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March 11, 2009 |
The chilly, rainy, fall of 2007 was made brighter in McGregor when Hollywood came to town.
Iowa native and award-winning writer-director Becky Smith filmed a coming-of-age story about two 16 year-old girls who work at a small town ice-cream stand in downtown McGregor.
After a name change and over a year of post-production work, that movie is about to make its U.S. debut.
"Sixteen to Life," formerly known as "Duck Farm No. 13," will debut at a Los Angeles film festival known as the Method Fest later this month, according to director Becky Smith.
The festival focuses on quality acting and is named after the ‘method acting’ style taught by famous acting coaches Konstantin Stanislavski and Stella Adler.
The film is scheduled to screen at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 28 at this year’s Method Fest.
The Method Fest Web page features a photo of "Sixteen to Life" star Hallee Hirsch.
The film is also supposed to screen in Beijing in May - translated entirely into Mandarin.
According to Smith, she has been applying to festivals while completing final work on the film over the past few months.
"Applying to festivals is a pretty challenging thing right now," said Smith in an e-mail.
"Sixteen to Life" was submitted to the well-known Sundance Film Festival, but was not accepted.
"Sundance received between three and four thousand features this year—and took approximately 36 into its main competition. Most films need aggressive campaigns by producer’s reps to get into festivals, and the odds are getting tougher for major festivals," she wrote.
"I applied to Sundance with the film unfinished…and did not get in. We did get a personal note from the festival co-director, saying she liked the film a lot, but it didn’t make the final cut. I could apply with it again next year as a finished film, but I’m far more interested in getting distribution," Smith explained.
"I’m starting with a small, but prestigious festival that presents films with great casts. I’m very pleased that Method Fest is showing our film, because its line-up is impressive. Our film will not be done until March 23, right before the festival premieres it, so we are cutting it tight," Smith noted.
Getting distribution for the film is Smith’s primary goal right now.
"Even the biggest film festivals are no guarantee that your film will get sold, so I’m focusing on going directly to the distributors."
"My big goal, as I said earlier in the email, is to get distribution. I want the film to be seen, I want to pay back my investors, and I want to make another feature in Iowa as soon as possible!" Smith wrote.
Smith is planning a local screening of the film this summer, possibly in Elkader, and an event in McGregor. Details and dates for local events have not been confirmed.
For more information on Method Fest, visit www. methodfest.com. A Web site for "Sixteen to Life" will be posted very soon according to Smith, but was not up as of press time. Some information about the film can be found on the Internet Movie Database at www.imdb.com/title/tt1130087/
Several teachers and citizens spoke rather passionately at the school board meeting Monday night in asking the Prairie du Chien School District to hire another guidance counselor. This was the second meeting in which citizens and teachers pleaded for another counselor, having already expressed their concerns to the board in January.
High School guidance counselor Nancy Becker resigned in the spring of 2008, leaving the district with one counselor for the district’s 1,200 students. The State Department of Public Instruction recommends a minimum of one counselor for every 450 students. The district attempted to hire a sixty-percent counselor, but the three applicants declined. The district’s position since then has been to not hire a replacement for Becker, which leaves Wendy Garrity as the only counselor.
Garrity has voiced her concern in the past; and at this meeting, again asked for another counselor. She also read a letter from Crawford County Family and Children Unit Supervisor Sandy Drobnick, who succinctly explained the very high need for another counselor.
Numerous parents, teachers and counseling professionals also expressed their concerns and frustrations with the school district.
"I thought that children were much more valuable than this," said parent Cynde Scheetz. "I never thought that the school district would not hire a new counselor. I was terribly wrong." Scheetz said that her household has been dealing with cancer issues, economic issues and social issues and that counseling provided by the school had been a great asset in the past. "My child has been very much helped," she said. "It has helped all the way around. I would really like to see a counselor back at school. Thank you."
"You (the school district) say that you will make the best with what you have. I would say making the best of what?" said Maureen McCarty of Prairie du Chien. "There is a serious gap in services here."
McCarty and others in attendance emphasized that school counseling is one of the key elements in reducing drop-out rates and in increasing academic performance.
"A counselor may be the best friend, or the only friend a kid has," said Diane Malcom, a counselor at Central Community School District of Elkader, Iowa. Malcom noted that among the many things that counselors can provide are intervention skills, data, employability skills and good core values. "Without another counselor, you are shortchanging our children," she told the board.
"It has been very difficult," said B.A. Kennedy second-grade teacher Barb Rohde. "These kids have no go-to person. There is a gap. A counselor would be very busy at B.A. Kennedy. I feel we can do a better job in the district for all of the students. It (a shortage of counselors) affects all of the students."
"Eliminating this position is one of the most terrible things that the district can do to our children," said Rhonda Stubbe, who has operated a childcare center for ages infant through 12 for 35 years. "Guidance counselors make a huge impact upon our children. I care about the kids. We all care about the kids. Let’s use the resources we have to effectively take care of this. I’m begging you guys. Please don’t cut the guidance counselor position."
"It really is a matter of priorities," said Maureen McCarty, who noted that the district can certainly find some other area in which to cut the district’s costs.
After several people spoke on behalf of hiring a new counselor, an audience member asked to hear from the three principals about each particular building.
High School Principal Andy Banasik said that a counselor is not needed at the high school because the high school already has a full-time counselor based in the building.
"The situation at the high school is better than in the past," he said.
Bluff View Principal Aaron Amundson said, "I don’t know what that person (counselor) would do in our building." Amundson said that a full-time counselor is not needed at Bluff View because there are few and "isolated incidents," which are dealt with when they arise. In giving his assessment of Bluff View’s needs, Amundson had to ask audience members that he be allowed to give his opinion despite many "groans" from the audience regarding some of Amundson’s comments.
B.A. Kennedy Principal Joan Wick said that there are many needy kids at B.A. Kennedy.
"Another set of eyes, that would be great," she said. "If we had a full-time counselor, that would be super." Wick said that it was a big help when Wendy Garrity was at B.A. Kennedy. She said that a new counselor would be a big help now, even at 60 percent. Before Nancy Becker retired, Garrity split her time between B.A. Kennedy and Bluff View.
School Board member Ron Quamme made a motion to hold one board meeting in order to brainstorm for options regarding another counselor position for the district. The board approved the motion. Parents, teachers and other concerned citizens were asked to sign up for such a meeting. The meeting date has not yet been determined.
For an organization in a relatively small community, Faith in Action of Crawford County has delivered some large-scale services.
The Crawford County Faith in Action is part of a nationwide interfaith organization intended to help people who are elderly or who have long-term health needs or disabilities. The concept behind the organization is to help these people maintain their independence by providing assistance with daily activities.
A program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, its has existed in Crawford County since February of 2005, and began serving the public in July of that year.During 2008, 47 active volunteers delivered services to 142 people in the area.
One of the biggest services provided is transportation, according to Cheryl Mader, president of the board of directors. Because of an increasing incidence of diabetes, she said, many elders require dialysis and must travel to La Crosse to obtain it. Last year, 283 trips were provided to clinics or hospitals, with 13,238 miles recorded for those trips.
Mader said that providing transportation and other services is often very difficult for families. Joe and Tina Ruskey are an example of a family who faced such a problem. Tina’s mother, Agnes Roberto (now deceased), had to make almost daily trips to La Crosse for dialysis and medical appointments, and with both Joe and Tina working, they didn’t know what to do. They were advised to call Faith in Action. "Within two hours," Joe said, "they called back saying they had found rides for several weeks in advance. We were overcome." Roberto, said Ruskey, was hesitant about having to make the trip with a stranger. However, after the first trip, she looked forward to it. "She could discuss things with the volunteers that she couldn’t discuss with the family," he explained, "and she enjoyed stopping for lunch and visiting." Ruskey said he had also talked to some of the volunteers, and learned that they felt the process was a two-way street. The volunteers told him they enjoyed getting out of the house and doing something for someone else. "Faith in Action asked nothing in return," said Ruskey, "but we try to give back to them whenever we can.".
Mader believes that the Ruskeys’ experience proves benefits go far beyond the actual service provided. "The isolation that the elderly experience can be difficult," she explained. "As their friends age and die, they have fewer and fewer people to visit or call them. The volunteers talk to them, take them places, even take them out to lunch."
In addition to transportation, other services provided include such things as visiting, respite care, shopping, reassurance or check-in calls, housekeeping, and paperwork.
All in all, the local faith in Action assisted care receivers 1,212 times, provided 2,276 hours of volunteer service and supplied the equivalent of $34,150 in free service to the community during 2008.
The statistics alone, Lund believes, tell only part of the story. In the 2008 Annual Report she states, "What value do we place on the sense of security felt by an elderly person when he knows that someone will get his groceries very week, or she will have a friendly voice at the other end of the phone line checking on her each day? In fact, the full effect of the work we do is impossible to measure. So, we use numbers, facts and figures."
The organization is funded by grants 3M Community Center, the United Way and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, contribution from churches, businesses, organizations and individuals, and by three fundraisers: selling greenery at Christmas time, a summer golf outing and the upcoming radio auction March 21. Some of the contributions are in the form of memorial from friends or relatives of those served by the organization.
Volunteers, said director Cathy Lund, are always welcomed, and they are reimbursed for mileage when driving people to appointments. "I’m just truly amazed," said Lund, "by the wonderful volunteers." Crawford County Faith in Action serves Crawford and parts of Grant County in Wisconsin as well as Clayton County in Iowa.
Prairie du Chien residents will be wearing the green a bit early this year, since the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade is scheduled for this Saturday, March 14.
The parade will start from St. Feriole Island at 10 a.m. and follow a route along Blackhawk Avenue to Michigan Street, proceeding north on Michigan to Washington, then west on Washington and back to the island.
Tom Nelson will serve as Grand Marshall, and Paul and Colleen Gokey will preside as King and Queen of the parade. Bagpiper Jimmy Sherman from the Brian Boru Irish Pipe Band of St. Paul will also participate.
March 9, 2009 |
In October, 2006, the City Planning Commission and the City Council approved a 14-acre plot development called Senior Village, a project, of Community Health Services Corporation. The Village, to be located north and east of the intersection of Taylor and Fremont Streets, was the first planned community development approved by the city of Prairie du Chien.
Although originally targeted for completion in August of 2009, Phase One of Senior Village campus is expected to be open by the end of June—the first part of a plan to create a vibrant community for seniors with housing options ranging from cottages and condominiums to full service nursing home facilities.
Phase One, which is nearing completion, includes a skilled nursing facility, a Village Square with a café, beauty salon, community room and library, a memory care facility and independent living apartments. Townhouses and condominiums, a wellness center and a rehab center, will be added in Phase 2.
The skilled nursing facility, to be named Prairie Maison, (the current Prairie Maison residents will move to the new building), will look quite different from the traditional nursing home of days gone by. That is because, according to Alesha Erdenberger, business manager for the project, it is planned around a social rather than a medical model. Erdenberger explained that the traditional medical model was designed for the convenience of the medical staff.
The new building, which will have the same number of beds as the other building, is designed to allow residents to interact more easily with each other and with the staff.
As is shown in the illustration, it is broken down into two wings or ‘neighborhoods,’ Frenchtown Terrace and Joliet Court. Unlike the old facility with long hallways and a nursing station at the end, the neighborhoods are built in the shape of a square with a courtyard in the middle and nursing stations on opposite corners. The courtyard will have walkways, a gazebo, shrubs and flowers.
Most of the rooms will be private. Frenchtown Terrace has 32 private rooms; Joliet Court has 12 private rooms and 10 semi-private (double) rooms. Residents will have a closet or wardrobe, dresser, electric bed and individual room temperature controls. Many will have their own walk-in showers. Each neighborhood is divided into two ‘households,’ each with its own nursing station, lounge and dining room.
Residents should also be pleased with the changes in food preparation and presentation. They will have two different main meal options, and once they have ordered they will be served beverage and salad first, then the main course and then dessert. Their meals will no longer arrive on a tray with a plastic cover.
Residents who want to enjoy a meal with visiting family and friends may opt to dine in the Village Square cafe, which is wheelchair accessible.
Colors, said Erdenberger have been chosen from the outdoors—blue, gold, green and bronze. Each hallway will have a different color, making it easier for residents to find their way around.
In addition to the skilled nursing facility, 24 independent living apartments, 23 one bedroom and one two bedroom, will also open in the first phase.
The apartments are designed for individuals who are capable of living on their own, but who do not want the bother of cooking or upkeep. Each apartment has a bathroom with walk-in shower, a kitchenette with refrigerator and microwave, a living room and a bedroom. They range in size from 414 to 443 square feet. Residents’ monthly fee will include three meals a day, light housekeeping, light laundry, a beep-in security system, emergency call system and individual mailbox. Three of the units are handicap-accessible. Each will have its own parking space.
The facility has a dining room, exercise room, laundry room and a TV viewing room built like a miniature cinema. Residents will also have access to the community room in the Village Square.
A six-bed memory care unit, at the east end of the complex, will provide activities geared to what its individual residents can and want to do, with an eye on keeping them occupied and happy. An adjacent, enclosed patio will allow them to enjoy the outdoors.
An open house will be scheduled once the buildings are ready to open, but questions about the skilled nursing facility and space availability may be addressed to Nancy Thurn, 608-326-8471, extension 19. For other information about the village, contact Business Manager Alesha Erdenberger at 608-357-2294.
One notable by-product of the global economic downturn is the increase in home mortgage foreclosures in the past year. So far, however, Crawford County residents have avoided the sharp increases seen in the surrounding area and throughout much of the state.
According to State Courts Office statistics, 33 foreclosure actions were filed in Crawford County in 2007 and 34 in 2008, an increase of only 3 percent.
Other area counties have not been as fortunate. Vernon County saw an increase of 67 percent, with 45 foreclosures in 2007 and 75 in 2008. Richland County went up from 60 in 2007 to 79 in 2008, an increase of 32 percent. Iowa County had 92 foreclosures in 2007 and 105 in 2008, a 14 percent increase. Grant County had a 9 percent increase, from 96 in 2007 to 105 in 2008. La Crosse County recorded a 27.6 percent increase, with 228 foreclosures in 2007 and 291 in 2008.
Statewide foreclosures increased 21 percent, with 21,051 filed in 2007 and 25,547 in 2008.
Many predict that foreclosures will likely continue to increase in 2009.
Foreclosures generally increased at a faster rate in the first half of 2008 than in the second half.
As the number of foreclosures have gone up, so too have the number of Sheriff’s Auctions.
Once again, Crawford County has been relatively fortunate regarding sheriff’s auctions when compared to surrounding counties.
Crawford County Sheriff Jerry Moran reports that there were 14 sheriff’s auctions in 2007 and 15 in 2008. He said that there have been three such auctions so far in 2009, with one more to be held in March.
"So far we’ve been holding about ‘normal’ compared to the past two years," he said.
There were eight sheriff’s auctions in Clayton County, Iowa in 2006, 10 in 2007 and 28 in 2008. The total nearly tripled in Clayton County from 2007 to 2008. Grant County had 40 in 2006, 47 in 2007 and 65 in 2008. Dubuque County, Iowa had 73 in 2004, 85 in 2005, 100 in 2006, 87 in 2007 and 135 in 2008.
The upward trend in foreclosures started before the subprime mortgage crisis took hold, but a combination of financial hardships and lax lending standards is blamed for the numbers spike in 2008.
People in need of financial or foreclosure counseling can turn to several agencies and organizations for help.
Free individual appointments can be made with Crawford County Family Living Agent Jane Schaaf. Schaaf doesn’t provide foreclosure counseling per se, but she can provide information on establishing a spending plan, tracking spending, and household record-keeping.
"If a person is facing financial difficulties and worrying about foreclosure, the best advice would be to contact their lender before they miss a payment," said Schaaf. "Lenders will work with people, so you need to let them know the situation. They don’t want to foreclose because foreclosures cost them money also."
Schaaf said that lenders are willing to work out solutions such as reducing or deferring payments, or restructuring loans with reduced payments and a longer repayment period. They also can investigate special programs in order to modify the terms of a mortgage.
Schaaf can be reached at 608-326-0223, or at jane.schaaf@ces.uwex.edu. Other area family living agents include Bev Doll in Grant County, Peggy Olive in Richland County, Karen Ehle-Traastad in Vernon County and Ruth Schriefer in Iowa County.
Catholic Charities provides consumer credit counseling services, family budgeting, and debt management. Catholic Charities can also assist with a debt management plan and in working with creditors when settling debts. In Prairie du Chien, Catholic Charities is located at 115 East Perry Street. The phone number is 326-1616.
Couleecap, with its central office in Westby, also offers counseling. The number for the Westby office is (608) 634-3104.
Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Madison can be reached at (608) 252-1320.
Credit Counseling Center of La Crosse can be reached at (608) 784-8380.
The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority promotes the national foreclosure help hotline at 1-888-995-HOPE (4673). The hotline is operated 24 hours per day and credit counselors will help callers establish a budget, understand loan terms and talk with their banks.
More information can be obtained by logging onto www.wisconsin.foreclosuresource.com.
