March 4: News from around the Driftless Area ‘News from Around the Driftless Area’ is a compilation showcasing the excellent work and interesting tidbits from the community journalists sprinkled throughout our area. VIROQUA –The Friends of Vernon County Parks & Forests recently concluded their successful series of ‘Winter Hikes and Bonfires’ with a hike at Sidie Hollow County Park. Expect an announcement soon about a spring series of ‘Spring Ephemerals Hikes,’ to begin in April… The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded more than $2.7 billion in funding to nearly 2,900 public housing authorities (PHAs). This includes $273,937 to the Viroqua Housing Authority, and $70,170 to the Prairie du Chien Housing Authority… Students in grades 7 to 12 at Viroqua Area Schools who have been part of the hybrid learning model since the school year began will resume in-person learning five days a week, Monday, March 1. Students who are taking all-virtual classes will continue with that learning model until the end of the school year. District Administrator Tom Burkhalter said the District Leadership Team has been in constant contact with the Vernon County Health Department and the Vernon Memorial Healthcare Medical Advisory Team throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Burkhalter said both entities felt comfortable with the return date of March 1 because there haven’t been active staff/student confirmed positive COVID-19 cases for a few weeks and there have been lower case numbers in the community. Burkhalter said the hybrid model is difficult for both students and staff because they are living in both worlds. The hybrid model for grades 7-12 was an A/B cohort schedule with two days a week of in-person learning and three days virtual learning… During the month of March, VIVA Gallery will feature the paintings of Rick Ross, who lives in Mt. Horeb and creates stunning work with oil paint and cold wax. The member artists featured in March are Nicholas and Kindred WazeeGale, who work with natural materials to create home goods and wearable accessories. Nature is Rick’s subject matter, either more literally interpreted in landscapes, or more abstractly represented in the textures and depth found by combining oil and cold wax mediums. The work of Nicholas and Kindred WazeeGale is a reflection of their relationship with the natural world. Nicholas makes traditional Scandinavian birch bark boxes and axe-hewn hand-carved wooden spoons and bowls… At the Feb. 11 meeting of the Vernon County Board Legal Affairs Committee, Supervisor Garrick Olerud got some action going, stating that he was disappointed with the county board’s action on a Second Amendment resolution. The resolution, championed by Supervisor Roger Call (head of the Vernon County Republican Party), would have declared Vernon County to be a Second Amendment preservation county. Ultimately, the board approved a motion by Shawn Redington to table action on the resolution with 15 yes votes, and 11 no votes. Olerud was upset that a two-thirds majority vote had not been required, and that no discussion of the resolution was allowed. Despite having been placed on the board’s agenda by the Law Enforcement Committee, it came out that the committee had approved it without taking a vote. County Board chairman Justin Running said that a resolution does not require approval by a committee to be placed on the county board’s agenda, and that just because a resolution is submitted does not mean that the county board is required to take it up.