COURIER PRESS PUBLISHED IN HISTORIC PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, WISCONSIN • SINCE 1848
SPORTS Page 13
Prairie hosts archery competition
VOLUME 166 • NO. 25 ❘ PDCCOURIER.COM ❘ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2019 ❘ ONE DOLLAR
Three candidates seek 2 seats on PdC School Board
Lynn O’Kane
Cassie Hubanks
Lori Frailey has been an accompanist for Prairie du Chien middle and high school students since 1995. (Photo by Correne Martin)
Duane Rogers
There are three candidates running for two seats on the Prairie du Chien School Board in the April 2 spring election. The three seats are all for three-year terms. The top two vote-getters will be elected. The candidates are incumbent Lynn O’Kane, incumbent Cassie Hubanks and former school board member Duane Rogers. The following are biographies and statements by each candidate.
LYNN O’KANE
CASSIE HUBANKS
DUANE ROGERS
Lynn O’Kane has been a Prairie du Chien School Board member since 2012. Lynn is employed by the Department of Corrections, Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution, as a social worker for 21 years and is currently a substance use disorder social worker. Lynn is a lifetime Crawford County resident. She grew up in Eastman and attended Eastman Grade School and graduated from Prairie du Chien High School. Lynn’s husband, Marvin, owns and operates O’Kane Plumbing LLC, along with their son Dustin. Son Tyler is employed at Dillman Equipment, a division of Astec, Inc. Daughter Megan is a sign language interpreter for the Boscobel School District. Daughter Kylee is currently a junior at Prairie du Chien High School. “As a school board member, my number one priority is to oversee the development of
Cassie Hubanks was elected to the school board in the spring of 2015. She is the recreation and aquatics manager for the city of Prairie du Chien. She is married to Jason and has three children in the Prairie du Chien School District, including one in high school and two at B.A. Kennedy. “The school district has so much to be highlighted. Continued efforts to maintain and share the great things the administrative team, teachers, support staff, and students are doing are the biggest concerns. According to the DPI, we are above state average in all priority area scores. These areas include student achievement, graduation rate gaps, graduation rate, attendance rate, and several other areas on our annual report card. Our schools’ prevention and intervention strategies to maintain and grow these numbers involve more than excellently-rated
Duane Rogers is the current senior vice president of business development for Peoples State Bank. He is a former Prairie du Chien School Board member. For the past nine years, he has been a county board supervisor for Crawford County, serving as chairman of the finance committee as well as a member of the personnel committee. He is also president of Driftless Development Inc., a regional entity working to improve the economic vitality of the region. He’s a member of the redevelopment authority board for the city of Prairie du Chien. Most recently, Rogers was appointed a member of the board for Opportunity Enterprises. He has a Master of Science from Purdue University. He is married to Dr. Misty Lemon-Rogers, a business professor at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. They have one daughter, who
See O’KANE, page 6
See HUBANKS, page 7
See ROGERS, page 7
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School accompanist expresses 25 years of service through song By Correne Martin I should’ve asked her to play a melody. But I didn’t need to. The gleam in her eyes was grand enough to resonate the sweetest, most lyrical song. Playing piano is like speaking a language for Lori Frailey. “It expresses more than words can say,” she said. Since 1995, Lori has been an accompanist for middle school and high school music students at Prairie du Chien. Her notes enhance kids’ musical experiences while also giving her a perfectlymatched creative outlet. This volunteer role for Lori is in addition to playing one church service every weekend, leading a church choir, teaching regular piano students, performing twice a month at a nursing home, providing music for funerals and weddings, occasionally playing at the prison, coordinating the Thanksgiving community choir and accompanying special church services as necessary. “Music is what I like to do,” said the lifelong pianist, whose day job has been in accounting for Dillman Equipment for 23 years. See ACCOMPANIST, page 4
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A4 ❘ Courier Press ❘ wednesday, march 27, 2019 ❘ PDCCOURIER.COM
Pictured during the $1,000 donation check presentation last week were (from left) Kaleb Smith, Roni Colvin, Cindy Sinram, Jill Cipra (treasurer, Rivers and Bluffs) and Connie Rohde. (Photo by Brian Cipra)
PdC Dairy Queen celebrates spring by helping local animal shelter Wednesday, March 20, was the first day of spring. To mark this event, the Prairie du Chien Dairy Queen, owned by Cindy and Jeff Sinram, gave away free vanilla cones. For a minimum donation of $1, recipients of the free vanilla cones got an extra special treat: a dipping in a variety of flavors. This is an annual event for all Dairy Queen restaurants. This year, Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter also received an extra special treat. Cindy
and Jeff designated the additional dollar donations to go to the animal shelter. Ultimately, the PdC DQ gave away 1,500 free vanilla cones, which was about 600 more than during last year’s promotion. Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter received $1,000 from this year’s first day of spring celebration. According to Cindy, she and Jeff are proud to help out Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter and are grateful for the work the shelter is doing to provide
loving care to cats and dogs as they await their forever homes. Since opening in December 2017, the animal shelter has found homes for about 273 cats and dogs. For more information on the shelter, visit riversandbluffsanimalshelter.org or find them on Facebook. The shelter is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Donations can be mailed to RABAS, P.O. Box 421, Prairie du Chien, WI 53821.
“I really like seeing them progress as musicians,” Lori commented, candidly continuing. “Of course, you have the obsessive ones who are gonna nail it, and then there’s the others who haven’t seen their instrument since you last met.” As each student learns a new selection, oftentimes, their faithful pianist is mastering it right alongside them. “Over the years, there’s repeats,” she said. “The class C (songs), I can pretty much sight-read. The others, I like to practice to make sure the student is most comfortable every time we run through it.” Generally, those rehearsals add up to three or four times with each kid before contest day and, if a contestant moves on to state, Lori continues on too. “Her greatest quality is her willingness to help out anytime,” said Matt Lenz, Prairie du Chien High School music/ band teacher, who has worked with Lori for 19 years. “It’s not unusual for her to adjust her lunch break to weird times to sneak over here and work with the students.” Humble as she is though, Lori attributes that ability to her employer’s flexibility. “If it wasn’t for them letting me have comp time, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish all we have,” she stated. Lori said she’s always been impressed with the hard work and talent of the local music teachers and students. She’s pleased for the chance to collaborate with some of the school’s most dynamic kids. Lori sees her behind-thescenes position as harmonious within Prairie du Chien’s music
City reminds residents about burning rules With spring here, the Prairie du Chien Fire Department wants to remind all of the city of Prairie du Chien residents about the burning ordinances in place for the city. 5.14 (Burning refuse)—No person shall burn garbage, leaves, rubbish, refuse, trash or construction debris of any kind within the city limits. 5.15 (Open burning)—(1) Except as provided in subparagraph (2) below, all persons shall obtain a permit from the fire chief before kindling or maintaining any open burning or authorizing any open burning. (2) No permit shall be required for recreational fires. Recreational fires shall be defined as a fire in an enclosure specifically designed for ember and flame containment, such as rocked-in pits, fireplaces, and barbecue grills, which allow a fire area of no more than 36 inches in diameter. In addition, such fires shall: (a) Use only wood or charcoal as the material to be burned. (b) Be maintained so that flames
do not exceed 4 feet in height or excessive smoke produced. (c) Be under the supervision of an adult at all times; and (d) Be no closer than 15 feet to any building or structure. Fires that do not comply with these requirements shall be extinguished at the discretion of the fire chief or his designee. 5.16 (Penalties)—Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or any order, rule or regulation made hereunder shall be subject to a penalty, as provided in sec. 25.04 of this code. Any questions or concerns can be directed to Fire Chief Jeff Boughton at 326-4365 or (608) 306-0361. Yard debris may be hauled to the city compost pile on Vineyard Road. For residents living in the township of Prairie du Chien or Bridgeport, there are different requirements for burning. Contact the Rural Bridgeport and Prairie du Chien Fire Department for any questions regarding burning in this jurisdiction.
West Grant Lions Club
COD FISH FRY
ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT BAKED & FRIED
Friday, March 29 4:30 to 7:30 pm
ACCOMPANIST, from page 1 Lori is a preacher’s daughter. Her mom came from a musical family too. She and her sister got a piano and learned to play at a very early age. “I started when I was 5,” she recalled. “By junior high, I was already playing for church and accompanying for my peers.” Through college, while studying music and theology, Lori also instructed piano students, livened up contemporary worship services and otherwise “plugged in wherever there was a need.” It wasn’t until she was married with children in school that her daughters “ratted” her skills out to the music teacher. She started serving as accompanist for nearly all instrumental and vocal solo and ensemble performances, concerts and musicals for Prairie du Chien. It’s been about 25 years since. She’s played for River Ridge and Wauzeka students too over the years. Estimating the tempo at which she works with these young musicians, Lori said, this year, she’s meeting with 19 middle school and about 15 high school kids. “That’s a small year,” she noted. Solo and ensemble students, for instance, come to her having somewhat learned their chosen songs with their instructor. For middle schoolers, she and the band teacher rehearse together with the students. For the high schoolers, she spends most practice time alone with them. She said she has no problem offering them constructive criticism and suggestions on all aspects of their performances, from rhythms to expression.
LOCAL NEWS
department as a whole. “I’m happy to contribute to help the teachers do whatever they want in terms of music,” she said, “and I like to see the kids express all their different personalities.” According to Lenz, it’s Lori who helps bring the performance out of the students. “She has a gift ... her wealth of experience in music really helps to enhance everything we try to do in our music department. I’m not sure where we would be without her.” Though the entertainment value of music is clear, Lori also believes it releases “feel-good chemicals” in those creating and hearing it. “It is therapeutic when you can experience your emotions in a way that’s uplifting and not destroying,” she said. “Performing is scary but it’s a good feeling, and it’s a good skill for anybody to learn. It’s something you can use throughout life.” Think about it. When a soloist or an ensemble crushes a challenging tune, spreading goose bumps through the crowd, it’s only a small collection of powerful notes that stimulate those unparalleled emotions. “It’s an adrenaline rush,” as Lori described. Music moves people. In Lori, it certainly evokes passion. It keeps her in tune with her piano, and with the kids she loves accompanying. “I really enjoy teaching the kids how to play expressively and put in that little something extra,” she said. “This is their gift, and when you’re using your gift, it brings you joy.”
St. Mary’s Church Hall, Bloomington
Adults $11.00 Children (ages 6-12) $6.00 Ages 5 & under Free.
Sportsmen’s Drawings
Carryouts available. Proceeds to benefit high school scholarships and high school senior banquet.
Order your tickets today for Legendary Comedian
Gallagher
Saturday, April 6
8 pm
Prairie du Chien Performing Arts Center 800 East Crawford St., Prairie du Chien, WI Scan code to take you to ticket website https://paac.ludus.com/index.php?step=seats
Garnavillo Fire Fighters Association’s Annual
Pancake Breakfast
Sunday, April 7 7:00 am - 1:00 pm
Emergency Services Building 206 W. Centre St., Garnavillo, IA
ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT
Pancakes • French Toast Eggs • Sausage Cinnamon Rolls • Applesauce FREE WILL DONATION CARRY-OUTS AVAILABLE 563-964-2373
SILENT AUCTION
All proceeds from the silent auction will be donated to Jeff & Cindy Mueller. Cindy is undergoing treatments for leukemia and is a member of the Garnavillo EMS & Jeff is a member of the Garnavillo Fire Department.