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Students at Waukon High School have selected their Homecoming representatives for 2016, with the coronation of this year's Homecoming Queen and King to take place at the traditional "Burning of the 'W'" pep rally scheduled for this Thursday evening, September 29, beginning at 7 p.m. at Waukon High School. Pictured in the photo above are this year's Waukon High School Homecoming Queen and King candidates from the 2016-2017 Senior class, including: Left to right - Front row: Queen candidates Erika Johnson, Molly Johnson, Lanci Bulman and Claire Beyer. Back row: King candidates Adam Gruman, Logan Sullivan, Max Swartz and Tanner Mathis. Pictured in the photo below, front to back and left to right, are Junior Class attendants Audry Fahey and Terrell Baumler, Sophomore Class attendants Brigid Berns and Brady Sullivan, and Freshman Class attendants Leah Bulman and Carson Wille.

Even though it may not have been to the same degree in some places as it was just a little shy of a month ago, residents of Allamakee County once again found themselves at the mercy of Mother Nature and torrential rains in an overnight storm that dumped anywhere from two to seven inches across the county Wednesday night through Thursday morning, September 21 and 22. The dismay felt by area residents and officials at enduring another such storm less than a month after a very similar but, in places, heavier storm ripped through the same area is understandable, and somewhat compounded by the fact that it was happening in late September on what was supposed to be the first official day of the fall season.

Residents affected by area storms beginning September 21 and the resulting flooding may be eligible to apply for the Iowa Individual Assistance Program to cover losses experienced due to the flooding. This is a new disaster declaration and is separate from the disaster declaration declared August 23. To qualify, households must be located within the new disaster declaration area of Allamakee, Bremer and Chickasaw counties, and must meet income guidelines. Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation (NEICAC) administers the program in these affected counties.

Private well owners advised to have them checked after recent series of storms

People with private drinking wells in flooded areas are being urged by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to use caution before using water from those sources.

Extensive rainfall and the resulting flooding over portions of north central and northeast Iowa have also caused a number of wastewater treatment facilities to overflow. Some of the facilities have had to bypass untreated wastewater to prevent back-ups into homes and businesses. In all, 38 different wastewater facilities had reported excess water-related issues by Thursday afternoon of last week.

by Joe Moses

The Prairie Steamers Car Club made an appearance in Allamakee County during the group's steam car cruise that was held Monday, September 12 through Friday, September 16. A total of 18 steam cars were involved in this event that traversed through Iowa and Wisconsin throughout last week.

Steam cars are a rare sight, with most companies that produced them going out of business in the late 1920s. Stanley is the most famous of the steam car manufacturers, with Stanley Steamers accounting for most of the vehicles in this year's cruise.

Another quick, heavy dose of approximately an inch of rain on already saturated ground in the very early morning hours of Tuesday, September 13 resulted in a pair of large boulders pictured above breaking loose from the hillside along State Highway 76 just north of Marquette and falling on to the highway, bringing trees and other debris along with them. Crews were at work in those very early morning hours Tuesday cleaning up the rock slide, including having to jackhammer the two large boulders in order to move them off the roadway. Highway 76 was completely closed to traffic during those early morning hours and limited to single lane traffic for a good portion of Tuesday while clean-up and maintenance efforts continued. Photo by the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Kee High School seniors Emily Benzing (left) and Tom Martin (right) were crowned Kee High School's 2016 Homecoming Queen and King at the annual Homecoming pep rally held in the Kee High School gymnasium Friday afternoon, September 16. Additional photos of Kee High School's Homecoming festivities are featured on Page 15A of this week's print edition of The Standard, along with coverage of the Hawks' Homecoming game with Tripoli featured on Pages 10A-11A inside this week's issue. Photo courtesy of the Kee High School yearbook.
 

The National Weather Service in La Crosse has extended the Flash Flood Warning for: Northeastern Allamakee County in northeastern Iowa. Southeastern Houston County in Southeastern Minnesota. Northwestern Crawford County in southwestern Wisconsin. Southwestern Vernon County in southwestern Wisconsin until 12:45 PM CDT.

Members of the Kee High School Homecoming Court for 2016 include the King and Queen candidates from this year's senior class pictured above, as well as the underclassman attendants pictured below. Pictured above are, left to right: Front row - Senior Class Homecoming Queen candidates Claudia Mathis, Sydney Strong, Emily Benzing, Samantha Meiners, Allison Colsch. Back row - Senior Class Homecoming King candidates Tom Martin, Casey Carroll, Brock Colsch, Clay Olson, Evan Whalen. Pictured below, front to back and left to right, are: Freshman Class representatives Kristina Dibert and Jamel Harris; Sophomore Class representatives Lacey Mitchell and Aiden Winters; Junior Class representatives Nicole Wood and Noah Spearbecker. Details of this week's Homecoming events at Kee High School, along with celebratory pages, can be found on Pages 8A-9A inside the Wednesday, September 14 edition of The Standard. Photos courtesy of the Kee High School Yearbook.
 

Allamakee County Emergency Management is asking Allamakee County home and business owners who experienced damage from the August 23-24 heavy rains and flooding to contact Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker no later than Friday, September 16 to report flood damage.  This information will then be reported to the State of Iowa for potential further action beyond the Iowa Individual Assistance Program which is currently available. Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker can be reach by phone at 563-568-4233 or by e-mail at csnitker@co.allamakee.ia.us.

Additional information about flood assistance within Allamakee County and northeast Iowa can be found on Page 11A of this week's issue of The Standard.