Community News

by Brianne Eilers

The month of December ended with a loss of $61,307 for Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon, but year-to-date the hospital is showing a profit of $101,805, according to information shared at the hospital’s Board of Trustees meeting held January 22. VMH Administrator Mike Myers noted that one of the main reasons for the loss in December was the fact that acute patient days were down. “When acute days are down, we don’t usually have a very good month,” he noted.

Waukon Dental and Family Dentistry Associates of Monona are hosting their 29th Annual and Dental Associates of Prairie du Chien, P.C. is hosting its 25th Annual Have A Heart Day.

For close to 30 years, free dental care has been provided in the local area through this event. Have a Heart Day focuses on serving area youth, ages four to 18 who have not recently seen a dentist, to receive free dental work.

This year, Have A Heart Day will be held Saturday, February 9 from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. Through this annual event, many doctors and staff have felt impacted by the effect this day can have on a child’s health and on the community as a whole. While this event is during Valentine’s season, it also is celebrated during one of the most important dental months, National Children’s Dental Health Month.

The Waukon Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations from community residents for awards to be distributed at the Chamber's annual meeting scheduled for Friday, February 22. Those awards include Years of Service, Business of the Year and Person of the Year honors within the Waukon community. The Chamber will bestow those honors upon the best nominated candidate fitting the following award criteria:

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, January 21 to address a full agenda of items including budget review and department requests, discussion of the Urban Revitalization Program and tax abatement and a presentation from the Airport Commission.

Mayor Pat Stone called the meeting to order. There was no Public Comment and the City Council moved into Departmental Reports.

Street Superintendent Keith Burrett indicated that some minor equipment repairs have been made with preparations ongoing for expected weather conditions this week. Water and Sewer Superintendent Jim Cooper discussed the replacement of water tower lights and the potential purchase of a replacement camera system for viewing and determining whether sewer issues are homeowner or City responsibility.

The Waukon Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations from community residents for awards to be distributed at the Chamber's annual meeting scheduled for Friday, February 22. Those awards include Years of Service, Business of the Year and Person of the Year honors within the Waukon community. The Chamber will bestow those honors upon the best nominated candidate fitting the following award criteria:

Every year, World Read Aloud Day is a global celebration that calls attention to the importance of sharing stories by challenging participants to read aloud together to advocate for literacy as a human right.

Friday, February 1, Robey Memorial Library in Waukon will observe this special event by filling its open hours at the library with stories read aloud by community volunteers and library staff. Individuals, groups and classrooms from throughout the community are invited to participate by spending part of their day at Robey Memorial Library reading aloud or listening to a book being read aloud.

The top entries in the Gingerbread House Decorating Contest recently hosted by Robey Memorial Library in Waukon are pictured in the surrounding photos. The public was invited to pick up one of the decorating kits from Robey Memorial Library, decorate their creation and return it for judging by library patrons over a period of several weeks, with 724 total votes being cast in this year’s contest. The entries that received the most votes are picture above and include: First Place - Lawrence and Cassie Olson family, Second Place - Darcy Connelly family, Third Place (tie) - Jeffrey and Anna Wilkes family and Andrew and Hailey Miller family. Each of the top entries received an Amazon 7 Fire tablet from the Robey Memorial Library Foundation. Submitted photos.
 

First film scheduled for this Sunday

First Presbyterian Church of Waukon will be hosting a documentary film series to raise awareness and foster healthy conversation about several contemporary issues facing both the local community and this country. The film series will be held one Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. during each of the next three months, beginning this Sunday, January 20, and the public is invited and encouraged to attend.

Each of the films focuses on telling the stories of how various cultural and political challenges actually affect real people. The intent of the film series and community conversations is not to take sides on the issues or to promote one viewpoint over another. Rather, the intent is to use the power of storytelling to create understanding and empathy.

The Iowa Heart Foundation awarded Good Samaritan Society-Waukon an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) this year following a request made by the organization. With approximately 100 people always in the facility and the many visitors that come on a daily basis to Good Samaritan Society-Waukon, it was deemed important to have this life saving equipment. All staff will be trained on the AED, but with its ease of use anyone is able to use it. The AED is completely automated and will direct anyone using it through every step without the need to even push a button. The newly-donated AED is located just outside the main living room area of the Good Samaritan Society-Waukon facility and in the case of an emergency there will be signs throughout the facility directing individuals to the location so they can access the AED as quickly as possible.