January 24, 2007

America's Promise: The Alliance for Youth has selected Crawford County as a winner of a national competition to identify the 100 Best Communities for Young People.

The preliminary announcement was made by Connie Achenbach, Chief Operations Officer of Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital, and Rick Peterson, Director of Crawford Abuse Resistance Effort (C.A.R.E.) Jan. 23 to local leaders and members of the Crawford Abuse Resistance Effort Coalition, the group which submitted Crawford County for the honor.

The competition honors communities for their commitment to provide healthy, safe and caring environments for young people. Hundreds of communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands took part in the competition.

Winners were selected by a distinguished panel of civic, business and nonprofit leaders, including United Way of America President Brian Gallagher, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue, NBC News Washington Bureau Chief and Moderator of Meet the Press Tim Russert.

Mary Sprosty and Stacie Anderson, prevention specialists for C.A.R.E., submitted the application, which required health and safety data such as crime rates, high school graduation rates, births to teen moms, number of children immunized, and participation in athletics and extracurricular activities. The application also required testimony from youth, and evidence of partnership among schools, parents, organizations/agencies, law enforcement, religious organizations and businesses.

It was submitted on behalf of the entire county and the school districts of North Crawford, Wauzeka-Steuben, Seneca, Prairie du Chien Public and Prairie du Chien Catholic.

Crawford County was selected as a winner because of its strong sense of community and ability to work together. "We are too scarcely populated to support large national programs like YMCA or Boys and Girls Clubs. The schools make up for our lack of 'big name' centers by staying open late and opening their buildings for many of the area's social and recreational opportunities," the application read. "Computer labs have been opened to the public, gyms are used for adult intramural leagues, theaters are used for community education presentations and parent programs, and school kitchens are opened for community suppers and senior events."

"It is this sort of cooperation that ensures that being small does not stop us from being effective," said Rick Peterson, C.A.R.E. Program Director for Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital.

Mary Sprosty, in putting together the data, said she made many pleasant discoveries about the area. Local data showed that 70 percent of students are involved in athletics, 37 percent in clubs, 55 percent in faith-based activities, 69 percent in creative activities and 42 percent in regular volunteer work. "On top of that," she said, "we have a higher-than-state average number of students in advanced mathematics and science, and an impressive 97 percent high school graduation rate."

Kyle Picha, a member of C.A.R.E. Youth Leadership Committee, spoke at the Jan. 23 meeting, telling of his experiences as a young person in the county: "Our adult support structure is truly fantastic. In addition to the various organizations that deal specifically with youth, many of our community and civic leaders recognize the significance of youth promotion and thus take personal stakes in the development of the young adults of Crawford County."

In commenting on the award, Jane Schaaf, C.A.R.E. Coalition Chair, said, "The county exemplifies the saying that it takes a village to raise a child, and I am very happy to be part of this village."

State Senator Dan Kapanke, who was present for the announcement, echoed Schaaf's sentiments, saying, "What we do in Madison is important, but it isn't nearly as important as what happens in these communities."

The awards will be announced nationally on ABC's Good Morning America program Thursday, Jan. 25 in an exclusive interview between Diane Sawyer and America's Promise Chairperson Alma Powell.

America's Promise was founded in 1997 by General Colin L. Powell USA (Ret.) as an effort to "promise" all American children the resources they need to succeed. America's Promise promotes five fundamental 'promises' every child needs to succeed: caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, marketable skills and opportunities to serve.

Achenbach said that the hospital is organizing a committee to plan a community-wide celebration in late spring. A delegation of five people will travel to Washington, D.C. in October, where all 100 winning communities will be recognized at a national event.

The 57th Annual Fisheree will be held Feb. 3, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 4, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., with headquarters at Lakeview Marina Bar, three miles north of Prairie du Chien. Fishing is open to bodies of water in the Prairie du Chien area, with concentration on Gremore Lake.

Contestants may register in advance or on the day of the event. All registrants are eligible for the grand prize drawing of a 14-foot flat bottom boat and for other prizes as well.

Fishing prizes will be awarded in the following categories: Northern Pike; Walleye (to include Sauger and Saugeye); Black Bass (to include large mouth and small mouth); Sunfish (to include Bluegill, Pumpkin Seed, Yellow Perch, and Rock Bass); and Crappie (to include Black Crappie and White Crappie).

Raffle tickets may also be purchased for prizes such as $300 cash, getaway weekends and fishing merchandise.

Registration and raffle tickets are available at the Starks Sports Shop, Lakeview, and the Prairie du Chien Area Chamber of Commerce office. Raffle tickets are also available from Jaycees and American Legion Baseball Team representatives. Advanced sales are very important to the success of this event.

In addition to the fishing, Maurie Pearson, sculptor from Black River Ice Sculptures in La Crosse, will carve large blocks of ice into "works of art" at the following times and locations in Prairie du Chien on Sat., Feb. 3: 12:30 p.m., Cabela's; 3 p.m., Sawmill Saloon. Plan to attend one or more of the demonstrations. Other ice sculptures may be seen (beginning on Feb. 3) in Prairie du Chien at AmericInn, Peoples State Bank and Lakeview Marina Bar.

For more information on the 57th Annual Fisheree & Ice Sculptures contact the Prairie du Chien Area Chamber of Commerce at 608-326-8555, or visit the website at www.prairieduchien.org

Most area residents agree„the McGregor Public Library is a very nice facility.

Last year 16,648 visits were made to the library, well above the state average of 7,384 visits. The library helps the community keep up with new technologies with a Web site, DVD movies, and computers which provide internet access to the community. The library regularly hosts children's and adult programs which connect the community to books and learning. It would be hard to argue that the library is anything but a good thing for the community.

The question the community now faces however, is if the library is better than the community can afford.

Last week at both the Marquette and McGregor city council meetings, Michelle Petit and members of the library board revealed that the library is facing a budget crisis that is likely to have a serious impact on future operations.

A major component of annual library operating funds has been revenues from the Updegraff Endowment.

The Updegraff Endowment began as a major gift to the community to build and equip the library in 1963. Money left over from that original gift was invested to continue to produce funds for the library into the future. Interest income from these investments has provided over a third of the annual library operating budget for the past 43 years.

So what happened?

Forty years of wear and tear on the library building and a downturn in the stock market are major factors that created the current funding situation, according to Library Board treasurer Terry Strutt.

In 1999, the library had a leaky roof, drafty windows and the same carpet that was installed in 1963. The stock market was doing well.

"Our fund had been doing spectacularly," Strutt said.

So the board decided to take a calculated risk. They would dip into the principal of the endowment to make necessary repairs to the library building. They spent about $200,000 on renovations between 1999 and 2006 to make the needed repairs.

They were counting on the ability of the market to recoup the drawdown in fairly short order. "We were hoping to do this and make a recovery," Strutt explained.

But instead, the stock market downturn of 2001 came, and the board's decision turned out to be "bad timing," Strutt admits. Still she feels that the board had little choice considering the condition of the building

"All this stuff needed to be done," she said.

Last November the fund manager for the endowment alerted the board to their predicament.

At last week's McGregor City Council meeting, council members were shocked and concerned about the state of finances at the library.

"They're intent on spending that [endowment] money in the next five years," said City Clerk-Administrator Norm Lincoln.

"I don't think they'll make three years," added councilman Joe Muehlbauer.

Councilwoman Maggie Flanscha wondered why the council was not alerted to the situation before the money in the trust fund got so low, and Lynette Sander wondered whether the council needed to rewrite the library ordinance in order to give the city more oversight of their finances. Sander suggested that perhaps an increase in city funding should be contingent upon leaving an equal amount of money in the trust fund. Lincoln told the council that under current city levy structures, it would be possible to cover certain library expenses, such as employee benefits, but it would raise taxes.

On Monday, the library board submitted an estimated budget to the city. Their requests will be considered at the council budget meeting scheduled for January 31.

Strutt counters the concerns of the council. She says that the board looks upon a funding increase from city coffers as a temporary fix.

"If the cities of Marquette and McGregor can help us, that will allow the money to grow," she explained. Strutt said that the board hopes to only withdraw interest income, about $3,000 annually, in order to allow the principal to grow.

The board has made budget cuts as well. According to Michele Petit, librarian, about $8,000 will be cut from next years budget. "We have made as many cuts as we feel we can," said Strutt. The library is also looking into creating a Friends of the Library group to get additional volunteer help to address the future of the library.

"What we're really trying to do is look to the futureƒwe want to preserve the quality of the library as it is now," Petit said.

The "Swim for the Eagle's Telethon" is in its seventh year. Anyone interested in being a part of the fun are invited to stop at the Hoffman Hall Pool and "get in the swim." For further information, interested persons can call (608) 326-2985.