John M. Schmitt

John M. Schmitt, 87, Ossian, Iowa died Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at Ossian Senior Hospice, Ossian, Iowa.

Visitation was held from 4-7 p.m. Friday, March 6, at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, Ossian, and one-hour before Mass at the church on Saturday.

Mass of Christian Burial was held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 7, 2015 at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, Ossian.  Msgr. Cletus Hawes was the Celebrant.

Burial will followed at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Cemetery in Ossian.

Schmitz-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Ossian assisted the family with the arrangements.

Winneshiek Medical Center recently celebrated one year of service at its Ossian Clinic. Some of the friendly faces waiting inside the Main Street location include (l-r) physical therapist Rebecca Moonen, RN Bonnie Hageman, and health unit coordinator Laurie Guyer. (Zakary Kriener photo)

WMC celebrates one year in Ossian

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The Winneshiek Medical Center OssianClinic, located along Highway 52 in downtown Ossian, recently surpassed the one-year mark in the community. The doors opened on March 3, 2014.

The clinic, which receives medical direction from Mayo Health System, employs primary care physicians Rebecca Gesing, ARNP, and Kathy Petersburg, ARNP.  

The clinic also offers rehabilitation services from physical therapist Rebecca Moonen, DPT, and Alyssa Bullerman, PTA.

“The first year in this location has gone great for Winneshiek Medical Center,” noted clinic administrator Dave Rooney. “We have had a steady growth in utilization and have been very pleased with the community’s response.”

After 40 years of service to the Clermont community, Jerry Anderson is proud to have been part of establishing an EMT service for the town in which he lives.

Turning knowledge into service

Brian Smith
Contributing Writer
bsmith@fayettepublishing.com

In the mid-1970s, Jerry Anderson and his wife, Linda, decided to take an EMT course that was being offered in West Union. It was a decision that led to the first available EMT service in Clermont and eventually to 40 years of volunteer service, for which Jerry was recently recognized by the board of directors of the Area Ambulance Service.
           “All I wanted to do was learn how to help people the correct way. I was already a member of the volunteer fire department, and we would often come upon situations where someone was hurt or injured. I wanted to know what to do to help them,” explained the Clermont resident.

Fayette County Pheasants Forever Board members (l-r) Leon Duetsch, Rod Marlatt, George Schaefers, Eric Boehm and Brett Whitcher display a couple of the limited edition prints that will be among the featured prizes/auction items at the annual membership banquet at Echo Valley Banquet and Reception Center on Saturday, March 21.

Pheasants Forever celebrates 30 years

The year was 1985.  Wildlife habitat was disappearing at an alarming rate, farm economics were declining, and pheasant populations were crashing to the lowest point in history. This was the preface of what would become an effort and organization called Pheasants Forever.  A mere two years before, this fledgling organization was started in Minnesota.

         The Pheasant Forever mission is to aid in the population recovery of the pheasant and other upland wildlife.  This organization realized that the loss of habitat was the single most contributing factor of this decline.  The model was and remains unique to all other conservation organizations.  Local chapters are formed to raise funds and subsequently expend those funds in that chapter’s county.

        In 1985, the 48^th Pheasant Forever chapter in the United States was born when the Fayette County Conservation Board recruited concerned citizens who shared similar views. Over the past 30 years, Fayette County Pheasants Forever has planted over 800,000 trees and shrubs, thousands of acres of upland habitat cover, provided youth education resources, and assisted in the acquisition of over 700 acres of permanently protected public land.