Leader Staff
The top local stories of 2016, as chosen by the Leader editorial staff, probably say more about the year or years ahead than the year behind. There were major announcements of new growth and potential developments expected to start in 2017, along with the beginnings of efforts to finally get a handle on long-term problems such as vacant and dilapidated buildings.
Here are our top 10 stories of the year:
1. Belmark revealed as new manufacturer coming to Shawano
After months of secrecy surrounding a major mystery manufacturer coming to Shawano, it was finally revealed in June that the company in question is Belmark Inc., a maker of flexible packaging.
Belmark will occupy about 15 acres north of County Road B, east of Waukechon Street and west of Industrial Drive.
The company has already started preparing the site for an approximately 120,000-square-foot, $12 million light manufacturing, paper products related facility. Construction is scheduled to start in the spring with full production beginning by spring 2018.
The company will open its Shawano facility with a staff of 35 employees, but expects to grow to around 120 over a seven-year period. The jobs are described as skilled and semi-skilled with an average hourly wage of $17.50, plus fringe benefits.
2. City re-establishes Redevelopment Authority, causing controversy over blight district
Shawano resurrected its Redevelopment Authority in February, but the RDA spent most of the year justifying its existence to a skeptical public.
The proposed redevelopment district boundaries and plan were finalized in June, but both were met by opposition from property owners who objected to their properties being called blighted.
It took several more months of educational outreach, hearings and open house meetings to convince property owners that the district was being created as a tool to assist those who want to improve their properties, not as a weapon to be used against them.
The Shawano Common Council approved the redevelopment district in August and approved the redevelopment plan in October.
3. Bullying ordinance gains international attention
A bullying ordinance passed by the city of Shawano in April caught national and even international attention, spurring debate that continues to pop up on editorial pages nine months later.
The ordinance threatens possible fines against parents whose children engage in habitual bullying or harassment, but it has yet to be used, according to Shawano Police Chief Mark Kohl.
Having the ordinance on the books, Kohl said, has opened up communications on the bullying problem between parents, the police and the school district. He said police have worked with parents to address incidents of bullying, but no citations have been issued.
Kohl said media coverage, including reports in newspapers as far away as Canada, Australia and Switzerland, have helped draw attention to the problem of bullying.
4. Voters reject Gresham $9.2M referendum questions
Gresham School District officials in April were forced to go back to the drawing board to figure out how to fix a section of their school that is more than 80 years old after both questions in a $9.2 referendum proposal were defeated.
Voters had been asked to approve a $6 million question to demolish the old section of the school and build new high school classrooms on the east side of the building, and a second question, seeking $3.2 million for an additional gymnasium, track and soccer facilities, and a new community weight room.
The proposals were defeated by a vote of 481-314.
If the referendum questions had been approved, the tax rate would have increased $2.07, from $10.44 to $12.51, per $1,000 of equalized valuation, which equates to $207 more annually for a $100,000 home.
District officials brought the referendum in the hopes of replacing the three-story section of the school that was built in 1934 and building additional one-story sections for the high school.
5. Cronce takes over as Shawano mayor
Jeanne Cronce was sworn in as Shawano mayor in April, replacing Lorna Marquardt, who chose not to seek another two-year term after 14 years in the office.
Cronce defeated Jim Oberstein in the April 5 election by a vote of 1,434-1,290.
Cronce, a former Shawano School District teacher and principal, had emphasized her familiarity with the city and her lifelong ties to the community in her run for mayor, while Oberstein had touted his background of 45 years in business.
Though views differed on how the city should move forward, business development and job growth were key issues during the campaign, along with how the city should deal with long-vacant buildings.
Cronce and Oberstein emerged from a field of six candidates in the February primary. The abundance of candidates was seen as unusual considering that Marquardt had faced opposition only once during her 14 years in office.
6. City OKs pact for medical residency center
The Shawano Common Council in November approved a development agreement with a group planning to locate a medical residency center in the city.
The agreement between the city and RTC Real Estate Holdings LLC calls for a 25-bed residency training hospital and medical clinic, along with eight 12-unit residential apartment buildings, that would be located north of County Road B and east of Waukechon Street in Shawano.
The 39-acre complex would be just south of the new Belmark packaging development and includes a 45,000-square-foot medical clinic to be built in three phases, with the first phase completed by January 2018.
The residency training hospital would be up by January 2020. Four 12-unit apartment buildings would go up in 2019 and 2020, with 48 units of additional apartments and/or senior assisted living beds by January 2023. The last phase of the medical clinic would be completed by January 2026.
A plan to turn the former Shawano Medical Center property into a residency training hospital was approved by city officials last year, but fell through after ThedaCare, which owns a portion of the property, refused to sign on.
7. Shawano police chief faces sex discrimination suits
Shawano Police Chief Mark Kohl was hit with two civil suits in federal court this year by Police Department employees alleging sex discrimination.
Police officer NiCole Hoffmann filed suit against Kohl in May alleging sex discrimination for bypassing her and hiring a lower-ranked male applicant for a police officer vacancy in July 2014.
Kohl subsequently hired Hoffmann in January 2015, but her suit seeks damages for loss of past and future income.
In the second suit, filed in June, Support Services Manager Laura Chartraw alleged Kohl made demeaning comments about her looks and treated her differently than male employees. She alleges that when she complained to him and to city officials, Kohl retaliated by creating a hostile work environment.
The city is also named as a defendant in that suit for its alleged failure to act on complaints regarding Kohl.
A jury trial is scheduled for August in the Hoffman case. A jury trial is scheduled in the Chartraw case for September.
8. 4 charged in massive burglary spree
More than 300 items listed as stolen in burglaries and thefts since July 1 — including a cache of 60 guns — were seized on Nov. 21 when authorities executed search warrants in the village of Mattoon and town of Birnamwood. Even more items, some possibly stolen as far back as 2010, were recovered in a subsequent search warrant the following week.
Four people have been arrested and charged so far in what authorities say continues to be an ongoing investigation that is expected to lead to more charges and additional suspects.
Those charged so far include Lorenzo M. Thiex, 20, of Mattoon, Keith W. Bernarde, 61, of Birnamwood, Ayesha M. Dodge, 20, of Mattoon, and Forrest L. Sparks, 21, of Gresham.
According to the criminal complaint, items recovered in the search warrants included guns, sporting equipment, tools, antiques, electronic appliances, and about two dozen car batteries allegedly stolen from vehicles at Mattoon Auto in July.
Authorities began investigating a series of burglaries dating from July to October that included residences, businesses, garages, storage sheds and camper trailers in the villages of Bowler and Mattoon and the towns of Hutchins and Almon.
9. Parents defeat move to change Shawano school start times
Faced with community opposition, Shawano school officials in April announced they were indefinitely dropping consideration of adjusting school start times so that older students can sleep later.
School Board President Tyler Schmidt said the issue had divided the community and the board was stepping back from the issue “in the best interests of our students, staff, families and community.”
The statement indicated that a new committee might be created later to continue examining the issue, although no details were announced.
An ad hoc panel had recommended a one-hour delay for high school and middle school students each day, citing scientific research that older students need more sleep in the morning than younger kids.
Many parents and others had objected to the proposal because of concerns that it would disrupt their household routines.
10. County studies library restructuring
Shawano County began this year to look at a possible major overhaul of its library system as a means of safeguarding the county from massive bills of more than $100,000 a year resulting from residents crossing borders to use library facilities elsewhere.
The Shawano County Board in September approved development of a blueprint for the county to assume responsibility of all libraries throughout the county, including branches in Bonduel, Birnamwood, Mattoon, Tigerton and Wittenberg.
It could take several months before a consolidation plan is ready, and officials say that implementing a new county-run system likely would not occur before 2018.
An ad hoc group recommended converting to a consolidated county-run library system, which would protect Shawano County from any future crossover billing under the state’s complex formula for funding public libraries.
Under a consolidated county system, all branches would operate under the county’s authority. Proponents contend that such an arrangement would allow for more uniformity in how libraries throughout the county are operated.