A check for $1,850.20 was presented to Clintonville High School recently for its music program.

The check represents their share of the profit from the Wisconsin Singers show and Friends of the Music Department donations made as a result of the show, which was held at CHS on Feb. 15.

The Wisconsin Singers show was sponsored by the Clintonville Lions in collaboration with the music department.

Prior to the check presentation, Lowell Easley with the Lions said that the check amount represented 60 percent of the profit plus the “Friends” donations. He said the Lions 40 percent portion was $1,146.80.

Easley said that the large profit from the show was due to two factors.

The first one he cited was “the fabulous support provided by area businesses and industries through purchase of advertising in an insert in the show’s printed patron program.” Easley said 44 businesses and industries advertised in the 48-page program.

“Financially, it would not have been possible to bring the Wisconsin Singers to Clintonville without the support of local business and industry,” Easley said. “With costs of just over $4,600 to bring the Singer show to Clintonville and the desire to keep ticket prices low and affordable, income alone from ticket sales would not have covered the cost, let alone make a profit to support the music department and Lions service projects.”

The second factor cited was the support for bringing live theater to Clintonville as shown through ticket purchase. Easley said the show was “practically a sellout” with just over 500 ticket-payers attending.

Easley also mentioned that the show also raised $130 for the music department through Friends of the CHS Music Department donations. He said that $80 of the donations came in the night of the show.

Easley said plans are already in place to bring the Wisconsin Singers back next year for another show.

Shawano Police Department

March 26

Police logged 29 incidents, including the following:

Vandalism — Graffiti was reported on a garage in the 600 block of South Lafayette Street.

Disturbance — Police responded to a domestic disturbance in the 600 block of West Richmond Street.

Hit and Run — Police investigated a property damage hit-and-run in the 1000 block of Engel Drive.

Fraud — Police responded to a fraud complaint in the 300 block of East Randall Street.

Shoplifting — Charlie’s County Market, 521 S. Main St., reported a shoplifting incident.

Disorderly — Disorderly conduct was reported at the Shawano Recreation Center, 220 E. Division St.

Shawano County Sheriff’s Department

March 26

Deputies logged 32 incidents, including the following:

Fire — Authorities responded to a vehicle fire on Willow Road in the town of Angelica.

Disorderly — Authorities responded to a disorderly conduct complaint on Fourth Street in Mattoon.

Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on U.S. Highway 45 in Tigerton.

Accident — Authorities responded to an injury accident on County Road BE in the town of Hartland.

Clintonville Police Department

March 26

Police logged 11 incidents, including the following:

Missing Person — A missing person complaint was filed on West Street and the subject was later located.

Truancy — Clintonville High School reported a truancy complaint.

Disturbance — Police responded to a domestic situation on North Main Street.

Public health officials will soon begin compiling data and doing public outreach to compile community health assessments for Shawano and Menominee counties; evaluations that are required by the state every five years.

Vicki Dantoin, director of public health for the Shawano-Menominee Counties Health Department, is in the process of forming a steering committee that will collect data for the 2019 assessment.

“We’re trying to gather agency partners that would have a stake in what are some of the things we would want from this process,” she said.

Some of those partners would include schools, clergy, law enforcement, the Menominee Tribe, Shawano County Department of Human Services and the UW-Extension.

The next step would be community discussions, Dantoin said, to identify priorities and develop an improvement plan.

“We want a variety of viewpoints,” she said.

Focus groups and community meetings will give the public a chance to speak out on what their concerns are, Dantoin said.

When the last county health assessments were done in 2014, Shawano County had dropped to a ranking of 60 out of 72 counties in terms of health outcomes, according to the County Health Rankings and Roadmap compiled annually by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

Shawano County also ranked at that time at 54 out of 72 counties in terms of health factors.

That ranking has improved since then, with the county ranking at 41 in terms of health outcomes and a ranking of 40 for factors influencing health.

Menominee County has consistently ranked at the bottom of the annual report, 72nd out of 72 counties.

Dantoin said it’s too soon to say what the 2019 community health assessments will identify in terms of issues facing Shawano and Menominee counties.

Issues identified by the state Department of Health Services, which often mirror concerns found in the counties, include mental health, alcohol and other drugs, nutrition, physical activity, obesity and early childhood development.

An addendum put out by the state last year added suicide and opioids to that list of priorities.

Challenges to addressing those issues, Dantoin said, can include a county’s poverty level, the availability of funding, having accurate data to be able to measure and evaluate outcomes and community interest in addressing the problems.

“It’s not that people aren’t interested,” Dantoin said. “It’s just getting people to understand the importance of it. They need to get involved and join us making these decisions.”

One area where counties are making a push to improve their numbers is vaccinations.

“We do see that our vaccination rates are not excellent,” Dantoin said. “We would like to improve those. It is a concern in our community.”

Vaccination rates not only in Shawano-Menominee counties but also nationwide appear to have been affected by misinformation spread by vaccine opponents who claim being vaccinated will cause other health problems.

But, Dantoin said, “the media starting to put word out and some social media platforms are banning anti-vaccination information. We’re also trying to do pushes at state and regional level to combat some of those anti-vaccination issues.”

While communicable diseases don’t appear to be on the rise in Shawano County, even with the drop in vaccinations, it’s a concern the department is keeping an eye on.

“Our biggest concern right now is measles,” Dantoin said. “It’s pretty contagious, easily spread from person to person, and it’s a vaccine preventable disease.”

Dantoin said schools typically require vaccinations for attendance, but the state allows waivers to that requirement for medical reasons, on religious grounds or due to personal convictions.

“Personal convictions is kind of the catch-all,” Dantoin said. “If a person says, ‘I don’t have time or I don’t want to take time off from work to bring someone in for a vaccine,’ it becomes a personal conviction waiver and that’s sometimes where the vaccination rates can decline a bit.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that dairy producers who elected to participate in the Livestock Gross Margin for Dairy Cattle Program (LGM-Dairy) now have the opportunity to participate in the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy) for 2018 coverage. Sign-up will take place through May 10.

Producers enrolled in 2018 LGM-Dairy, administered by USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), previously were determined by the 2014 Farm Bill to be ineligible for coverage under MPP-Dairy, a safety net program available through USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).

“The 2018 Farm Bill included substantial changes to USDA dairy programs,” said FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce. “This includes the ability for producers with LGM coverage to retroactively enroll in MPP-Dairy for 2018. It also integrated recent improvements to the MPP-Dairy in the new Dairy Margin Coverage program, beginning with the 2019 calendar year.”

The MPP-Dairy program offers protection to dairy producers when the difference between the national all-milk price and the national average feed cost — the margin — falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producers in a dairy operation. LGM-Dairy is an insurance product that provides protection when feed costs rise or milk prices drop. The gross margin is the market value of milk minus feed costs.

This retroactive sign-up is only for dairy producers with 2018 LGM coverage who produced and commercially marketed milk in 2018 but did not obtain full year MPP-Dairy coverage. FSA will notify eligible producers by postcard and provide a one-time payment for all of the months in 2018 that had margins triggering MPP-Dairy assistance.

“I’m pleased that dairy producers will now be able to take advantage of enrolling in both Livestock Gross Margin and the Margin Protection Program for 2018 coverage,” RMA Administrator Martin Barbre said. “The 2018 Farm Bill gave dairy producers more options like these and when combined with the new Dairy Protection Program offered by RMA, that means more overall coverage for dairy producers.”

Eligible producers can enroll during the sign-up period at their local USDA service center. To locate your office, visit farmers.gov.

Wendell Waukau, Superintendent of Menominee Indian School District, has been re-elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, NAFIS has announced.

He represents Region III, which includes Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Ohio.

As a member of the NAFIS Board of Directors, Waukau will serve as a national leader advocating for school districts that receive impact aid. In this role, he will work with other board members from across the country to guide the association’s public policy work and oversee plans for the association.

Impact aid reimburses school districts for the loss of revenue caused by the presence of nontaxable Federal property, including military installations; Indian trust, treaty and Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act lands; federal low-income housing facilities; and national laboratories and other federal buildings and property. It helps ensure students who attend schools on or near federal property have access to a quality education.

“Impact aid makes up approximately 30% of our district’s annual operating budget,” said Waukau. “Being a heavily impacted Indian land district in which 85% of our students are at or below the poverty line, impact aid is essential to providing our students with access to the best possible education.”

Waukau has served as Superintendent at MISD for the past 15 years. He has extensive experience in education, having previously served as a principal, dean, athletic director, teacher and coach.

This will be Waukau’s second term on the NAFIS Board. He also represented Region III for the past two years. He has served on the Bylaws and Goals & Strategic Plans Committees.

“The NAFIS Board is crucial in ensuring that students in federally impacted school districts receive the resources that they deserve,” said NAFIS Executive Director Hilary Goldmann. “Wendell brings important insight into the needs of these school districts, their students and their communities, as well as a wealth of experience and expertise from which NAFIS will continue to benefit.”

Waukau’s term will last for two years.

At a special Clintonville Common Council meeting on March 19, the council voted to accept the resignation of Alderperson Maggie Tischauser from her seat in District 5. She is moving outside the district and is no longer eligible to serve.

The Council voted to begin the selection process by posting an advertisement in the newspaper to solicit applications from interested citizens.

Applications are available from city hall during normal business hours, Monday-Friday 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

Mayor Richard Beggs will be accepting applications until 4:30 p.m. on April 26. Applications may be dropped off or mailed to Clintonville City Hall, 50 10th Street, Clintonville, WI, 54929. They must be received by the deadline.

The appointment will be considered by the Common Council at the May 9 council meeting. The appointment is for the remainder of Tischauser’s term, which will end in April 2020.

Shawano Police Department

March 27

Police logged 29 incidents, including the following:

Disorderly — Police responded to a disorderly conduct complaint at Hensel’s Shawano Inn, 134 S. Washington St.

OAR — A 30-year-old man was cited for operating after revocation at Waukechon and Green Bay streets.

Harassment — Police responded to a harassment complaint in the 100 block of South Main Street.

Arrest — A female subject was taken into custody at the probation and parole offices, 1340 E. Green Bay St.

Shawano County Sheriff’s Department

March 27

Deputies logged 31 incidents, including the following:

OAR — A 25-year-old man was cited for operating after revocation on County Road G in the town of Grant.

Theft — A solar panel was reported stolen on Hummingbird Road in the town of Wittenberg.

Disturbances — Authorities responded to disturbances on Old Shawano Road in the town of Pella and U.S. Highway 45 in Tigerton.

Fraud — Authorities investigated a scam complaint on state Highway 117 in the town of Hartland.

Disorderly — Disorderly conduct was reported at Bonduel Middle/High School, 400 W. Green Bay St. in Bonduel and on Mill Street in Bonduel.

Clintonville Police Department

March 27

Police logged six incidents, including the following:

Fire — The fire department was dispatched to 18th Street for smoke in a basement.

Warrant — A 27-year-old Clintonville man was arrested on a Department of Corrections warrant on North Main Street.

Disorderly — A disorderly conduct incident was reported on Fifth Street. An ambulance was subsequently dispatched for a 15-year-old male who was struck in the head.

With smoke rising from the doorway, Shawano Area Fire Department firefighters adjust oxygen tanks and flashlights as they respond to a shop fire at a shop owned by Luke Onesti on County Road MMM west of Shawano on Thursday. Assistant fire chief Chuck Felts said said about a dozen firefighters responded. No cause was determined at the scene.

Hillcrest Primary School went into a secure hold Thursday morning after a man fled from a home on Acorn Street, according to the Shawano Police Department.

Shawano and Menominee Tribal police, along with the FBI, arrived at the home around 7:30 a.m. to try and locate a wanted fugitive, according to Shawano Police Capt. Brad Rabideau.

While doing so, another man ran from the location who was also wanted, he said.

A search ensued, assisted by the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department K9 Unit.

“Due to the proximity of Hillcrest Primary School and out of an abundance of caution, school staff was notified and asked to go into a secure hold,” Rabideau said.

During a secure hold, hallways are cleared and classroom doors are locked. The school also placed additional staff at main entrances.

Notice was also given to some businesses in the industrial park.

“To be clear, Shawano police did not consider any student, staff or any citizen to be in danger or harm’s way,” Rabideau said. “Notice was given to schools and businesses as a precaution only.”

As of press time, the subject had not been located.

Though he has not been positively identified, he is believed to have a probation and parole warrant.

There could be some shake-ups in local governments Tuesday, with more than two dozen contested races scattered around townships, villages and school districts in Shawano County.

Numerous board member seats are up for grabs, as are a number of town chairman and village president posts.

In some communities, there will be big changes no matter who wins.

Bonduel’s village president is not seeking re-election to that post but is one of four candidates running for three trustee seats.

Current Village President Sharon Wussow joins incumbent trustees Barb Wickman and Kevin Bartlett, along with challenger Kay Zuleger, in their bids to fill three village board seats on Tuesday’s ballot.

Wickman is also running for village president against challenger Russ Gehm.

The city of Shawano will see a change, even though there are no contested races.

Shawano Alderman Bob Kurkiewicz is not seeking re-election to his District 1 seat, but Jeff Easter, director of buildings and grounds for the Shawano School District, is running unopposed for that spot.

Other races for the Shawano Common Council are uncontested, but in the Shawano School District, four candidates are seeking three school board seats, including incumbents Diane Hoffman and Starlyn Tourtillott, and challengers Mart Grams and Chris Gull.

Another high-profile race in the area has incumbent Wescott Town Chairman Brian Moesch being challenged by Donald Anker.

Moesch was appointed chairman by the board after the passing of Mike Schuler last year. Anker made an unsuccessful bid against Schuler for the chairman’s post two years ago.

There is one statewide race on the ballot, with Republican Brian Hagedorn and Democrat Lisa Neubauer vying for a vacant seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Here is a list of other contested races in Shawano County on Tuesday’s ballot:

• In the town of Angelica, incumbents Wilbert Lewis and Greg Van Asten face a challenge from James Przybylski for one of their supervisor seats. (Voters will vote for two out of the three candidates.) Also, incumbent Clerk Janet Powers faces a challenge from Connie Przybylski.

• In the town of Belle Plaine, incumbent supervisor Harold Polzin will face off against challenger Aaron Retzlaff.

• In the town of Birnamwood, incumbent supervisor Dennis Van Prooyen faces a challenge from Dennis Rochwite, while challenger Ed Meverden makes a bid for incumbent Steven Steinke’s supervisor seat.

• In the town of Green Valley, there are three candidates seeking two supervisor seats, incumbent Gary Uelmen and challengers Brandon Nygaard and Ryan Foat.

• In the town of Hutchins, four candidates are vying for two supervisor seats, incumbent Jeremy Metko and challengers Tim Zwirschitz, Richard Fischer and Dan Wolf.

• In the town of Maple Grove, four candidates are vying for two supervisor seats, incumbents Alan Leidel and David Wagner, and challengers Ron Maroszek and Dennis Sigl.

• In the town of Seneca, incumbents Harvey Stefl and Michael Trinko are both running for the District 1 seat, while Carolyn Marie Jolitz and Matthew Woller are vying for the District 2 seat that Trinko currently holds.

• In the town of Washington, David Korth, currently a supervisor, will go up against Dan Kowalczyk in the race for town chairman. Incumbent chairman Jim Schneider lost his bid to return to that seat in Tuesday’s primary.

• Four candidates are running for two seats on the Washington Town Board, incumbent Steven Wegner will face challengers Kyle Waelchli, Paul Gagnow and Steve Kohlbeck.

• Also in the town of Washington, incumbent Treasurer Tom Fazendin faces a challenge from Amber Bahr, and incumbent Constable Marvin Gehm will go up against challenger Charley Fritsch.

• In the town of Waukechon, incumbent Alan Beyer faces a challenge from Douglas Beyer for the District 2 supervisor’s seat.

• In the town of Wittenberg, incumbents Daniel Weisensel and Debra Doering face a challenge from Justin Hartleben for one of their supervisor seats.

• In the village of Cecil, there are four candidates for three expiring trustee seats, incumbents Ann Kallies, Dean Moesch and Travis Sumnicht and challenger Ann Walenski.

• In the village of Eland, incumbents Shane Larson and Dee Dorow face challenges from Deb Parker and Linda Spaude.

• In the village of Mattoon, president Brian Owen faces a challenge from James Zahn, while four candidates are vying for three trustee seats, current board members Donald Fuller, Corey Zarda and Rachel Torres Rodriguez, along with challenger Paul Mort Beck.

• In the village of Tigerton, four candidates are seeking three trustee seats, incumbents Bonnie Clark and David Dent, and challengers Amanda Gauthier and Steve Reinert.

• In the Bowler School District, Nicole Fuller and Theresa Serrano will compete in the race to represent the town of Hutchins on the school board. Incumbent John Fuerst was eliminated in Tuesday’s primary.

• In the Gresham School District, four candidates are seeking three at-large seats, incumbents Jeff Hoffman and Alphia Creapeau, and challengers Joe Ejnik and Doug Huck.

• In the Pulaski School District, Brian Chlopek and Sarah Brunette will go head-to-head in the race for the Zone 1 seat representing the village of Pulaski.

• In the Tigerton School District, James Dent and Susan Drews will face off for the seat representing the village of Tigerton.

A destination, not a drive-through.

Candidates for the village of Bonduel board and board presidency repeated that vision nearly word for word as they talked about the future of Bonduel. They see visitors driving through on a regular basis. They want them to stop and, hopefully, stay.

How to make this happen will be one of the challenges for the Bonduel Village Board members, many of whom will be running for election or re-election on April 2.

The other challenge will be finding a way to bring the board members together and working as a unit.

Sharon Wussow, who will be running for a trustee position in the April 2 election, has elected not to run for re-election as president. The board structure allows someone to run for both, or either trustee or president positions.

Wussow will be seeking one of the three elected trustee positions.

Barbara Wickman

Barbara Wickman had been the village clerk for 16½ years prior to accepting a position on the board. She is running for both the village president and a board position. If she is elected to both, she will have to choose which position to accept.

Wickman will use her experience will help guide the direction of the board. Before adopting a course of action, she said, “We need to ask, ‘Are they going to benefit everybody? Do they cost money?’ A lot don’t understand how even a small unit of government works.”

As with many other candidates, she sees the traffic flowing through town on Fridays and Sundays and wants to find reasons for drivers to turn off into Bonduel.

“We have a lot of traffic, a lot of potential, all going north. How do we make us a destination?” she said.

Most people coming into political office don’t know the many regulations that must be considered when making decisions, Wickman said.

“You need to surround yourself with people who can guide you and make good decisions,” she said.

Wickman said the best device that the town has for planning is the Capital Improvement Plan. This forces the village to forecast 20 years. An engineering firm from Milwaukee has been helping the village make these difficult forecasts, she said.

Wickman’s goals are to use the CIP plan to streamline the current zoning ordinance and then identify infrastructure improvements that can be made. For example, the state Department of Transportation will redo a portion of state Highway 117 in the village in its 2022-23 plans.

Knowing that, the CIP identified $10 million in street and utility projects that should be done before the roadwork is completed. Overall, it will save money and interruptions, Wickman said.

That also means researching funding sources, she said.

“It’s the same way with a home. If you don’t take care of it, it eventually will be worth nothing,” Wickman said.

Russ Gehm

Also running for president is restaurant owner and trucker Russ Gehm. A lifelong Bonduel resident, he said he was surprised when friends convinced him to run. He wants Bonduel to develop “goals toward growth.”

Gehm’s experience is in running a business and through participation in community groups, such as Backpack Blessings, a school program that provides take-home nutrition for children in Bonduel schools.

Although Gehm doesn’t have a strategy for bringing in more businesses, he feels that it is an important role for the board to play. He wants to capitalize on the village’s location to bring more big businesses to town to help the property tax base.

Gehm also wants better communication between the board and village residents and organizations.

“I want to be working on better relationships with people,” he said.

Gehm said he has heard that village residents don’t feel they have enough time to speak to issues at board meetings. That doesn’t mean longer meetings, though, he noted.

He has not attended any board meetings but says he has listened to a few meeting recordings. He says he has heard from others that the current board is not able to come to an agreement on many issues.

Given that there will be several current board members remaining on the village board, he said his approach is that he wants to “be able to work with people and make things happen. I’ll give it a try and see what happens. If elected, I’ll do the best I can.”

Sharon Wussow

Sharon Wussow was the first female president of the Bonduel board of trustees. She would like to continue on the board, but as a trustee, not president.

Wussow wants to see more emphasis on improving the downtown and capitalizing on their location on state highways 29 and 47 as a benefit for businesses. She sees a need for “move-in ready” housing for young families and wants the board to continue to think about what will help the community grow.

These changes, she said, “don’t happen overnight and people don’t just drop in with money.”

She added that she feels Bonduel needs services such as its own police chief — someone who knows the community and its residents.

Wussow added that Bonduel is a cautious community. They don’t “just hand out the welcome mat,” she said, and that can hurt when recruiting new businesses or residents.

“You’ve got to have people a chance. That could be the next business moving in,” she said.

As a trustee, Wussow said, she will use her experience to keep decisions moving forward.

“I didn’t want to leave the board because of my experience,” she said. “You’ve got to be open to ideas. I can run a board meeting — but I’ll be a trustee and the next president will have to restructure everything.”

Kevin Bartlett

Incumbent trustee Kevin Bartlett, who is running for one of the three trustee positions, agreed that creating reasons to stay in Bonduel was important for its long-term survival. For Bartlett, a Bonduel business owner, that means both paying attention to the board’s responsibilities and making the village business and family friendly.

That is the strategy for both working together effectively as a board and doing the work of the board, he said.

“As with many little towns, so many buildings are empty. People see that and keep on driving,” he said. “We need to keep our eyes down and concentrate on what we can do to bring commerce into the village.”

Bartlett and his wife own Village Tractor. They also refurbished an older building and created a gift shop, and purchased the large downtown building — the old Bonduel Mercantile — to rehab as well.

“We are taking back buildings that are all boarded up, windows broken, and fixing them up so others will see them and bring more business in,” he said.

He said that that kind of business sense will bring others to Bonduel.

“I want what is best for the village of Bonduel,” he said. “People don’t realize the decisions you have to make — they aren’t always popular,” he said.

For example, Bartlett said, if the board decides to raise taxes, he is voting to tax himself.

Although he wants to put disagreements aside, he does have an issue with some of the campaign signs that he has seen in town. “Make Bonduel Great Again” is the slogan.

Bartlett said that a place can be a great place to live but still want to be better.

“It really bothers me a lot,” he said. “Why isn’t it great now?

“My focus is to get good people on the board, someone without any hidden agenda.”

Kay Zuleger

A newcomer to the board race is Kay Zuleger, who works as an emergency services dispatcher in Green Bay but lives within the village with her husband and two young children.

Her decision to run was based at least in part on the messages she has heard from the board.

“It is accountability. I want to hold people accountable,” she said.

Zuleger said she has not been able to attend every board meeting but does listen to the taped proceedings online.

Particularly frustrating, Zuleger said, is the number of items that are tabled, even after subcommittees make recommendations. She thinks that at least part of the stalemate is the animosity among board members.

“You don’t have to agree on things but you have to have a civil disagreement, and that is different from what was on the board,” Zuleger said.

She would also like to see the village hold its residents accountable for following ordinances such as overnight parking.

Zuleger’s vision for Bonduel is a thriving community that attracts and keeps businesses and visitors.

Like others running for the board, Zuleger has noticed the number of tourists who drive through Bonduel but don’t stop.

“We have a ton of cars coming through. I’m for making it a place where people are leaving early to stop,” she said. “Little shops, antiques, crafts, restaurants. Founders Day is good — brings in a lot of people. We need to find ways to do that all the time.”

The Bonduel Village Board is looking for members.

The April 2 election will place three of four candidates for board seats into office, and one of two president of the board candidates will also be seated.

However, there is also an open board seat which will require an appointment, Clerk/Treasurer Michelle Maroszek said. That is because the term of office for the vacated seat is different from the terms in the election.

Bonduel is not unlike many small municipalities in Wisconsin, according to the League of Wisconsin Municipalities.

In its third annual survey, conducted with the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the league noted that “an increasing number of municipalities are averaging one or fewer candidates for each village board or city council seat. While this trend is more prevalent among small municipalities, nearly one in three large communities still report an average of one or fewer candidates for each seat.

“Similar to the decline in candidates, 44.3 percent of cities and villages reported a decrease in competition among board seats over the past decade and only 14.3 percent had an increase.”

The assessment of candidate numbers is part of what they call their “engagement” survey, a way to show the level of interest and participation that community members maintain.

Current president Sharon Wussow said her decision to run for trustee but not president is based on her family needs, with babysitting duties an important consideration.

For Wussow, the decision caps years of struggle to manage both the village and board.

“I felt a load lifted since I made that decision,” she said.

Filling empty chairs around the board table in Bonduel has been an issue for nearly two years.

Much of the turmoil on the board surfaced in July 2017, when three board members, the deputy village clerk and chief of police quit after frequent disagreements over such issues as committee appointments and liquor license procedures.

Some of the issues, Board President Sharon Wussow said, were based on the lack of experience by board members.

“People think that political things are the same as a private business — it’s not. In private business, you make a decision and you get it done.”

In public matters, it is not so easy, she said.

More recently, in November 2018, current trustee Gina Shatters reignited some of the contention in when she challenged a decision made by Wussow and submitted a resolution to the board asking for restrictions on the president’s authority.

Shatters had called for a resolution demanding the resignation of Wussow from her position as board president, but was informed that, as she had recused herself from the discussion, she was not able to make that motion.

At the meeting, Shatters and her husband accused Wussow of improperly dealing with a police matter involving their son, consulting with the village attorney without board authorization, personally benefiting from a land sale and tax devaluation, and improperly allowing city residents to refrain from clearing sidewalks immediately after the April 2018 snowstorm.

That effort failed, and at the next board meeting, the board rejected the idea of changing the president’s responsibilities.

Trustee Kevin Bartlett called Shatter’s actions “an embarrassment and a disgrace to the village board and village residents.”

Wussow said the resolution validated how she handled herself and her office.

Shatters will not run again for office, but said she stands by her actions and statements.

“I did what I believed was right for the village of Bonduel,” Shatters said.

Some decisions, she added, “aren’t always the resident or crowd-pleasing ones. You can’t grow by making easy decisions.”

Her decision not to run again was guided by prayer, she said.

“It’s not for me. God has other plans,” she said. “I’m needed elsewhere.”

A Keshena woman arrested in Shawano on Thursday, at a residence where another subject fled, is one of two people indicted by a federal grand jury on murder and drug distribution charges.

A third person named in the indictment has been charged with trying to conceal the crime.

Allisa M. Waupoose, 28, was taken into custody on Acorn Street in the city around 7:30 a.m. by Shawano and Menominee Tribal police and the FBI.

During that arrest, an unidentified man fled from the residence, causing a secure hold at Hillcrest Primary School for a short time.

Along with Waupoose, the others named in the indictment are Ronald J. Frechette, 39, and Kelly Nacotee, 41, also of Keshena.

According to the indictment, on or about Sept, 13, 2016, Waupoose and Frechette killed a man by distributing a chemical analogue of fentanyl to him. Nacotee deleted messages between Frechette and the deceased after learning of his overdose.

Count one of the indictment charged Waupoose and Frechette with distribution of a controlled substance analogue resulting in death. They face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years, and up to life, in prison; three years’ supervised release; and a fine of up to $5 million.

Count two charged Waupoose and Frechette with second-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; up to a $250,000 fine; and up to five years of supervised release.

Count three of the indictment charged Kelly Nacotee with misprision (deliberate concealment) of a felony. She faces a maximum three years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

Waupoose was taken into custody without incident.

The man who fled is not believed to be connected to this case, but police believe he had an unrelated warrant for his arrest.

As of Friday, the man had not been located.

Police said the public was not in any danger and that Hillcrest was asked to go into a secure hold as a precautionary matter.

A Shiocton man connected to one of the largest drug cases ever uncovered in Shawano County was sentenced last week to five years in prison for his part in the drug dealing conspiracy.

Calvin W. Berndt, 24, was also ordered to serve an additional five years of extended supervision following his prison sentence on the felony charge of conspiracy to manufacture or deliver marijuana.

According to the criminal complaint, Berndt was accused of selling high-grade marijuana that he got from Daniel P. Hofman, of Bonduel.

Hofman was the central figure of the conspiracy, according to authorities, and was sentenced in September to eight years in prison.

Berndt and Hofman were among 10 people ultimately charged in the conspiracy that began to unravel in December 2015 when the Wisconsin State Patrol pulled a vehicle over for speeding.

The vehicle was driven by a 30-year-old Krakow woman, who was subsequently found guilty of misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana and carrying a concealed weapon.

As a result of the traffic stop, drugs, a firearm, $20,000 in currency and the woman’s cellphone were seized.

A search warrant was obtained for the contents of the cellphone, which authorities said indicated significant drug activity by the woman and her fiance.

The evidence taken from the cellphone indicated the couple were engaged in quarter-pound to multi-pound sales and distribution of high-grade marijuana and significant quantities of opiate pills.

As a result of that information, an investigation was launched by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigations and the state patrol.

A month after the traffic stop, in what might have seemed an unrelated case, the DCI assisted the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department with a marijuana investigation out of Bonduel.

A confidential informant was able to purchase a quarter-pound of high-grade marijuana from Joshua M. Natzke, 26, of Bonduel. A second purchase netted two more quarter-pounds.

Electronic surveillance of Natzke’s vehicle showed that he made a trip on Jan. 19, 2016, to the home of the Krakow couple. Search warrants were obtained and executed at their residence and Natzke’s.

Eight pounds of marijuana and $3,505 in cash were found at Natzke’s residence.

Video obtained from a closed circuit camera at the Krakow residence showed Natzke delivering marijuana.

After the search warrant was executed, the Krakow man told authorities he had purchased high-grade marijuana from Berndt, as well as hash oil from Kody P. Hofman, 28, of Bonduel.

The man also told authorities he had learned the source of Berndt’s marijuana was Kody’s father, Daniel.

The Krakow man, Thomas Rotter, 30, was later charged with one count of manufacture with intent to deliver marijuana.

In January 2016, the DCI was called in to assist a separate investigation by the Minneapolis Drug Enforcement Administration task force into Daniel Hofman. That investigation began with the Nebraska State Patrol, which alerted Minneapolis authorities to a tip from a truck driver about a van, which he was hauling from California to Minnesota, that he suspected was carrying “a dirty load.”

Nebraska authorities met with the truck driver and found about 100 pounds of marijuana in the van. The truck and its trailer were delivered to Minneapolis police for a controlled delivery of the van, at which time three people were arrested.

A search warrant was obtained for a cellphone belonging to one of the three. The phone included numerous messages from Daniel Hofman to the cellphone owner discussing marijuana delivery and instructions regarding the van that would be arriving.

The DCI and Shawano County investigators then obtained cellphone records from Daniel Hofman’s cellphone, which indicated Hofman had made numerous trips to California.

Based on estimates from the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department, Hofman made at least 74 trips to bring high-grade marijuana back to Shawano County, figuring up to 150 pounds of high-grade marijuana per trip, would have had a street value of as much as $44.4 million, with Hofman’s cut being as much as $2.2 million.

Text messages that include discussions of the marijuana operation were introduced as evidence against 45-year-old Wendy L. Hofman, Daniel’s wife, who was accused of running the drug operation with her husband.

Wendy Hofman was subsequently sentenced to 2½ years in prison and 2½ years’ extended supervision on a single count of conspiracy to manufacture or deliver marijuana.

Kody Hofman was given a year in jail and three years’ probation, but will have a stayed sentence of two years in prison that could be imposed if he violates the conditions of his probation.

Natzke was eventually sentenced to two years in prison for his part in the conspiracy and four years’ extended supervision.

Jordan L. Weiss, 28, of Bonduel, was given nine months in jail for being party to the crime of manufacturing with intent to deliver marijuana and possession with intent to deliver marijuana. A sentence of three years’ probation was withheld.

Cases for the remaining defendants are still pending.

Rotter is scheduled for a pre-trial conference April 26 on a single count of conspiracy to manufacture or deliver marijuana.

Seth W. White, 30, of Cecil, and Brandon D. Scray-Bass, 26, of Green Bay, both have pre-trial conferences set for April 25, each on the same charge.

Anthony B. Kotula Jr., 23, of Gresham, is scheduled for a plea and sentencing hearing April 26.

A Shawano woman charged in the death of her 2-month-old child entered a plea of not guilty Monday, but also left open the possibility of an insanity plea pending further review.

Catherine R. Barker, 22, faces felony counts of neglect resulting in the death of an infant, failing to report the death of the child and attempting to hide or bury the corpse.

The infant, Brandon Barker, was her son. He was discovered by police during a welfare check Sept. 28.

The court, for the time being, will proceed on the not guilty plea and scheduled a pre-trial conference for June 4.

However, the defense counsel also entered a potential plea of not guilty by reason of insanity once a further review of discovery materials in the case is made.

The court gave 30 days for the defense to come to that conclusion.

If the insanity plea is officially entered at that time, the pre-trial conference would be called off and a court-ordered evaluation of Barker’s mental state would have to be done.

Barker was initially found not competent to stand trial in November and was ordered to be temporarily institutionalized to receive treatment and therapy that could make her mentally competent in the future.

She was subsequently ruled competent at a hearing on March 4.

Being ruled competent to stand trial does not rule out the possibility of a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, though there would have to be foundation for such a plea.

According to the criminal complaint, Barker had sent text messages to two people, telling them the infant had died of suffocation from a blanket he had pulled up over his face and stating she planned to bury the child somewhere out in the country.

She also stated she planned to leave the area after burying the child, according to the complaint.

Barker could face a maximum prison sentence totaling nearly 35 years if convicted on all three counts. She is being held on a $100,000 cash bond.

According to statements from Barker to police in the criminal complaint, the infant’s father, her fiance of three years, has been in prison since June, and there has been no contact since then.

Shawano Police Department

March 31

Police logged 10 incidents, including the following:

Theft — Kwik Trip, 1241 E. Green Bay St., reported a theft of breakfast sandwiches.

Bail Jumping — Police responded to a bail jumping complaint in the 400 block of West Picnic Street.

Shoplifting — Walmart, 1244 E. Green Bay St., and Charlie’s County Market, 521 S. Main St., reported shoplifting incidents.

March 30

Police logged 24 incidents, including the following:

Child Abuse — Police investigated a child abuse complaint on Union Street.

Shoplifting — Kwik Trip, 1241 E. Green Bay St., reported a shoplifting incident.

Drug Offense — Police investigated a drug complaint in the 800 block of East Richmond Street.

Disorderly — Disorderly conduct was reported in the 800 block of East Richmond Street.

OWI — A 19-year-old Keshena female was arrested at Sturgeon Park, 811 S. Water St., for operating while intoxicated with a child under 16 in the vehicle and cited for operating without a license and underage alcohol consumption. A passenger, a 15-year-old Shawano girl, was cited for underage alcohol consumption.

March 29

Police logged 30 incidents, including the following:

Threatening — Police responded to a threatening complaint in the 1200 block of East Lieg Avenue.

Vandalism — Vandalism was reported to the splash pad at Memorial Park, 901 S. Lincoln St.

Theft — Police responded to a property theft complaint in the 100 block of South Lafayette Street. A fishing tackle box was reported stolen in the 300 block of South Main Street.

Harassment — Harassment was reported in the 700 block of South Main Street.

March 28

Police logged 35 incidents, including the following:

Drug Offense — Police investigated a drug complaint at Lieg Avenue and Maiden Lane.

Harassment — Harassment was reported in the 200 block of South Washington Street.

Fraud — People’s Express East, 1206 E. Green Bay St., reported a counterfeit bill.

Accident — Police responded to a two-vehicle property damage accident at Main and Elizabeth streets.

OAR — A 38-year-old woman was cited for operating after revocation at Elizabeth and Prospect streets.

Burglary — A burglary was reported in the 1200 block of East Lieg Avenue.

Shawano County Sheriff’s Department

March 31

Deputies logged 24 incidents, including the following:

Drug Offense — Authorities investigated a drug complaint at Cedar Park, 305 W. Park St. in Bonduel.

Warrant — A 54-year-old Keshena man was arrested on a warrant on Witt-Birn Town Line Road in the town of Birnamwood.

Trespass — Authorities responded to a trespassing complaint at the Novitiate, W9711 Butternut Road in the town of Herman.

Disturbance — A 29-year-old Embarrass man was arrested for criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct after a domestic disturbance on Ah Toh Wuk Circle in Bowler.

March 30

Deputies logged 42 incidents, including the following:

OWI — A 58-year-old Manawa man was arrested for operating while intoxicated on U.S. Highway 45 in the town of Wittenberg. A 24-year-old Wittenberg woman was arrested for OWI on Highway 45 in Tigerton.

Disturbances — A 54-year-old Cecil man was arrested for disorderly conduct after a domestic disturbance on Golden Sands Avenue in Cecil. Authorities also responded to a disturbance on Sandy Drive in the town of Washington.

Warrant — A 46-year-old Shawano man was arrested on a warrant on state Highway 47-55 in the town of Wescott and a 42-year-old Neopit woman was charged with obstruction. A 23-year-old Bowler man was arrested on a warrant on County Road M in the town of Richmond.

Shoplifting — The Cedar Street Market, 234 Cedar St. in Tigerton, reported a shoplifting incident.

OAR — A 30-year-old Suring woman was arrested for operating after revocation and misrepresenting her identity on state Highway 29 in the town of Maple Grove.

Juvenile — Authorities responded to a juvenile problem on Hemlock Road in the town of Wittenberg.

March 29

Deputies logged 42 incidents, including the following:

OWI — A 33-year-old Luxemburg man was arrested for operating while intoxicated on state Highway 29 in the town of Angelica.

Drug Offense — Authorities investigated a drug complaint on Old Keshena Road in the town of Wescott.

Trespass — Authorities responded to a trespassing complaint on Landstad Road in the town of Lessor.

Fleeing — A 17-year-old Bowler male was arrested for fleeing on Fairview Road in the town of Bartelme.

OAR — A 24-year-old Shawano woman was cited for operating after revocation on Airport Drive in Shawano.

March 28

Deputies logged 35 incidents, including the following:

Fleeing — A 35-year-old Keshena man was arrested for fleeing and operating after revocation on Strauss Road in the town of Wescott.

Drug Offense — A 25-year-old Cecil man was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia on state Highway 117 in the town of Washington.

Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on Friendship Road in the town of Belle Plaine.

Warrant — A 43-year-old Shawano man was arrested on a warrant on Express Way in Bonduel.

Clintonville Police Department

March 31

Police logged nine incidents, including the following:

Warrant — A 40-year-old Clintonville woman was taken into custody on a municipal ordinance warrant through the New London Police Department on Seventh Street.

Trespass — Officers assisted Marion Police Department with a trespassing issue on East Garfield Avenue in Marion.

March 29

Police logged 13 incidents, including the following:

Disturbance — Police responded to a domestic disturbance on Bennett Street.

Burglary — A burglary was reported on Brix Street.

Theft — A theft was reported on Eighth Street.

Fraud — Fraud was reported on North 12th Street.

March 28

Police logged 13 incidents, including the following:

Disorderly — Disorderly conduct was reported on North Main Street.

Auto Theft — A vehicle was reported stolen on West Fourth Street.

Warrant — A 32-year-old Appleton man was arrested on a Department of Corrections warrant after a traffic stop.

Dr. Jeffry Young watched the children file into the exam room one at a time.

Many of them were carrying a stuffed friend of some sort. Some of those creatures sat as the children listened for a heartbeat, weighed them on a scale and more. Most of the children got to take another furry friend.

The overall goal of Saturday’s teddy bear clinic at Prevea Shawano Health Center — A decrease in fear.

“We wanted to do something in the community that was really family friendly,” said Cindy Sohr, Prevea’s marketing manager. “We thought we’d do something really nice for the kids.”

Young is the lone pediatrician at Prevea’s Shawano facility, and he is also the only doctor focusing solely on children’s health in Shawano County. Young noted that other health care companies have family medicine physicians, nurse practitioners and other health officials that take care of patients regardless of age, but it was important to him to focus on the community’s next generation.

“If they’re not having fun when they’re coming to the doctor, then I’m not doing my job,” Young said. “I want kids to actually ask their parents or tell their parents, ‘I don’t feel good. Let’s go see Dr. Young.’ I don’t want them to be scared of the experience.”

Young noted that most children are fearful of getting shots. That and stranger anxiety makes it difficult to get children motivated to seeing a doctor on a regular basis, he said, and if the fear is left unchecked, it can make it difficult for those children to see doctors once they reach adulthood, too.

“A lot of times, on the first visit, they don’t know us,” Young said. “It takes a while for them to warm up, but by the end of the visit, we’re usually on pretty friendly terms and having a good time.”

Sohr noted that there is a bit of fear in dealing with going to the doctor’s office, especially if the child is feeling sick. She said that Prevea feels it’s important to have pediatricians and other specialties at its clinics, no matter the size of the town.

“This (teddy bear clinic) helps to take that fear away,” Sohr said. “The things that we’re more familiar with, we tend to be less fearful of.”

In addition to seeing Prevea’s exam rooms and what happens when the staff are caring for children, families also got an up-close and personal look at the community’s other emergency services — the police and fire departments and the ambulance service.

“This helps the kids with the whole health and safety area and makes them more comfortable with that,” Sohr said. “Safety is just as important as health. You get to see a police officer, and he’s a friendly police officer, and this lets you know it’s OK to go to him for help.”

Sohr said that, although this was the first teddy bear clinic Prevea had done in Shawano, the company had conducted similar events in other communities and found success.

Time is running out for some families in the Clintonville School District that owe school fees and fines.

Business manager Holly Burr updated the Clintonville School Board on March 25 on the progress being made on the 2019-2020 school budget. Superintendent Dr. David Dyb said that one of the troubling items are the unpaid fees and fines that are currently on the books.

“There are 42 families that owe a total of $37,600,” Burr said.

According to Burr, some families were sent to collection last year, and the district has had some success in payments. A letter was sent out recently, and Burr said she received three responses. Some of the fees can be waived but fines will not. Families need to make a request in writing for the fees to be waived.

“If they would only contact us. We want to work with families to work out a payment plan,” said Dr. David Dyb, district superintendent.

The bills will go to collections if an attempt is not made by April 15 and arrangements made to get the fees paid. Burr said a letter will be sent out a week ahead as a reminder.

Some families have had fees on the books for several years. Fees could come from registration fees, athletic fees, physical education, shop class fees, summer school laptop repairs and replacements, consumer education, or miscellaneous.

Traditionally, the district has had success collecting money at graduation time, as students with unpaid balances are not permitted to participate in the commencement ceremony. The district doesn’t keep the diploma from them, but they can keep them from participating.

“But it isn’t always the students fault. For some, this may be the only chance to graduate,” said board president Ben Huber.

“We inherited a lot on the books,” Dyb said.

In 2017, then-business manager Lynnette Edwards noted that families owed more than $100,000 in fees that spanned the past decade.

Clintonville Middle School principal Troy Kuhn reported that the teachers worked with kids as they checked out and they were able to reduce the overdue fines from thousands of dollars to $300.

Shawano Community Education continues to expand its reach, with new classes bringing more people into the schools of the Shawano School District.

Robyn Shingler, who has just finished her first year as SCE’s director, told the Shawano School Board this week that 11 new sections of classes were offered in that time, with some bringing new people by the dozens. One of those classes was one about historical maps and ghost towns. SCE classes usually average 10 to 12 people, but Shingler described that class as “a runaway hit” with 30 people signing up to participate.

“I can’t tell you how interested folks are in our local history,” Shingler said, noting a lot of older adults participate in courses. “Maps dating back much older than we are, one year they would have a town, and the next time the map’s printed, the town is gone.”

Other new course selections included classes on folk guitar, modern line dancing and op-ed writing.

Shingler said one of the goals when she took the director position was to expand course selection, and even with the new courses available to the community, she feels there’s more to be done. Among the selections planned for next year is an introduction to sport boomerangs.

“I saw some opportunities, especially with the age groups we were attracting,” Shingler said. “We’re charged with keeping our schools lit. We would really like to engage the community as much as we possibly can.”

More new courses for next year include simple mechanics — changing a tire or oil in a vehicle — along with beekeeping, city chickens and potentially a business series in partnership with the Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce.

All told, 458 individual classes have been or will be conducted by the end of the school year. Shingler said she has seen over 1,200 individuals enrolled — with many of them taking more than one class — and she expects the total count to top 1,500, judging by the number of advanced reservations for April, May and June. The count is up 18 percent over the previous school year.

The district has also seen a huge jump in how much the district’s facilities are used. Besides community education classes, there are a number of groups in the community that use the schools when regular K-12 education is not in session.

The district issued 874 outside permits for outside activities like Taste of Shawano and the Wolf River Builders Association Home Show, a 52 percent jump from the 575 issued last year. The schools have been utilized for 14,760 hours this year, which Shingler said was a 27 percent increase.

Shingler noted that the schools are getting so much use that it can be difficult to find space at times.

“We need more room,” Shingler said, “but that’s a happy problem to have.”

Shawano Police Department

April 1

Police logged 37 incidents, including the following:

Disturbance — Police responded to a disturbance in the 400 block of East Division Street.

Trespass — Police responded to trespassing complaints in the 400 block of East Division Street and 100 block of Prairie Street.

Truancy — Police logged six truancy complaints from the Shawano School District.

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

Shawano County Sheriff’s Department

April 1

Deputies logged 38 incidents, including the following:

Warrant — A 30-year-old Birnamwood man was arrested on a warrant on Summer Street in Aniwa.

OAR — A 51-year-old Bonduel man was cited for operating after revocation on state Highway 117 in Bonduel.

OWI — A 50-year-old Neopit man was arrested for operating while intoxicated and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia on state Highway 22 in the town of Belle Plaine.

Warrant — A 27-year-old Keshena man was arrested on a warrant on Warrington Avenue in Keshena.

Theft — Authorities responded to a property theft complaint on U.S. Highway 45 in Tigerton.

Bail Jumping — A 23-year-old Wabeno man was arrested for bail jumping and cited for operating after revocation on Green Bay Street in Shawano.

Clintonville Police Department

April 1

Police logged 12 incidents, including the following:

Vandalism — Damage to property was reported on Memorial Circle.

Theft — A theft was reported on Paulina Street.

Suspicious — A suspicious incident was reported on Sixth Street.