-up day. That May 6 date was, indeed, approved, but the actual pick-up day for those spring clean-up items will be Saturday, May 7, beginning early in the morning.
Waukon City Clerk Al Lyon explained that the May 6 date was approved by the Council because it is advised that those spring clean-up items be placed at the curb by that Friday evening, May 6 in order to be in place for the early morning pick-up Saturday, May 7. Additional details for this year's spring clean-up day will be advertised in a future edition of The Standard as the event becomes closer.
 

The Anne Lauerman Story Corner was the location for an excited crowd of 50-plus individuals for the Iowa Public Television (IPTV) Story Time held Saturday, March 12 at Robey Memorial Library in Waukon (top picture). Shane Straka, IPTV Educational Specialist, read "The Chicken Problem" by Jennifer Oxley, a Peg + Cat series book which is a humorous story of chickens running-a-muck on the farm and how it’s up to Peg + Cat to use their math skills to help solve the problem. Then the youth participants searched the library for lost chickens (cotton balls) scattered throughout the main floor library and returned them back to the chicken coop in the children’s area. Meeting Peg + Cat was the highlight for all young attendees, each of them receiving a photo opportunity with the popular characters.

Despite an overcast day mixed with an occasional sprinkle of rain, Irish pride was still shining brightly during the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade held Sunday, March 13 in Waukon. As evident in the photo, the looming weather conditions didn’t keep parade-goers from lining the streets of downtown Waukon to view well over 100 entries that took part in this year’s parade. Additional photos from this year's event can be found on Page 12A of this week's print edition of The Standard. All of the parade photos found in this issue, along with many more from Sunday's St. Patrick’s Day Parade, are available for viewing/purchase by clicking on the Photo Gallery link on The Standard’s website at www.waukonstandard.com.
 

Tyler O’Neill, a Life Scout with Boy Scout Troop 64 in Waukon, recently completed his Eagle Scout project, which benefits community members. O’Neill led the design, production and implementation of two collection boxes for the public to deposit worn and tattered American flags.
One collection box is constructed of metal and is located just inside the entrance of the Waukon City Park. The other box, made of wood, is available inside the Allamakee County Courthouse on Allamakee Street in Waukon, near the Auditor’s office.

The Waukon City Council met in a special session Monday, March 14 with just two items listed on the meeting agenda. The first of those was a public hearing for the Fiscal Year 2017 City Budget, with no comments being heard or read from the general public before the hearing was closed and the Council approved the budget for submission to the State of Iowa.