The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, November 20 to address agenda items including the establishment of a 2018 County Holiday Schedule, considering bids for used Secondary Roads Department tandem snow plow trucks and Department Head Updates.
Chairperson Larry Schellhammer called the meeting to order and the current agenda and the meeting minutes of November 13 were approved. During Public Comment, Executive Director Val Reinke with Allamakee County Economic Development advised the Supervisors that the Allamakee County Housing Study survey is available on the www.allamakeecounty.com website in both a printable version to be returned and as an online survey. Reinke said that the Housing Study is going well and has been promoted in the newspaper and on the radio, with hard copies being distributed to area churches and banks.
The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, November 20 to address a variety of matters, including a Water and Sewer Department vacancy, the Green Valley Bridge agreement with Allamakee County and the Fehr-Graham professional service agreement for the new wastewater treatment facility project.
During Public Comment, Coordinator Ardie Kuhse with Waukon Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) discussed the Allamakee County Housing Study and the online survey that is available for county residents and those that work in Allamakee but reside elsewhere. Kuhse encouraged the Council and those in attendance to complete the easy, five-minute survey at www.allamakeecounty.com, or fill out a paper copy available at area banks, and to encourage the public to complete the survey also, which will assist Waukon and Allamakee County in qualifying for grants and determine housing needs.
The Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) Board of Directors met Monday, November 20 with board member Bobbi Goetzinger and board president Heather Schulte the only members present initially, in addition to Superintendent Dr. Dale Crozier, New Albin Elementary School Principal Chad Steckel, Kee High School Principal Mary Hogan and board secretary Marian Verdon. Absent, initially, were board members Bruce Palmborg, Kelli Mudderman and Melanie Mauss.
Because one board member would be arriving later, the board members present chose to hear the presentations by Allamakee County Emergency Management Director Corey Snitker, teacher Debra Masek on the fourth, fifth and sixth grade social studies curriculum and the Kee High School FFA chapter before officially starting the business portion of the meeting.
The Lansing City Council met in a brief regular session Monday, November 20. Discussion centered around interviewing for a new city police officer, discussing the choosing of a financial institution for a vehicle loan for the police department, and local Iowa House of Representatives candidate Andy Kelleher asking the council about issues that need to be addressed in Lansing.
The council discussed the choice of New Albin Savings Bank as the financial institution regarding a loan for a new vehicle for the police department. This decision will be finalized during the next regular council session.
The City will be interviewing three potential officers to fill the position for the new city police officer by the end of December.
“Main Street Madness”, Lansing Main Street’s holiday punch card shopping promotion, runs through December 20. Look for a participating merchant poster and pick up a free punch card to be validated with either punches or stamps in five-dollar increments for purchases made between November 15 and December 20. Once a card is full ($100 in purchases), turn it in and start another.
Completed cards will then be entered into a drawing for one of four Downtown Dollar prizes of $150, $100, $75 and $25. Completed cards can be dropped off at any participating Main Street business or the Main Street Lansing office by noon December 20.
The Waukon High School chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) conducted a canned food drive for the Allamakee County Food Shelf Tuesday, November 7. The chapter members canvassed the Waukon community and collected 1,334 pounds of food and $166 in monetary donations.
Pictured above with the donated food items are the Waukon High School FBLA officers, including, left to right: Joe Schwartz, Aubree Cota, Abe Schwartz, Laurel Keenan, Alyx Ede, Mary VanderVelden, Gabrielle Marti and Katelyn Benzing. Submitted photo.
The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met for its regular monthly meeting Monday night, November 20. About midway through the meeting, under Personnel items, the board accepted the resignation of ACSD Superintendent Dave Herold, due to retirement, effective June 30, 2018.
"You've done a wonderful job for the district and will be missed dearly," noted board president Al Rissman. Board member Patty Nordheim commented that as a board member, Herold is the third superintendent she's worked with and that he has done "a fantastic job."
Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Business and Community Solutions is offering the class “Decorating Cookies for Christmas” Thursday, December 7 from 6-8 p.m. at the NICC Waukon Center, located at 1220 Third Avenue NW.
The pre-baked cookies, frosting, sprinkles and other embellishments are supplied for a fee due the night of the class. Those attending will supply the enthusiasm for decorating and creating, and go home with a dozen cookies. Children ages six to 11 are welcome to participate with a parent.
To register online for “Decorating Cookies for Christmas” (#58017) or for more information, visit www.nicc.edu/solutions or call NICC Business and Community Solutions at 800-728-2256, ext. 399 (Calmar campus) or 563-568-3060 (NICC Waukon Center).
2017-2018 Waukon girls basketball returning letterwinners ... Left to right - Front row: Berklee Hanson, Aubree Cota, Ally Goltz, Maddie Ahlstrom, Molly Brodahl. Back row: Lauren Griffith, Sydney Ross, Brigid Berns, McKenzie Cooper, Carley Sweeney, Grace Howe.
2017-2018 Waukon girls basketball freshman through senior team members ... Left to right - Front row: Annika Headington, Alison Sherman, Regan Griffith, Bailey Shafer, Olivia Byrnes, Madelyn Mellick, Ella Hermeier, Maya Bossom. Second row: Mia Strub, Hailey Regan, Aubree Cota, Grace Howe, Ally Goltz, Maddie Ahlstrom, Molly Brodahl. Back row: Berklee Hanson, Lauren Griffith, Sydney Ross, Brigid Berns, McKenzie Cooper, Betsy Anderson, Carley Sweeney, Margaret Wacker, Faith Palmer. Not pictured: Abigail Shelton.
The past year has offered some trying moments for the Waukon girls basketball program, with some unique transitions in the coaching ranks - the permanence of one nobody ever hopes to have to deal with. After playing to just a 2-6 start to last season, the first of those coaching transitions took place during the holiday break and eventually played out to an 11-11 season record, with the return of all but one of those players from last season looking to improve on that mark during their 2017-2018 campaign following another coaching transition in the off-season.
2017-2018 Kee girls basketball returning letterwinners ... Left to right: Nicki Wood, Chloe Severson, Kendra Cooper, Ashley Schwartzhoff, Makayla Walleser. Photo courtesy of the Kee High School Yearbook.
The Kee girls basketball team will have a somewhat new face leading a much more familiar line-up in an effort to return at least to what has become a very familiar spot for the program in the past three seasons. First-year head coach Lisa Steckel will benefit from a crew of five returning letterwinners that consist of a vast majority of the Hawks’ statistical leadership from last winter’s 17-5 campaign, all hoping to make their way back to continued recent postseason success that has seen Kee play its way to the brink of State Tournament qualification, surpassing that brink with a first-ever State Tournament berth two seasons ago but coming up a combined six points shy of that goal on each side of that history-making effort, including a one-point loss in last season’s regional finals to Janesville.
