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On Friday evening the 451st U.S. Army Band performed at the Music in the Park Series drawing a massive crowd. The selections ranged from a number of military to more contemporary music that delighted the younger and older fans in the crowd. The band has 35 members and the sound coming from the bandstand was as smooth as silk.
It was a perfect say to salute America’s birthday in White Lake Saturday.
The traditional July 4 celebration drew an absolutely massive crowd to the eastern Langlade County community, many of them coming for a visit by the 451st U.S. Army Band.
The big crowd, probably due to the band and perfect weather conditions, augmented what is usually a crowd, rain or shine.
Volunteers were unloading the big gas grills, wiping tables and setting up the cheese curd stand this morning, in preparation for this afternoon’s huge Music in the Park fund-raiser.
The event will bring together all the ingredients for a great summertime picnic, including brats, custard and pies along with great patriotic music.
The annual fund-raising fete will take place at City Park, featuring the music of a 35-piece ensemble from the 451st U.S. Army Band from Fort Snelling, Minn.
It’s promising to be a great Fourth of July in Antigo.
The Northwoods Tractor Club has dusted off its big people-hauler, plans to decorate it in high style, and is inviting all veterans to ride in the parade. Those interested are asked to be at Edison Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues at 6:30 p.m.
The parade begins at 7 p.m. at the Middle School and proceeds south on Edison Street to 10th Avenue and then west to the high school.
An Antigo man convicted on allegations he forced intercourse with an adult female is going to prison.
Efrain Perez, 42, of 707 Clermont St. was sentenced in Langlade County Circuit Court Wednesday to a five-year term of incarceration. The sentence will be followed by five years of supervision.
The ruling by Judge John Rhode came after Perez entered a guilty plea to an amended count of third degree sexual assault. A misdemeanor charge of theft involving a stolen coat was dismissed.
A massive July 4th weekend gets underway in just a few hours.
Fireworks, parades and special events will storm across the northwoods to celebrate the nation’s independence, and many communities will get started a little early, with some fireworks and other activities already getting underway on Friday.
Antigo is one of those off to an early start, with a 5 p.m. fund-raising picnic for Music in the Park on Friday, including a performance by the 451st Army Band at 6:30 p.m. There will be Salm Partners sausages, pies served by L.A. Arts volunteers, and much more. It all happens at the City Park bandstand.
The strawberries are ripe, juicy and ready for those Independence Day picnics.
Merry’s Berries, located northwest of Antigo off Highway H, is open for picking, and owner Andy Merry expects plenty of the springtime fruits will remain available for another week or so across his 10 acre patch.
“It’s going along pretty good,” the veteran berry grower said. “We’ve been open just over a week and I expect it will last another 10 days or so.”
More than half of Wisconsin schools, including all three Langlade County districts, will see a decline in general aid in the next school year, according to estimates from the state Department of Public Instruction.
The state budget not yet finalized would keep general school aid flat at almost $4.5 billion. But DPI says diversions of money to the Milwaukee voucher program and charter schools drop that closer to $4.3 billion. The agency says other factors such as property values and enrollment also play a role in how much aid rises or falls.
Of the state’s 424 school districts, 55 percent, 234, are estimated to receive less general aid in 2015-16, while 44 percent of districts, 188, are expected to receive more aid. Two districts have no change in the aid estimate between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 fiscal years.
A man who removed his ankle GPS tracker and fled west before being found in California and returned to Langlade County has been sentenced to spend more time in jail.
Theron D. Harris, 39, of 1215 Neva Road will serve an estimated two years behind bars on counts which include an allegation of theft and violations associated with the state’s sex offender registry program. His sex assault charge stems from a 1997 conviction in Marathon County. Online court records show convictions for three additional sex registry violations between 2005 and 2010.
The latest theft charge dates earlier this year and involves removal of the GPS unit which Harris had been ordered to wear as part of his supervision.
Friday’s Music in the Park concert has all the ingredients for exceptional summertime fun: Patriotic music, bratwurst on the grill, pies and custard and camaraderie.
The annual fund-raising fete will take place at City Park, featuring the music of the acclaimed 451st U.S. Army Band from Fort Snelling, Minn.
“We anticipate that we could be serving over 1,000 people this year, which would be a record,” organizer Nick Salm said. “Hopefully we will have great weather, but if not, we have the multipurpose building at the fairgrounds reserved.”
Familiar names will guide the Antigo school board’s process toward a potential April, 2016 referendum.
At a special board meeting Tuesday, the panel selected a partnership of Miron Construction and Bray Architects to serve as consultants to assist determining the best options to meet long-term facilities needs.
Miron Construction, based in Neenah, has been involved in many area projects, including construction of the high school and Langlade Hospital. Bray Architects designed the high school and assisted the district on many potential referendum projects.
Wausau Police are recommending a felony charge against a 67-year-old man who let a hunting dog die in a hot car on Monday. It happened in a parking lot at Aspirus (as-py'-rus) Wausau Hospital. Police said a three-year-old English Setter was left unattended for over two hours, while the vehicle's glass temperature jumped to 121-degrees. The National Weather Service said the actual temperature was 66-degrees when police first spotted the animal. The man reportedly claimed that he kept going out regularly to check on the dog -- but hospital surveillance video showed it was left alone for two-hours and 10-minutes before police responded to a complaint. The suspect claimed he gave the dog water...
The Langlade County Health Department has seen a rice in Hepatitis C cases, 6 in the last 3 months. An investigation into the cause of the rise concluded the cases are occurring with drug addicts who share dirty needles.
The state of Wisconsin previously employed a regional worker to travel to the Northwoods including Langlade County to conduct a needle exchange program, where people could drop off their dirty needles, in exchange for new, clean ones.
Critics argue the program encourages bad behavior, by allowing drug users to continue their habit safely. Langlade County Health Director Ron Barger says he understands the argument, but adds that as health director, it's his job to stop the spread of communicable diseases.
Over the course of her 28 1/2 year career, Mary Jo Filbrandt has watched 6,500 students graduate from Antigo High School.
She has attended well over 650 school board meetings.
She has helped guide 13 referendum questions, four of them successfully.
On Monday afternoon, an anonymous report led police to a Morse Street residence for a three year old child that was unsupervised in the road. The woman stated she had already brought the girl back, but the child had gotten out again. Police say they knocked on the door loudly and identified themselves. As they came inside, they noticed a woman sleeping in a back bedroom. The woman, the child's grandmother, had to be shaken to awake.
School districts across the state received high-cost special education aid payments earlier this month to reimburse a portion of the costs associated with the education of children whose educational needs exceed $30,000 per student.
The aid paid to 138 school districts, two cooperative educational service agencies, and three county children with disabilities education boards totaled $5,732,590 and covered just 46.2 percent of eligible costs for 1,052 students.
High-cost special education aid this year is made up of $3.5 million in state funding and $2.2 million in federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) discretionary funds that State Superintendent Tony Evers allocated to this purpose.
39 Acres in the Town of Antigo will soon include a section of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. Trustees of the Louise Selenske Estate, sold the property to the Ice Age Trail Alliance last December.
The new acquisition is being described as the anchor point for the trail in southern Langlade County. The property is mostly wooded with a moraine edge allowing hikers to see the surrounding glacially formed countryside, and the City of Antigo.
The downtown Antigo Farmers Market was loaded with fresh vegetables as the season for them has arrived. There were plenty of shoppers on hand to take advantage of the mid-summer bounty.
With 32 days until the opening bell, it’s crunch time for exhibitors at the Langlade County Fair.
The annual summertime extravaganza opens with face-to-face judging for 4-H non-livestock projects on Tuesday, July 28, easing a crunched schedule that often forced young exhibitors between showing livestock and non-animal projects due to time conflicts.
Entries are due at the Langlade County University of Wisconsin-extension Office by July 1 and organizers said there will be no exceptions to the rule for both youth and open class exhibitors.
Young anglers had some new hot spots to try on Antigo Lake this week.
As part of the Inland Lake District’s cattail eradication project, the weeds were trimmed—with an eye on destruction—on the north side of the lake’s two basins located between the Watson Street bridge and the Fourth Avenue dam.
Administrator Mark Desotell said city crews used equipment they fabricated to cut the heads of the cattails one foot below the water level in a project approved by the Department of Natural resources. That pruning method, undertaken before the cattails go to seed, should kill the growth.
My dance card was freed for Sunday, so I took a little time and went to the graves of my parents in the Queen of Peace Cemetery.
My dad has been deceased for much of my life, but I thought it was an excellent way to pass time on Father’s Day.
He was an exceptionally smart man. He was the driving force behind the creation of Channel 7 Television in Wausau, the first in this area, was an attorney, and was rated as “swift” on a Linotype machine, which was quite an accomplishment for something that means nothing to any of the readers today.
The Clara R. McKenna Aquatic Center is undergoing a series of upgrades that should trim energy costs and improve the comfort of its users.
Crews from Fore-Front Mechanical are installing a new boiler plus two heat exchangers to the facility’s mechanical room, replacing equipment that had reached the end of its useful life due to the mix of moisture and chlorine that creates a rather hostile environment for hardware.
“It’s just maintenance,” Tim Prunty, the district’s supervisor of buildings and grounds, said.
Alcohol and drug offenses garnered the most costly fines for those making appearances in Langlade County Circuit Court Tuesdaay.
Phillip A. Basnett, 42, of 1601 10th Ave. and Carl J. Goodrich, 27, of 208 E. Fifth Ave. were fined $887.50 for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
The offenders also had their driver’s licenses revoked between six and nine months. Based on their blood alcohol levels, individuals may have also been ordered to equip their vehicle with an ignition interlock device for one year.
The northwoods, heavily dependent upon the summer hospitality industry, bucked the statewide trend and saw jobless numbers decline between April and May.
The state Department of Workforce Development released the latest figures Wednesday, reporting that Langlade County’s unemployment rate fell from 6.2 percent in April to 6.0 percent in May. The rate in May, 2014 was 7.4 percent.
The decrease came at the same time that unemployment rates increased in 41 out of 72 counties. Menominee County was the highest at 10.9 percent, while Dane County was lowest at 3.4 percent.
The 4-Spot locomotive fired up for the season at Camp 5 Museum in Laona this morning.
Officially known as the Lumberjack Steam Train, the engine moved out of its roundhouse for the beginning of Camp 5 Museum’s 46th year.
This year actually marks the 50th year that the train has been a tourist railroad. In a story headlined “Old Locomotive to Haul Tourists in Forest County,” published in the June 24, 1965, the Antigo Daily Journal reported that the then-49-year-old locomotive had made its inaugural run with a group of newsmen aboard.
The state Natural Resources Board has approved a plan to expand Camp American Legion in a state forest near Lake Tomahawk. The Legion has operated the camp since 1925 on Big Carr Lake and Little Lake Tomahawk as a restoration facility for sick-and-disabled veterans. Superintendent Steve Peterson of the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest says the camp has had a number of leases -- and if it wanted to expand, the state would work with the veterans' group. Peterson says an additional 225 acres will be available for accessible trails and hunting opportunities for veterans and their families.
On Wednesday evening, Antigo City Administrator Mark Desotell gave an overview of the street improvement projects that will take place from 2016-2020.
The projects that the city will be attacking first include storm and street improvements on Clermont Street from Highway 64 to the city limits. They will also complete design work of the bridge on 8th Avenue at a cost of $76,000. And they are set to have a complete reconstruction of Gowan Road and Sunset Drive from 5th Avenue to 10th Avenue. Those projects will be spread out over two years.
Reserve Judge Mark Mangerson was back on the local bench Monday as he presided over the weekly intake of criminal cases.
The docket included a mix of charges from traffic matters and theft to drug possession.
Samuel DeBroux of Antigo made his first appearance in Langlade County Circuit Court after his weekend arrest at a Fred Street home. The 20-year-old was allowed release on a $3,500 signature bond while awaiting prosecution on two counts — possession with intent to deliver marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
After 28 1/2 years with the Antigo school district, Mary Jo Filbrandt attended her final school board meeting as director of business services Tuesday.
Filbrandt, who has guided the school district’s finances through decades of state-imposed revenue limits, building and spending referendums and day-to-day operational needs, received a standing ovation from school board members and a gentle roasting from her successor, Tim Prunty, who is moving to the post from his job as director of building and grounds.
“I’ve really found it a privilege to work for this community,” Filbrandt said.
The roads in Langlade County might be a little chopped up this summer, but after all, there is a short window for the construction season.
The project on Highway 47 between Highway 45 and the Menominee County line is moving ahead nicely, with replacement of a bridge in Phlox and culverts several miles to the west.
On Highway V northeast of Antigo two culverts are being replaced today after excavation work has been underway to remove a box culvert at the site.
