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April 28, 2010 |
By Ted Pennekamp
As part of a federal stimulus project, Crawford County will be receiving $53,777 in state-of-the-art flood plain mapping for the county's portion of the Kickapoo River Valley.
Because of the 2008 flood and the resulting hardships in Gays Mills, Soldiers Grove, Steuben and other areas, the county was eligible for a federal supplemental allocation administered through the Wisconsin Department of Commerce's Community Development Block Grant-Emergency Assistance Program.
There were 31 counties eligible and Crawford County was one of 11 that received funding for the LiDar mapping.
LiDar stands for Light Detection and Radar, which is a state-of-the-art method for mapping. County Conservationist Russ Hagen explained that an airplane flies over the desired mapping area and shoots a laser light at the ground every three or four feet. The laser bounces back up and the data is collected by a camera. The program then filters out all trees and buildings.
The resulting computer program can then be used to produce 3-dimentional-looking topographic maps that can be layered to show roadways, river and stream beds and a wide variety of other features.
"It's like a topographic map only much, much more detailed," said Hagen, who noted that the maps can show differences in elevation as little as two-tenths of a foot. In fact, Hagen showed a computerized map in which the plow lines of a field could be readily seen.
Such maps can be used in a variety of ways. For instance, they can help show someone where to build a house. The map could show them that the area is too steep, for example. It could also show them a much better location in which to build. The maps would also show, of course, where the flood plain is. The maps can also indicate sink holes, Native American burial mounds and many other noteworthy features.
"This program picks up amazing stuff," said Hagen, who noted that the maps are originally in a 3D-looking gray. The program then allows the operator to layer the map with topographic lines, shading, elevation-indicating colors, and any other desired feature depending upon the purpose of a particular map.
The maps can be a very useful tool for individuals, businesses, flood plain planners, engineers, and others. They could be used, for example, to show a farmer where he can and can't spread manure due to steepness of slope.
"There are numerous applications for these maps based upon slope or forms," said Hagen. Hagen said that the maps would allow for the initial work on various projects to be done in the County Administrative Building. The maps would thus save time and money because decisions could be made and work done without having to go out and survey an area.
"This is truly an amazing piece of technology," said Hagen.
From the time the grant was applied for to the time it was approved was only three months, which Hagen said is amazingly fast. In the past, such grants might take a couple of years to be approved.
Hagen said that the aerial LiDar mapping may have already been done this past winter because such mapping is best done when there are no leaves on the trees. Crawford County will get the LiDar computer program by October of 2011 as per the contract. Various county employees will then have to learn the program.
The information will be shared with the Department of Natural Resources so they can also update their maps. This sharing is a provision of the grant.
Hagen noted that the LiDar mapping program will cost the county nothing, except for minimal administrative costs.
"The Kickapoo River Valley will be mapped from top to bottom and as wide as the money will allow," said Hagen.
The LiDar approach will develop a 2-foot contour surface model to meet National Map Accuracy and FEMA accuracy standards. The topographic data can be used for improved flood plain planning, improved mitigation planning, improved response planning, improved land use planning, and improved zoning administration and enforcement.
By Jen Schultz
After several months of searching, Prairie du Chien Downtown Revitalization, Inc.'s Board of Directors have selected Amber Pulda of rural Prairie du Chien to fill the vacant spot as executive Director.
Pulda will start her new position at Prairie du Chien Downtown Revitalization, Inc. (PDRI) on Monday, May 3.
"We're very pleased with the executive search process. We had over two dozen applications and we're excited to have Pulda join in our efforts," remarks Tom Farrell, president of PDRI's Board or Directors.
By Jen Schultz
The final totals are in after last weekend's Relay for Life event, the Prairie du Chien area has raised over $41,000.
"Our goal for the Prairie du Chien area is $45,000," comments Rachel Smith, local coordinator for Prairie du Chien's Relay for Life. "We still have time to make our goal, August is the final deadline, so teams can continue to raise money for Relay for Life."
Fourteen teams participated in the event from Prairie du Chien, two from Postville, Iowa and one from Boscobel.
The 2010 top individual is Diane Froh. Diane has raised $1,117 to date. The 2010 top team is Class Act. Together, Class Act has raised $5,393.46 to date. Class Act was also the winner for most decorative campsite, they decorated their area with a seventies theme.
"Having the event indoors worked awesome. We were able to keep all of our entertainment and have a pretty good turnout despite the rain," says Smith.
Smith is planning a wrap-up party in August to announce the total amount of money raised for Relay for Life.
April 26, 2010 |
By Jen Schultz
Prairie du Chien Downtown Revitalization Inc.'s (PDRI) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) is turning out to be quite successful for new home owners, neighboring homeowners, local businesses, the city of Prairie du Chien and Crawford County.
How PDRI got involved with NSP
In December of 2009 PDRI started purchasing foreclosed and abandoned Prairie du Chien homes through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).
PDRI's goal is to revitalize downtown Prairie du Chien. "Housing is an important part to the downtown area. It's important to have an active residential base to support the businesses of downtown," reminds Judy Wall, Neighborhood Stabilization Program administrator. But that's not the only reason that PDRI is involved with the NSP program.
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The program helps first-time home buyers purchase a home in Prairie du Chien at an affordable price. |
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It helps the neighboring properties by getting a home fixed up and occupied rather than being an abandoned house that decreases neighboring property values. |
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Local contractors are offered jobs to rehabilitate the homes through the NSP program. |
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The program helps Prairie du Chien and Crawford County by bringing the home back onto the tax roll. |
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Realtors often represent the buyers and are paid a commission when the transaction takes place. |
PDRI receives grant
NSP provides assistance through grants enabling PDRI to purchase and redevelop foreclosed and abandoned homes in residential areas and restore them to homeownership. NSP uses stimulus money from the 2008 Housing Economic Recovery Act (HERA).
On March 8, PDRI received and additional $322,833 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The grant will be used to purchase foreclosed properties and rehabilitate the properties so the new homeowner will not have to face any major repairs.
In addition, PDRI is hoping to use some of this funding to directly assist homeowners with a down payment.
"We're hoping to budget some of the money from this grant to assist new homeowners with a down payment for their new home," says Wall.
One of the stipulations of this grant is that the $322,833 must be committed to various projects by August, 2010.
This isn't an easy task
"When you buy a house at the sheriff's sale, the property doesn't come with a clean title. There are still some technicalities that a lot of people don't want to risk," explains Wall. "In some cases we've had difficulties getting the property from the banks. Some of the larger banks have so many foreclosed properties that it's hard to have them finish the paperwork in a timely manner."
But that's not the only problem with purchasing foreclosed properties. Judy Wall explains, "The value of homes in the area have declined by about 20 percent, however the banks that are trying to sell the foreclosed homes at the sheriff's sales try to cover the original loan cost which is more than the home's current worth.
PDRI's current position
"PDRI is working on three houses," comments Wall. "We sold one and are hopefully closing a second one within the next 30 days. We try to turn a home around within two to four months of purchasing it," continues Wall.
"We hope to bring the full extent of the grant to Prairie du Chien and we're hoping HUD money will be able to be re-invested in housing after foreclosures start to get under control to be used for vacant or blighted homes within Prairie du Chien.
NSP grant restrictions
The NSP grant has some restrictions to what PDRI can do with the house. They cannot turn over a house with "major repairs" still needing to be done. PDRI can not sell the house at a profit. The house must be sold at or below PDRI's investment into the property. There is also an income restriction that the buyer must have an income under 120 percent of the county's median income which is approximately $72,000 or less for a family of four. 69 percent of Prairie du Chien's population falls into this category.
Questions about PDRI's involvement with NSP can be directed to Judy Wall at 412-1271.
Wastewater Superintendent Terry Meyer doesn't have to look far for the answer to why he's part of an innovative effort to cut mercury in sewage coming to the Prairie du Chien wastewater treatment facility.
"We have the Mississippi River literally feet from my office," Meyer says. "And the city heavily relies on tourism. We've got a fantastic resource and we just want to do our part to protect the resource we have."
Prairie du Chien is one of 26 Wisconsin communities that are part of the Mercury Green Tier Charter for Environmental Performance.
Under this agreement with the Department of Natural Resources, the municipalities reduce mercury discharges into their wastewater treatment plants before they have a regulatory requirement to do so. In exchange, the municipalities get the certainty that the mercury reduction activities they do now will satisfy mercury reduction regulations that might apply at a future date.
The idea is that municipalities participating in the charter reduce mercury releases to Wisconsin's environment earlier and more efficiently than would have occurred by regulation alone.
"I think the charter is working really well," says Mark Harings, a DNR environmental assistance coordinator who works with participants in northern and western Wisconsin while DNR wastewater specialist Chuck Schuler works with municipalities in the lower half of the state.
"The municipalities are doing a great job of working with dental offices, schools, and other community businesses to get them to implement the best management practices to keep mercury out of the wastewater they send to the plants. And I think we're getting at the source better than with the more traditional approach to permitting," he says.
Harings is "very impressed" with the efforts most of the municipalities have put into this and would highlight the work of Terry Meyer at Prairie due Chien as an example. "Terry's work began well before their participation in the program and as a result has kept mercury discharge below the limit for the past couple of years," he says.
Prairie du Chien works ahead
Meyer started mercury minimization efforts after attending a 2005 government affairs seminar at which they were talking about mercury in wastewater.
They went around to schools, medical and dental clinics, and local industries in Prairie du Chien to learn if they had mercury on site and how they were recycling or disposing of it.
No one reported disposing of it down toilets, drains, or sewer pipes, and that most of the dental clinics had equipment already installed to separate mercury from old fillings removed from dental patients as a result of an initiative pushed by the state dental association.
When Prairie du Chien signed the charter in 2009, the city developed a formal mercury minimization program, beefed up testing and tracking the hours they devoted to the task and the results.
It added provisions in its sewer use ordinance that required dental clinics to have the mercury separators installed. When a local industrial facility wanted to discharge wastewater to the treatment plant that had mercury in it, Meyer required them to do a litany of testing for trace metals.
They also did a public awareness campaign through the local media, and as of mid-April, he was planning to pass out fliers again to dental clinics about requirements for mercury separators.
"We continue going back and checking with these people, these business to let them know we are watching them and we want to work with them," he says.
"The Green Tier Charter has been a fantastic tool for us. For one thing, it puts the responsibility on us to make sure we're not getting complacent. This way, it's a good tool for us to make sure we're doing what we need to do. It's also a great tool because we get to work with other communities and share ideas."
Meyer says the mercury program is not costing us any money as it is part of their training program. "In fact, over the longterm, if we comply ahead of time, and DNR sees we're working toward our best management practices, they may remove them completely or make it a goal you can easily obtain so we don't have to worry about spending a lot."
Meyer says that the mercury levels in the wastewater effluent the plant releases to the Mississippi River has stayed about the same, and under the limit the DNR has set now in its permit. "We have seen some dips in mercury levels coming into the plant, however," he says. Whether that's due to the efforts the city's made or some other factor, he's not sure.
What's important, he says, is that the community considers it important to keep mercury out of its water. "This is something that's very important to us, to the community. It's something we need to stay on top of."
A 55-year-old Prairie du Chien woman was pulled from her burning car Thursday following a head-on collision with a semi-tractor-trailer at about 8:30 a.m. on Highway 35 near Goose Island near La Crosse.
According to the La Crosse County Sheriff's Department, Evelina Puckett was on her way to La Crosse when her car crossed the centerline on a bridge about one mile south of Highway 14 and collided head-on with a semi.
The semi's fuel tanks then caught fire, and Puckett's car began to burn while she was still inside.
Four men helped to get Puckett out of her car and to a safe distance away from the wreck.
Puckett was later transported to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center with nonlife-threatening injuries. Her condition was unavailable as of presstime.
The semi driver, William McCalla, 52, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was not injured.
The semi and Puckett's car were destroyed by the crash and the fire.
Highway 35 was closed for approximately four hours.
