News Center newsletter

St. Patrick School in Waukon will be holding its annual Mardi Gras fundraising event Saturday, January 27 at the Waukon Banquet Center. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. Among the events taking place will be live and silent auctions for items such as those pictured at right. There will also be a raffle for a 10-foot Tahoma kayak. Local businesses and individuals have donated items and funds to help make the event a success for St. Patrick School. For tickets and additional information, contact Jennifer Kovarik at 563-568-5318, Amy McCormick at 563-419-9336, Tami Stilwell at 319-361-6077 or St. Patrick School at 563-568-2170. Submitted photo.
 

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Business and Community Solutions is offering the Certified Nurse Aide Course beginning Tuesday, January 30 from 4-7 p.m. at the NICC Waukon Center, located at 1220 Third Avenue NW in Waukon.

This State of Iowa-approved class is the first step toward a career helping others in healthcare settings. It prepares students for employment as a nurse aide (CNA) and may be a prerequisite for admission into the College’s nursing programs. The fast-paced combination of classroom, hands-on laboratory and off-site clinical experience addresses basic nursing and personal care skills, patient rights and communication. Special attention to mental, physical and social health of geriatric and special populations is included.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Office Allamakee County will host a Seed Treatment Continuing Instruction Course (CIC) for commercial pesticide applicators, Wednesday, February 28. The program will be shown at locations across Iowa through the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP).

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and the course runs from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The registration fee is discounted before February 21. 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.

The course will provide continuing instruction credit for commercial pesticide applicators certified in categories 4 and 10. Topics to be covered include equipment calibration and safe application techniques; pests, pest management and pesticides; and issues concerning treated seed, including disposal of unused treated seed.

Allamakee County will offer the Certified Handlers Continuing Instruction Course (CIC) Wednesday, March 21. The program will be shown across Iowa through the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP).

The local attendance site is the Allamakee County Extension Office. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and the course will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. The registration fee is discounted before March 14. To register or obtain additional information about the CIC, contact the ISU Extension and Outreach office in Allamakee County by phoning 563-568-6345.

Tuesday, January 16, the Waukon High School Music Department participated in the Northeast Iowa Conference Music Festival hosted by Crestwood High School in Cresco this year. At this year's event, the orchestra was conducted by Dr. Jacob Tews from Wartburg College, the choir was conducted by Jayson Ryner from North Iowa Area Community College and the band was conducted by Dr. Danny Gaylen from the University of Northern Iowa.

The staff of Veterans Memorial Hospital pledged nearly $14,000 this last year to the VMH Health Care Foundation’s annual appeal campaign. The total raised in personal staff contributions was used to purchase equipment and furnishings identified by the staff as needed in the hospital to better serve the community.

“I am impressed and pleased by the staff’s generosity and participation again this last year,” states Mike Myers, hospital administrator. “Our Culture Committee took a leadership role in identifying hospital-wide needs, setting a financial goal, and organizing this employee campaign which was extremely successful. This process is an indication of the great dedication the hospital staff has to the service of our patients.”

This fund drive is held each fall for all staff at Veterans Memorial Hospital and consistently raises over $13,000 each year for upgrades in equipment and furnishings recommended by the staff.

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon, in cooperation with the American Heart Association, is offering a course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation for lay people (those not working in healthcare), which includes child care providers, Monday, February 12, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The CPR class, which will cover adult, child and infant CPR, will be held in the ICN Room located on the lower level of the hospital. The cost of the class, for certification or recertification, is the same. The card received with the course does certify attendants in CPR for a period of two years.

CPR is administered when someone’s breathing, pulse, or both, stop. When both of them stop, the victim has suffered sudden death, which can be caused by poisoning, drowning, choking, suffocation, electrocution, smoke inhalation, or the most common cause, heart attack.

Veterans Memorial Hospital is encouraging individuals in the area communities to sign up to participate in Live Healthy Iowa for the next ten weeks. The Live Healthy Iowa web-based program offers many advantages including personal online fitness tracking, weekly motivational emails and unlimited access to recipes, workouts and other health information, all easily accessible on the Live Healthy Iowa website.

Registration for Live Healthy Iowa is going on now. For a small fee, each team member will receive a Live Healthy Iowa t-shirt and a free magazine subscription to one of many popular magazines. To get a team signed up, go to www.livehealthyiowa.org and click the sign-up button.

Blood drive set for February 5

Everyone can make a difference by making a life-saving blood donation at the next Waukon Community Blood Drive. The next blood drive will take place Monday, February 5 from 12 noon to 5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in south Waukon.

Donating blood is safe, simple and it saves lives.  Blood donors have a unique opportunity to contribute to their community by making a life-saving blood donation.  Everyone who registers to donate blood goes through four simple steps during the donation process:  registration, donor history and mini-physical, blood donation and snacks.

Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Eloise Bulman by Robert and Kristi Campbell, Dave and Laurie Martin, Jim and Patty Clarke, Chuck and Lois Votsmier and family and friends of Delbert and Eloise Bulman.

Memorials were also received in memory of Elaine Bahr by Tom and Karen Regan, John and Lorna Kerndt, Kay Carter, Patsy Kerndt, Jim and Jill Kiesau, Robert and Kristi Campbell and Dave and Laurie Martin.

In addition, memorials were received in memory of Gaylord Schoh by Dave and Rhonda Bahr, Dave and Laurie Martin, Dr. Bill and Libby Withers, Bob and Linda Thompson, Nyles and Ruby Herman, Brian and Denise Wullner, Rupert and Martha Caballero, Ron and Kim Winters, Meg Schaller, Evelyn Gray and Ruby and Tim Schoh.