Courier Press

By Caitlin Bittner

This year, the Opportunity Center in Prairie du Chien is celebrating its 50th anniversary in business, a feat that executive director Pam Ritchie knows could not have been reached without the support of Prairie du Chien and surrounding areas. “Everyone who works here is an independent worker the same as anyone else. All they want is a chance to be normal. What’s more normal than getting up to go to work every [week] day?” said Ritchie.

The Prairie du Chien Opportunity Center serves all of Crawford County and part of Grant County. “We run seven bus routes a day. Some people spend two hours on the bus just to come to work,” commented Ritchie.

A lot of traffic comes and goes from the Opportunity Center as it receives a truck each morning and puts in an order nearly every afternoon for whatever they’ll need the next day.

By Caitlin Bittner

As a natural place where wild flowers and wildlife are abundant, La Riviere Park is a cherished part of the Prairie du Chien community.

Within the past year, La Riviere has received two different grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and the Upper Iowa Audubon Society.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant was for $1,000 and it assisted in the purchase of prairie plants seeds. The park received this grant as part of an initiative to help restore habitats for the benefit of federal trust species. Some of the species classified as federal trust species are monarch butterflies, lark sparrows, north flickers and field sparrows. According to Dennis Kirschbaum, a volunteer naturalist at La Riviere, butterflies, moths and birds may all benefit greatly from the initiative.

Sharron Mary Surovy, 72, passed away Wednesday, June 17, in Waterloo, Iowa. 

Sharron was born Oct. 3, 1942, in Barnum, daughter of Howard and Flossie Mae (Nutter) Dalton. She was raised and attended schools in Barnum. Sharron married Paul Surovy on Dec. 30, 1959 in Waukon. They raised five children with Sharron as a full-time homemaker and mom. Sharron will be remembered as a good-hearted, joyful person who was fond of dancing around the house, singing and mystery novels.

By Addison Mumm

As hammers and nails build up walls, St. Gabriel’s Catholic School remains in the process of getting a new gym. The idea for a new gymnasium was introduced 12 to 13 years ago, according to St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church Father James C. Weighner, before he arrived in Prairie du Chien. The administration continued to talk about additions and a new gym until funding and timing made the project a reality.

“The new, full-size gymnasium will have a daycare and office center attached to it,” said Weighner. “It will have seating for about 100 to 150 people.”

Ground was broken in April of this year, but the construction has gone a little bit longer than expected and has no official end date yet.