Education

Allamakee County will offer the Ornamental and Turfgrass Applicators Continuing Instruction Course (CIC) for commercial pesticide applicators Wednesday, November 9. The program can be seen at locations across Iowa through the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) team.

The local attendance site is Allamakee County Extension, located at 218 Seventh Avenue SE, Suite #102 in Waukon. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and the course runs from 9-11:30 a.m. The registration fee increases after November 2. To register or to obtain additional information about the CIC, contact the ISU Extension and Outreach office in Allamakee County by phoning 563-568-6345.

Courtney Wikan (pictured at far right in above photo), daughter of Ed and Lou Ann Wikan of Waukon and a 2013 graduate of Waukon High School, was named to the Wartburg College Homecoming Court for the annual celebration observed at Wartburg College in Waverly October 10-16 this year. Wikan is a senior biology major. Members of the court were selected by the junior and senior classes, with all student body members voting on King and Queen, who were Alex Gheysens, a communication arts major from Antwerp, Belgium, and Taylor Smola, a neuroscience major from Stevens Point, WI. Pictured above, left to right, are 2016 Wartburg College Homecoming Court members Tyler Metcalf, Calyn Thompson, Alex Gheysens, Sophia Corpstein, Tyler Vogel, Taylor Smola, Clay Waterbury, Molly Zmudka, Patrick Rooney, Courtney Wikan. Submitted photo.
 

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) was held at Kee High School in Lansing Monday, October 17. The Board approved two requests for overnight trips for student organizations.

Ray Rankin, FFA Advisor, and three FFA students presented information regarding the 2016 National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, IN taking place October 18-22. The Spanish Club  will also be traveling to Guatemala for an 11-day trip in the summer of 2017.

The Board also approved the auditing contract with Kay Chapman, CPA PC for fiscal years 2016, 2017 and 2018 for $6,800, $6,900 and $7,000, respectively. The Board received and filed the October 1, 2016 Certified Enrollment, which noted that enrollment district-wide decreased by 2.6 students.

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) is holding an open house on Wednesday, November 2, for its renovated Agricultural Technology Building at the Calmar campus. Community members, agriculture and business leaders may tour the renovated facility from 3 - 7 p.m. and attend a ribbon cutting ceremony at 3:30 p.m.

The Allamakee County Historical Society has invited third grade classrooms from throughout Allamakee County to visit the Allamakee County Courthouse Museum and the adjacent Gjefle cabin in Waukon. Third grade classes from St. Patrick School in Waukon (pictured above) and New Albin Elementary School (pictured below) completed their tours Wednesday, October 5, with the guidance of Judge John Bauercamper, Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick and Deputy Tim Smedsrud, and Allamakee County Historical Society members Carolyn Clark, Marcia Rush and Christine Klingeman. Additional visits from third grade classrooms are anticipated in the spring. Anyone wishing to tour the museum or cabin is asked to call 563-568-2954 or Marcia Rush at 563-880-3014. Submitted photos.
 

by Brianne Eilers

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met for its regular monthly board meeting Monday night, October 17. During the reports portion of the meeting, ACSD Superintendent Dave Herold noted that the wrestling room project has been completed.

Herold also spoke briefly about concerns with the upcoming election season. He said that his biggest concern is education funding (allowable growth). Herold said that which ever candidates get elected, they take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Iowa. Iowa Code states that allowable growth should be set within 30 days of the Governor submitting the draft budget to the legislature. Herold noted that for the past few years, legislators have ignored this rule.

The Waukon High School music department has selected "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" as this year's musical production. Three performances are being planned for Thursday through Saturday, November 3-5 at the Waukon High School auditorium.  Curtain time for all performances is at 7 p.m.

Bursting with the rambunctious energy of the original Academy Award winning 1954 MGM film, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" is all boisterous fun and romance, a truly rollicking adventure, which teaches that it takes a bride to turn seven unshaven, unkempt brothers into manly gentlemen and to turn desire into romance. Set in Oregon in 1850, Seven "Brides for Seven Brothers" tells the story of a backwoodsman named Adam Pontipee (played by Adam Gruman), who comes into town to search for a bride.

Ever year the sixth grade class at St. Patrick School in Waukon (pictured above) has the opportunity to participate in an overnight retreat at Village Creek Bible Camp, rural Lansing. The students take part in many team-building activities, along with different challenge courses. Some of the activities at this year's retreat included tree climbing, zip-lining and lake fun. The students learned about the importance of teamwork throughout the retreat, while forming close bonds with each other that will last for many years. Submitted photo.
 

Allamakee County Pheasants Forever, Mississippi Valley Sportsman Club and Riverland Conservancy will be sponsoring a mentored youth pheasant hunt Saturday, October 22. The event will start at 8:30 a.m. at the Sportsman Club, which is located two miles south of Lansing. Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officers will start the morning discussing the importance of habitat for pheasant survival and then review applicable hunting regulations. Hunter safety instructors will then go over safe gun handling and hunting in the field, which will be followed by a trap shoot at the clubhouse. A lunch will be served, and after lunch, live birds will be released on Riverland Conservancy land where the kids will have an opportunity to hunt alongside trained bird dogs. Youth must be between the ages of 12 and 15 and have completed the hunter’s safety program. One of the goals of the event is to introduce young people to the sport of hunting.

The Schola group at St. Patrick School in Waukon performs under the direction of Timothy Lund during the Grandparent's Day Mass held Friday, September 30 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon. More than 200 grandparents participated in the special day. Submitted photo.