Seth and Brittney Clarke of North Liberty announce the birth of their son, Elon Ralph Clarke, born March 1, 2017 in Cedar Rapids. He weighed 7 lbs. and measured 20-1/2 inches in length at the time of his birth. He joins a sister, Ida (2).
Grandparents are Jim and Patty Clarke of Waukon, Ralph and Yvonne Savoy of Cedar Rapids and Maria Savoy of Plymouth, MI.
by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director (563) 568-2148
Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• ARC/PLC Sign-up: August 1
• Marketing Assistance Loans for Prior Year Harvested: Wheat, barley, honey, oats - March 31; Corn, soybeans - May 31
The sun was shining almost as brightly as the Irish pride at the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade held Sunday, March 19 in Waukon, the event taking approximately an hour to display the wide variety of well over 100 entries. As depicted in the three photos below, there was certainly an abundance of ways entries displayed their Irish pride and made their way along the parade route. While one such entry appears to have been carried along the route with a little luck from a leprechaun, it also appears that Msgr. Ed Lechtenberg (photo at right) was carrying along his own bit of leprechaun luck as he made his way along the parade route on the way to seeking re-election in the annual race for the office of Mayor of Hanover. Photos by Lissa Blake. Additional photos from this year's event can be found on Page 14A of this week's print edition of The Standard. All of the parade photos found in this issue, along with many more from Sunday's St.
The 2017 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet will be held this Saturday, March 25 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon. The meal will be served from 7-8:30 p.m. with the program starting at 8 p.m.
The annual celebration recognizes the importance of the dairy industry in Allamakee County and the contributions dairy families make to this important industry. Every year, top producers from the county are recognized at the banquet. In addition, several other awards are presented that evening, some of which include the following:
• Outstanding Young Dairy Family Award
• Pioneer Dairyman Award
• Distinguished Dairy Family Award
• Service to Dairy Industry Award
• Golden Butter Knife Award.
Iowa House District 56 Representative Kristi Hager and Iowa District 28 Senator Michael Breitbach held a public legislative forum in Waukon Saturday, March 18. Iowa House District 55 Representative Michael Bergan joined Hager and Breitbach shortly after the meeting began in answering questions from the capacity crowd in the Allamakee County Farm Bureau building.
Several hot-button issues were raised by those in attendance at the public forum. Steve Peterson, a Decorah Middle School teacher, addressed the legislators with his concerns relating to the $118 million cut from Iowa's budget. Peterson advised, "We are in a period of expansion and we are having to make all these cuts to things that are really important to people in the area: higher education, access to affordable women's healthcare, youth social services, the arts, environment, under-funding K-12 education at 1.1%, which is an increase but it is not sufficient."
The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, March 20. There were no comments during the Public Comments portion of the meeting.
Allamakee County E911 Director Chris Fee discussed the distribution of local option sales tax and changes that have been suggested by the E911 Board concerning the responsibility of 911 and street signage and the possible involvement of the Secondary Roads Department. Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour further discussed the history and funding of the project dating back to the late 1990s with an estimated 4,900 signs for intersections and house numbers installed and maintained throughout the County.
The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, March 20 to address several matters, including an update on the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI), estimates for removal of structures on the former Herman property and a Water Department vacancy.
U.S. Senator Charles Grassley visited Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon Friday afternoon, March 17. Following a brief tour of the facility, Grassley took part in a question and answer session with hospital employees (as pictured above). More detailed coverage of Grassley's visit will appear in a future issue of The Standard.
A benefit is being planned for the Eric Palmer family for Saturday, April 8 starting at 5 p.m. at the Waukon Banquet Center and including a free will donation meal and silent and live auction. Supplemental funds will be provided by Thrivent Financial.
For anyone interested in making a donation, tax-deductible donations can be mailed to: The Thrive Project, Attn: Eric Palmer Benefit, 1639 Green Valley Rd NW, Waukon, IA 52172 or non-deductible donations can be mailed to: Waukon State Bank, Attn: Eric Palmer Benefit, P.O. Box 246, Waukon, IA 52172. Non-monetary donations can be dropped off at the Allamakee Extension Office located at 218 Seventh Avenue SE in Waukon.
For more information about the event or donations, contact Amanda Peterson at 563-568-8764 or Amy (Menne) Ihde at 563-380-9673.
The Eric and Stephanie Palmer family ... Left to right - Front row: Emma, Keagan and Sophia. Back row: Eric, Stephanie and Madalyn. Submitted photo.
by Kelli Boylen
freelance writer
Eric Palmer of Waukon has always been the type of person to just keep pushing through when he didn’t feel well. In the last 25 years, he says he has only been sick enough to go to the doctor a handful of times.
But when he started having headaches every day during a week in late of last fall he knew something wasn’t right. The headaches were severe enough that he would get nauseous and sick while doing farm chores.
Monday, November 21, he went to the clinic in Waukon to get checked out. His appointment was at 1:30 p.m., and by 2 p.m. he had a CAT scan that showed a possible tumor. By 3 p.m. an MRI was completed, which showed a mass in the right temporal area of his brain.
“We are so thankful Waukon has the medical facilities with good care like they do,” Eric said. “That is something we certainly don’t take for granted anymore.”
