Has your gambling caused problems in your relationships or with work?

Have you tried to hide how much your have gambled from your family or friends?

Did you ever try to win back the money that you had recently lost?

Have you tried to cut down or stop your gambling?

EVERLY — Friday evening, an evening of holiday activities will be hosted inside the Hap Ketelsen Community Center, in Everly, as the facility is transformed into a Winter Wonderland from 5-7:30 p.m. A freewill offering will be provided by The Friends of the Everly Public Library The evening will include a Festival of Trees, a bake sale by the Clay County Countrymen 4-H Club, free crafts and games for the kids, and Santa and Mrs. Claus arriving with a gift for each child.

Hunters donated 4,183 deer hides to Elks Lodges across Iowa last year, which was a slight increase from the 2021-22 season. The deer hides are used by the Veterans Leather Program to make professionally-crafted leather gloves for veterans in wheelchairs and also turned into leather used for therapy programs for recovering veterans.

Hundreds of yellow ovals offset the brown and green coloration of each female brown trout ready to spawn at the Manchester Fish Hatchery. The splashes of color are signs that trout spawning season is in full swing.

Brown trout spawning was completed a couple of weeks ago. Brood trout from the French Creek genetic lineage were collected from Spring Branch Creek in Delaware County. The fish are checked for ripeness and spawned streamside before being returned to the stream.

The long wait is almost over. For an expected 100,000 deer hunters, the shotgun deer seasons are right around the corner and before they head to the timber, it’s important that everyone go through their gear to make sure everything still fits and still works and takes time to review their hunting safety plan.

At a special meeting of the Spirit Lake Protective Association on Saturday, Nov. 12, Terry Wilts, secretary of the East Okoboji Lakes Improvement Corporation, presented a check for $5,000 to the SLPA in support of the Spirit Lake North Watershed Project, a crucial 195.5-acre tract of land located just across the border (Minnesota side) which became a reality this past May.

A LITTLE HISTORY

Duaine Holck was celebrated Tuesday night.

After learning less than 12 hours earlier that he had been named the 2021 Spencer Citizen of the Year, Holck — with wife Sally by his side — stood in the doorway of the Clay County Regional Events Center Ballroom, welcoming family, friends and well-wishers attending a ceremony in his honor.

“I was definitely surprised,” Holck said. “My wife kept the secret for about a week. She got me up at 5:30 (a.m.), it was unusual.”

An early Thanksgiving was celebrated at Grand Avenue Community Outreach Monday night. The Grand Avenue Community Kitchen provided all the traditional Thanksgiving staples — including mashed potatoes, stuffing and, of course, pumpkin pie — to anyone who wanted to stop by for a community meal. GACK offers regular weekly meals on Monday and Thursday evenings in downtown Spencer. (Photos by Celia Brocker)

A Spencer-area holiday staple, the Holiday Family Adoption Program allows generous families, businesses and service groups to share the holiday spirit and bounty. Thanks to the generosity of families and businesses, area families will be gifted with items to help make this Christmas season a little bit brighter.

During its meeting on Monday, the Spencer City Council agreed to renew its recycling contract with Van’s Sanitation at an increased price. The new four-year agreement will increase the city’s pay from $12 per ton to $25 per ton, along with a fuel surcharge of $20 per load should the local diesel fuel price exceed $5.75 per gallon.

The Spencer School Board is the latest of community entities to contribute their financial support toward Clay County’s Behavioral Support Network. At their Tuesday meeting, the board committed to providing $5,000 a year for three years.

Seasons Center for Behavioral Health will host a free virtual training for Foster, Adoptive and Kinship families on Thursday, Dec. 1, from 6-8 p.m.

DES MOINES — The Iowa Association of School Boards presented the 2021-22 Annual Board Awards, on Nov. 17, during the IASB Annual Convention in Des Moines.

Spencer Board President Bob Whittenburg and board members Shelby Haak and Brea Schmidt were presented within Individual Achievement Awards; and joined fellow Spencer board members Bill Zinn and Jeremy Parsons in receiving the Team Achievement honor.

The holidays can be a difficult time for those who have experienced the loss of a loved one; yet it’s also an important time to remember those we’ve lost. The annual Service of Remembrance — sponsored by Warner Funeral Home, Avera@Home of Spencer Hospital’s hospice services, Abben Cancer Center, and area clergy — is a special time to remember those loved ones.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Fish Iowa! angler education program has partnered with the Recreational Fishing and Boating Foundation’s Vamos A Pescar program to provide funding to local 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations to support local efforts to educate and engage families in high-density Hispanic communities through programs, classes and fishing activities. Minimum grant request is $5,000 with a 1:1 cash match required.