On Wednesday, March 26 residents will get the chance to see and hear all four Prairie du Chien mayoral candidates live during a Candidate Forum.

If, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, then the words behind the prize-winning photograph of Susan Leftakes, taken by Debbie Polkinghorn of Prairie du Chien, would say love, repeated a thousand times.

Debbie Polkinghorn didn’t spend much time, only about two and a half years, as a foster child in the care of Susan Leftakes of rural Loganville. Nevertheless, it was long enough to form a lifelong bond and for the foster parent to become not Mrs. Leftakes, but ‘Ma.’

"I would have gone through a thousand foster homes to find the relationship that we have," says Debbie, "and Ma says she’d do all 14 (Debbie was the first of 14 foster children taken in by the Leftakes) all over again to find that relationship."

Debbie didn’t have a very stable life as a child. Her parents split up when she was about nine years old. Her father took her two brothers; her mother kept Debbie and her sister. The sister soon moved out to live with her grandmother, and Debbie was left alone with her mother, who struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism. When she could, she stayed at her best friend’s house, but Debbie was also in and out of group homes and foster homes.

It didn’t take long before she fought being returned to her mother, who had once admitted to her that she never wanted to be a parent. One of her classmates, Serena Leftakes, approached her mother, who, with four of her own children, agreed to become certified as a foster parent so she could take Debbie.

Debbie spent two and half years with her, around the ages of 12 and 13. "I really loved her and her family," she says. "She just understood me so well; she knew there was a reason I acted out." Leftakes made things fun for her, even household chores. "You didn’t want to be bad because you liked having fun so much," she says. She remembers getting into trouble once for swearing and had to clean the boys’ toilet. "I never swore again," she laughs.

Despite her protests, however, Debbie was once again returned to live with her mother, who supposedly had her life under control, and the mother’s new boyfriend. During that time, she wasn’t allowed any contact with Leftakes. A few weeks later, she says, "I got booted out in the middle of the night."

After that, she lived with her dad, but got back in touch with Leftakes, and the two have remained close ever since. "We’re just like any mother and daughter; we talk at least daily." Debbie’s father died when she was 18, and after high school, she had a number of different jobs. "I was trying to find my niche in life," she says, "and Ma was always there."

Debbie was caring for her paternal grandmother in Dodgeville and bartending when a coworker set her up on a blind date with his friend, Tom Polkinghorn. Things clicked, and the two were married. They moved to Prairie du Chien in 1999. Tom works at Dillman Equipment and Debbie is employed at Tender Care Animal Hospital. She is also president of the new Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter.

They have one child, C.J., who is now four years old.When she and Tom learned that continuing to have children was not a possibility for them, they decided the time was right to act on Debbie’s long-held dream of adopting a foster child. Since a child cannot be legally adopted during the first six months of placement, the prospective parents are technically considered foster parents, and must thus be licensed for foster care. This requires background checks, fingerprinting and a home study. That study was completed two weeks ago, and after that, Polkinghorn said, "they tell you to be prepared. You can’t tell when it will happen."

Statistics for foster children, she said, are that 75 percent of the population in foster care are returned to their original homes; 20 percent are adopted by their foster parents, and the remaining five percent are available for other adoption. Those five percent, Polkinghorn said, have usually been in the foster system for some time. Such children, she said, often suffer from reactive attachment disorders—fear of attachment. Nevertheless, Debbie remembers the love she received from Leftakes, and is sure that she and her husband will be able to handle whatever happens.

They can indicate a particular child or children they might be interested in taking, but it is the social worker who makes the decision for placement. Her husband, she said, would prefer a child eight years of age or younger, "so we’d have them long enough to give them a good life before they grew up and left home." Ideally, they would like to adopt more than one child.

"It’s a gift to have children," said Polkinghorn, "but it’s also a gift to be chosen." She knows that from her own experience.

The State Historical Society has completed its review and the downtown refurbishing plan can proceed.

A delayed archeological and historical study had city officials and downtown business people holding their breath for the last few weeks to see if it would be approved in time to complete the planned sewer, water and streetscape yet this construction season.

The required study, prepared by a firm in La Crosse, should have been ready for submission by Jan. 1, but it was not completed until mid-February.

At a meeting of the Prairie du Chien Common Council March 4, Kurt Muchow of Vierbicher Associates, the consulting firm for the project, said the study had not yet been reviewed by the State Historical Society, which had to give its blessing before the project could move forward.

Muchow said he was concerned that much further delay could make it difficult to complete the project yet this year. During the discussion which followed, it was suggested that in the worst case the project could be delayed for a year. However, a review of the terms of the grant which is to fund the streetscape revealed that the work must be completed during 2008.

The nail-biting ended this week when the Historical Society notified the city that the study is approved.

City Planner Garth Frable said he estimated the city could advertise for bids the last week of March and the first week of April. "The goal," he said "is to begin work no later than mid-May, but we’re hoping to begin earlier than that."

Changes underway at Isle of Capri

Last Monday, five people in management and administrative positions at Isle of Capri Casino in Marquette lost their jobs.

The move was part of restructuring and cost cutting measure undertaken by the St. Louis-based company, which also has a new CEO. Bernard Goldstein, 79, former CEO, stepped down and was replaced by Jim Perry last Monday as well. Goldstein remains chairman of the board for the corporation.

Perry, who also sits on the board, chaired a committee which has been working on a new strategic plan for the company since last July, according to a Isle of Capri press release dated March 5.

"Our goal was to develop a plan to make our assets more competitive, more closely align our operating strategy with the needs of our customers and strengthen our balance sheet. I firmly believe that the strategic plan developed under his [Perry's] leadership will serve as a platform for the future growth of the company," Goldstein stated in the press release.

Perry, 58, has served in executive positions with Trump Entertainment Resorts and Argosy Gaming Co. According to the St. Louis Business Journal, Perry's base salary will be $800,000 a year with minimum potential annual bonus of $480,000. At his appointment as CEO, he also received 500,000 shares of company stock.

The restructuring may include a re-branding of the Marquette casino under the name Lady Luck. The company is looking at this brand for their smaller properties. According to local casino General Manager Barron Fuller, it is unclear if Marquette will undergo a re-branding at this point, but he expects it may come in the future.

Rettig wrapping up new eagle film
Much of it shot in Prairie du Chien

Acclaimed wildlife filmmaker Neil Rettig of Prairie du Chien is wrapping up a film about bald eagles, much of which was shot in the Prairie du Chien area.

Neil will be completing about 10 more hours of filming in the area shortly and the film continues to be edited, with segments being sent to Neil.

"This eagle film is going to be spectacular," said Neil. "It's looking a lot like the river film, with the cinematography and the pacing. I'm really happy with what I'm seeing so far." The river film to which Neil referred, Mississippi - Tales of the Last River Rat, earned numerous awards, including an Oscar for best cinematography, after having aired a couple of years ago.

Neil's latest film is tentatively entitled American Eagle and is being done for the PBS series Nature, a well-known one-hour program. Neil said that American Eagle may be broadcast next fall.

Shooting for the project began near Harper's Ferry in November of 2006 and 100s of hours have been shot so far. The film has been shot in locations in Alaska, Brownsville, Minn., various locations in and around Prairie du Chien, near the power plant in Lansing, near Glen Haven, Wis. and near Decorah, Iowa.

Bald eagles mostly feed on fish, but they are opportunists, and Neil has several shots of eagles chasing ducks and catching coots this past winter.

Neil said that he is especially excited about some scenes captured at the State Fish Hatchery in Decorah and some other scenes shot in Glen Haven. In Decorah, cameras were placed in the nest of a young adult female. On March 10, the laying of her first egg was captured on film. At Glen Haven, Neil said that huge numbers of eagles were drawn to a deer carcass because of the harsh winter feeding conditions. Neil placed a camera inside of the carcass to capture an up close view of the ensuing frenzy. "The eagles coming in, the fighting and the sounds are spectacular," he said.

Part of the film also deals with the dilemma of lead poisoning. A number of bald eagles die each year due to ingesting lead. Neil explained that swans can go down into the muck at the bottom of the Mississippi River to get food. The swans also end up eating lead shot that had been in the muck for many years. These swans die from lead poisoning and then the eagles feed on the dead swans and in turn get lead poisoning. Also, eagles get lead poisoning by feeding on the gut piles of deer that had been shot by hunters.

Neil noted that there are some very poignant moments in the film regarding an eagle that is suffering from lead poisoning.

"One shot of lead can kill an eagle," said Neil. "They have such a great digestive system that breaks down lead really fast. Much faster than a human."

Neil has been very busy the past few years and he has yet another big project coming on the heels of American Eagle. The upcoming project will also feature the Driftless Area, with many scenes from around Prairie du Chien.