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Photo provided Ron and Marge Hook will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on Aug. 12. Ron and Marge Hook to mark 50 years of marriage on Aug. 12

Ron and Marge (Ruiz) Hook will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on Aug. 12.

They were united in marriage on Aug. 12, 1972, in Fulton.

They are the parents of Ron Hook Jr. (Kelly) and Monica Piercy (Chad).

They have four grandchildren, Cailyn Piercy, Karah Hook, Kendall Hook and Evan Piercy and one step-grandson Nick Piercy.

Ron retired from federal government employment and Marge retired from the Riverbend School District.

They will be celebrating with a Caribbean cruise in the near future.

NEWS BRIEFS

FNB Customer Appreciation Lunch set for Aug. 12

The Farmers National Bank locations in Prophetstown, Morrison and Geneseo will have a Customer Appreciation Grab N Go Lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, as a thanks for all the community support over the past 120 years.

There will be no need to get out of your car. Just drive up and get a free lunch to go!

WHOA benefit taking place at Morrison gas station

The Morrison Shell gas station has named White Oaks Therapeutic Equestrian Center (WHOA) as the beneficiary of their Giving Pump campaign.

Between Aug. 1 and Oct. 31, every time someone gets gas at the “WHOA” pump, they give WHOA a penny per gallon purchased. Look for pumps 1 and 2 at the Morrison Shell, pump your gas and help the organization raise much needed funds.

Stonecroft After Five to have dinner and program Aug. 16

Stonecroft After Five invites all women to a “Live, Laugh and Love” dinner and program at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 16 at Triple Play Banquet & Bowl, 1601 Ninth Ave., Fulton. Cost of the dinner is $14.

The special feature will be Melissa Ryan from Rock River Hospice who will tell about the caring help given to patients and families.

Inspirational speaker will be Debbie Solis from Rock Island. She will speak on the secret of receiving “The Best Gift Ever!”

Phone reservations and cancellations by Aug. 14 to Ruth Huizenga at 309-659-2175 or Carolene Sterenberg at 563-212-5528.

IS THIS HOME IN YOUR FUTURE?

Please join us for a Tour of the Home & Refreshments 1630 Garrett Ave Clinton Saturday August 13th Tour from 11am-1pm Benefits of a Dolan “Age In Place” Villa

With a HECM mortgage for buyers over 62 and a one-time reasonable down payment: You get to own your own home and grow equity every year There is no further monthly mortgage payment You enjoy the lowest cost retirement living option Two car garage with less than an 8 foot walk to kitchen… Entry with NO STEPS! Over a 1,400 sq foot basement to finish for additional living space for storage, and for your safety Enjoy your own yard with plenty of space for gardens or pets Roll in ADA showers with 3 foot doors Laundry on the main level to secure your retirement future in your own home Connected to Emma Young Park Walking Paths and Senior Center You probably already know your neighbors … Stop in for a visit!

Please join us for a tour of the home and enjoy some refreshments at 1630 Garrett Avenue. Clinton, IA Saturday, January 8th from 11am –1pm MODEL HOME OPEN Tuesday-Saturday 11am-1pm

For an appointment please contact Kevin Dolan 563-506-4265. CONTACT: 563-506-4265 (Kevin Dolan), 563-570-1460 (Dan Dolan), www.DanDolanHomes.com

Shaw Local News Network

MORRISON – The 151st Whiteside County Fair offers plenty of family fun Aug. 16-20 at the fairgrounds in Morrison.

The Mega Band is back again this year, and the Wilson Family Show will entertain fairgoers with its carnival and midway attractions. Patrons can ride unlimited rides every day of the fair for $60 (if purchased in advance the week before the fair at the Secretary’s office) or $70 during the fair.

The Grandpa Cratchet Stage Show will return this year, along with a Bike Give Away each day of the fair and the Cake/Pie Walk.

New this year is Bertrand’s Petting Zoo and pony rides throughout the day every day.

Here are some of the other planned events:

Tuesday, Aug. 16

Pleasure Horse Show at 9 a.m.

Kids Tractor Pedal Pull at 2 p.m.

Open swine judging at noon and junior swine judging at 4:30 p.m.

Pro-Bull Riding is the evening entertainment starting at 7 p.m. Cheer as the cowboys prepare to hang on for 8 seconds while their four-legged nemesis try to spoil their plans.

Wednesday, Aug. 17

Exhibition Barrels at 8 a.m.

Western horse speed events and dairy judging at 9 a.m.

For the first time, Pro-Bronc Riding will be the entertainment at 7 p.m. This event will involve a rodeo participant riding a bucking horse (sometimes called bronco) that attempts to throw or buck off the rider before the 8 seconds is up. Originally based on the necessary buck breaking skills of a working cowboy, the event is now a highly stylized competition that uses horses t h a t o f t e n a r e s p e c i a l l y b r e d f o r strength, agility and bucking ability.

Thursday, Aug. 18

Beef Cattle Jr. Show at 9 a.m., Heavy Horse Hitches, including 4 Horse, at 9 a.m., and halter classes at 1 p.m.

The evening grandstand entertainment will be Karen Hester as Dolly Parton. This tribute artist possesses a wide array of performance experience, a serious set of pipes and a dead-on tone. Hester brings her Dolly Parton act to life at 7 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 19

Heavy Horse Hitch classes at 9 a.m., open beef show at 9 a.m., Heavy Horse at 1 p.m. (in front of the grandstand with the Big 6 Horse and Unicorn Hitches).

Antique Tractor Parade at 5:30 p.m.

The Illini State Pullers Association will bring “souped up” tractors and trucks that will pull the sled, showing off the horsepower under the hood at 6:30 p.m. in front of the grandstand.

Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media Zoey Hook, 18 months old, has fun riding with her brother Carter, 3, on a kiddie carnival ride at the 2021 Whiteside County Fair.

Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media A track official uses the red flag to temporarily stop the action during the mini-van division at the 2021 demolition derby at the Whiteside County Fair. Morrison firefighters quickly extinguished the fire and the event continued to a the delight of the crowd.

Saturday, Aug. 20

Kids Tractor Pedal Pull at 11 a.m. Harness racing at 1 p.m. Wood-carving auction at 4 p.m. The car crushing, adrenaline pumping, smoke-filled Demolition Derby will take place at 6:30 p.m.

Photo provided by Todd Mickley Karen Hester will perform as Dolly Parton at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, at the Whiteside County Fair.

CORDOVA

Interagency mussel blitz mea sures health of ecosystem

By SARAH FORD For Shaw Local News Network

For the first time since 2017, teams of biologists and surveyors returned to the Cordova boat ramp to search the Mississippi River shore for the federally endangered Higgins’ Eye pearly mussel and other freshwater mussels Aug. 2.

The annual event was on hiatus for a couple of summers because of high water and activities then were limited during the pandemic. Organizers scheduled the field day early in the week so it wouldn’t impact recreational boat traffic, and numerous experts filled a halfdozen boats to explore the shorelines.

More than 70 people were involved in the survey, including representatives from federal and state agencies – the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Natural History Survey.

They were aided by Constellation‘s Quad Cities Nuclear Station employees, college students, a few retirees and even world-renowned mussel expert and author Kevin Cummings.

The surveyors “pollywogged” or collected mussels by walking and crawling along the shoreline and shallow water in search of the bivalves.

They also cleaned and removed all zebra mussels attached to the shells of mussels to promote the health and vigor of the Cordova mussel bed. This helps offset native mussel decline brought by the introduction of zebra mussels in the early 1990s. Some zebra mussels will be brought to a lab for more studies.

They also reviewed several influences and trends at this environmentally significant mussel bed, such as overall condition of the mussel bed population in relation to the amount of zebra mussels found and a general assessment of the larger or smaller instance of zebra mussel infestation.

Joe Jordan, USACE District endangered species coordinator, said the general trend for the Cordova location is that it’s “coming back from a zebra mussel abundance that was affecting the natives.”

By the afternoon, they already had documented 23 mussel species, with up to 27 known species in the mussel bed.

See MUSSELS, page 24

Sarah Ford - Shaw Local News Network Joe Jordan, USACE District endangered species coordinator, holds federally endangered Higgins’ Eye mussels found near the Cordova boat ramp Aug. 2 during an annual survey of the mussel bed.

THANK YOU FARMERS NATIONAL BANK C USTOMER APPRECIATIO N