Community News

by Bob Beach

The past three months for two-year-old Nalla Billmeyer of Clermont and her family have been a rollercoaster of emotions filled with scary, frustrating lows and victorious highs of all degrees. Just over a month after celebrating her second birthday, the daughter of Allan and Jessica Billmeyer of Clermont and granddaughter of Steve and Kelli McKee of Harpers Ferry was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Nalla has the distinction of being born December 12, 2012 (12/12/12) and the further distinction of having her name be the same as her father's, but in reverse. But those are just some of the things that have proven to set this two-year-old fighter apart from other children her age.

by Bob Beach

by Brianne Eilers

Jet's Meat Processing in Waukon brought home a total of six awards from the Cured Meat Competition held as part of the 79th Annual Convention of the Iowa Meat Processors Association (IMPA) held in Ames February 5-8. Glen Monroe and Andy Thesing (left to right) of Jet's Meat Processing display some of the plaques representing the awards, which included Grand Champion Cottage Bacon, Grand Champion Franks/Wieners (Coarse Ground), Grand Champion Flavored Snack Sticks, Reserve Grand Champion Bone-In Ham, Reserve Grand Champion Specialty Ham and Reserve Grand Champion Restructured Jerky.

by Bob Beach

McCormick Motorz, owned and operated by Trent and Jayne McCormick of Waukon, opened for business at 504 Rossville Road in Waukon in June of 2014. Trent, a lifetime resident of Waukon, is a 2002 graduate of Waukon High School. Since graduation, he made a hobby of buying and selling cars while working full time at area businesses such as Culligan and Debuhr and Casper Plumbing and Heating, before making selling cars his business beginning with a six-year term of employment at West Side Auto Sales in Waukon.
"Cars are my hobby. I wanted it to be my job," Trent said. "It's always nice to be your own boss and to treat people the way they should be treated."

by Brianne Eilers

by Bob Beach

The Waukon Area Fire Protection District was called out Sunday morning, February 22 shortly after 3 a.m. to a barn fire at Regancrest Farm located at 1095 State Highway 9 north of Waukon. The barn located just behind the house at that address was reported as being fully engulfed, but the actions of the local volunteer firefighters helped save adjacent buildings and equipment. In addition to the roaring blaze that consumed the building, firefighters also had to battle with sub-zero temperatures made worse by consistent winds, all of which resulted in some of the fire department pumper trucks freezing up on occasion. Firefighters were on scene for nearly five hours fighting the blaze. No injuries were reported, but several calves and other items significant to the dairy were reported as lost in the fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Waukon firefighters were assisted by fire crews from neighboring communities of Lansing, Waterville and New Albin.