Shawano Leader News

Ronnie’s Tachit Auto Repair has signed on as a U-Haul dealer serving the Shawano area.

Ronnie’s Tachit Auto Repair, W7937 County Road MMM, will offer U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing equipment, support rental items and in-store pick-up for boxes.

Owner Ronnie Verhagen said he is proud to team with the industry leader in do-it-yourself moving and self-storage to better meet the demands of Shawano County.

According to U-Haul, every U-Haul truck placed in a community helps keep 19 personally owned large-capacity vehicles, pickups, SUVs and vans off the road. Fewer vehicles means less traffic congestion, less pollution, less fuel burned and cleaner air.

To reserve a U-Haul truck from Ronnie’s Tachit Auto Repair, call 715-526-9202 or visit https://www.uhaul.com/Locations/Truck-Rentals-near-Shawano-WI-54166/033094/.

Hours of operation for U-Haul rentals are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

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Arbor Day celebrated in ShawanoBy: 

Scott Williams, [email protected]

Leader Photo by Scott Williams Layla Sperberg, center in pink, joins other students in helping to plant a tree Wednesday outside Atrium Post-Acute Care at Birch Hill, 1475 Birch Hill Lane.
Leader Photo by Scott Williams Kindergartner Brooke Cavanaugh, right, admires her small tree at ceremonies Wednesday celebrating Arbor Day in Shawano.

Arbor Day 2016 has left Shawano quite a bit more green.

City leaders handed out dozens of small trees to school children and others Wednesday in honor of the holiday celebrating a world filled with beautiful trees.

At a ceremony hosted by the Shawano Tree Advisory Committee, kids also helped city crews plant a tree outside Atrium Post-Acute Care at Birch Hill, 1475 Birch Hill Lane.

Shawano Mayor Jeanne Cronce treated the kids to a reading of the book, “The Giving Tree,” and then urged them to come back often to visit the tree they were helping to plant.

“A tree has a long, long life,” Cronce said. “And it can give us many years of pleasure.”

Honored with Nature’s Friend Awards for outstanding landscaping of their properties were homeowner Kathy Stoltenow, 420 W. Highview Ave., and the Atrium Post-Acute facility on Birch Hill Lane.

State conservation officials joined the ceremony and recognized Shawano for its forestry efforts, while Shawano Municipal Utilities donated $2,000 to promote future tree-planting in the community.

Students from Hillcrest Primary School and LEADS Primary Charter School all received small white pine and white spruce trees to take home with them.

City Forester Mike Kroenke encouraged the kids to take pride in their trees.

“Remember, you planted that tree,” Kroenke said. “So you take care of that tree.”

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Mattson led district since break from ShawanoBy: 

Scott Williams, [email protected]

Leader File Photo After seceding from the Shawano School District, officials in Gresham transformed their high school at 501 Schabow St. into a K-12 campus now attended by about 330 students.

Gresham School District Superintendent Keary Mattson has announced plans to retire, ending a career that began in the classroom and culminated with establishing a new stand-alone school district.

Mattson has informed colleagues that he will retiring after the current school year, effective June 30, which comes nine years after he left a principal’s job in Marion to become superintendent in Gresham.

He was hired shortly after Gresham residents broke away from the Shawano School District to start their own district, amid fears that Gresham’s school would otherwise be closed in a budget-cutting move.

“He took on something that was quite unusual,” Gresham School Board President Andy Schmidt said. “He gave us good years of knowledge and leadership.”

Mattson, 66, confirmed that he will be retiring effective June 30, but he declined to comment further.

The school district has begun the search for a successor, and community leaders throughout Gresham are anxious to see who will fill Mattson’s vacancy.

Village President Ken Beyer said Mattson’s lasting imprint on the community is that the school district even exists. Without Mattson’s leadership and hard work, Beyer said, the local school likely would have closed and Gresham would not enjoy its current autonomy and strong local identity.

“He’s done a great job for us,” Beyer said. “He’s really built the school.”

Mattson began his career as a physical education teacher, working in the Hortonville School District throughout the 1970s and ’80s. After a few years at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, he became principal of the combined high school-junior high school in the Marion School District, where he worked for 10 years.

He left the Marion principal’s job in 2007 to lead Gresham’s efforts at establishing its own local school district.

For decades, Gresham had been part of the Shawano-Gresham School District, which included Gresham High School at its current location, 501 Schabow St. When fears stirred that district administrators were thinking of closing the school to save money, members of the community decided that seceding into their own district was the only way to save the school.

Mattson earned high praise from colleagues and others in the community for his work in assembling the district, from filling staff vacancies to mapping out the infrastructure.

“It was a struggle for a while,” School Board member Margie Eberhard said. “He worked a lot of hours — lots and lots of hours — to make it go.”

The district transformed its property into a campus for kindergarten throughout 12th grade, with a combined current enrollment of about 330 students.

In a community with modest family incomes, Gresham was honored repeatedly under Wisconsin’s School of Recognition awards for academic excellence rising above local poverty. Student test scores registered above the state average, too, and Gresham twice was listed among the nation’s top schools by U.S. News and World Report.

Outside of the classroom, the district’s beloved Gresham Wildcats competed in football, basketball and many other sports, earning recognition for outstanding sportsmanship three years in a row from the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Schmidt said he was impressed at Mattson’s success introducing technology into Gresham classrooms, including a computer device for every student.

“He’s just done so many things,” Schmidt said.

During this school year, administrators proposed a $9 million expansion and modernization of the district’s aging facilities. Mattson made it clear that, regardless of the proposal’s outcome, he was considering making this his final year as superintendent.

Although voters in April rejected referendums to borrow money for the facility upgrades, colleagues say the setback will not tarnish Mattson’s record of achievement in Gresham.

School Board member Alphia Creapeau said the superintendent has demonstrated a commitment to classroom excellence, and has succeeded in building a local school district that is both a stimulating place for students to learn and a comfortable place for employees to work.

“When you walk into the Gresham School District, you walk into a warm and friendly environment,” Creapeau said. “That comes from the top down.”

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Owners get $37,000 loan from cityBy: 

Tim Ryan, [email protected]

The owners of Papa Murphy’s Pizza in Shawano plan to open a soft-serve ice cream store that will share space with the take-and-bake pizza business at 1063 E. Green Bay St.

The Shawano Common Council last week approved a $37,000 loan from the city’s revolving loan fund for the purchase of equipment for the new business, which will be called The Golden Cone.

Owners Bart and Sue Mattson plan to invest $37,500 in the startup, including $29,000 for build-out costs of the existing building, according to their revolving loan fund application.

They said the expansion would add about two new jobs.

The city’s revolving loan fund requires at least one job created for every $20,000 in financial assistance.

According to the loan application, The Golden Cone will probably be open from May through September but might be open earlier or longer, depending on the demand.

The menu would include ice cream, waffle cones, regular cones, sundaes, shakes and malts, frozen yogurt and shaved ice.

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Inspectors find potential hazardBy: 

Grace Kirchner, Leader Correspondent

A portion of the sidewalk on the north side of Ninth Street in Clintonville has been closed and will remain closed until repairs are made.

According to City Administrator Chuck Kell, the issue was discovered when the fire department did a routine inspection of the commercial building on that corner of Ninth Street and South Main Street. The inspector found a potentially serious issue, according to Kell.

Kell said the basement of the building extends beyond the sidewalk to the curb line. The whole sidewalk is exposed in the basement, and there is water damage that is causing the concrete to fall apart.

“It is a dangerous situation. If someone happened to put a car tire up on that sidewalk I think they’d end up in the basement of the building,” Kell said.

Kell said this type of problem is normally solved is by removing the sidewalk, building a concrete block wall a few feet inside the existing basement wall, then filling the void between the two walls with compacted stone. A new sidewalk is then installed on top of the compacted stone.

The process was used on the Main Street portion of the same building when South Main Street was reconstructed, Kell noted.

The estimated cost of fixing the problem is about $60,000.

Sidewalks are the responsibility of the abutting owners, according to city statute. Kell said the owner has 20 days to replace the sidewalk after being notified by the city. If the sidewalk is not replaced in that amount of time, the city can replace it and assess the cost to the owners of the abutting property.

Kell recommended that the city work with the property owners to decide who is going to pay for it.

Businesses occupying the building include Modern Hair II, Hearing Services and B & H Fashionwear. The owners are Sandy Bruette and Sue Aschliman.

No action was taken at the meeting.

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Several hundred members and guests attended United Cooperative’s 80th annual meeting April 18 at the Community Center in Juneau.

David Cramer, United Cooperative president and chief executive officer, reported revenues for 2015 were $582 million. United Cooperative’s core cooperative businesses of feed, grain, agronomy and energy generated $27 million in profits, up $2.1 million from 2014.

Patronage from regional cooperatives was virtually unchanged year over year, at $7 million.

The investment United Cooperative made in ethanol contributed $11 million to its net income in 2015, down from the $33.5 million returned the year before.

United Cooperative had a total net income before income taxes in 2015 of $45.5 million. While total net income was down $20 million from 2014, the decline was entirely due to the reduction in earnings of the ethanol investment, which not only had record returns in 2014 but also mirrored the reductions that were experienced across the petroleum industry.

United Cooperative is returning $28 million in total patronage to members. Forty percent of the patronage, or $11.3 million, was distributed in cash to United Cooperative’s patron member owners, while 60 percent, or $16.9 million, was retained in equity credits.

In addition, the cooperative plans to continue to revolve equity in October, retire equity at age 77 and pay all estates as requested.

“While our businesses performed very well in 2015, we also know that to be a valued partner for our members, we need to provide up-to-date facilities in strategic locations,” Cramer said.

United Cooperative acquired AgVentures LLC and Grain Ventures LLC in Coleman, Shawano and Oconto Falls in 2015 and acquired four locations from Archer Daniels Midland in Auroraville (Berlin), Oshkosh, Ripon and Westfield.

Construction began on two state-of-the-art feed mills at Shawano and Wilton. The co-op built a completely new agronomy location in Hillsboro and reorganized and remodeled the hardware store into a larger space at Hillsboro. United Cooperative also finalized plans to build a new grain facility at Westfield and a new fertilizer plant in Auroraville. The facilities are under construction.

“Our 80-year journey does not come without generations of members who value, use and take pride in doing business with their cooperative,” Cramer said.

Incumbent directors winning re-election at the meeting included north district representative Brad Krueger, of Shawano.

Twenty-five employees were recognized by Cramer for their years of outstanding service with United Cooperative. They represented 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 40 years of service.

The honorees included area 10-year employees Cori Cornell, United Cooperative Pulaski; Kris Gudgeon, United Cooperative Shawano feed; and Robert Brown, United Cooperative Pulaski agronomy.

In addition, six retirees were honored for their dedication to United Cooperative, including Kevin Sampo, United Cooperative Pulaski shop.

Formed in 1936, United Cooperative is a full-service cooperative offering feed, grain, agronomy and energy products and services to Wisconsin farmers and consumers. Based in Beaver Dam, United Cooperative has locations throughout Wisconsin, including Gresham, Pulaski and Shawano.

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Shawano Police Department

April 26

Police logged 20 incidents, including the following:

Threatening — Police responded to a threatening complaint in the 600 block of South Weed Street.

Hit and Run — Police investigated a property damage hit-and-run at Walmart, 1244 E. Green Bay St.

Fraud — Kwik Trip, 1241 E. Green Bay St., reported a counterfeit $50 bill.

Suspicious — Police responded to a suspicious vehicle complaint in the 1000 block of East Green Bay Street.

Shawano County Sheriff’s Office

April 26

Deputies logged 26 incidents, including the following:

Vandalism — Authorities responded to a vandalism complaint on state Highway 22 in the town of Washington.

Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on Lake Drive in the town of Herman.

Disturbance — Authorities responded to a domestic disturbance on River Street in Shawano.

Accident — Authorities responded to an injury accident on Fairview Road in the town of Pella.

Clintonville Police Department

April 26

Police logged seven incidents, including the following:

Disorderly — Disorderly conduct was reported at Clintonville Middle School, 255 N. Main St.

Disturbance — Officers assisted Shawano Police Department with taking a subject into custody for domestic abuse-disorderly conduct on North 12th Street.

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Sheriff wants roundabout at Highway 22By: 

Scott Williams, [email protected]

Leader Photo by Scott Williams With ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano in the background, motorists wait their turn to get through the intersection of state Highway 22 and County Road B.

Traffic congestion near the new ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano is prompting state and local highway planners to consider new controls ranging from lower speed limits to a roundabout.

Since the hospital opened in September, traffic has increased and police have detected congestion at the intersection of state Highway 22 and County Road B.

State highway officials say some traffic counts in the area have more than doubled since before ThedaCare opened the new $50 million hospital on the southern edge of Shawano.

While the state’s initial response suggests an intervention less dramatic than a roundabout or stoplights, some local officials believe the situation has grown serious enough to warrant major change.

Shawano County Sheriff Adam Bieber said he would like a roundabout installed to better control traffic that peaks at about 1,000 vehicles per hour at the intersection.

Bieber said he is concerned about the safety of the intersection, considering the traffic volumes, the street layout and the current speed limits.

“The roundabout is the safest option for our community,” he said.

Bieber joined other members of the Shawano County Highway Safety Commission in discussing the situation Tuesday with a representative of the state highway department.

After hearing local concerns about traffic near Shawano’s new hospital, state officials earlier this year conducted a study and found evidence of congestion. For traffic turning from westbound County Road B onto southbound Highway 22, peak hourly traffic counts have more than doubled, from 80 vehicles to 175 vehicles.

The state, however, determined that the volumes and congestion were not severe enough to warrant significant new controls, such as stoplights or a roundabout.

“It really didn’t strike me as needing some sort of major change,” said Tony Kemnitz, a state traffic safety engineer.

Kemnitz said the state would place the hospital site on a “watch list” for closer examination in the years ahead, and also would conduct another study on whether speed limits should be lowered in the area.

Speed limits currently are 35 mph on both the state highway and county road intersecting just west of ThedaCare’s new hospital. The hospital is next to Shawano Community High School, which also generates high volumes of traffic at certain times of day.

The 128,000-square-foot hospital opened last fall to much fanfare about ThedaCare’s investment in improved health care for Shawano County and surrounding areas. With the simultaneous closing of the crosstown Shawano Medical Center, the new hospital was expected to reach 600 employees eventually and attract as many as 120,000 patients a year, most for outpatient services.

Shawano Police Chief Mark Kohl reached out to state highway planners in February, saying that the new hospital and high school were combining to create traffic congestion issues.

Kohl said although no vehicular accidents or other safety threats have resulted, he said local officials want to work on identifying possible solutions to the congestion. Especially when hospital employees are leaving work at the same time that students are leaving school, traffic backups occur at the intersection, he said.

The Police Department has heard complaints from some motorists about the delays, Kohl said.

“The patience is wearing thin,” he said.

ThedaCare facilities manager John Gijsen said the health care provider has assisted state highway officials with their study of the Highway 22-County B intersection. ThedaCare would have no objection to new controls aimed at moving traffic more smoothly, he added.

Hospital administrators have not heard complaints from patrons, Gijsen said, but he acknowledged that traffic delays have occurred.

“Obviously, the intersection has changed a little bit,” he said.

Among the options discussed, Kemnitz said a roundabout would be the most expensive, costing about $1 million. Installing traffic lights would cost about $200,000. Other possibilities include four-way stop signs and reduced speed limits.

The intersection has stop signs on County Road B only.

Kemnitz said he hoped to have the speed limit study completed by summer. State officials try not to overreact to minor congestion issues, he said, and instead offer carefully measured responses.

“We do take it seriously,” he said. “We try to look at a stepped approach.”

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Wide variety of items being re-purposedBy: 

Leader Staff

Contributed Photo Demolition of the former Shawano Medical Center began on April 4. Numerous groups received donations of furniture, fixtures and building materials. The demolition is expected to take until mid-June.

Thousands of dollars’ worth of furniture and building materials from the vacant Shawano Medical Center is finding new life in the community as various community groups and organizations repurpose the items.

Demolition of the old riverside hospital began on April 4, with ThedaCare throwing open the doors of the building to several Shawano-area governmental units and charities that were invited to remove and re-use furniture and fixtures.

The Shawano Police Department received a drying cabinet and six mobile file units with floor-mounted tracks from the former radiology department. The drying cabinet will be used for evidence that must be dried before it is stored.

“We’ll use both units in our evidence storage room to help alleviate our space constraints and stay organized,” Lt. Mike Musolff said. “As a small police department, it would have been very difficult to afford this equipment on our own.”

Shawano parks and recreation director Matt Hendricks estimates that his department received $15,000 to $18,000 worth of landscaping plants and fixtures from the old hospital.

Five mature shade trees were already removed and planted in Smalley Park. Sinks, urinals, toilets, ADA grab bars, towel dispensers, and baby changing stations will be used to remodel older park shelters next winter. Exterior pedestal lights will illuminate trails and parks. Ceiling tiles are slated for use in the remodel of the city recreation center.

“We were even given about 400 landscape pavers that we’ll turn around and use to rebuild the beach at Smalley Park, directly adjacent to the old hospital site. They will help us define the beach area and contain the sand,” Hendricks said. “All of these materials are gifts to the people of Shawano because they don’t have to be paid for by taxpayers.”

A number of nonprofits also reclaimed building materials.

According to Jerry Roloff, volunteer store manager for Wolf River Habitat for Humanity ReStore, volunteers hauled away four truckloads of work stations, cabinetry, bookshelves, ceiling tiles, and millwork to sell in their retail outlet.

Wendy Crawford of Leadership Shawano County had volunteers remove ceiling tiles, carpeting, mirrors, file cabinets and coat racks for use in the forthcoming Corporate Closet, a source of professional clothing for Shawano-area job seekers who need interview clothes. Her community volunteers are in the process of remodeling space adjacent to the Fellman Center near the Shawano Job Center.

Additional donations were made to the Shawano homeless shelter, Shawano County Sheriff’s Department, and a number of churches and schools.

ThedaCare officials said they intended to recycle 90 percent of the building, including copper pipes and wires, interior wooden doors, windows, bricks, kitchen equipment, and other building items.

“Repurposing materials is part of what we mean by recycling. It has been such a good feeling to see so many valuable parts of the old hospital carried forth for new uses in the community,” said John Gijsen, director of facilities management system locations for ThedaCare.

The new ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano opened in September at 100 County Road B.

The Shawano Common Council approved the ThedaCare plan in March to demolish the old structure at ThedaCare’s expense after multiple redevelopment efforts for the existing building fell through.

Statewide Razing of Combined Locks is doing the demolition, which is expected to be wrapped by mid-June.

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By: 

Leader Staff

A Menominee Indian High School shop teacher is facing a felony charge for allegedly having a gun in his vehicle on school property.

Jarrod W. Kuehn, 34, of Neenah, could face 3½ years in prison and a $10,000 fine if found guilty.

According to school officials, Kuehn has also been placed on leave because of the incident. Officials also said they had no reason to believe Kuehn had any bad intent or motive in having the gun.

According to the criminal complaint, information came to the attention of Menominee Indian School District Superintendent Wendell Waukau that Kuehn keeps a pistol in the center console of his vehicle.

The complaint states Kuehn admitted to having the gun locked in his vehicle. He told authorities he was aware he could not bring the weapon into the school building but said he was unaware the restriction also applied to the rest of the school grounds, according to the complaint.

Menominee County authorities retrieved a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun, which was not loaded. There were four loose .40 caliber bullets in the console’s mini-tray, according to the complaint.

In a written statement to authorities, Kuehn said he has a concealed carry permit and uses the handgun to shoot targets on Monday evenings.

Kuehn was released on a $1,000 signature bond. He is due back in court Monday for an adjourned initial appearance.

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Project will greatly increase output

Little Rapids Corporation will invest $40 million to install state-of-the-art tissue making technology at its Shawano paper mill. The new crescent forming tissue machine will replace the existing tissue machine and significantly increase capacity.

“At a time when there is little good news coming out of the paper industry, we are very happy to be able to announce this project,” Little Rapids CEO Kirk Ryan said. “This is a very positive, strategic expansion of capacity as we look to the future.”

Little Rapids Corporation is a leading manufacturer and marketer of products for the health care, beauty, packaging and specialty paper markets, with headquarters in Green Bay. The family-owned business has facilities in Green Bay and Shawano.

Ryan said the project will increase the mill’s tissue output by about 40 percent, enhance quality and expand the mill’s range of capabilities for product weight, fiber content, and pastel and deep dye colors.

“This investment demonstrates Little Rapid’s commitment to providing high quality solutions for the medical, beauty, personal care and party goods markets,” Ryan added. “This will also enhance the long-term viability of our Shawano mill and provide stability for employment at this facility.”

Project construction will begin this summer, with completion expected in fall 2017.

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Shawano Police Department

April 25

Police logged 20 incidents, including the following:

Disturbance — Police responded to a disturbance in the 200 block of West Division Street.

Suspicious — Police responded to a suspicious vehicle complaint at Union and Stevens streets.

Shoplifting — A 19-year-old woman was cited for shoplifting at Walmart, 1244 E. Green Bay St.

April 24

Police logged 14 incidents, including the following:

Juvenile — Police issued a juvenile tobacco citation at Center and Main streets.

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

Shoplifting — A 61-year-old woman was cited for shoplifting at Walmart, 1244 E. Green Bay St.

April 23

Police logged 18 incidents, including the following:

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

Warrant — A 29-year-old man was taken into custody on a warrant at the New Era House, 105 E. Richmond St.

Suspicious — Police responded to a suspicious person complaint in the 1100 block of South Lafayette Street.

April 22

Police logged 18 incidents, including the following:

Suspicious — Police responded to a suspicious person complaint at the Four Seasons, 201 N. Airport Drive.

Disturbance — Police responded to a disturbance in the 400 block of South Andrews Street.

Shoplifting — A 43-year-old woman was cited for shoplifting at Walmart, 1244 E. Green Bay St.

Shawano County Sheriff’s Department

April 25

Deputies logged 49 incidents, including the following:

Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on Old W Road in the town of Lessor.

Theft — Authorities responded to a property theft complaint on McDivitt Road in the town of Wittenberg.

Vandalism — A mailbox was reported vandalized on County Road HH in the town of Wescott.

Theft — Authorities responded to a property theft complaint on County Road CC in the town of Navarino.

Vandalism — A horse shelter was reported vandalized on County Road M in the town of Fairbanks.

OAR — A 30-year-old woman was cited for operating after revocation on Town Hall Road in the town of Red Springs.

April 24

Deputies logged 32 incidents, including the following:

Disturbance — Authorities responded to a domestic disturbance on Country Lane in the town of Washington.

OWI — A 33-year-old woman was arrested for operating while intoxicated on U.S. Highway 45 in the town of Birnamwood.

Drug Offense — Authorities investigated a drug complaint on Oak Street in Bowler.

Disturbance — Authorities responded to a domestic disturbance on Lake Drive in the town of Wescott.

Accidents — An injury accident on state Highway 29 near Dent Creek Road in the town of Morris closed down traffic for nearly two hours. Authorities also logged two deer-related crashes and a vehicle versus raccoon.

April 23

Deputies logged 39 incidents, including the following:

Burglary — Authorities investigated a report of a burglary on Robin Road in the town of Wittenberg.

Accidents — Authorities logged five accidents, including four deer-related crashes.

April 22

Deputies logged 45 incidents, including the following:

Bail Jumping — Authorities investigated a bail jumping complaint on Webb Street in Wittenberg.

Disturbance — Authorities investigated a reported altercation at the Shawano County Jail, 405 N. Main St., Shawano.

Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on County Road M in the town of Grant.

OWL — A 24-year-old man was cited for operating without a license on Morgan Road in the town of Red Springs.

Accidents — Authorities logged six accidents, including four deer-related crashes and a vehicle versus bear.

Clintonville Police Department

April 25

Police logged 15 incidents, including the following:

Disturbance — Warning was issued for disorderly conduct after officers responded to a reported disturbance on West Morning Glory Drive.

Juvenile — Officer was requested for a disruptive student at Rexford-Longfellow Elementary School, 105 S. Clinton Ave.

Arrest — A 20-year-old man was cited for underage possession and consumption of alcohol and transported to jail on a probation hold.

April 24

Police logged 11 incidents, including the following:

Accident — A two-vehicle property damage accident was reported on Main Street at Eighth Street.

Disturbance — Officers responded to a domestic situation on Torrey Street and an ambulance was subsequently dispatched.

Disturbance — Officers responded to a domestic situation on West Morning Glory Drive.

April 22

Police logged 19 incidents, including the following:

Burglary — A burglary was reported on Seventh Street.

Disorderly — Disorderly conduct complaints were reported on North Main Street, West Green Tree Road and South Clinton Avenue.

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

Disturbance — A neighbor dispute was reported on McKinley Avenue.

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Battling cancer, Cody gets sendoffBy: 

Scott Williams, [email protected]

Leader Photo by Greg Mellis Officer Nate Thornborrow and Cody pose for a photo during Cody’s retirement party April 14 at the Shawano County Lake Park Pavilion.
Leader Photo by Greg Mellis Stuffed canines selling for $15 are available at the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department and several outlets throughout the area. Proceeds will go to the K-9 program.

Shawano County law enforcement members are paying tribute to a four-legged colleague stricken with health problems.

Cody, a canine member of the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department, is going into early retirement after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

The 6-year-old German shepherd is not expected to survive more than another year or two.

Sheriff’s Deputy Nate Thornborrow, the dog’s handler and keeper, said that he and his family will focus on trying to help Cody enjoy life for as long as they can.

A retirement party that attracted about 100 people April 14 allowed the dog to feel the community’s affection and appreciation.

“He was living it up,” Thornborrow said. “He was loving the attention.”

The party, held at the Shawano Lake County Park Pavilion, drew police officers, school kids and many others anxious to give Cody a fitting sendoff. Children delivered get-well cards addressed to the ailing dog, and Cody devoured a special cake made just for him — with bacon and peanut butter.

The event was sponsored by S.O.S. K-9 Inc., a group that provides financial support to the sheriff’s department’s canine units.

John LaShua, president of the group, said police dogs and their handlers make many public appearances, so they become well-known and liked in the community.

LaShua said members of his group also have grown fond of Cody and were happy to throw him the retirement party.

“It was very special for all of us,” he said.

Cody, one of two police dogs doing duty with the sheriff’s department, was forced to retire early after veterinarians discovered that breathing difficulties were caused by an aggressive and terminal form of cancer. The dog is undergoing chemotherapy treatment, with financial support from S.O.S. K-9.

The private group is selling stuffed dogs for $15 each, available at the sheriff’s department and soon at area retail outlets. The group also hopes to raise enough money to purchase a replacement canine unit for the sheriff’s department.

For information about making a donation, go to www.sosk9.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Administrators will share $19,090By: 

Scott Williams, [email protected]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FYI

Shawano school administrators eligible for bonuses, shown with current annual salary:

• Louise Fischer, business manager: $108,696

• Scott Zwirschitz, high school principal: $103,489

• Karen Smith, pupil services director: $95,000

• Troy Edwards, primary school principal: $94,387

• Kelley Swartz, curriculum director: $92,310

• Mary Kramer, middle school principal: $89,760

• Terri Schultz, intermediate school principal: $80,000

• Charmaine Schreiber, activities director: $78,066

• Stuart Russ, associate high school principal: $71,400

• Rod Watson, associate middle school principal: $71,400

• Jessie Hanssen, at-risk coordinator/charter school director: $70,000

Source: Shawano School District

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Chief says goal is to have parents work with policeBy: 

Tim Ryan, [email protected]

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

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

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

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

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

The Shawano Common Council adopted the ordinance Tuesday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It’s no one’s fault,” he said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Shawano Police Department

April 21

Police logged 16 incidents, including the following:

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

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

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

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

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

Shawano County Sheriff’s Department

April 21

Deputies logged 28 incidents, including the following:

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

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

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

Accidents — Authorities logged four deer-related crashes.

Clintonville Police Department

April 21

Police logged 13 incidents, including the following:

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

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

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

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Shawano Police Department

April 21

Police logged 16 incidents, including the following:

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

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

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

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

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

Shawano County Sheriff’s Department

April 21

Deputies logged 28 incidents, including the following:

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

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

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

Accidents — Authorities logged four deer-related crashes.

Clintonville Police Department

April 21

Police logged 13 incidents, including the following:

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

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

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

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Emotions run high with fish at damBy: 

Scott Williams, [email protected]

Leader Photo by Scott Williams Menominee tribal members Gene Caldwell, left, and Margaret Wilber watch sturgeon spawning Thursday at the Shawano dam on the Wolf River.
Leader Photo by Lee Pulaski Michele Lyons stirs a side dish for the annual sturgeon feast Saturday at at the Menominee Indian High School gymnasium. This is Lyons’ third year volunteering to cook and serve at the feast. A powwow and feast are held each year on the Menominee reservation as tribute to the sturgeon, an ancient fish vital to the tribe’s culture and tradition.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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