The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, July 9 to address agenda items, including the Bible Reading Marathon to take place on the Allamakee County Courthouse lawn, the contract and bond for concrete pavement patching and an update regarding the Comprehensive Plan for the Allamakee County Solid Waste Department. Chairperson Larry Schellhammer called the meeting to order with approval of the current agenda and meeting minutes of July 2.
Youth in kindergarten through second grade learned about the different forces of nature and how they affect animals in a recent session hosted by Allamakee County ISU Extension and Outreach at the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center in Lansing. They started with making earthquakes out of graham crackers and frosting. After learning about beavers and how they make unique homes, youth were challenged with making their own dams. Using sticks and play dough, partners worked together to create a flood-proof dam (center photo). Next, everyone was able to make their own tornado in a jar and anemometer (pictured above) while learning about tornadoes and which animals had the safest homes to protect themselves.
The Ferryville Tourism Council is sponsoring the second installment of its Chautauqua Summer Series for 2018. This program will be held Wednesday, July 18 at 8 p.m. in the Ferryville Village Hall, at the south end of Ferryville along Wisconsin State Highway 35, the Great River Road.
Featured speaker for this program will be Mary Antoine. Her topic will be the Fur Trade along the Mississippi River. Antoine is the current director of the Fort Crawford Museum in Prairie du Chien, WI and is a local historian. She has researched and written two books that she will be bringing with her for this event.
Antoine’s books include “The War of 1812 in Wisconsin: the Battle for Prairie du Chien” and “Frenchtown Chronicles of Prairie du Chien.” These are stories about life in this area in the second half of the 19th century.
Thursday, July 19, the public is invited to photographer Bob Modersohn’s presentation, “Click by Click: Humor in Photography.” He’ll show a sampling of the sometimes quirky black and white imagery that he shot for The Des Moines Register in the 1970s and 1980s.
Now living in Lansing, Modersohn had a long career as a staff photographer, reporter and travel columnist for The Register. These days, his heart is in the life and landscapes of the Driftless Area, where he’s known online as DriftlessMode.
The free program will begin at 6:30 p.m., preceded by a light supper with freewill offering. For more information call 563-538-4693.
It was a ghostly but educational day June 1 as the students from East, West and Waterville Elementary Schools and Waukon Middle School explored Spook Cave in McGregor. For 60 years the cave, estimated to be more than 750,000 years olds, has drawn people to see the stalactites and stalagmites. Some were spooked by the story of “Old Joe Smiley”, an old man who went into the cave to change a light bulb and never came back out. As each guide drew deeper into the cave they explained the discovery, development and history of the natural limestone cave and beautiful area. Submitted by the Community Connections 10th hour summer students.
Those who may be interested in discussing the books they read with other readers, in meeting new people, in looking for a new author or genre to read but who may not be quite ready to jump all in just yet, or who are simply at a loss for what to read next are invited to join the Thursday Night Book Club held at Robey Memorial Library in Waukon the third Thursday of every month.
Upcoming discussions by the Book Club include the following:
July 19: Native American-themed
August 16: Non-Fiction
September 20: Iowa-themed or Iowa author.
All are welcome to attend. For more information on the Thursday Night Book Club that meets at 6 p.m. the third Thursday of each month at the library, contact Robey Memorial Library by telephone at 563-568-4424, by email at robeymemorial@waukon.lib.ia.us or through the library website at www.waukon.lib.ia.us.
The Iowa Master Gardener program with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will host a trio of Growing Season webcasts this summer. Master Gardeners will gain educational hours while learning about insects, tree care, organic vegetables, composting and growing roses.
The two-hour webcasts will be shown at the ISU Extension and Outreach Allamakee County office in Waukon. The webcasts are open to the public for a fee and open to anyone who may be interested. Those Growing Season webcast topics include:
• Tuesday, July 31 at 9:30 a.m. or 3:30 p.m.: Insect Update and Tree Care - Get the latest details about invasive garden pests, including Japanese beetle, Emerald ash borer and spotted wing drosophila from Donald Lewis, professor and Extension entomologist at Iowa State University. Then learn about how to maintain the health of trees from Jesse Randall, associate professor and Extension forester at Iowa State.
One hit in relief ... Kee baseball junior pitcher Josh Walleser unleashes a pitch in the Hawks’ 7-3 home loss to New Hampton Friday, July 6. Walleser pitched the final three and two-thirds innings of the contest, giving up just one hit and one unearned run while striking out two batters. Photo by Macie Hill. View and find out how to purchase these photos and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this website.
For the first time this season, the Kee baseball team suffered a winless week on the diamond, the Hawks playing three final non-conference opponents on consecutive days late in the week and falling to all three to wrap up their regular season. A three-team event at Riceville Thursday, July 5 saw the Hawks fall to both West Fork, 8-4, and to the host school, 7-6, before Kee finished out its regular season slate with a 7-3 home loss to Class 2A eighth-rated New Hampton Friday, July 6.
One final flight ... Waukon senior left fielder Abby Dixon sends a fifth-inning pitch into the outfield for the final hit, not only of the Indians’ 9-0 Class 3A first-round regional tournament loss at third-rated Waterloo Columbus Tuesday, July 3 but also of her high school career. Dixon swatted one of the Tribe’s five singles in the ballgame and also made one catch in the outfield. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this website.
The Waukon softball team had its 2018 season brought to a close by one of the top teams in the entire state of Iowa, a Class 3A Waterloo Columbus team that sports the state’s best season record at 36-2 and has now gone on to a return trip to the Class 3A State Tournament. However, that 9-0 season-ending loss for the Indians in the opening round of Class 3A Region 5 play at the home of the highly-regarded Sailors didn’t happen without a fight to the finish by the softball Tribe.
The season-ending loss brings the softball Tribe’s 2018 campaign to a close with an 11-19 overall record, including a 6-12 mark in Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) play that placed the Indians fifth in the final seven-team NEIC standings. Columbus went on to defeat North Fayette Valley, 13-1 in five innings, Friday, July 6 in the regional semifinals and Class 3A 14th-rated Crestwood in the Monday, July 9 regional championship, 5-1, to earn a return trip to the Class 3A State Tournament.
Scores, drives in pair of runs ... Waukon senior catcher Abe Schwartz slides safely into third base to beat a tag attempt in the Indians’ 10-7 home win over Osage in the first round of Class 2A District 5 tournament play Saturday, July 7. Schwartz drove in two runs and scored two more in the win. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this website.
The Waukon baseball team ended its regular season and began its postseason on opposite ends of the win-loss spectrum this past week, wrapping up a regular season record of 10-21 that included a 2-16 mark in the Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) that placed the Indians in a sixth-place tie with a Crestwood team they had beaten two of three times this season for their only NEIC victories. The end to the regular season saw the Indians falls at home to Oelwein, 10-2, Monday, July 2 in a game that was the postponed second half of a June 20 doubleheader.
