News Center newsletter

Residents of Allamakee County will be joining those throughout the state of Iowa in choosing individuals to lead their respective school district boards of education when the Tuesday, September 12 School Board Election takes place throughout the state. Voters in the Allamakee, Eastern Allamakee and Postville Community School Districts in Allamakee County will be able to cast their vote that Tuesday between 12 noon and 8 p.m. at their respective voting precincts listed below.

ALLAMAKEE
Voters in the Allamakee Community School District will have two board seats up for re-election this fall. Those two seats each have incumbent candidates vying for another term with no declared opposition. Allan Rissman will be seeking re-election to his Director-At-Large position, and Scott Melcher will be doing likewise for his District 1 Director seat.

Polling sites for voters in the Allamakee Community School District will be at the following locations:

The Allamakee County 4-H Youth Development Committee is proud to recognize Teresa Myers of Waukon as the 2017 Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame inductee from Allamakee County. Myers has been a long-time supporter of the Allamakee County 4-H Program. Pictured at right during the 4-H Hall of Fame Award ceremony are, left to right, Teresa Myers, Iowa 4-H Foundation Executive Director Emily Saveraid and Iowa 4-H Volunteer Development Specialist Tillie Good.

by Joe Moses

Since his recent addition of general manager duties at the AVEKA Nutra Processing plant in Waukon, John Anderson has been working to address concerns expressed by the public and the Waukon City Council regarding the production facility's noise and odor levels and to develop and implement plans being made to address these concerns. Anderson has experience working at four plants that use spray dryers, saying that each plant produces some noise and odor. He is currently dividing his time between the Cresco and Waukon AVEKA facilities serving as general manager at both locations.

The Allamakee County Veterans Services has contracted with Greg Clark, M.A. to provide counseling services to the veterans of Allamakee County since 2007. Clark, a combat-wounded Vietnam Veteran and Licensed Mental Health Counselor, has worked with veterans since 1981. The following is Part 2 of a three-part informational series Clark wishes to share with veterans, their families and the community at large about PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and his counseling services to veterans.

by Greg Clark, M.A.
Licensed Mental Health Counselor

Ah, September. Kids are back in school, Labor Day weekend has already come and gone, fall school sports are upon us, college football and the NFL are starting to hit the airways, and for those in the Emergency Management Field, September also is Preparedness Month.

In recognition of this, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has proclaimed September as Preparedness Month in Iowa in conjunction with National Preparedness Month, which was created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, in an effort to educate the public on how to prepare for emergencies.

“This past summer’s severe weather and flooding are a reminder that disasters can, and do, happen in our state and that is why I have proclaimed September as Preparedness Month in Iowa,” said Reynolds. “I am asking Iowans to take steps now to prepare themselves, their families, their places of business, and their communities for any emergency.”

Identity theft is a significant problem and if it has not happened to an individual directly, then they likely know someone who has been victimized. While identity theft can happen to anyone, there are some things that can be done to reduce the risk. Proper disposal, at the right time, of documents and items that contain personal, confidential information is key to protection.

Waukon State Bank offers a free shredding service once a month to help community members safely dispose of their confidential information. Some of the following items that may contain personal information should be considered for shredding, once their recommended retention has passed, including bank statements, expired credit or debit cards, credit card offers, paycheck stubs, canceled checks from years past, medical or legal information, along with anything that contains financial information or personal identification, such as social security number or signature.

Each year the School Administrators of Iowa (SAI) selects a Superintendent of the Year from nominations made by each of the area education agencies throughout the state of Iowa. This year, Superintendent Dr. Dale Crozier, joint superintendent of MFL/MarMac and Eastern Allamakee Community School Districts, was nominated for the honor from the Keystone Area Education Agency (AEA).

The nomination is made by other administrators in the AEA. This is the second time Dr. Crozier has been nominated during his career as a superintendent. The individual selected as Iowa's Superintendent of the Year was Guttenberg native Gary Zittergruen, Superintendent from Benton Community School District. He was bestowed that honor at an August 2 ceremony.

The Waukon Walking School Bus, now in its fourth year, is a safe, fun and active way for students to get to school during the fall and spring months. The Walking School Bus in Waukon will walk on the following Thursday mornings this fall: September 21 and 28, and October 5, 12, 19 and 26 and will start in downtown Waukon. Interested families should drop students off by 7:40 a.m. at the Area Development and Visitor Center on the corner of First Street NW and Main Street in Waukon. Routes lead to East Elementary and West Elementary schools. Students will be walking 10-20 minutes and arrive to school by 8:10 a.m. or earlier. Fall mornings can be pretty chilly so students should come dressed for the weather. The Walking School Bus will not walk if it is below 40°F or if it is raining/storming/snowing. In order to continue this beneficial program beyond Fall 2017, more volunteer leaders are needed.

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Business and Community Solutions is offering the class “Windows 10 Operating System Essentials” (#57470) Tuesday, September 12 from 5-8 p.m. at the NICC Waukon Center, 1220 Third Avenue NW.

In this class, participants will learn the role of an operating system as the primary foundation and interface on a computer. Participants will spend a couple hours getting comfortable with the core features of Windows 10.

Windows 10 offers some compelling features including Cortana, the brand new Microsoft personal assistant, and a new start menu. Those who are new to Windows altogether or just upgrading from a previous version will find what is needed to get going with Windows 10. Students at the Waukon Center location will be participating via web-based video conference transmitted from the host location in Cresco.

Unbeaten Tribe gridders ranked #1 in daily newspaper polls after first loss by previous #1 B-H/RV

A game that saw the Waukon football team more than double up its New Hampton host in total yardage didn’t turn out to yield that same result on the scoreboard in the final non-district match-up of this young 2017 football season Friday, September 1. A strong defensive stand by the Indians that limited the Chickasaws to just 166 yards of total offense was somewhat overshadowed by a handful of “unique” occurrences that helped keep the Chickasaws in the latest chapter of what has come to be a recent series of classic grid battles.