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WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2025
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Volunteers needed to clean up the Sugar River Do you love the Sugar River? Do you like to see it clean of refuse and not full of trash? Do you like it free of dangerous treefalls and safe for kids to navigate? If the answer to these questions is yes, then why not come out and join in on Saturday, May 17, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the annual Sugar River Cleanup. They will have canoes available to use, so basically it’s a free canoe trip where all volunteers have to do is pick up trash or clear branches. Shuttle service will be provided. The Lake Winnetka Sugar River Improvement Association, Inc., will hold its annual Sugar River cleanup in Albany. On May 17 they will meet at 9 a.m. at the Albany American Legion Hall at 300 N. Water St. The goal is to remove as much garbage as possible from the river and its banks, and also to clear a path PHOTOS SUBMITTED Rock Valley Publishing through fallen trees that totalDangerous log jams like these that totally block nav- ly block navigation of canoes igation are made safely passable for paddlers by volun- and create hazards. teers.
Categories of work vary from walking the banks, or riding in canoes, kayaks, or boats and picking up trash or cutting tree branches and handing them to people on shore. Please indicate the category of work one would like to do when registering on the pre-registration page. Equipment needed is canoes or small boats, chain saws, bow saws, and waders. The association will provide trash bags and local businesses will provide food and refreshments. Volunteers will get organized at 9 a.m. and begin cleaning up at 10 a.m. or sooner; however, a representative will be on premise at the Legion to direct those who want to come later. Students and scouts can earn community service points by helping out. Please volunteer help or equipment. Anyone interested can contact them for more information by e-mail at lwsria@aol.com or on the association Facebook page at
This volunteer filled a kayak with trash from the Sugar River in the stretch from Crazy Horse Campgrounds to the Clarence canoe launch near Bluff View.
Facebook.com/lwsria, or call 773-418-7123 and leave a message including name and phone number and they will return the call. Organizers also have a pre-registration page where anyone can pick their work category and hours they can work at https://forms.gle/7X-
KrWKfbx1HfvM8N9. Come on out and help clean up while enjoying the great outdoors after a long dull winter. Food and refreshments will be served to all volunteers as a token of appreciation. Organizers hope to see many locals there helping clean up.
Blackhawk nursing graduates honored in pinning ceremony With family, friends and faculty in attendance, 22 nursing students were recognized the evening of Thursday, May 8 at Blackhawk Technical College for successfully completing their two-year nursing degree at a celebratory pin-
ning ceremony. “This ceremony isn’t just about receiving the pin. It is about honoring the journey we’ve taken to become nurses,” said Charnetha Bell-Johnson, Nursing graduate and student speaker.
Charnetha also was honored with the Student Choice Award, sponsored by the Nursing faculty. This award, determined by peer votes, is awarded to the graduate deemed most trustworthy to care for a loved one.
“We aren’t just marking the end of nursing school. We are stepping into a profession that demands courage, empathy and excellence. Let this pin be a daily reminder about the responsibility we carry, the lives we’ll touch, and the difference we’ll make,” Charnetha said. Fellow graduate Breanna Santiago was also recognized for receiving a $3,000 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study nursing in London this summer. The event, held in the Conference Center at the Beloit-Janesville Campus, also featured Nursing Instructors Patty Aronson and Mary Mather, who offered words of encouragement and shared advice from their own experiences in the profession. They reminded graduates of the value of community and camaraderie among nurses. “Your nursing friends will become an indispensable part of your life as nurses,” Mary PHOTO COURTESY AMANDA URISH, BLACKHAWK TECHNICAL COLLEGE Rock Valley Publishing said. Front row from left: Natasha Olson, Tia Burri, Karen Nicholson, Kristi Davis, Kristen Following their remarks, Lee, Kristal Hying, Nichole Robertson. Second row: Nikki Lehr, Naudiana Jenson, each graduate participated in Lisa Dykstra, Breanna Santiago, Dani Ekhtiari-Hein, Cassandra Weldy, Marissa Drost, the traditional pinning cereCharnetha Bell-Johnson. Third row: Jaclyn Hayes, Carmillia Duling, Jessica Erickson, Jon Powers, Erica King, Megan Ottinger, April Washecheck. Spruce Spruce up up your your home home with with plants plants from from
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See NURSING, Page 4
PHOTO COURTESY KURT SODERBERG Rock Valley Publishing
The new commons floor mat at Albany School.
Albany School District gets big boost from local FFA alumni By Tony Ends CORRESPONDENT
Albany FFA Alumni Association members have given $32,000 to Albany School District. The funds are refurbishing the district’s greenhouse. The donation also provided a new set of floor mats in Albany’s kindergarten through 12th grade school building. Welcoming and Comets logo floor mats are already greeting visitors, students, and staff in the commons area and the main entrance to the school. The greenhouse project will be completed sometime this
summer, according to Albany School Superintendent Kurt Soderberg. Jeff McNeely, president, and Kelly Dunphy, vice president, lead the local Albany’s chapter of the Future Farmers of America. Albany FFA is part of a national youth agricultural preparatory and leadership formation organization that is approaching its 100th anniversary. The Albany FFA alumni members host an annual fundraising event, McNeely and Dunphy said in a joint statement about the donation to the
See ALUMNI, Page 4
Hail damage to your windsHield? COMMUNITY PANCAKE BREAKFAST We Do Complete FLY-IN/DRIVE-IN WinDshielD at Brodhead Airport
ReplaCements
Sunday, May 18 7 a.m. - Noon
and Total Auto Care
Adults: $10 Children under 10: $6
Visit Kelch Aviation Museum while there!
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720 Brown School Rd. evansville oil Pros Evansville • 608-882-6457