Viewpoints

Wed
25
May

Letter to the Editor: Dare to be aware

To the Editor:

A “shout out” to the Mental Health Awareness Team (MHAT) of North Fayette Valley High School. It would be impossible to calculate the amount of time and emotion that the team of young adults put into its efforts providing support for mental health concerns while struggling through adolescence and going to school.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Those of us involved in mental health awareness efforts, and/or who have lived experiences of mental health issues, wore the color green for the MHAT North Fayette Valley school assembly Friday, May 6.

The moving presentation involved speakers, members of the community and students stepping forward to present on the reality of their experiences. On behalf of North Fayette Valley’s MHA Team, senior Krista Moellers also presented the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Northeast Iowa with a generous donation they raised through events the team sponsored throughout the school year.

Wed
25
May

And then I wrote...

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that my paternal grandmother, whose parents emigrated from middle Europe, knew the weather folk wisdom of that area. They were not “blessed” with today’s modern forecasting system.

She always cited the effect of the weather just before the ides of May, the 12th, 13th and 14th, as predicting how the summer’s weather would be. They were called the “ice days” because they could be rather cold days. They were the predictors for June, July and August, respectively.

If that holds true this year, we are not in for a warm summer season. All three were less than ideal spring days. In fact, that Sunday morning, there was widespread frost. I didn’t think much about it. The flowers seemed to have survived. But Monday morning when I went to cut the sparse asparagus my patch is producing, I found several spears which were soft and wilting, apparently affected by that frost.

Wed
18
May

And then I wrote...

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... about a couple of “natural” things I recently observed.

Those who have had occasion to travel Waukon’s 11th Ave. S.W., south of the park, the past several months have observed the effort to dredge silt and deepen the pond;

One day during the first full week of May as I was heading west from the highway along the quarry, I noticed a pair of geese and at least four very young goslings on the shoulder on the quarry side of the road; I could only assume this is the same pair that has raised families there for the past several years, since geese mate for life and live long lives. But the difference this year, is there was no pond! I know water is necessary for the eventual training in safety measures and flight, but can the little ones get along without the pond? I did notice a few days later that the pond was being filled again, so maybe a crisis was averted.

Wed
18
May

Letter to the Editor: Threat to our youth is in your medicine cabinet

To the Editor:

One of the most serious threats to our youth may be lurking right in your medicine cabinet. The nonmedical use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs is becoming more of a serious health problem in the United States and in northeast Iowa. The Iowa Governor’s Office states that almost one in four (24%) of Iowa middle school and high school students do not know that using prescription drugs, not prescribed to them, puts them at harm. Every single day in the United States, 2,500 youth ages 12-17 abuse a pain reliever for the first time, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Wed
18
May

Allamakee County Corner

CAUCUS vs. PRIMARY

by Denise Beyer, County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections

What is the purpose of the caucus?
The caucus is held in every state as an opportunity for each state to give their “vote” for who the Republican and Democratic parties should nominate as their candidate for President. The office of President/Vice President is not on the Primary ballot because that nomination is determined at the conventions of the Republican and Democrat parties.

What is a Primary election?
A primary election is held to nominate candidates for public offices for the Republican and Democrat parties, such as U.S. Senator or Representative, State Senator or Representative, and County offices. The Primary is unique because no one is actually elected, just nominated for the General election. The candidate(s) with the most votes at the Primary are put on the General election ballot.

Wed
11
May

And then I wrote...

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that yesterday (as I write this) was May Day. The name comes from the 1917 Russian revolution by workers against an oppressive government. And as has become the usual thing, there were “worker” riots in many nations, including the United States, again this year.

That bothers me, because the current presidential election seems based on a conflict between the “haves” and the “have nots.” I fear that if the “have nots” are successful, the same fate could await that movement as happened in Russia, because by November of that year, the Communist party was able to stage a coup and take over the government, and that has lasted to this day.

So, when I think of May Day, I really think more of “mayday,” which is roughly the translation into English of the French term m’aider, which means “help me!” It’s what naval aviators are taught to broadcast in the event of a dire in-flight emergency.

Wed
11
May

Letter to the Editor: ATV safety concerns on secondary roads

To the Editor:

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors is considering a proposed ordinance to increase public roadway access to all-terrain vehicle (ATV) traffic and recreational use. As an emergency medicine physician and an ATV injury prevention researcher, I cannot stress enough how dangerous this decision would be. Although only a small percentage of ATV riding presently occurs on the road, over 60% of all ATV-related deaths have resulted from roadway riding.

Some argue that the ATV riders will be safe as long as they stick to lower-traffic roads, but this is incorrect: Two-thirds of ATV deaths and an even greater percent of roadway injuries do not involve another vehicle. In addition, 49% of Iowa ATV roadway deaths have occurred on unpaved roads.

Wed
04
May

Wexford Wanderings

by Hugh E. Conway

Children in Wexford
Cemetery - Part V

From 1880 to 1900, at least 27 children were buried at Wexford. During the next 20 years, there were at least 42 young lives lost and buried at Wexford. The majority of child births were at home but often a doctor would be called.

Doctors were now available to assist at the home but the main means of transportation was by horse and buggy. Many rural residences did not have telephone service and a person was sent to find and fetch the doctor. Distance and time were factors working against sick children and for problematic home childbirths.

Additional listings for young deaths in the Wexford Cemetery include:

Wed
04
May

And then I wrote...

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that as I sat down to write this around noon on the last Monday of April, I could hear on TV the sounds of a Donald Trump rally taking place in Rhode Island. I could not see the TV screen, but what I heard would seem to only reinforce what I intended to write about. It sounded as if he had to stop several times while protesters were removed. And during those pauses his fans engaged in choreographed chants of support.

In other words, a real mob scene.

This morning, I read an op ed piece urging getting rid of the Electoral College.

Trump is upset because while he is winning the popular vote state-by-state, his opponents are “picking off” delegate support at a level greater than their popular vote draw. Trump’s cry is that this is not the democratic way to do things, and this is supposed to be a democracy.

Except it isn’t.

Wed
27
Apr

And then I wrote...

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that I pretty much hibernate in winter as I age, but with the first of a few nice days recently, I ventured out on a trip to Lansing and parts of eastern Allamakee County.
I think I have to start getting out more, because I saw things which surprised me, and I admit to taking my eyes off the road for longer periods than I should have.

First sighting came just a few miles east of Waukon off the Elon Road. Out of the corner of my eye across farm fields and woods devoid of any foliage, I thought I saw a huge tree nest, and sure enough, it was an eagle’s nest. I know because there was a white head showing, meaning the nest was in use. I had heard that Pool 9 (New Albin, Lansing, south to Harpers) contained the greatest number of nesting eagles of any pool along the Iowa east coast. Have eagle numbers grown to such an extent that they are often nesting inland too?

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