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Mon
16
Nov

More than just apples making their way into the classroom through Farm to School program

Submitted by admin1 on Mon, 11/16/2015 - 11:27

The AmeriCorps Farm to School coordinator for Crawford County, Haley Mahr, who started in August, is pictured explaining to B.A. Kennedy Elementary School students about beets.

By Correne Martin

Apples might be a familiar sight on teachers’ desks across Crawford County, but other locally-grown, fresh fruits and vegetables are finding a place in the classroom regularly as well. Haley Mahr, the county’s new AmeriCorps Farm to School coordinator, is one of those who helps introduce and refresh kids’ experiences with such produce.

Every month, the Farm to School program, which falls under the UW-Extension arm, is present in the Prairie du Chien public and Catholic schools as well as Seneca, Wauzeka and North Crawford. As the county’s nutrition educator, Mahr, who came to Crawford County as a recent college graduate from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, focuses on helping people, especially kids, become more connected with their community’s agriculture.

Wed
11
Nov

Area Korean War veteran takes honor flight

Submitted by admin1 on Wed, 11/11/2015 - 11:59

Louie Wachter, of Millville, took the Freedom Honor Flight Oct. 17 to Washington D.C. with 86 other veterans to see the memorials that stand in their honor. He is shown here in front of the 19 stainless steel statues making up the Korean War Memorial, which he described as realistic and somewhat haunting as the sun set.

Louie, who was accompanied by his daughter Susie Mergen on the honor flight, got to meet former Senator Bob Dole at the WWII Memorial.

Several group pictures of the Freedom Honor Flight veterans were captured during the trip. This one was in front of the WWII Memorial and includes only part of those veterans on the honor flight. Louie is second from the right, in the front row. Wheelchairs were available to every veteran and provided for those who didn’t feel they could walk all day around the many memorials.

Louie and his daughter, Susie, posed in front of the Korean War Memorial.

By Correne Martin

Korean War Army veteran Louie Wachter, 85, of Millville, respectfully reflected upon his fallen comrades first when telling about his Oct. 17 Freedom Honor Flight experience: “A person feels kind of humbled because there were so many more who didn’t get to go.”

Louie was one of 69 Korean veterans, 13 World War II veterans and five Vietnam veterans who took the honor flight to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials that stand in their honor. It was the 16th one-day trip from La Crosse since the organization started in April 2008. Two flights have gone every year since then.

Louie applied to the Freedom Honor Flight organization two years ago. In August this year, he received a call saying he was picked to go.

“Everybody said I should go. But, I said the only way I’d go was if my daughter (Susie Mergen) could go too,” he said.

“Most of them on the La Crosse flight were accompanied by family members,” Mergen noted.

Wed
11
Nov

The time is now to apply for fair ambassador

Submitted by admin1 on Wed, 11/11/2015 - 11:55

By Correne Martin

The Crawford County Fair Ambassador program is seeking young women, as well as men, to apply for the yearlong position of promoting the fair and the county’s agriculture industry. Applications are accepted now through Nov. 30 and can be obtained at crawfordcounty wisconsinfair.com. The ambassador will be selected at a special gala at the end of January 2016.

“The ambassador gets to meet and talk to people at festivals, parades, the dairy breakfast and other community events they attend throughout the year,” said Liz Brownlee, the ambassador committee chair who held the position in 2008, when it was titled the Fairest of the Fair. “It’s also very mindblowing what happens behind-the-scenes for the Crawford County Fair and this position gets to see more of that business part of things. Of course, the ambassador will attend every day of the fair in 2016 too.”

Wed
11
Nov

Driftless Wisconsin

Submitted by admin on Wed, 11/11/2015 - 11:24

Driftless Wisconsin President Rick Kettner crowns Wisconsin Secretary of Tourism Stephanie Klett as the new “Princess of Driftless Wisconsin” during the Driftless Wisconsin Tourism Summit at the Barn Restaurant Monday night.

 

Secretary of Tourism keynote 

speaker at Driftless Wisconsin 

Tourism Summit in Prairie du Chien

By Ted Pennekamp

 

Wed
11
Nov

Veterans Day

Submitted by admin on Wed, 11/11/2015 - 11:21

 

Veterans Day salute

The Prairie du Chien Honor Guard fires a salute in honor of all American veterans on Veterans Day at the Prairie du Chien Veterans Memorial at 11 a.m. on Tuesday Nov. 11, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. (Photo by Ted Pennekamp)

Mon
09
Nov

Old hospital building comes down

Submitted by admin1 on Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:44

This demolition photo was taken from near the driveway to the former main entrance, facing northwest toward the Methodist church. (Photos by Correne Martin)

Demolition crews at the former Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital site on Taylor Street were hard at work for most of last week, tearing down and sorting the building and materials to be recycled.

This photo of the demolition was taken from Taylor Street facing southwest, standing where the hospital’s former sunroom was once located.

Demolition crews at the former Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital site on Taylor Street were hard at work for most of last week, tearing down and sorting the building and materials to be recycled. See more photos at pdccourier.com and the Courier’s Facebook page. (Photos by Correne Martin)

Mon
09
Nov

Army soldier encourages listening to vets’ stories

Submitted by admin1 on Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:27

Staff Sergeant Karen Knock-Lucas joined the Army in 1996 after graduating from Seneca High School in 1996. She is shown here during her first overseas deployment to Iraq in 2002. She spent 12 months there. She was also deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 for less than 12 months. She remains active in training and instructing soldiers as well as working as the Richland County veterans service officer.

Karen Knock-Lucas is a master driver with the Wisconsin Army National Guard 229th Engineer Company. When new equipment is acquired, she tries it out and provides job training for her fellow soldiers.

Karen, her husband Paul, and their fellow soldiers walk toward a welcoming crowd after de-boarding a plane from Afghanistan. (Submitted photos)

An impressive scene from Karen’s time serving in the Army in Afghanistan.

Karen’s husband, Paul Brown Lucas, also a member of the 229th Engineer Company, stands atop a Hesco barrier in Afghanistan.

By Correne Martin

Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Karen Knock-Lucas, of the 229th Engineer Company, will be the featured speaker at the Crawford County Veterans Day program on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Soldiers Grove American Legion Clubhouse on Highway 61. The 1996 Seneca High School graduate and new Richland Center veterans service officer, who spent two deployments overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, was honored to accept the role when asked. She plans to tell war stories of veterans and what they’ve been through and encourage the crowd to talk and listen to veterans whenever possible.

“Come to Soldiers Grove. Shake the veterans’ hands and honor and respect them,” she said. “Take the opportunity to listen to their stories. Especially when a WWII, Korean and Vietnam veteran starts to tell a story, we need to drop everything and listen.”

Mon
09
Nov

Quilts of Valor honor area veterans

Submitted by admin1 on Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:18

Eight local veterans received Quilts of Valor at a presentation in Luana by the Northeast Iowa Quilt Guild the evening of Nov. 3. Pictured with Quilts of Valor volunteers Joni Johnson (back, far left) and Sue Lynch (front, far right) are recipients (front, left to right) Laura Moore, Eric Benzing; (back) David Scott, Terry Sharp, Dallas Valley, Richard Augustine, Budd Tieman and Robert Dull. (Photo by Audrey Posten)

These four local veterans received Quilts of Valor at a presentation in Luana by the Northeast Iowa Quilt Guild the afternoon of Nov. 3. Pictured (from left) are Leigh Rekow, John Henry Muller, Norman Mueller and Clyde Thompson. (Submitted photo)

Marines Corp veteran Kurt Kravchuk, of Prairie du Chien, received a Quilt of Valor Saturday from the Northeast Iowa Quilters Guild, represented by Sue Lynch. He accepted it in honor of Barton D. Bonn, a Persian Gulf veteran who was Kravchuk's inspiration for joining the Marines. (Photo by Correne Martin)

Veteran Budd Tieman, of Prairie du Chien, receives his Quilt of Valor from Sue Lynch, Northeast Iowa Quilt Guild program chair. (Submitted photo)

Veteran Dallas Valley, of Prairie du Chien, is thanked by a well-wisher during a Quilt of Valor presentation Nov. 3. (Photo by Audrey Posten)

By Correne Martin and Audrey Posten

When a Quilt of Valor is presented to a veteran, it is typically draped over him or her to symbolize a hug. It is meant to honor and comfort service members and those touched by war or conflict. Last week, 13 patriotic quilts were awarded to area veterans of different military branches and war eras by the Northeast Iowa Quilters Guild. The majority were given at special ceremonies on Nov. 3.

In one of the biggest Quilt of Valor presentations by the guild, those veterans in northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin receiving quilts included:

•Budd Tieman, Prairie du Chien, Navy, Vietnam

•Dallas Valley, Prairie du Chien, Army National Guard, Vietnam

•Laura Moore, Prairie du Chien, Crawford County Veterans Service Officer, Army, Persian Gulf

•Kurt Kravchuk, Prairie du Chien, Marines, served 1982-86—in honor of Barton D. Bonn, Marines, Persian Gulf (presented privately Saturday)

Mon
09
Nov

Firemen respond to calls at Crossing Rivers

Submitted by admin1 on Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:12

By Correne Martin

The Prairie du Chien Fire Department responded to two calls of alarms sounding at Crossing Rivers Health on Thursday, Nov. 5.

The first call came around 6:30 a.m. from something that occurred in the kitchen area that set the alarm off. It was very minor, according to Chief Harry Remz.

The second call happened just before 11:15 a.m. Remz explained that a humidifier system at the medical center was causing a mist in the operating room area. Multiple trucks were dispatched to the scene.
“There was no fire, no smoke, no damage,” he stated. “Their HVAC person will be taking a look at what caused the humidifier system to open up and produce the mist.”

Remz also noted that a number of additional fire calls have occurred at Crossing Rivers in recent weeks. They were related to smoke detectors within the duct work that were inadvertently going off.

Mon
09
Nov

Dump truck hauling blacktop rolls into ditch

Submitted by admin1 on Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:11

On Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 11:41 a.m., the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department was notified of a one-vehicle rollover on Johnstown Road about a half-mile east of Highway 27 in Utica Township.

Jamey S. Erlandson, 44, was driving a 1993 International dump truck owned by Blackjack Transport, LLC. Erlandson was driving east on Johnstown Road and slowing as he was driving down a hill. He moved onto the shoulder of the road to allow a vehicle to drive past, traveling westbound on Johnstown Road. As Erlandson moved onto the south-side shoulder, he lost control of the truck causing the truck to turn over in the ditch. The truck came to rest on the driver’s side. The truck was being used to transport about an eighth of a load of blacktop from a job site for Badger Environmental and Earth Works.

Erlandson claimed no injuries from the crash. The International truck sustained severe damage and was towed from the scene.

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