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River expected to near 13'
The Mississippi River stage is at 11.67 feet
at of Wednesday, May 26. Predictions are for a slow rise through the
weekend and by Monday and Tuesday the rise could become more rapid to an
expected stage of about 12.75 or more. Flood stage at Prairie du Chien
is 16 feet. According to Lock and Dam 9 at Lynxville, the gates are now
just in, however there may be a directive from Corps of Engineers
headquarters in St. Paul to pull the gates out. That could cause the
river to rise even more than the prediction. St. Paul bases their
decisions and directives to the various Locks and Dams based on an
overview of the entire jurisdiction. Some tributaries and wetlands are
handling the recent influx of water from storms better than others, so
the corps takes that into consideration.
The annual Memorial Day Parade will commence at 10:30 a.m., Monday,
May 31. The marching units will proceed from the intersection of East
Blackhawk Ave. and Michigan Street west to Beaumont Road and thence
South to the Ft. Crawford Military Cemetery. The annual Memorial Day
Program at the Ft. Crawford Military Cemetery will begin at
approximately 10:45 a.m. and will be as follows: Invocation - Father
Raymond Sims, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Flag Raising Ceremony - Boy
Scouts of America Our National Anthem - Prairie High Band Gettysburg
Address - Cory Lorenz Musical Selection(s) - Prairie High Band In
Flanders Fields - Brooke Rogers Memorial Day Address - Bill Howe Rifle
Salute and Taps - Prairie du Chien Honor Guard Closing Prayer - Father
Raymond Sims All marching units, including Prairie du Chien Honor Guard,
Legionaries, VFW members and all ex-servicemen, Legion and VFW
Auxiliaries, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Patriotic organizations, school
children carrying flowers and flags, Bluff View School Band and the
Prairie du Chien High School Band are requested to assemble at the F
& M Bank parking lot on South Michigan St., no later than 10:15
Monday. In the event of inclement weather, the Memorial Day Program will
be held at Bluff View School. After the program at Ft. Crawford Military
Cemetery, the Prairie du Chien Honor Guard will visit all cemeteries,
and the Veterans' Memorials at the Court House and the VFW Veterans
Memorial at the Old Rock School.
Proposed bicycle path making the rounds
The proposed bicycle-pedestrian path around Prairie du Chien has and
will continue to be a topic at upcoming public meetings. Eric Frydenlund
of Community Development said that a preliminary plan outlining the path
has been drawn up and that a plan will need to be approved by the city
of Prairie du Chien, the town of Bridgeport and the town of Prairie du
Chien because the proposed path encompasses all three municipalities. "We've
been working on the documentation for about one and a half years and
will submit the documentation to the city and townships for approval,"
said Frydenlund about what is now officially known as the Prairie du
Chien Area Bicycle-Pedestrian Plan. Frydenlund noted that the Community
Development Program applied for and received a $20,000 Department of
Transportation (DOT) grant for the plan. Through the grant, the DOT paid
$16,000, while the city contributed $2,000 and each township $1,000. A
preliminary map shows the path running in a loop completely around the
city of Prairie du Chien. There are also other proposed loops breaking
off from the main loop. One smaller loop would run out to LaRiviere Park
and the Prairie du Chien Country Club, another loop would take
bicyclists down to St. Feriole Island and a third loop runs out to The
Barnyard Nine. In addition, there are proposed "spokes" running from the
main loop into parts of the city. Some of these spokes connect several
schools and others could be used as a bicycle or walking route for
people to go to and from work. One spoke could connect St. John's, B.A.
Kennedy, the high school and Bluff View. Frydenlund said issues
concerning where the path would go continue to be worked out. "We're
working on the details to come up with a plan to everybody satisfaction,"
he said. Frydenlund said that the map is a preliminary map and is
subject to change. He said that there will be one more public meeting in
order to gain input on the plan before the plan is presented to the city
and the townships for approval. People will be notified as to the date,
time and location of the public meeting. "The idea behind a
bicycle-pedestrian path is to relieve congestion on the streets," said
Frydenlund. "Hopefully, it will get people out of cars and on bikes and
feet." Ever-increasing gasoline prices and physical fitness may be other
incentives for people to get on their bicycles, Frydenlund said. "Bike
paths can be a pretty efficient way of travel if you take them through
areas without many stop signs or congestion," said Frydenlund, who noted
that the DOT is very much in favor of bike paths as a way to relieve
congestion. In fact, the DOT has incorporated bike paths as part of
their upcoming highway and street projects in the Prairie du Chien area,
such as the bypass planned on South Main Street and the improvements
from Riverside Square out to WalMart. The bicycle-pedestrian path plan
may call for four different types of path. Most of the east side loop,
part of which will run along the bluffs on out to LaRiviere Park, will
involve what is known as "shared use." A shared use path involves a
10-foot-wide asphalt strip that is separate from the street. "We are
going to try to have a separate path in as many places as we can,"
Frydenlund said. Shared use paths are shared by bicyclists, walkers,
joggers, skateboarders, etc. Another type of path would be a "bicycle
lane" that would involve four-foot lanes on both sides of the road. One
drawback to this would be that parking would have to be eliminated on
those streets. A "shared roadway" with signage designating the bicycle
path is another option, as is a "paved shoulder". "A bicycle path really
represents a progressive community. It would not only be for people
living here, but also for those thinking of moving here or visiting
here," said Frydenlund in noting that the path would be done not only
for safety and congestion reasons but also for recreational reasons. To
create the route and the spokes of the path, Frydenlund and Dale Klemme
studied DOT traffic counts and patterns. They also checked crossing
guard statistics and conducted employee surveys with the five largest
employers in Prairie du Chien. In addition, Frydenlund and Klemme
visited with many fourth and seventh graders as to where they go on
their bicycles and where they are told to stay away from. If all goes
well, Frydenlund said that it his hoped that construction could begin in
2006 on the eastern half of the path, running from Cabela's out to
LaRiviere Park. He said that the estimated cost of the eastern half is
$900,000. If a DOT grant for the eastern half of the path is approved,
the state would fund 80 percent of the cost, said Frydenlund, who
explained that Community Development also continues to investigate
different funding options.
Eastman native tutors students in China, plans a return trip for
July
Freelance writer When was the last time you sat in a three-room
apartment, in the middle of winter, with no central heat? Sonya Fisher,
23, of Eastman, experienced this, last year, while spending time in
China as a tutor. It all began because UW- Platteville, where Fisher was
studying at the time, needed a tutor for some students at a university
in China, who were working on earning a Masters Degree through
UW-Platteville. Professors, from the college, went to China to teach
English for two weeks. After that it was up to the students to complete
their course. The students were having problems with their final papers,
and one of the professors knew that Fisher was interested in teaching
abroad, so asked her to go. Fisher's assignment was to assist the
students with the basics including grammar and spelling. "I learned a
lot about their culture," Fisher said. The students she was teaching
were enrolled at South Central University of Nationalities located in
the city of Wuhan, population nine million. Fisher said the city is
divided into three sections: shopping, industry and universities. "There
are a total of 28 universities in that area," she said. As mentioned
beforehand, her apartment, with no central heat, consisted of a small
kitchen, living room and bedroom. The only source of heat was one space
heater. There was no hot water, consequently she had to heat water on
the stove. The source of water for the apartment was contained in a tank
sitting directly outside the bathroom window. "The only way this water
becomes warm is from the rays of the sun." Fisher said, "When the sun
shone on the tank, the water would rise to just above freezing." A
thermometer gave her the temperature of the water. "I could see my
breath in the apartment every morning." She saw small children with
frost bitten ears and fingers. Fisher's apartment contained a washer,
only because she is an American. There were no dryers available. She was
told that in the summer it gets very hot and the water outside her
apartment will reach the boiling point. There is a lot of dirt and dust,
as Wuhan is a highly industrial city. "And the children go potty in the
streets," she said. Fisher's tutoring was similar to a job, as she
worked Monday through Friday, with office hours afternoon and night. She
would review the student's papers, correct them and email them to the
professors at UW-Platteville. Her stay was supposed to be for four
months, but was cut short by one month due to the breakout of SARS.
Fisher is currently attending UW-Stevens Point, where she is studying
for a Masters in Communication, and has made plans to leave for her
second visit to China, on July 3.
Are two heads better than one?
Watching the turtle's four legs move it's shell along, Stephanie Mullikin of
rural Wauzeka says, "The turtles are named KitKat and Buttercup." When
asked why it has two names, she responses with a child's wisdom, "It has
two heads." On Tuesday afternoon, May 18, the Eric and Holly Mullikin
family were tilling their garden at their homestead near the Kickapoo River on
Plum Creek Road. After the till they noticed the little turtle moseying along.
Then they noticed this was by no means a regular turtle - it had two heads. The
Mullikin family says they often have turtle eggs - of both the snapper and
painted variety hatch in the back yard in the springtime. The newborn turtles
roam across their yard, driveway and then the road to get down to the river. The
Mullikins keep an extra eye out when they mow the grass and they sometimes even
scoop them up and carry them across the road to assure they at least make it
that far in their lives safely. In addition to the turtle's two heads, its
shell is slightly deformed on one side. It gets around quite well, even though
one back leg does not seem to function 100 percent. Its tail also curves off to
one side. It seems rather healthy, and they report it has been enjoying eating
worms. It survived a visit to all of the classrooms at ECHOES (Eastman Home
Community Charter School) on Wednesday, so it must be relatively hardy. They did
try to put the turtle in water to see if it could swim, but only one head could
stay above water. According to www.tortoise. org, the painted turtle (Chrysemys
picta) is the most widely distributed North American turtle, and the only one to
range across the entire continent. They are small turtles with an adult shell
length of 4-10 inches. The shell is usually a smooth, flattened oval, and is
green to black in color, with red markings in some subspecies. The underside is
generally yellow, sometimes tinged with red, sometimes with a black to
reddish-brown figure of varying size and shape. Males have elongated foreclaws
and long, thick tails. Females have shorter foreclaws, shorter and thinner
tails, and tend to be larger. Wild painted turtles prefer slow-moving shallow
waters of ponds, marshes, creeks and lakes with soft, muddy bottoms, with
suitable basking sites and ample aquatic vegetation. Even hatchlings (which can
be small as one-inch) can be seen basking. Nesting for painted turtle occurs
from late May to mid-July. The female prepares a flask-shaped nest in slightly
moist loamy or sandy soil at a sunny site near water. The number of eggs laid
varies from 2 to 20. Incubation in nature and in captivity averages 76 days. The
influence of incubation temperature on hatchling gender is well-documented in
painted turtles. Eggs incubated at relatively higher temperatures (87°F)
produce female hatchlings; lower incubation temperatures (77°F) produce male
hatchlings. At the pivotal temperature of 84°F , both males and females are
produced. Hatchlings emerge from the egg with the help of the caruncle or
eggtooth. The caruncle drops off a few days after hatching. The hatchlings have
a keeled shell and an abdominal fold, both of which disappear as they grow.
Their shell pigmentation and markings are brighter and more pronounced than
those of adults. They mature about five years after hatching and are thought to
live as long as 20 years. Painted turtles are not allowed to be kept as pets.
They have interesting individual personalities and often exhibit comical
behaviors. The Mullikins are asking anyone who can share information about
KitKat and Buttercup to call them at (608)875-5104.
Weekend downpours bring flooding to area
Heavy equipment was needed along the roadways in many locations in Crawford,
Clayton and Allamakee Counties.
County highway crews, along with city employees, were kept very busy on
Saturday and Sunday with clean up. The sewer walls behind the McGregor library
collapsed under intense pressure.Steve and Marlene Rose of rural Prairie du
Chien woke to find their road a complete wash out Sunday morning. Debris plugged
the two three-foot-diameter culverts, diverting the raging water down the road.
Pictured is Marlene's brother, Steve DeVoe, working to clean the four to five
feet of debris and sediment. More photos on pages two and eight. After a week of
wet weather and heavy downpours Friday and Saturday, the area is in a state of
clean-up, with many streets, residents and businesses being affected by
flooding. Highway 35 from Lynxville to Prairie du Chien was closed beginning
late Friday night, with crews removing debris all day Saturday. The road was
reopened at about 7 p.m. Saturday night. Many county roads were also closed for
periods of time, including County F, D, S and W, according to Crawford County
Highway Superintendent Dennis Pelock. Prairie du Chien city streets also had
their share of problems. From Ohio Street to the bluff, and from Taylor Street
to Wisconsin Street, there was significant debris and mud buildup, said Prairie
du Chien Street Department superintendent Rodney Fisher. After placing
barricades on the streets during the night, crews worked from 7:30 a.m. Sunday
morning to about 8 p.m. that night. The ground became so saturated with rainfall
earlier in the week that it was unable to take more water, leading to the mud
runoff problems. Fisher especially wanted to thank the water, street and fire
departments for all of their time and hard work in cleaning up the city's
streets. In McGregor, virtually the entire town was affected. It started when
the sewer walls behind the McGregor library collapsed under intense pressure,
leading to an outbreak of water that quickly filled up the streets. Main Street
could have been mistaken for a river early Sunday. Most businesses either
sustained damage or came within inches. The Alexander Hotel bar was completely
underwater and some cars were either partially or totally covered. The water
also washed away dirt on a portion of the railroad tracks, which led to their
collapse. Amazingly, the library directly in front of the storm sewer had no
major damage, as its walls and doors were able to hold up. It was reported that
the double glass doors on the back of the building were able to hold back about
three feet of water. There was about an inch of water in the furnace room, but
no books were damaged. Many of the streets in McGregor remain under a thick
cover of mud. In all, a total of 5.29 inches of rain blanketed Prairie du Chien
over the weekend. Lansing reported 3.69, Fayette, Iowa 5.12 and the Volga area
received over 8. Flood and flash flood warnings were in effect over the weekend
on both Friday and Saturday. As of Monday morning flood warnings remain in
effect for the Kickapoo River, as well as for the Volga and Turkey rivers in
Iowa, as they are close to setting new flood records. Garber and Elkport, two
communities located near those rivers, sustained severe damage. It also resulted
in Clayton Ridge High School postponing their graduation ceremonies to the
following weekend. Traffic was not allowed in Elkader, Iowa for some time. And
the load is not expected to lighten. According to Todd Shea of the National
Weather Service in La Crosse, more rain is expected Monday night, although the
heaviest seems to be going south. Rain is also in the forecast for later in the
week, but the worst is probably, and hopefully, behind us.
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