To help evaluate and analyze some of the unknowns of dairy farming, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a new web-based analysis tool. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the new Dairy Margin Coverage support tool was developed in partnership with the University of Wisconsin.

The 2018 Farm Bill authorized DMC, a voluntary risk management program that offers financial protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all milk price and the average feed cost (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer. It replaces the old Margin Protection Program for Dairy. Registration for this Farm Service Agency program opens June 17.

“With sign-up for the DMC program just weeks away, we encourage producers to use this new support tool to help make decisions on participation in the program,” Perdue said. “Dairy producers have faced tough challenges over the years, but the DMC program should help producers better weather the ups and downs in the industry.”

The tool was designed to help producers determine the level of coverage under a variety of conditions that will provide them with the strongest financial safety net. It allows farmers to simplify their coverage level selection by combining operation data and other key variables to calculate coverage needs based on price projections.

For information, access the tool at fsa.usda.gov/dmc-tool. For DMC sign up, eligibility and related program information, visit fsa.usda.gov, or contact your local USDA service center.

Bids for the first phase of projects approved by Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District voters in November as part of a $13.1 million referendum came in over budget.

The school board on April 29 approved bids totaling $284,608.50 — or $50,797.50 over the budget estimate — for improvements to entryways at the high school and two elementary/middle schools.

Matt MacGregor, project manager for Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction Inc., told the board he was confident the district could get back on budget in the next phase because the jobs are larger and companies will be more competitive with their bids.

Board member Chris Pietz cast the lone vote against approving the bids in the initial phase.

“I only voted no on this phase because I wanted to include bulletproof glass just at the windows where the staff buzz in visitors,” Pietz said.

The entryways’ glass windows and doors will be covered by security film. MacGregor said film does not stop bullets but prevents the glass from shattering, which prevents a shooter from entering the building.

Board member Laura Magee said she abstained from the vote because she was not able to attend the bid presentation.

Work at the two elementary/middle schools requires little demolition. Doors will be moved to create a larger vestibule area, and new entrances will be added. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning units will be moved, and additional security lighting will be provided.

The Birnamwood school will reuse the doors installed just two years ago. The doors at Wittenberg Elementary/Middle School are much older and will be replaced.

The high school work includes reconfiguring the offices and reception area. A new window will enable staff to see people coming into the vestibule.

Cabinets used to store student prescriptions at all three buildings will be fitted with keyed locks.

Construction will begin after school is out for the year and is expected to be completed by the start of the fall semester.

“We will be working with teachers and staff to make sure summer school is not impacted negatively,” Superintendent Garrett Rogowski said.

Bids were awarded to the following companies: masonry, Boldt Construction, Appleton, $6,090; rough carpentry, Boldt Construction, Appleton, $32,359; casework — supply, Showcase Commercial Interiors, Green Bay, $9,660; casework — install, Showcase Commercial Interiors, Green Bay, $985; doors and frames — supply, Tri City Glass and Door, Appleton, $15,560; doors and frames — install, Tri City Glass and Door, Appleton, $4,900; aluminum-framed storefronts, Omni Glass & Paint Inc., Oshkosh, $50,635; gypsum board assemblies, Appleton Acoustical Systems Inc., Appleton, $14,745; resilient flooring, L.P. Mooradian Co., Green Bay, $20,185; accoustical ceiling, Appleton Acoustical Systems Inc., Appleton, $6,550; painting and coating, Corcoran Glass & Paint Inc., Greenville, $7,944; heating venting and air conditioning, Tweet/Garot Mechanical Inc., Green Bay, $46,630; electrical, Krueger’s Sign & Electric, Clintonville, $34,992. Allowances for security and floor patching as well as a contingency fund account for the remainder of the $284,608.50 total.

Other maintenance work expected at the high school later this year will address roof and exterior door issues.

Future phases of the referendum projects include a new 7,800-square-foot building — primarily for agriculture classrooms — next to the high school, a two-story addition to Wittenberg Elementary-Middle School and two new classrooms at Birnamwood Elementary-Middle School.

Three 900-square-foot classrooms will be added at Wittenberg Elementary-Middle School and two 1,200-square-foot classrooms at Birnamwood. Both buildings will be reconfigured to provide more classroom space for the music program.

Because the interest rate obtained by the school district was lower than estimated before the referendum, the tax rate dropped from the projected $1.39 per $1,000 of assessed value to 90 cents. The owner of a $100,000 home will pay an additional$90 per year for the next 20 years to pay for the referendum improvements.

About 15 people showed up the the annual meeting of the Wittenberg Area Historical Society at the Wittenberg Community Center on May 1 to show their support for the organization and its museum.

The society’s board of directors — Carla Strassburg, Roger and Donna Block, Verna Wendler and Rodney Best — wrote a letter to the editor of the Enterprise & News, a sister publication for the Shawano Leader, last month warning that without more community interest, the society might disband and close its museum at 502 W. Summit Ave.

The response at the May meeting, however, has calmed those fears.

“When we started this group, we had a lot of active members, but many of those have passed on,” said Best, one of the society’s charter members. “We’ve also lost many of our benefactors.”

Strassburg has been serving as president, treasurer and secretary for the past few years.

“We’re at the point where we need new, younger members to help carry on the work of maintaining the building, or donating enough to help pay for repairs,” she said.

The society receives about $600 a year in donations from members and the village of Wittenberg, Strassburg noted. Expenses run about $1,600 per year to cover the water and sewer, electric, gas, mowing and insurance.

Without an influx in donations via membership or fundraising appeals, the society would use up the last of their reserves within two years, Strassburg said.

The museum is only open on Sunday afternoons in the summer and by appointment. The board had voted to open only on the first Sundays of June, July and August this year, but now that there has been renewed interest in the organization, the museum will remain open every Sunday again this summer.

The building was built in 1904 and served as the St. Paul Lutheran Church school. A work day will be held from 1-4 p.m. May 16. Tasks will include general gardening, cleaning gutters, painting, dusting and reorganizing.

The society’s new board consists of Roger Wendler, Kristi Meredith, John Powers, Laura Magee and Miriam Nelson. Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School social studies teacher Kevin Wick will serve as liaison between the society and the high school.

Visitors to Shawano County spent more in 2018 than they did the previous year, according to data released this week by the state Department of Tourism.

The level of spending by tourists statewide was also up from 2017, according to the findings, rising by 4.9 percent to $13.3 billion.

In Shawano County, visitors spent $68.5 million, a 2.3 percent increase from $67 million in 2017.

Menominee County also saw an increase, going from $2.7 million to $2.8 million, a change of 5.8 percent.

“Visitors are spending more and each visitor is spending more, which is a great thing,” Tourism Manager Patti Peterson said. “We feel like people are really taking advantage of all the things we have to offer as far as our outdoor activities and all of that.”

Some of the highlights possibly driving the increase, Peterson said, include increasing interest in Sundrop Daze and new events being offered by US Air Motorsports Raceway.

Also, Peterson said, bus tours being offered by the Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce, such as a two-day motorcoach with an overnight stay, have been very popular.

The tourism spending increase in Shawano County last year is bit lower than was seen in 2017, when that spending rose by 3 percent.

However, Peterson said, “the big picture increase is still overall a good one with s 30 percent increase since 2011. That’s a pretty substantial number.”

The chamber and its tourism council hope to continue improving those numbers with a new branding campaign.

“We just launched our new web site,” Peterson said. “We have a new logo and tagline. We’re doing a lot more on social media than we had previously.”

That includes more of a presence, she said, om Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

The annual tourism numbers are compiled for the Department of Tourism by Tourism Economic, an Oxford Economics company.

The numbers also show that total business sales in Shawano County thanks to tourism rose by 3 percent in 2018, from $100 million to $103 million.

You thought there were only two kinds of potholes.

The ones you hit.

The ones you miss.

As it turns out, highway engineers have identified 40 different varieties of potholes or to be technical about it, “pavement failure” or “pavement distress.”

“That there are 40 different kinds threw me. I just knew they come in different sizes,” said Scott Kroening, Shawano public works director.

This winter’s brutal weather appears to have been particularly hard on area roads. That carries a cost for local drivers. The American Automobile Association (AAA) estimates the average pothole-related repair is $306. Todd Wegner, owner of Quality Auto Body, recalled a $5,000 repair bill for a car two years from hitting a pothole.

“The only kind of pothole I know of is ‘annoying,’” said Bruce Milavitz, owner and manager of the Shawano American Car Care. “What we see is the not-so-lighter-side of potholes,” adding his business repairs “a lot of bent, dented, and broken wheels at this time of year.

Milavitz noted that a single, very large pothole in Embarrass damaged eight vehicles in one day recently. One of the vehicles was towed to his facility to have two broken rims repaired.

Wegner noted his shop sees the gamut of pothole-caused problems, “bumper cover damage, tire and rim damage, and even as severe as suspension damage.”

Kroening, who has been in his position about a year after being the city’s engineer since 1989, said this past winter was bad but “Green Bay Street was horrible. We just couldn’t keep up with the number of potholes.”

The director explained that potholes have many causes and “the most traveled streets and the oldest streets get hit the most.” The strategy is to concentrate on those streets that have a chance of getting some additional life out of filling potholes, he said. Currently, city crews are out once or twice each week including responding to problems reported by other city workers, such as garbage collectors.

Fighting potholes has two fronts — coping with the ones that exist and preventing them.

Filling potholes

“The biggest thing is to get the pothole cleaned out and dry,” Kroening said. If you don’t get it clean and dry, it’ll pop right out again in a few days.” (“Pop-outs” are one of the 40 kinds of potholes defined by highway engineers.)

“Cold mix” or asphalt put down without any heating is the most common response, especially during winter months.

“When the streets are really breaking down, we use ‘hot mix,’ the same material as used for paving,” he said. Some streets, such as Andrews Street on the south side of Shawano, are in very poor condition despite repairs and are on the city’s five-year plan for replacement.

Determining on the replacement of a street involves many factors including the needs of sewer and water service under the pavement, he added.

Kroening said the city occasionally gets requests from homeowners to repair their driveways.

“We can’t fix driveways, but we do try to accommodate people where the street meets their driveway,” he said.

There are few local sources for asphalt repairs, Kroening noted, with one possibility Northeast Asphalt in Green Bay.

Prevention

Building streets correctly is one way to put off pothole problems, Kroening said. While at the Fifth Street construction site, he noted “de-watering” the area and a proper gravel base for the replacement pavement were critical to reducing the presence of water. It is the freezing and thawing of water in the spaces between pavement layers or cracks in pavement that is a major contributor to potholes.

Kroening has crack filling and “micro-surfacing” as his two major weapons in preventing damage in existing pavement. Crack filling is the traditional method of pouring a liquid tar-like substance over cracks to prevent water from trickling in and filling voids.

His newest tool is “micro-surfacing,” requiring a special applicator to lay down a 3/8-inch layer of “asphalt emulsion and sand and water and aggregate over pavement. The treatment makes the surface a “little less brittle and “can add five to seven years of life” to a street.

The city of Shawano will keep a larger share of room tax revenue to pay for administration, events and promotion at local parks after the Common Council approved a new room tax split Wednesday.

The city will retain 30 percent of room taxes collected in Shawano, while 68 percent will go to the Shawano Country Tourism Council for tourism-related projects.

Hotels and motels collecting the tax will get 2 percent.

The city in September announced plans to retain an additional $19,000 from the room tax to pay for tourism-related events, particularly at Franklin Park, such as concerts and movies.

The chamber initially balked at those plans, saying it would devastate its own tourism marketing efforts.

Since then, however, city and chamber officials came to an agreement that will set money aside for the city’s park events without impeding on the chamber’s tourism budget.

The new agreement ends the chamber’s Tourism Development Fund, which previously segregated about a third of the chamber’s room tax share to make tourism-related grants available.

“That is going away,” said chamber director Nancy Smith.

Most of that grant money ended up going to the city, anyway, she said.

“The city used to apply for those grants and they received most of them,” Smith said. “This is their way of receiving the money directly for their parks activities and promotions.”

The city has in the past typically retained 5 percent of the 4.5 percent room tax levied on visitors to Shawano’s hotels and motels. That money went into the city’s general fund, under a room tax ordinance adopted by the city in May 1989.

Last year, the city retained $4,209 out of the total $84,181 in room taxes collected from six hotels and motels in the city.

Shawano Country Tourism received $79,972 in room tax revenue, one-third — or $26,657 — was designated to the now-discontinued Tourism Development Fund. The amount that was available for tourism marketing efforts was $53,315.

Had the new split been in effect last year, the city would have retained $25,254, and $57,243 would have gone to Shawano County Tourism.

City Administrator Eddie Sheppard said he expects the money collected this year will be close to that.

“We don’t expect any major changes to that this year,” he said.

The North Star Mohican Casino Resort celebrated another year of success Thursday afternoon with a party for its 27th anniversary.

The casino cooked up some burgers and brats for visitors to the casino, and musical entertainment keep couples dancing and patrons enthused as they enjoyed their meals, complete with anniversary cakes. Patrons got to spin wheels for prizes and received free T-shirts.

The spread was designed to support North Star’s claim of being the friendliest casino in the Midwest.

“We have one of the friendliest casinos here, as you can see,” said Michael Bonkadar, North Star’s general manager. “This is really just a way for us to give back to the community, having a great barbecue. We’ve done it for the last several years, and it’s been very, very popular.”

More than 200 people were enjoying the festivities just in the first hour of the celebration, with lines continuing to form.

Bonkadar has managed North Star for the last three years, and he believes a combination of things have come together to keep the business alive for so long.

“The community supports us, and so do our customers,” Bonkadar said. “Our friendly staff works here day in and day out, and they’ve done an amazing job for many, many years.”

Even with the disadvantage of not being along a state highway like Menominee Casino Resort and Ho-Chunk Gaming Wittenberg, North Star has its faithful and loyal casino guests and hotel visitors.

“I’ve talked with a few customers, and some travel quite a bit to be here,” Bonkadar said. “They believe North Star is a premier property and destination that offers quality entertainment. We’re glad that they go out of their way to be here.”

The casino first opened its doors to the public on May 8, 1992. Today, the casino operates a 129-room hotel and over 1,200 slot machines, table games and Bingo. North Star also has a number of top name performers performing at its entertainment venue each year.

“It’s just been amazing. Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, we just had Cheap Trick,” Bonkadar said. “We have Charlie Pride coming, and the Mavericks. There’s just a lot of top entertainers, and the way I see, we’re just the capital of entertainment for this area of Wisconsin. How great it is that they come here.”

Bonkadar said that he and his staff look for new things to bring to North Star to continue to bring people through its doors, but he didn’t list any specifics on what was being planned for the future.

Shawano Alderman Jeff Easter’s vote on the Common Council in favor of an agreement with the Shawano School District to pursue a joint recreational facility sparked a social media debate about whether he should have abstained as a school district employee.

Easter, who was elected to the council last month, is building and grounds director for the school district.

Easter said in an interview Thursday he did consider whether there would be any conflict in voting on the matter.

“I truly felt my interest and position (as alderman) is about the best interests of the city,” he said. “I didn’t think about anything else than that.”

Easter said there was no pressure from the school district regarding his vote and there was no benefit to him from voting either way.

“I don’t have anything to gain or lose from my employment with the school district in this matter, so I didn’t feel like there was any conflict there,” Easter said. “I don’t get fired if they don’t build this thing. I don’t get a bonus if they do. My life goes on. I’ve got plenty of work to do.”

Shawano resident Connie Magee disagreed with Easter casting a vote, posting on a local Facebook page that he should have recused himself.

”He should have excused himself from the vote because of a potential conflict of interest or lack of impartiality,” Magee wrote.

Shawano County Supervisor Deb Noffke, who lives in the same city district Easter represents, noted she would have thought about any potential conflict before voting.

”I always figure, if I have to ask the question, is it OK to vote on this, I already know the answer, and it is no,” Noffke wrote on the Facebook page.

Not everyone on Facebook felt he should have recused himself, though.

”As a taxpayer and parent/spouse and active member of a recreation center I do believe he should have a vote,” Shawano resident Joan Young wrote. “Also he is standing up for others who have that same thought.”

Easter said no one from the city brought the issue up or asked him what he thought about it, and that it didn’t occur to him to discuss the matter with the city attorney.

“My mentality going in was to do my job as an alderman, to seek out what I thought was best for the city of Shawano and the people who live in it, and I voted accordingly,” he said.

Easter noted that both the city and the school district are tax-funded entities.

“In both positions, my thoughts are to do the best for my employer which is the taxpayer,” Easter said. “I didn’t see a conflict in that regard. The benefit I’m looking out for, whether I’m working for the school district or on the city council, is I’m looking out for the taxpayer, who is essentially paying me to do my job.”

Easter also received some criticism from community members who spoke at Monday’s school board meeting for seeming to appear as a school district spokesman in social media posts answering questions about the proposed project.

“I have a lot of information to share about what’s factual in this whole thing that’s being proposed,” Easter said. “I’ve been trying to make sure people understand the facts.”

Easter said he wants people to be able to make an informed decision.

“I don’t care which way they go with it,” he said. “Personally, do I think this thing would be nice? Yes. Personally, do I think it’s a heck of a lot of money? Absolutely. I don’t know how to overcome that.”

The facility has been projected to cost as much as $28 million, according to early estimates.

“The question is, are people comfortable with that number or not,” Easter said. “If they’re not, then we look at another way to proceed.”

The Common Council narrowly approved the agreement with the school district by a vote of 3-2, with one council member absent.

Easter was joined in his yes vote by council members Seth Mailahn and Lisa Hoffman.

Sandy Steinke and John Hoeffs voted against. Alderwoman Rhonda Strebel was not present for the meeting.

There is no law that governs whether Easter should have voted.

According to the Robert’s Rules of Order that guide governmental meetings, “No member should vote on a question in which he/she has a direct personal or pecuniary interest not common to other members.”

However, the rules also state that, “No member can be compelled to refrain from voting,” which would have left the decision entirely up to Easter.

Former Mayor Lorna Marquardt pointed out Robert’s Rules during the Facebook discussion, but noted most elected officials err on the side of caution.

”Most elected officials opt not to vote on issues that might give residents cause to question their impartiality or the possibility they may personally benefit from the decision,” Marquardt wrote.

Had Easter abstained, the vote would have been tied, requiring Mayor Ed Whealon to cast the tie-breaking vote.

Whealon said Thursday he doesn’t know how he would have voted.

However, Whealon noted, the agreement, which lays out the responsibilities for the city and the school district should the facility go forward, does not bind the city to the project.

He said the agreement only allows the city and the school district to continue exploring the possibility of a joint facility.

“There are still a lot of questions to be answered,” Whealon said.

The proposed joint-recreational and aquatic center would replace the city’s existing recreation center and expand facilities at SCHS.

It would be located adjacent to SCHS, on the north side of the building, and would include the school’s existing competition pool.

It would add a separate community pool area; a fitness area, including weights and cardiovascular equipment; a multi-purpose space; gymnasium; racquetball court; and indoor multi-purpose facility and walking track; as well as offices, bathrooms, lockers, storage and other amenities.

It would go to a district referendum next April if a survey planned for this fall shows sufficient interest.

Shawano Police Department

May 12

Police logged 14 incidents, including the following:

OWI — A 51-year-old Neopit man was arrested for operating while intoxicated at Danks and Lafayette streets.

Drug Offense — Police investigated drug complaints in the 500 block of South Main Street at Hamlin and Maurer streets.

Disturbance — Police responded to a disturbance in the 1000 block of South Bartlett Street.

May 11

Police logged 21 incidents, including the following:

Disturbances — A 52-year-old Shawano man arrested for disorderly conduct, battery/domestic and child abuse after a domestic disturbance in the 200 block of South Sawyer Street. Police also responded to a disturbance in the 100 block of South Andrews Street.

Theft — A phone was reported stolen in the 400 block of South Picnic Street. A TV was reported stolen in the 500 block of South Main Street.

Drug Offense — Police investigated a drug complaint at Prospect Circle and Lieg Avenue.

Vandalism — No trespassing signs were reported vandalized in the 900 block of East Maurer Street.

May 10

Police logged 26 incidents, including the following:

Disturbance — Police responded to a verbal dispute at the Super 8 Motel, 211 Waukechon St.

Hit and Run — Police investigated a property damage hit-and-run at Goodwill Industries, 300 Lakeland Road.

Shoplifting — Walmart, 1244 E. Green Bay St., and Kwik Trip, 1241 E. Green Bay St., reported shoplifting incidents.

Disorderly — Police responded to an intoxicated person complaint in the 1300 block of East Lieg Avenue.

Harassment — Harassment on Facebook was reported in the 200 block of South Airport Drive.

Drug Offense — Police investigated a drug complaint in the 600 block of East Green Bay Street.

May 9

Police logged 48 incidents, including the following:

Vandalism — Vandalism was reported at the diamond shelter at Memorial Park, 901 S. Lincoln St.

Truancy — Police logged 11 truancy complaints from the Shawano School District.

Assault — Police investigated an assault complaint in the 800 block of East Richmond Street.

Accident — Police responded to a three-vehicle property damage accident in the 1300 block of East Green Bay Street.

Auto Theft — A vehicle was reported stolen in the 1200 block of East Green Bay Street.

Disturbance — Police responded to a disturbance at Walmart, 1244 E. Green Bay St.

Shawano County Sheriff’s Department

May 12

Deputies logged 33 incidents, including the following:

OWI — A 23-year-old man was arrested for operating while intoxicated on Express Way in Bonduel.

Fire — Authorities responded to a vehicle fire on state Highway 29 in the town of Waukechon.

Harassment — Harassment was reported on state Highway 47 in the town of Hartland.

Disturbance — A disturbance was reported on White Ridge Circle in the town of Angelica.

Trespassing — Authorities responded to a trespassing complaint on River Bend Circle in the town of Belle Plaine.

Theft — A property theft was reported on Sugar Bush Road in the town of Aniwa.

Assault — Authorities investigated an assault complaint on First Street in Bonduel.

May 11

Deputies logged 40 incidents, including the following:

Theft — A phone was reported stolen on Old Shawano Road in the town of Pella.

Disturbance — Disturbances were reported on Knoke Street in Gresham, State Street in Bonduel and Cecil Street in Bonduel.

OWI — A 43-year-old man was arrested for operating while intoxicated on Green Bay Street in Bonduel.

Vandalism — A mailbox was reported vandalized on Ranch Road in the town of Waukechon.

Harassment — Harassment was reported on State Street in Bonduel.

Drug Offense — Authorities investigated a drug complaint on Nabor Road in Cecil.

May 10

Deputies logged 37 incidents, including the following:

Disorderly — Authorities responded to disorderly conduct complaints at Wittenberg Elementary/Middle School, 300 Prouty St. in Wittenberg, and on Branch Lane in the town of Belle Plaine.

Threatening — Authorities responded to a threatening complaint on Maple Road in the town of Herman.

Trespass — Authorities responded to a trespassing complaint on Morgan Road in the town of Red Springs.

Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on State Street in Bonduel.

Accident — Authorities responded to an injury accident on state Highway 29 in the town of Herman.

May 9

Deputies logged 30 incidents, including the following:

Fraud — Authorities investigated an identity theft complaint on County Road C in the town of Angelica.

Vandalism — Vandalism was reported at the Holy Family Cemetery on County Road M in the town of Wittenberg.

Disturbance — A disturbance was reported on Genesee Street in Wittenberg.

Clintonville Police Department

May 11

Police logged four incidents, including the following:

Theft — A theft was reported on South Main Street.

May 10

Police logged 17 incidents, including the following:

Theft — A theft was reported on West Green Tree Road.

Harassment — Harassment was reported on North Main Street.

Suspicious — A suspicious incident was reported on North Park Street.

Shawano’s Memorial Day parade route this year has been changed due to the construction on East Fifth Street.

In previous years, the parade traveled from Huckleberry Harbor to Woodlawn Cemetery via Fifth Street.

This year, however, “it’s not going to be in any shape to have the parade there,” Police Chief Dan Mauel told the Shawano Common Council last week.

The May 27 parade will begin near the south fairgrounds gate at South Fairview Avenue and East Center Street.

Staging will be on the fairgrounds parking lot at the south gate.

The parade will begin at 9:20 a.m. and move north on Fairview, cross East Green Bay Street and continue along Fairview Way to Woodlawn Cemetery.

Motorists planning on travelling East Green Bay Street that morning are encouraged to use an alternate route as the Fairview Way intersection with Green Bay Street will be closed for a short time while the parade passes through.

Shawano Pathways plans to make a $12,000 donation to the city from grant money it has obtained to help fund an as yet undetermined project that will improve biking paths and walkways.

Shawano is among 10 communities across the country to receive assistance from the Safe Routes National Partnership to develop an action plan for improving biking and walking to local parks, green spaces and on trails.

Shawano Pathways was selected by the Safe Routes to School National Partners to join Safe Routes to Parks Activating Communities, which includes a $12,000 grant and technical assistance focused on improving safe and equitable local park access.

“It fits very well with the Pathways goals,” Pathways President Nancy Brown-Koeller said during a presentation to the Shawano Common Council last week.

“The grant requires community input and coalition with the parks department and police department,” Koeller said.

“We all have a different niche in the community and we’re all using it to set our own objectives,” she said.

“The purpose is to do a small project fairly soon,” Koeller said. “We don’t know what that is. We’re going to let the input tell us. But the bigger part of the grant is to develop an action plan for something bigger. That requires working with our coalition partners, with the city and with the county.”

The group recently held three listening sessions, which drew about 30 people, according to Koeller.

Pathways has also conducted walking audits in some areas to determine where walking and biking are problematic.

One location cited by Koeller at last week’s council meeting is East Green Bay Street, where the sidewalk ends and forces people to cross ditches and cut through parking lots to get to their destination.

“There’s things we could be doing,” Koeller said. “We’re going to develop an action plan and we’ll come back and share that.”

Koeller said the end result will be a $12,000 donation to Shawano for something not yet determined.

After that, she said, there will be “a plan to do something bigger and better that the community wants.”

Shawano Pathways was selected by the Safe Routes to School National Partners to join Safe Routes to Parks Activating Communities, which includes a $12,000 grant and technical assistance focused on improving safe and equitable local park access.

The data will also be used for Shawano Pathways’ strategic planning, and be shared with the city’s parks and recreation department and police department, the Shawano Common Council and Shawano County Board for their planning efforts.

With funding from The JPB Foundation, Safe Routes to Parks supports collaboration among community partners to ensure that children and adults can easily and safely walk, bike or roll to local parks and green spaces.

The JPB Foundation is a private foundation which directs its giving promoting opportunities for people in poverty, advancing medical research, and enabling a healthy environment.

Shawano will be among 10 communities across the country to receive training and coaching from the safe routes partnership to develop an action plan for improving active travel to local parks and green spaces and implement early actions from the plan.

The impact of new tariffs on northeastern Wisconsin farmers is still unknown.

U.S. stock markets fell sharply Monday in a first response to the doubling of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods over the weekend.

“Due to the economic struggle throughout the agriculture industry, it is really difficult to point to one issue such as tariffs causing farmers to put off projects or change plans,” Kimberly Kassube, Shawano County University of Wisconsin-Extension agriculture educator, said on Monday.

“The cause of low prices and rising costs of inputs is multifaceted and has been a problem for several years now, even before the tariffs that came into effect in 2018. The tariffs, however, added to the economic issues farmers are facing. It is hard to say what exactly will happen with the new tariffs taking place on June 1 but it certainly won’t help the current situation. As the new tariffs take effect, I would tell farmers as they face problems, reach out, Extension is here to help.”

Kassube is fielding very few inquiries about the dairy situation and surviving the tariffs,

“Most of the questions I am getting in right now center around the price of hay,” Kassube said. There was significant winter kill of alfalfa in the county this year, making already low forage inventories even lower. Many producers are looking for quality forage to buy as well as some alternative forages to grow this season to make up the low inventories.”

The American Soybean Association (ASA) weighed in on Monday with this statement: “While we support the Administration’s overall goals in these negotiations, ASA cannot support continuing and escalating the use of tariffs to achieve them. We call on the Administration to conclude an agreement focused on significantly reducing the U.S. trade deficit with China, including restoring and increasing our agricultural exports and eliminating China’s 25 percent tariff on U.S. soybeans.”

Robert Cropp, University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension, reported in his April 2019 Dairy Situation & Outlook, “In summary, milk prices are shaping up to be much improved over the low milk prices in 2018.” The May Class I (fluid milk) price is $16.42, up 66 cents from last month and up $1.98 from a year ago.

Cropp expects steady increases in cheese prices while fluid (beverage) milk sales will continue to decline but said exports will be a significant factor.

President Donald Trump increased tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports as of June 1. The Chinese Finance Ministry on Monday announced tariff hikes of 5% to 25%. They apply to $60 billion of U.S. goods covering 5,140 products such as batteries, spinach and coffee as of June 1. China responded to continuing U.S. allegations of technology theft and pressure on companies to turn over trade secrets.

The president tweeted Friday morning that U.S. farmers would benefit from the U.S. possibly buying $15 billion in goods to provide foreign humanitarian assistance. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue also tweeted Friday that the president directed the agency to “work on a plan quickly.” U.S. farm income this year is projected to be $69.4 billion, about 45% below a 2013 high.

The federal government already provides up to $10 billion in direct assistance to soybean, corn, pork, dairy and other producers to offset impacts from trade disputes with China, Mexico, Canada and other countries. It also spends about $1.2 billion to purchase food for schools, food pantries and other programs.

China is the fourth-largest export market for U.S. agriculture, buying $9.3 billion in U.S. agricultural products last year. Complicating the situation is a pandemic of African swine fever sweeping through China’s herd and cutting demand for whey and whey by-products along with soybeans.

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) reports, “Chinese imports of dairy goods is up 13% in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2018. But they’ve been buying from everywhere but the U.S,” noting U.S. companies sold record volumes of cheese to South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Middle East/North Africa and Central America in March.

“Since the tariffs when into effect in July 2018, U.S. dairy volume to China has fallen 43%, factoring in March’s dismal results,” the USDEC report states.

The Associated Press’ Damian J. Trouse reported, “U.S. stocks extended the market’s slide into a second week as investors seek shelter from an escalating trade war between the U.S. and China. The world’s two largest economies had seemed on track to resolve the ongoing trade dispute that was cutting into consumers’ wallets and corporate balance sheets.”

A sticking point is U.S. insistence on an enforcement mechanism to ensure Beijing lives up to its commitments. American officials say China has repeatedly broken past promises.

To help kick off summer and encourage family recreation, Wisconsin is offering free outdoor activities to residents and visitors June 1-2.

During this weekend, entry into the DNR’s 64 state parks, forests and recreation areas is free. Also, the state is waiving its fishing license requirements for the weekend and offering free fishing clinics around the state and loans of free fishing equipment.

All state trail pass fees on all DNR-owned properties are waived for ATV/UTV riders. Nonresident ATV/UTV owners do not need a trail pass on these days, either. All other rules and regulations still apply, and safety education certification is required for all UTV and ATV operators who were born on or after Jan. 1, 1988.

For information, visit travelwisconsin.com.

Shawano Police Department

May 13

Police logged 26 incidents, including the following:

Drug Offense — Police investigated a drug complaint at Park Street and Lieg Avenue.

Disorderly — Police responded to disorderly conduct complaints in the 800 block of Olson Street, 100 block of Prairie Street and 400 block of South Franklin Street.

Theft — Little Caesar’s Pizza, 1056 E. Green Bay St., reported a theft complaint.

Fraud — ThedaCare Medical Center, 100 County Road B, reported a counterfeit $100 bill. Police also investigated a scam complaint in the 1500 block of Estates Lane.

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

Vandalism — Vandalism was reported in the 900 block of East Maurer Street.

Warrant — A 47-year-old Green Bay man was arrested for an outstanding warrant in the 500 block of South Union Street.

Shawano County Sheriff’s Department

May 13

Deputies logged 55 incidents, including the following:

Disturbance — Authorities responded to disturbances on Ho Chunk Road in the town of Wittenberg and Ah Toh Wuk Court in Bowler.

Truancy — Authorities logged 10 truancy complaints from Birnamwood Elementary-Middle School, 337 Main St. in Birnamwood.

Fraud — Authorities investigated an identity theft complaint on U.S. Highway 45 in the town of Birnamwood and an internet scam complaint on Krueger Road in the town of Grant.

Disorderly — Disorderly conduct was reported on Regina Road in the town of Aniwa.

Clintonville Police Department

May 13

Police logged 10 incidents, including the following:

Drug Offense — A 29-year-old Clintonville man was cited for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Disturbances — A family disturbance was reported on Motor Street, and a neighbor dispute was reported on Lincoln Avenue.

The Clintonville Police and Fire Commission has announced that Craig Freitag has accepted the position as Clintonville’s next police chief.

Freitag fills the position that was held by James Beggs who retired in April. The offer requires medical and psychiatric evaluations, a drug test, and an in-depth background investigation. Provided the requirements have been met, Freitag will be given a final offer of employment with a start date of May 29.

Freitag is excited about the transition and the opportunity it presents. He has also told the commission that he has found a house in Clintonville and hopes to be able to begin building a new home in the city next year. According to City Administrator Sharon Eveland, the commission is confident that Freitag will be a valuable asset to the police department and to the community.

Freitag has been in law enforcement for 15 years. He started his career in the village of Rio part time in 2004, while going to college and going through the police academy. After completing college, he was hired by the village of Lake Delton Police Department for a full time position for the summer.

He was then hired by the village of Randolph department, where he worked for nine years.

He volunteered for the emergency medical service as a driver. He served on the Randolph School Board the past six years and has coached youth football for nine years.

In 2014, Freitag was hired to work for the Lodi Police Department, where he is now a lieutenant. He works part time for the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department as a drug investigator.

Sixteen employees who are retiring this year from the Pulaski Community School District were honored May 8 at an awards banquet. Also honored were 76 employees who are celebrating service anniversaries.

“The community in the Pulaski Community School District includes outstanding students and their supportive families, generous and supportive community partners and diverse municipalities. But arguably the most important are you, our incredible staff,” said Bec Kurzynske, superintendent. “You are the reason that we are able to provide great learning opportunities for our students each and every day, and I thank you for your dedication and commitment.”

“Everybody on the board has children or has had children enrolled in the district, and we’ve seen firsthand what a difference you make in their lives,” said Michael Voelker, board of education president. “I want to thank all of you for the service you’ve given to the district and the milestone you are celebrating tonight, and also give a special thanks to our retirees who are marking the end of their service and looking forward to the next chapter in their lives.”

Retiring this year are Kathy Belaire, Dave Bentz, Mary Connolly, Renee de la Cruz, Deb Dolata, Lori Gray, Jamie Hubbard, Gary Karcz, Betty Kestly, Ramona Kornaus, Kim Krenz-Wozniak, Joanne Kurowski, Mark Reimer, Joan Riedel, Mary Sturm-Johnson and Wayne Smith.

Staff members being honored for 10 years of service are Patrice Bablitch, Dawn Bogucki, Sharon Brabender, Rebecca Budz, Sarah Casper-Due, Sherry Czarapata, Cindy DeNeys, Amy Fischer, Sarah Hoverson, Theresa Josephson, Gary Karcz, Cory Krizizke, Susan Lewin, Ray Majewski, Jerad Marsh, Amber Molle, Joann Neily, Jessica Rosenberg-Fredrickson, Dave Shaw, Wayne Smith and Aaron Triphan.

Those who have served 15 years include Katie Backhaus, Michelle Fischer, Amy Grzeskowiak, Kerri Haertl, Elizabeth Kust, Ryan Mentink, Patrick Rades, Sally Robertson, Tami Sullivan, Tracy Sundstrom, Kathy Tennant, Jamie Thompson, Jane Wendt, Char Wilson and Tricia Yarbro.

Twenty-year employees are Laurie Babiarz, Nicole Borley, Joan Brylski, Kathy Fischer, Amy Gee, Paula Goeben, Beth Hansen, Sandy Harvey, Jenn Heck, Christy Hutjens, Lisa Jourdan, Kandy Lardinois, Kelly Logue, Brian Morgan, Sarah Morgan, Darral Otto, Deb Schneider, Jenni Schwittay, Jenny Stehlik, Tracey Szymanski, Amy Uelmen, Jeff Uelmen, Celine Van Vreede, Carrie Wagner, Sue Wheeler, Carol Witthuhn and Jon Wood.

Employees celebrating 25 years are Shelly Bierhals, Carrie Burch, Tom Busch, Mary Connolly, Jim Doell, Paul Ford, Jenny Gracyalny, Marty Krause, Paula Krause and Tricia Paul.

Carrie Fischer was honored for serving the district for 30 years, and Laurie Przybylski and David Reinking marked their 35-year service anniversaries.

The Legislature’s budget-writing committee Tuesday overwhelmingly approved Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ proposal to authorize more borrowing for clean water projects, handing the governor a small victory after killing his plan to replace lead pipes across the state last week.

The state Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Administration jointly run the clean water program and safe drinking water program. The clean water program provides low-interest loans to municipalities for planning, building or replacing wastewater treatment facilities, reducing nonpoint pollution and reducing storm water runoff. The safe drinking water program provides matching dollars for federal aid for building and upgrading drinking water infrastructure such as well houses and water mains.

Evers has declared 2019 the year of clean drinking water in Wisconsin.

His budget calls for increasing the clean water program’s borrowing authority by $13.5 million to cover hardship projects that have qualified for funding since 2017.

The program sets aside subsidies each biennium to help municipalities that meet financial hardship criteria, including whether the municipality’s median household income is 80 percent or less than the state’s median income and annual charges per residential user for wastewater treatment would exceed 2 percent of the median household income, according to the Department of Natural Resources website.

Republicans decided to eliminate the hardship component in the current state budget and reduced borrowing authority by $40.6 million.

They retained eligibility for initial applications submitted prior to mid-2017 and final applications submitted prior to mid-2018, however. The state Department of Administration at the time estimated that the $40.6 million reduction in borrowing authority would leave about $6 million in borrowing authority to cover those projects.

The Department of Administration has since discovered accounting mistakes that show the program actually needs authorization to borrow up to $19.5 million to cover the projects.

As for the safe drinking water program, Evers wants to add $3.6 million in general obligation bonding authorization as a transition during the next fiscal year from general obligation bonds to revenue-backed bonds. General obligation bonds can be repaid from a variety of sources. Revenue bonds are repaid using money generated from specific projects.

The Joint Finance Committee considered the proposals Tuesday. Republicans control the committee but joined the three Democratic members in voting to approve both proposals unanimously with almost no discussion.

Democrats still complained bitterly, though, about committee Republicans’ decision Thursday to erase an Evers proposal to authorize $40 million in borrowing to help municipalities replace lead laterals, which are pipes that carry water from mains into homes. Republicans have argued that most of the money would be spent replacing laterals in Milwaukee and that it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the state.

The provision was one of more than 100 Evers’ proposals the GOP stripped from the spending plan that day in a single vote.

The committee’s co-chairman, Republican Rep. John Nygren, tried to cut off comments about the move Tuesday, saying he doesn’t plan to revisit past actions as the committee continues reviewing Evers’ budget. Democrats appealed that ruling, using it as a platform to rail against Republicans over lead pipes.

Democratic Rep. Evan Goyke, of Milwaukee, told the panel that his home has lead pipes. He poured a glass of water from a thermos he said held water from his faucet and challenged anyone to drink it. Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach, of Madison, said that if southeastern Wisconsin, a Republican stronghold, was struggling with lead pipes, the Legislature would be holding extraordinary sessions to deal with the problem.

“Okay,” Nygren responded. “Politics on full display.”

The panel ultimately voted 11-4 to not allow committee members to revisit past votes.

Committee Republicans scrapped another Evers proposal Tuesday to save a grant program that helps home and small business owners replace failing septic systems. Under the current state budget, the program ends in mid-2021. Evers had proposed continuing it indefinitely. The GOP did approve providing the program with another $185,000, however. Its currently appropriated $840,000 annually.

Shawano Police Department

May 14

Police logged 31 incidents, including the following:

Trespassing — Police responded to a trespassing complaint in the 300 block of East Fifth Street.

Juvenile Problems — Police responded to juvenile problems in the 100 block of South Franklin Street, 1000 block of South Main Street, 200 block of South Washington Street and 800 block of Easter Maurer Street.

Theft — A wallet was reported stolen in the 200 block of South Sawyer Street. A theft was also reported in the 700 block of South Maiden Lane.

Disturbance — Police responded to a domestic disturbance in the 500 block of North Lafayette Street.

Shawano County Sheriff’s Department

May 14

Deputies logged 45 incidents, including the following:

Harassment — Harassment was reported at Bonduel Middle/High School, 400 W. Green Bay St. in Bonduel.

Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on Julius Street in the town of Angelica.

Drug Offense — Authorities investigated a drug complaint on Uecker Street in the town of Grant.

OAR — A 31-year-old man was cited for operating after revocation on Commerce Way in Gresham, and a 34-year-old man was cited for OAR on Washington Street in Shawano.

Theft — A purse was reported stolen on Church Road in the town of Morris.

Accidents — Authorities logged five deer-related crashes.

Clintonville Police Department

May 14

Police logged 17 incidents, including the following:

Vaping — Vaping on school grounds was reported on West Green Tree Road.

Disorderly — Disorderly conduct was reported on West Green Tree Road.

Disturbance — A disturbance was reported on Flora Way.

The Shawano Hockey League has been awarded a $60,000 grant from the Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce’s tourism development fund.

The money will be used to replace 38-year-old dasher boards at the Crawford Center skating rink.

The league was given the grant based on the rink’s draw as a tourist feature.

According to John Miesbauer, Shawano Hockey League vice president, an estimated 125 to 160 room nights are generated per hockey tournament. In 2019, four regular tournaments plus the Bantam State Tournament were held at the Crawford Center from January through March.

“We are pleased to assist the Shawano Hockey League with the purchase of new dasher boards and believe the improvement to the facility will generate more opportunities to expand the number of tournaments,” said Sally Jo Stevens, chairwoman of the Tourism Development Fund Committee. “The Crawford Center is a tremendous asset to Shawano County and the outlying communities.”

SHL is an independent nonprofit organization created to promote youth hockey in the Shawano County region.

The league is governed by the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association (WAHA) and USA Hockey. They are classified as a Division 4 level club playing in WAHA Region 3. All SHL Teams (Squirt level and higher) are entered in regional playoffs to qualify for WAHA State Tournaments held in March.

The volunteer-run league serves children ages 4 to 14.

The city will soon be wrapping up its end of street work for the year, paving the way for the state Department of Transportation to take the wheel for a major project along East Green Bay Street.

Public Works Director Scott Kroening said sewer and water utility work on East Fifth Street between Hamlin Street and Fairview Avenue should be completed by the middle of next week.

That doesn’t mean the road will be completely open for business.

The city will grade the street and make it passable, Kroening said, and then maintain it until it’s handed off to the DOT, which has included it in its Green Bay Street project.

“We’ll maintain it till the DOT comes in,” Kroening said. “If there are rain events, we may have to go in and clean it up a little bit.”

Work on Fifth Street has forced a new route for the Memorial Day Parade, which typically uses that street to get to Woodlawn Cemetery from Huckleberry Harbor.

The new route for the May 27 parade will start at the south fairgrounds gate at South Fairview Avenue and East Center Street, then continue north to the cemetery.

The DOT is expected start work in the middle of June and wrap up by the end of July.

The project will mill and overlay Green Bay Street from Main Street to the east city limits, and will include addressing the railroad crossings on Green Bay Street between Hamlin and Ellis streets and on Fifth Street just west of Washburn Street that have long been a source of driver complaints.

“They’ve got some storm sewer work to do first, along with taking out curb and sidewalk,” Kroening said. “Then they’ll start on excavating the street, putting the gravel in and put the curb and gutter and sidewalk back in, then eventually put the pavement back down.”

Meanwhile, paving should be done by the end of the week on Main Street, where the city is wrapping up a water main saddle replacement project.

At issue are stainless steel saddles, a type of metal sleeve, that hold the service connection to the water main. They were installed during the Main Street reconstruction project in 2002 and 2003. The project stretched from the channel to the Mountain Bay Trail at Oshkosh Street.

At least three of those saddles have failed over the last 10 years.

A corroded saddle was blamed for a water main break outside Dreier Pharmacy at 117 S. Main St. on Jan. 4 of last year.

Before that, two water main breaks occurred in the 100 block of North Main Street in February 2009 and December 2010, only about 50 to 75 feet away from one another. Another saddle failed in the 200 block of South Main Street in September 2013.

It was determined that high levels of chloride in the soil were responsible for those saddle failures.

Kroening said many of the saddles taken out during the replacement project were showing early signs of corrosion, but some actually fell apart as they were being removed.

“We’re lucky we didn’t have some other issues there,” he said. “It was only a matter of time.”

The new saddles, which are brass this time, were wrapped in heavy plastic, and additional backfill was be added to protect them from the chloride.