Jeanne Cronce was sworn in Tuesday as Shawano mayor just before overseeing her first meeting of the Common Council.

“I’m thrilled with the reception I’ve received from City Hall and staff,” Cronce said as she opened the meeting. “I’d like to thank all those that were supportive of me, and especially my family. They showed up tonight. Hopefully we can continue on a strong path moving our city forward.”

Cronce defeated Jim Oberstein in the April 5 election by a vote of 1,434-1,290 to replace Lorna Marquardt, who chose not to seek another two-year term after 14 years in the office.

“This is sort of a momentous occasion,” City Administrator Brian Knapp said. “I do want to extend a welcome to Mayor Cronce and I look forward to working with you and also Alderperson (Lisa) Hoffman.”

Hoffman was also new to the council, replacing Fred Ponschok, who also chose not to run again.

“But I also want to say thank you to former Mayor Marquardt and Alderman Ponschok,” Knapp said. “Very long-serving public servants whose dedication to this community and their leadership and guidance are reflected in much of what you see around Shawano today. Thank you, and we will miss you.”

Marquardt won’t be completely absent from future city business, however. At Tuesday’s meeting, she was appointed to serve on the Shawano Plan Commission, replacing Cronce.

Those fantastic fish are at it again on the Wolf River.

Measuring up to 4 feet long and weighing as much as 200 pounds, sturgeon made their way upstream Tuesday for the start of spawning season.

The seasonal mating ritual of the largest and oldest fish in the Great Lakes also touches off a brief but intense annual tourist phenomenon in Shawano and elsewhere.

Dozens of people gathered at the Shawano dam to witness the arrival of the prehistoric species for a spawning season that generally takes place in full public view directly along the Wolf River’s shores.

By Tuesday afternoon, some sturgeon were “porpoising,” which means rising to the water’s surface and even jumping out of the water — an activity that grows in intensity among the fish as actual mating interaction draws nearer.

“Unbelievable,” said Ruth Anne Rebman, who traveled from Pulaski for her first sturgeon sighting. “They’re bigger than I thought. Oh, my goodness.”

Starting at Lake Winnebago and other distant year-round habitats, the enormous fish make the annual run up the Wolf River every spring to their favorite locations for doing what comes naturally during mating season.

The spawning generally lasts between seven and 10 days, although state wildlife officials believe this year’s season could be condensed to just four or five days.

Ryan Koenigs, a biologist with the state Department of Natural Resources, said last weekend’s sudden onset of near-record temperatures around 80 degrees seems to have accelerated the process. Rather than starting slowly in just a few spots, the spawning is breaking out at multiple locations, Koenigs said.

“They’re kind of all starting at once,” he said.

With spawning already under way Tuesday in Shiocton and New London, spawning was expected to begin in Shawano as soon as Wednesday. That would mean the season could start winding down by the weekend.

Koenigs said tourists, as usual, were flocking to catch a glimpse of the mating ritual. Although lake sturgeon exist elsewhere around the world, the Wolf River might offer the best opportunity, he said, to witness the biological process happening “at your feet.”

“This is truly a unique experience,” he said. “They’re a majestic fish.”

To discourage eager tourists from trying to touch or perhaps even poach the fish, state officials partner with volunteers known as Sturgeon Guard to patrol the river banks.

Those sightseers gathered Tuesday in Shawano were happy just to marvel at the spectacle.

Byron Wendy, of Appleton, said he never gets tired of witnessing nature at work with the arrival of the impressive sturgeon by the dam.

“It’s just amazing,” he said. “If you think about it, it’s a lot of work for them to get up here.”

Green Bay resident Randy Perra said he remembers visiting his grandmother in Shawano each spring and racing down to the river to see the sturgeon. Although his grandmother is gone, Perra still makes the trip every year for a sight that never ceases to amaze him.

“It’s beautiful,” he said. “It’s like you have to see it every year.”

A state appeals court Tuesday refused to overturn a Shawano County man’s domestic abuse enhancement on grounds he only resided with the victim five or six nights a week for a few months.

The District II Court of Appeals concluded that although Donald R. Weso, 36, of Keshena, did not legally reside with his female victim, statutes did not require Wesco to have a “spousal type” relationship to be convicted of the abuse enhancer.

“The focus of the statute is on the individuals’ living arrangements, not solely the length of their relationship or the degree of their commitment to one another,” District III Court Judge Thomas Hruz wrote in the ruling.

Weso’s former girlfriend told authorities that Weso stayed with her up to six nights a week for a few months and kept two baskets of his clothes, which she washed and folded, at her residence. That was sufficient for the court to find that the couple had resided together before Weso struck her.

Shawano police arrested Weso in February 2013 at a local bar after he reportedly struck a woman in the face with a closed fist. The woman told police that Weso became angry because she was talking with other men.

Weso was subsequently charged with misdemeanor battery for domestic abuse, possession of cocaine, resisting an officer, and two counts of disorderly conduct for domestic abuse.

Each domestic abuse enhancement carried a $100 surcharge fine and prohibits the person from possessing a firearm under federal law.

Weso pleaded guilty to the domestic abuse enhancer and no contest to the battery charge. In April 2014, Circuit Judge James Habeck placed Weso on three years extended supervision with 90 days in jail.

Weso appealed the enhancers, arguing they did not apply to him because he did not live with his victim, did not have a child with the victim and was not married to the victim.

Shawano Police Department

April 19

Police logged 26 incidents, including the following:

Disorderly — Police responded to an intoxicated person complaint in the 300 block of South Union Street.

Theft — Tools were reported stolen from a construction site in the 600 block of East Seward Street.

Suspicious — Police responded to a suspicious person complaint in the 700 block of South Franklin Street.

Accident — Police responded to a property damage accident in the 100 block of Humphrey Circle.

Juvenile — Police responded to a juvenile problem in the 100 block of Military Road.

Shoplifting — Walmart, 1244 E. Green Bay St., reported a shoplifting incident.

Shawano County Sheriff’s Department

April 19

Deputies logged 42 incidents, including the following:

Suspicious — Authorities responded to a suspicious person complaint on Warrington Avenue in Cecil.

Suspicious — Authorities responded to a suspicious person complaint on Beech Drive in the town of Hartland.

Fire — Authorities responded to a brush fire on Green Valley Road in the town of Angelica.

Disorderly — Authorities responded to a disorderly conduct complaint on Old 22 Road in the town of Washington.

Fraud — Authorities investigated a telephone scam complaint on Stony Curve Road in Bowler.

Parents got an eyeful when they gathered in Shawano this week to learn the hazards of allowing children to explore social media and other risky places on the Internet.

Representatives of the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department showed pornographic images in an effort to dramatize how easily children can be exposed to dangerous content when given unrestricted access to the online world.

The sheriff’s department joined the Shawano Police Department, Shawano School District, Safe Haven and other local groups in presenting the program on social media awareness for parents and others.

The event conducted Monday evening inside Shawano Community High School was limited to adults only, and participants were required to sign a form acknowledging that they were warned to expect explicit content.

About 50 parents, teachers and others attended the free event.

Flashing pornographic images captured online during the live demonstration, Detective Sgt. Gordon Kowaleski of the sheriff’s department said parents and other caretakers need to understand the seriousness of permitting children free reign on laptops, cellphones and other online devices.

With images of nudity projected on a big screen behind him, Kowaleski said he never would have guessed the severity of online porn until he got started doing undercover sex offender stings for law enforcement.

“I think this is a shocker,” he said, referring to the live images displayed in the high school lecture hall. “This stuff is out there.”

Spectators said they turned out for the program in hopes of learning more about the phenomenon of Facebook and other social media sites, as well as steps they could take to protect children.

John Arens, a parent of three, said that while he has never detected any problems with how his children use online resources, he knows the hazards of kids making bad choices. He wants to stay ahead of any issues.

“I just really want to know, ‘Where is this going?’” Arens said.

Betty Raddant, a child day care worker, said she worries about how social media affects healthy early childhood development. Although not much of an Internet surfer herself, Raddant said she watches pre-teens use the Internet and post content to the general public with seemingly little regard for the consequences.

“Once it’s out there, it’s out there forever,” she said. “I don’t think kids realize what ‘forever’ means in their lifetime.”

Another parent, Kim Klement, said her three children, ages 12, 13 and 14, are regular users of cellphones or other electronic devices. All of the devices are programmed to shut down automatically at bedtime, but Klement said she worries about the content available to her children whenever they can access the Internet.

Saying she hoped to learn some new control methods at Monday’s program, Klement said of her kids: “They certainly get wrapped up in things that pull them in a different direction than I would want.”

During the 90-minute program, Detective Jesse Sperberg of the sheriff’s department listed sites where kids can unknowingly come across pornographic images, or find themselves being stalked by predators. Even sites as well known as YouTube or Craigslist can turn risky, Sperberg said, if parents have not talked with their kids about the importance of avoiding inappropriate content — and reporting it when it turns up.

Children exposed to sexual or violent content often feel ashamed, he said, so their parents never know about it.

“If they get scared, they’re going to hide it,” Sperberg said. “That’s why we need to have discussions.”

Recounting graphic details of online predators who have been caught pursuing kids in Shawano County, Kowaleski and Sperberg urged parents to make sure their kids do not use social media sites where they can interact directly with strangers, such as www.meetme.com.

The detectives also encouraged parents to become aware of all applications on their kids’ electronic devices, and also to set ground rules for online activities, such as not allowing a child to go online unsupervised.

“We’re in a day and age where we’ve got to start paying more attention,” Kowaleski said.

Alderwoman Sandy Steinke was elected Shawano Common Council president Tuesday, the first time in 14 years that the title hasn’t gone to Alderman Woody Davis.

Davis, who has one year left in his current term as alderman, said he chose not to run for council president again.

“It’s good to get someone new in there,” he said. “It was a good time to make a change.”

The change comes as Jeanne Cronce was sworn in as the city’s new mayor, replacing Lorna Marquardt, who decided not to seek re-election after 14 years in office.

Davis nominated Steinke as president at Tuesday’s reorganizational meeting of the council. She was unanimously elected by her fellow council members.

“I think things will continue to run smoothly,” Davis said.

Davis, who joined the council in 1998, was first elected council president in 2002.

“I learned a lot and I enjoyed it,” he said. “Hopefully I did the job people expected me to do.”

The council president’s duties include making committee assignments for other council members and filling in for the mayor when needed.

Steinke said one goal she has would be splitting the finance and personnel committee into separate committees, so that more focus can be placed on the needs of city employees and their concerns.

She said she plans to talk with Cronce about her proposal.

“I’d like to meet with all the employees and get to know who they are,” she said. “Give them a little bit more of a voice and meet with them more often.”

Steinke said that, as an example, employees at the parks and recreation department and the department of public works are increasingly expected to perform more duties than their original job descriptions outline.

Steinke said she was thankful to have the council’s support as president.

“I look forward to working with all of them,” she said.

Scientists joined the sightseers Wednesday as sturgeon spawning season in Shawano brought conservation advocates a new opportunity to study and nurture the magnificent fish.

Crews from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources spent all day capturing and tagging sturgeons that have gathered on the Wolf River for their annual mating ritual.

Spectators marveled as crews wrestled the enormous fish out of the water one at a time so that each new specimen could be examined and tagged before being released back into the river.

DNR biologist Ryan Koenigs said as many as 600 sturgeon were likely to be processed by day’s end, including one that measured an impressive 81.7 inches long — or roughly the same size as NBA All-Star LeBron James.

Although that is 6 inches short of the all-time record, Koenigs said it is rare for officials to capture a sturgeon quite that large.

“It’s obviously not that many,” he said. “That’s a big fish.”

Starting with the warmth of spring, sturgeon at Lake Winnebago and elsewhere swim up the Wolf River for a mating season that takes place in full public view by the dam at Sturgeon Park, just south of downtown Shawano.

Spectators gather by the hundreds to observe the seasonal tradition and catch a glimpse of the largest and oldest fish in the Great Lakes.

Angela Bahr, a teacher at Shawano Community High School, brought a busload of students to watch Wednesday, as crews were netting and hauling specimens to shore. Several students on a field trip to the county courthouse were foreign exchange students, and Bahr thought they would be interested in learning about Shawano’s yearly sturgeon experience.

“It’s very cool,” she said. “It’s a part of our community, as far as our place in the biological circle of life.”

Although the spawning season typically continues for seven days or longer, the unusually warm weather in recent days has accelerated the process. Officials said the best opportunities to observe nature at work are likely to wind down by Thursday or Friday.

DNR officials tag as many sturgeon as possible to advance scientific understanding of the prehistoric species — where they live, how far they travel and so forth.

Other conservation groups capitalize on the opportunity to collect eggs and increase sturgeon populations elsewhere in the United States.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had a crew on site Wednesday to haul about 150,000 eggs to hatcheries in Georgia and Tennessee.

Carlos Echevarria, manager of the government’s Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery in Georgia, brought his three-person team to Shawano as soon as he got reports that temperatures here hit the 70s and that sturgeon were starting their run up the Wolf River.

The federal agency shows up every year and uses eggs gathered here to hatch thousands of baby sturgeon, which are then distributed to promote the species in locations throughout the southeast.

Because the warm weather in Shawano has accelerated the 2016 spawning season, Echevarria and his group were able in just a few hours Wednesday to complete an egg collection protocol that sometimes takes several days. He said the weather conditions were favorable for a successful season.

“It warmed up really quick. It happened very, very quick,” he said. “You’re at the mercy of Mother Nature.”

Shawano police lieutenants will go to 12-hour work days next month after approval Tuesday by the Common Council, but union patrol officers who were expected to do the same are still negotiating the issue.

The Shawano Professional Police Association has been without a new contract since the end of the year after a hangup over contract language associated with the new 12-hour schedule, according to city officials.

The council in January approved a letter of agreement with the police union that would have extended the terms of the existing contract but would have also allowed a move to 12-hour work days.

Under the existing schedule, officers work 7 1/2-hour shifts for six days in a row before getting three days off.

Under the proposed 12-hour shifts, officers would work two days in a row, followed by two days off, then three days on and two days off, followed by two days on and three days off.

City Administrator Brian Knapp said the city believed the agreement was acceptable to the union when it was approved by the council in January, but both sides have not been able to reach agreement since then over language issues.

Knapp said the city is still in negotiation with the union over a new contract beginning in 2017 that “may or may not” include the 12-hour shift schedule.

Knapp said the new schedule for the union is “off the table” for 2016.

In spite of that uncertainty, the city went ahead with plans to offer the department’s three non-represented lieutenants the same shift schedule that had been offered to the union.

The lieutenants will work an additional 130 hours a year under the new schedule, putting in 2,080 hours instead of 1,950, but at the same hourly rate of pay as previously approved.

“It gives us more supervisory time and it extends to the lieutenants more (days) off,” Knapp said. “And it should result in better supervision of the shifts that we do have.”

The agreement with the lieutenants was approved by a vote of 5-1, with Alderman Bob Kurkiewicz objecting.

“Are we putting the cart in front of the horse with this?” Kurkiewicz said, noting that the union hasn’t yet accepted the new schedule.

Kurkiewicz also objected to the additional expense of roughly $13,000 a year that had not been budgeted and would have to come out of the city’s fund balance to pay for the extra hours.

Knapp noted that the council approved spending as much as $80,000 for additional hours for the entire police force, including the lieutenants, in January when it was thought the union would accept the new schedule even though that amount also hadn’t been included in the budget.

“Now we’re talking about simply rolling it back to only $13,000 for three individuals,” he said.

“I’m not saying they’re not worthy of it, I’m just questioning the process and the way we’re following it,” Kurkiewicz said. “Is this an area where I feel comfortable spending the contingency fund? Not at all. I think this is something that should go through the budgeting process.”

Alderman Woody Davis, who chairs the finance committee, said the committee spent a great deal of time going through negotiations with the Police Department.

“We came down to the idea that this was the proper thing to do; that this was the right decision,” he said. “There were changes being made in the department — different hours, different times — and we simply felt this was the proper thing to do.”

Knapp said the lieutenants and Police Chief Mark Kohl had also requested the city consider the change.

“There would seem to be enough benefits, morale and supervision wise, to justify it,” he said.

Alderwoman Rhonda Strebel said the new schedule was also intended to help address the wage compression issue between patrol officers and lieutenants.

“Compression has been a big issue for many years,” she said. “We’ve been slowly chipping away at it. That’s what we’re doing here. We’re finally starting to make some headway so that there is a difference between the represented and the nonrepresented police force.”

Strebel said the wage compression issue “severely affects the morale and the leadership in that department.”

Shawano Police Department

April 20

Police logged 21 incidents, including the following:

Juvenile — Police responded to a juvenile problem at Hillcrest Primary School, 1410 S. Waukechon St.

Truancy — Police logged four truancy complaints from Shawano Community High School, 220 County Road B.

Arrest — A 35-year-old man was taken into custody at the probation and parole offices, 1340 E. Green Bay St.

Harassment — Police responded to a harassment complaint in the 400 block of South Union Street.

Disorderly — Police responded to a complaint of a combative patient at ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano, 100 County Road B.

Shawano County Sheriff’s Department

April 20

Deputies logged 32 incidents, including the following:

Fire — Authorities responded to a a garage fire on Lake Drive in the town of Wescott.

Drug Offense — A pot pipe was found and turned in to authorities on Swan Acre Drive in the town of Washington.

Disorderly — Authorities responded to a disorderly conduct complaint at Bowler School, 500 S. Almon St. in Bowler.

Disorderly — Authorities responded to a disorderly conduct complaint on Hemlock Road in the town of Wittenberg.

OAR — A 44-year-old man was cited for operating after revocation on East Green Bay Street in Shawano.

Drug Offense — A 17-year-old Keshena boy was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia on Lake Drive in the town of Wescott.

Drug Offense — A 32-year-old Shawano man was arrested for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and operating after revocation on state Highway 47-55 in the town of Wescott.

Assault — Authorities responded to an assault complaint on Hemlock Road in the town of Wittenberg.

Clintonville Police Department

April 20

Police logged six incidents, including the following:

Disorderly — Police responded to a disorderly conduct complaint at the middle school, 255 N. Main St.

Assault — A battery and disorderly conduct complaint was under investigation.

Area law enforcement and emergency responders were put through the paces Thursday of a simulated incident they hope will never happen — an active shooter opening fire at a local school.

The drill hosted by Shawano County Emergency Management focused mainly on the communication aspect of such an incident, ensuring that all parties could quickly and properly respond.

Most of the exercise was carried out via radio communications, though emergency response units did show up at some locations — including Olga Brener Intermediate School — as part of the drill.

The exercise simulated the coordination, command and control response to an active shooter scenario at a local school. The exercise also provided a training opportunity for local emergency response agencies to practice their skills in a situation that was not life-threatening.

Natalie Easterday, county emergency management director, said the drill went very well and had good participation.

Easterday said there were a few “communication hiccups” that were worked around and a few lessons learned, mainly dealing with response plans on the part of some agencies that needed to be updated and put into writing.

None of those hiccups impeded the response to the mock situation, however, she said.

“Leadership bridged the gap,” according to Easterday.

Thursday’s drill served as a kind of dress rehearsal for a more intensive drill scheduled for Aug. 24.

That exercise will include “mock victims and boots on the ground” in a full-scale response to an active shooter, Easterday said.

Exercise participants Thursday included members from the following agencies: Shawano County Emergency Management, health department, sheriff’s office, administration, technology services and coroner; Shawano police, public works and parks and recreation; Stockbridge-Munsee Police Department; ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano; Shawano Area Fire Department; Shawano Ambulance; Shawano School District; American Red Cross; Wisconsin Emergency Management; Menominee County Emergency Management; and North Central Regional Planning Commission.

Exercise observers included representatives from Gresham, Brown County Sheriff’s Office, Menominee County Sheriff’s Office and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.

Members of the Menominee Nation, other tribes and organizations, and supporters will hold a Menominee River Water Walk this weekend to create awareness of the Back Forty Mine proposal in Michigan.

The goal of the walk Saturday through Monday is to create awareness of the threat that the proposed mine poses to water, fish, wildlife and the newly seeded wild rice.

The walk will follow the tribal ancestors’ 107-mile journey to carry the sacred water to the the mouth of the Menominee River, considered the birthplace of the Menominee People.

The walk will begin at noon Saturday at Keshena Falls with the sacred water ceremony and “Taking up of the Water” be led by First Nations Grandmother Josephine Mandarin, of the Three Fires Midewiwin Lodge. She is also known as “the original water walker,” responsible for starting the worldwide water walk movement.

The walk is scheduled to end Monday at the public boat landing across the street from the Aquila Resources Stephenson Field Office in Stephenson, Michigan.

In November, Menominee tribal members, school children and other supporters gathered at the mouth of the Menominee River to seed wild rice in the waters for the first time in hundreds of years.

Two weeks later, the Back Forty project, which is an expansive open pit and underground mine, applied for a mining permit upstream from the very place where the wild rice was seeded. A mine could contaminate the Menominee River and destroy the newly seeded wild rice, according to the Menominee.

Aquila Resources Inc. projects mining 16.1 million tons of mineralized material, including zinc, copper, gold and silver, over the 16-year life of the mine, of which 12.5 million tons would be open-pit and 3.6 million tons would be underground.

For information about the walk, contact Menominee tribal members Guy Reiter at 715-853-2776 or anahkwet@hotmail.com, or Oralann Caldwell at 715-799-1586 or oralanncaldwell@yahoo.com.

City Clerk Peggy Johnson administered the oath of office to newly elected Mayor Lois Bressette at the Clintonville Common Council’s reorganizational meeting Tuesday at City Hall.

Bressette had been acting mayor in the absence of Judith Magee, who resigned, effective Jan. 1, to settle a complaint filed against her by local resident Tricia Rose, publisher of the Clintonville Chronicle newspaper. Magee denied Rose’s allegations but agreed not to seek re-election.

Magee’s decision followed months of rancor within the council, which led to the resignation of the city administrator and the city’s first recall election, removing Greg Rose, Tricia’s husband, from the aldermanic seat that Bressette then filled.

Also sworn into office Tuesday were council members Lance Bagstad, District 1; Charles Manske, District 2; Amy Steenbock, District 2 Alderperson3; Mike Hankins, District 4; and Mark Doornink, District 5.

The council approved the appointment of Jim Supanich as the District 4 alderman to fill out the remaining year of Bressette’s term due to her election as mayor. Supanich, who has served on the Clintonville Utility Board and the Badger Power Marketing Authority, will be up for election next April if he decides to seek a full two-year term.

Others who applied for the District 4 seat were former three-term Alderman Gary Hagberg and Timothy Zilch, a 25-year resident of Clintonville.

Hankins was elected by unanimous vote to serve as council president, a position he held during a previous term as alderman.

The council also selected the Clintonville Tribune-Gazette as the city’s official newspaper, replacing the Chronicle.

Without discussion and by unanimous vote, the council voted to approve the appointment of Keith Steckbauer as the new city attorney. He replaces April Dunlavy, who was hired in April 2014. She is the daughter and niece of former Alderpersons Gloria Dunlavy and Jeanne Schley, respectively.

Gloria Dunlavy and Schley lost re-election bids on April 5, along with Mary-Beth Kuester and Jim Krause.

If the Russians had started World War III in Shawano during the 1950s or ’60s, local citizens would have been prepared, at least in one way.

Supplies shipped from the U.S. government were stockpiled around town to establish an emergency hospital for civilian casualties, should the Red Menace attack here.

The crisis never happened, of course, and some relics of that tense Cold War era are still collecting dust in Shawano.

In the attic of the county courthouse, officials recently uncovered crates filled with feather pillows that arrived in 1957 to provide comfort, if needed, to hospital patients struck down by Russian artillery.

After nearly tossing the crates into the trash, county officials realized that people would enjoy owning the pillows, not only because of the peculiar historic value but also because the pillows remain in surprisingly good condition.

Slightly larger and heavier than many pillows sold in stores nowadays, the artifacts may feel familiar — even nostalgic — to anyone old enough to remember the ’50s or ’60s. The sturdy gray-and-white striped fabric is a throwback to the days of Ozzie and Harriet.

“This is what just about everybody grew up on,” county building maintenance director Steve Dreher said. “A lot of people’s grandmothers still have these.”

Posted for sale on the county’s website, the Cold War pillows are fetching about $27 each for the county.

John Marquardt, of Tigerton, snatched up six of them, saying that pillows of such high quality likely would cost much more elsewhere, assuming they were available anywhere else. The back story of how the pillows ended up in Shawano also makes for an amusing story to tell visitors, Marquardt said.

“It was pretty interesting,” he said. “And we really like the pillows.”

Despite spending decades in wooden crates, the pillows are sealed in individual plastic bags and show no sign of deterioration.

Each tagged Federal Civil Defense Administration, they were found in crates dated 1957 and marked “C.D. Emerg. Hosp.,” which stands for civil defense emergency hospital. With seven crates containing 20 pillows each, the county inventory totaled 140 pillows, of which about 40 have been sold so far.

The Civil Defense Administration was created in the 1950s amid escalating public fears of war with the Russian-led Soviet Union. From coast to coast, communities turned their attention to military and civilian readiness.

Eric Green, founder of the Civil Defense Museum in Texas, said the U.S. government envisioned wartime evacuation of major cities, with throngs of civilians fleeing to the countryside and needing medical care. The government planned for emergency makeshift hospitals by equipping places like Shawano with surgical equipment, portable toilets, lanterns and other supplies.

Much of the material has long since been thrown away or donated to charity, Green said, but stockpiles occasionally turn up in odd places.

Of Shawano’s feather pillow inventory, Green said: “That’s really neat that the stuff is still usable after all these years. It’s really surprising it’s still out there.”

Dreher said the county periodically cleans house just like everyone else. He estimated that the crates of pillows had been sitting in the courthouse attic for at least 15 years.

Although the pillows never were used for their intended purpose, Dreher said government officials in the 1950s made sure that these relics were built to last — and would remain ready to use for a very long time.

“It was planned that way,” he said. “They knew this stuff was going to sit around in a box.”

To members of the Menominee Indian Tribe, the spectacle of sturgeon spawning season in Shawano has much deeper meaning than impressive fish doing nature’s work.

For generations long ago, the sturgeon continued swimming north up the Wolf River to the Menominee reservation, where their arrival was celebrated each year and the sturgeon became a sacred symbol of native American culture.

When the Shawano dam was built in the late 19th century, the river became impassable and the Menominee people were left feeling cut off from their revered sturgeon.

So for many tribal members, making the annual trek down to the Shawano dam — about 10 miles south of the reservation — is akin to traveling into their cultural past.

“It’s ancestral,” tribal member Margaret Wilber said. “It’s part of my life blood.”

For some Menominee, the experience also is a little bittersweet.

Gene Caldwell, who made his first visit to the Shawano dam Thursday, said some in the tribe still harbor resentment that they must leave the reservation and reconnect with the sturgeon alongside a man-made obstacle in the river.

“It does trouble me that we have to do that,” Caldwell said. “We shouldn’t have to. It should be natural.”

Thousands of sturgeon swim north each spring from Lake Winnebago or other distant habitats, racing up the Wolf River for their yearly mating ritual in favorite spots such as New London, Shiocton and Shawano.

Tourists and other nature lovers gather for the chance to see the sturgeon — some as large as 6 feet long — in the frenzied splashing exhibition that accompanies spawning. Although the mating season generally lasts a week or more, this year’s unseasonably warm temperatures have accelerated the process and state wildlife officials have said the spawning is likely to end by Friday.

The sturgeon are regarded as the oldest and largest fish in the Great Lakes.

In bygone days, Menominee tribal members would celebrate the end of another long winter with a sturgeon harvest and feast when the enormous fish swam up the Wolf River each spring and arrived on the reservation north of Shawano.

About 20 years ago, some Menominee members threatened to come to Shawano and take sturgeon back to the reservation to reclaim the tribe’s sacred symbol. In a compromise, officials from the state Department of Natural Resources agreed to transport some sturgeon north and donate them to the tribe.

The state has continued the donation annually, and the tribe has used the sturgeon for a feast and powwow, which occurred Saturday in Keshena.

Some in the tribe still prefer making the trip to Shawano, too, to see the sturgeon in the river.

“It’s tradition,” tribal member Michelle Keshena said by the dam Thursday. “This is the only place you can really see it.”

Emotions run high for some Menominee as they watch the huge sturgeon butting up against the dam, seemingly trying to continue swimming northward.

Mike Wilber, a cousin to Margaret Wilber, said there has been talk of building a ladder-like apparatus that would allow some sturgeon to go over the dam and continue toward the reservation. But that idea has not caught on, so Wilber treks down to Shawano each year and makes the best of the situation.

“It’s just a little bit unnatural,” he said. “I come and I look at them, and I wish they could continue.”

Another related tribal member, Gregory Wilber, has made peace with the situation and enjoys visiting the Shawano dam alongside nontribal members. To him, the sturgeons are a symbol of peace.

“They’re a gentle giant in that water — the water that we share,” he said. “We share that with everybody.”

Shawano Police Department

April 21

Police logged 16 incidents, including the following:

Disorderly — Police responded to a disorderly conduct complaint at Hillcrest Primary School, 1410 S. Waukechon St.

Juvenile — Police responded to a juvenile problem in the 500 block of North Lafayette Street.

Disturbance — Police responded to a disturbance in the 100 block of Acorn Street.

Theft — Prescription medication was reported stolen in the 100 block of South Smalley Street.

Disturbance — Police responded to a report of a fight in progress at Picnic and Franklin streets.

Shawano County Sheriff’s Department

April 21

Deputies logged 28 incidents, including the following:

Drug Offense — Authorities investigated a drug complaint at the Ho-Chunk Casino, N7198 U.S. Highway 45, in the town of Wittenberg.

Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on Bartelt Street in Gresham.

Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on state Highway 29 in the town of Herman.

Accidents — Authorities logged four deer-related crashes.

Clintonville Police Department

April 21

Police logged 13 incidents, including the following:

Suspicious — Police responded to a suspicious person complaint on South Main Street.

Warrant — A 28-year-old man was taken into custody on a warrant on Seventh Street.

Warrant — A 38-year-old man was taken into custody on a warrant on North 12th Street.

Shawano Police Department

April 21

Police logged 16 incidents, including the following:

Disorderly — Police responded to a disorderly conduct complaint at Hillcrest Primary School, 1410 S. Waukechon St.

Juvenile — Police responded to a juvenile problem in the 500 block of North Lafayette Street.

Disturbance — Police responded to a disturbance in the 100 block of Acorn Street.

Theft — Prescription medication was reported stolen in the 100 block of South Smalley Street.

Disturbance — Police responded to a report of a fight in progress at Picnic and Franklin streets.

Shawano County Sheriff’s Department

April 21

Deputies logged 28 incidents, including the following:

Drug Offense — Authorities investigated a drug complaint at the Ho-Chunk Casino, N7198 U.S. Highway 45, in the town of Wittenberg.

Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on Bartelt Street in Gresham.

Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on state Highway 29 in the town of Herman.

Accidents — Authorities logged four deer-related crashes.

Clintonville Police Department

April 21

Police logged 13 incidents, including the following:

Suspicious — Police responded to a suspicious person complaint on South Main Street.

Warrant — A 28-year-old man was taken into custody on a warrant on Seventh Street.

Warrant — A 38-year-old man was taken into custody on a warrant on North 12th Street.

The Shawano Tree Advisory Committee will host an Arbor Day ceremony at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Atrium Post-Acute Care of Shawano at Birch Hill, 1475 Birch Hill Lane.

The program includes planting of a ceremonial tree, proclamation of April 29 as Arbor Day, and presentation of the city’s 22nd Tree City USA designation.

Nature Friends Awards will be presented to Atrium Birch Hill Care Center, in the commercial category, and Kathy Stoltenow, in the residential category.

Tracy Salisbury, state Department of Natural Resources regional forestry coordinator, will present the Tree Line USA award to Shawano Municipal Utilities. The national designation recognizes best practices in utility arboriculture. This is the 13th year SMU has received the award.

SMU will present a $2,000 check to be used for tree planting and replacement to the committee.

The tree advisory committee is responsible for oversight of the city’s public trees, city planters and the free spaces within city parking lots. Committee members work with the city forester.

Members of the committee are chairman Bill Erdmann, secretary Gerry Love Stephens, Wayne Habeck, Diane Heikes and Fred Ponschok.

Shawano parents will have an incentive to see that their kids aren’t engaged in bullying or harassment under a new city ordinance that could hold them responsible for not putting a stop to it.

Police Chief Mark Kohl said the goal of the ordinance is to enlist parents’ help in addressing bullying and harassing behavior by encouraging parents to keep a closer eye on what their children are up to.

“Our goal is not to ticket our way out this,” Kohl said. “We need parents to acknowledge and directly participate in curbing this.”

Kohl said the ordinance is intended to get parents to work with police to address the problem.

“When parents are more aware of what their child does, it tends to not involve these bad habits,” he said.

The Shawano Common Council adopted the ordinance Tuesday.

It calls for a fine of $366 for the first offense and $681 for the second offense for parents who are aware of and allow their children to engage in bullying or harassment.

The fine would only apply, however, if the parent had already been informed by police within the previous 90 days that their child had been engaging in bullying or harassment.

“It won’t come as a surprise to them,” Kohl said.

He said if the department has information that a child is involved in bullying, including cyberbullying, or harassing behavior, police will work with the parents to educate them and help them get involved.

“We want to work as a team,” he said. “We want to help them be a little more watchful.”

Kohl said that in most bullying cases the city has handled parents were unaware of what their children were up to.

He said that happens most often in single-parent homes or families where both parents are working, situations where closer parental involvement is not always possible.

“It’s no one’s fault,” he said.

However, Kohl said, it can also be seen in cases where the children perceive the parents are not interested.

“Parental involvement is really important,” he said. “If kids believe the parents don’t care, that’s when we see these problems.”

Top administrators in the Shawano School District could get bonuses averaging $1,700 next year, despite opposition from many School Board members.

By a narrow 5-4 majority, the board allocated $19,090 for Superintendent Gary Cumberland to distribute at his discretion among his top 11 administrative staff members for the 2016-17 school year.

The vote occurred following an hourlong closed-door “executive session” near the end of a School Board meeting on April 4 — the night before School Board elections.

It was the same night that the School Board agreed to hire an outside consulting firm to evaluate administration within the school district and possibly recommend structural changes. The study is expected to be done by July.

Some board members said the bonuses should wait until the consultant study is done, while others felt that the bonuses were too large.

“I don’t think taxpayers would be real happy,” said board member Derek Johnson, who voted against the proposed allocation along with members Marcia Yeager, Beth McFarlane and Bruce Milavitz. Milavitz was unseated in elections held the next day.

Those eligible for the bonuses include principals, associate principals and other top administrators whose yearly salaries currently range from $70,000 to $108,000.

Cumberland disagreed that the bonus amounts were excessive, although he acknowledged that the manner in which they were structured was unusual.

Cumberland said he had proposed regular pay raises averaging about 2 percent annually — the same that teachers will be getting, but board members were reluctant to commit to permanent raises before the consultant study is completed.

The board agreed to one-time bonuses as an alternative.

“This is something completely out of the norm,” Cumberland said, adding that he prefers to think of the payouts as merit pay raises rather than bonuses.

He said he has not decided yet how to divide up the $19,090, but that he would distribute the bonuses at his own discretion and direct that the bonuses be awarded incrementally with each paycheck during the 2016-17 school year.

In separate actions, the School Board agreed to unrelated pay raises of about $4,000 a year for Building and Grounds Director Jeff Easter, whose salary will increase to $60,000, and about $500 a year to Technology Director Craig Young, whose salary will increase to $75,700. Neither Easter nor Young will be eligible for bonuses.

Other mid-level management personnel and support staff will be getting pay raises of 15 cents per hour.

The School Board approved all the salary actions unanimously except for the administrator bonuses.

McFarlane said that while she appreciates the school district’s administrative staff, she voted against the bonuses because she believed the amount was too high.

“It’s not that I didn’t feel they were deserving of bonuses,” she said. “It was the amount.”

Board member Michael Sleeper, who approved the bonuses, said the amount of $19,090 seemed appropriate considering the total combined salaries of the eligible administrators.

“That was a logical number to go with,” Sleeper said.

Others who approved the bonuses — Tyler Schmidt, Al Heins, Jay Jones and Diane Hoffman — all either declined to comment or could not be reached.

At the same meeting, the board agreed to spend $22,500 to hire Springsted Inc. of St. Paul, Minnesota, for the administration study to examine staffing structure, workload, duties and related issues.

Cumberland said the bonuses could not wait until after the consultant study is done because administrative staff employees need to know their upcoming salaries so they are not tempted to look for jobs elsewhere. The superintendent said he agreed with the action approved by the majority of board members.

“They wanted to make sure that our administrators know that we valued them,” he said.

ThedaCare employees will offer activities, advice and encouragement to promote healthy habits for students and their families during the second annual Good to Go initiative from April 25-29.

More than 300 ThedaCare employees will span out to six Northeast Wisconsin elementary and intermediate schools, including Hillcrest Primary School in Shawano, to engage young people with special activities that may include leading a gym class, mindfulness practice, healthy snack options, playground games and more.

School leaders from Menasha, Oshkosh, Waupaca, Shawano, New London and Berlin collaborated with committee members from ThedaCare to create programming that both engages children and leaves them with ideas about how integrate simple wellness behaviors into their future lives.

Schools rotate each year so ThedaCare employee volunteers will reach thousands of children over time.

“Making healthy choices is about your physical activity level and your food choices, but it’s also a mindset,” said Jean Blaney McGinnis, community health coordinator at ThedaCare and Good to Go project manager. “By making simple, small changes like the ones we are bringing to the schools, young people can build on early success and begin to identify themselves as people who care about good health. Addressing obesity is ThedaCare’s number one community health priority, and starting early is the goal of Good to Go.”

Troy Edwards, Hillcrest principal, said: “It is extremely important that we give our youngest learners opportunities to learn more about why making healthy lifestyle choices is important. Our students get excited to have guest teachers from whom they can learn new and interesting things. It enriches their learning experience.”

ThedaCare employees will help host a family fun night at Hillcrest Primary in addition to activities throughout the school day.

“It benefits everyone to include our school families in this learning opportunity,” Edwards said.

ThedaCare employees volunteer through the organization’s Helping Hearts employee volunteer program. Blaney McGinnis said many help before or after their regular work shifts or take a day off to volunteer. Last year’s Good to Go program logged 730 volunteer hours and this year’s is on track to exceed 1,000 hours.