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The Langlade County Board of Supervisors will meet Tuesday with a lighter February agenda.
The sessionbegins at 9 a.m. on the lower level of the Safety Building.
One of the personnel issues was first discussed and rejected at the January meeting, but comes back as “old business.”
Langlade County Voiture 1204, 40 et 8 is hosting the Grande Voiture de Wisconsin 2105 Midwinter Petite Promenade today at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Antigo.
Voyageurs from across Wisconsin began arriving in Antigo Thursday to sample the hospitality in Antigo and the surrounding area.
Registration and committee meetings took place Friday at the Knights of Columbus Hall. Langlade County Voiture 1204 Chef de Gare Don Emley, who is also the president of the 2015 Promenade Nationale Committee, reported on the progress that has been made on preparations for the 2015 Promenade Nationale which will be hosted by the Grande Voiture de Wisconsin in Green Bay this September. At the time of registration, voyageurs brought nonperishable items for local food banks.
Wisconsin will keep saying no to federal Obama-care money to cover Medicaid patients. The next two-year state budget, as proposed by Republican Governor Scott Walker, continues to reject millions in federal Medicaid funds to help the state cover low-income patients under programs like Badger-Care Plus. Walker has said it would cost the state a fortune if federal money runs out someday for Obama-care -- and states like Wisconsin are left holding the bag. Instead, the governor cut off Badger-Care for childless adults over the poverty line -- while granting the assistance to some of the lowest-income mothers and children for the first time.
A fish dinner being hosted by St. John's Catholic Church in Antigo will benefit a mission in the Dominican Republic. Food will be served from 4:30-7. The menu calls for deep fried fish, shrimp, or a fish/shrimp combo, baby red potatoes or potato salad, green beans, coleslaw, a dinner roll, and dessert. All plates are 10 dollars. A kids chicken nugget plate will be 5 dollars. Raffles will take place in Hoffmann Hall
Spring Brook Veterinary Clinic is now open for business. It opened its doors to the public on Monday morning, and employees say it's been a busy start with calls and visits. Veterinarian Sharon Brunzlick said the response has been both nerve wracking and exciting.
The other veterinarian will be Dan Turenen, who was previously a vet in Birnamwood. Medicine, surgery and preventive care will be provided for dogs, cats, and pocket animals.
On Thursday afternoon, an Antigo woman reported to 911 that she had just been sexually assaulted inside her 1st Avenue home by a man at knife point wearing a repairmen's uniform. The woman also indicated that he had assaulted her son with a baseball bat before fleeing the scene. Several Antigo Police officers and the Antigo Fire Department responded to tend to the victim, look for the suspect, and investigate the incident. After interviews and the subsequent investigation, it was determined that the assault never took place.
A one year term of probation plus a 20-day stay in jail was ordered for an Antigo man facing drug charges this week in Langlade County Circuit Court.
Aaron J. Turcotte, 22, of N4510 Highway H entered pleas of no contest to counts of possessing drug paraphernalia and bail jumping for an offense dating to last fall. He also pleaded no contest to a felon count of possessing marijuana as a second or subsequent offense but judgment was deferred for one year.
Turcotte additionally pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor theft count involving copper scrap stolen from a local recycling center. He will be responsible for paying restitution in an amount yet to be determined.
The facility is new, but the faces will be familiar when the Spring Brook Veterinary Clinic opens Monday.
The clinic, located across from Menards at 334 East State Highway 64, is being opened by Doctors Sharon Brunzlick and Dan Turunen, who previous worked together in animal health care in the community.
Joining them on staff will be technician Betsy Remington, office manager Peggy Resch and assistant Kathy Wendt.
Kettlebowl Ski Hill will be operating all this weekend, and there’s some extra incentives for skiers and snowboarders to hit the slopes.
In advance of the annual Fun Day on Feb. 28, Kettlebowl will be distributing one free prize ticket to all youth through high school age who purchase a tow ticket each day the hill is open.
That means that youngsters and teen-agers have a chance to earn up to four prize tickets, for Feb. 14, 15, 21 and 21.
The annual fundraiser for the Antigo LA Art Center will be held on Saturday evening at 7PM in the Edison Club. The Snow Ball, an evening of romance and glamour, will feature music from Hip Pocket, dancing, a silent auction, a dessert bar, and a cash bar featuring signature cocktails.
Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door.
You can purchase them at The Blue Awning, Antigo Daily Journal, Neve's Floors to Go & Furniture or at the door.
A plea deal is apparently in the works for a former Wausau religion teacher and soccer coach charged with 32 felony counts of possessing child pornography. Online court records show that 51-year-old Michael Switalski has another plea hearing set for March 23rd, after he entered not-guilty pleas last July to his original charges. Authorities said they caught Switalski with 95 images on his computer which inappropriately showed children under 18 -- and additional evidence was later found on his electronic devices. Prosecutors said many of the images were from a Canadian firm that was shut down by law enforcement agents in 2011 -- and Switalski's name turned up on a customer list.
The Milwaukee health department is offering free measles shots tomorrow, as a wave of new cases scatters across the country. The State Hygiene Lab is testing two patients who have been isolated in Portage County. In confirmed, they would be Wisconsin's first measles' cases. Ten people were infected in an outbreak in suburban Chicago at a day care center. They were among 121 cases reported throughout the country at last word.
A project to extend sidewalks along Langlade Road to accommodate increasing numbers of bicyclists and pedestrians will advance this summer, but the city will pick up all of the tab.
The Antigo Common Council Wednesday rejected a resolution that would have assessed property owners for driveway approaches in the project area, located in the 900 and 1000 block of Fifth Avenue.
Instead, the city will pay for those approaches, in addition to covering the costs of the actual sidewalk extension. That decision mirrors similar actions when the city completed sidewalks along 10th Avenue to the high school and extended them to the north side.
Valentine’s Day arrives Saturday, and restaurants, night spots and retailers are pulling out all the stops.
From deals on roses and heart-shaped pizza, to dinners for two, comedy and the annual Snow Ball, there will be something for everyone this Valentine’s Day.
A look ahead, taken from advertisements in The Antigo Daily Journal, follows:
More Wisconsin schools are being urged to join a federal program that gives free breakfast-and-lunch to all students in schools with large numbers of kids from low-income families. The program debuted last fall, and 238 schools in Milwaukee have signed up -- along with 36 other schools in southeast Wisconsin, and 18 schools and alternative facilities in the Madison area. The undersecretary of the U-S-D-A says a lot more Wisconsin schools are eligible. Kevin Concannon says 419 schools in 126 districts meet the requirements for what's called the "Community Eligibility Program." He says virtually all the participating schools have more kids eating the free meals, especially breakfast -- and Milwaukee school spokesman Tony Tagliavia says it helps students focus on their school work instead of where their next meals are coming from.
On Thursday evening, all single parents in the Antigo area are invited to "Mom's Night Out", an event put on by Peace Lutheran Church that provides a free dinner for the whole family and childcare for the evening. We know how challenging it can be to be a single parent and want to help any way we can. Peace sends a special invitation to single parents whose spouses are overseas in the military.
Registration opens up at 5:00 pm. Dinner will be served at 5:30 pm. Childcare will be from 6:00-8:00 pm, with younger kids in our newly renovated childcare rooms, and the older kids able to play in the gym.
17 people attended an informational/discussion meeting about the county trail system. Jack Lake was a high point of discussion, including the conditions of the trail, and also the potential the trail has to succeed. Many members in the audience said the trails needed more volunteers on a consistent basis to keep them in peak condition.
They also discussed how to best allocate the county's resources to provide a quality cross country ski experience in Langlade County on all of the trail systems.
Downtown owners will pay for sidewalk reconstruction on 5th Avenue, but residents in a 3 block section of Langlade Road are off the hook for driveway approaches for a sidewalk that will be extended.
The Antigo City Council made those decisions and approved several other items at their Wednesday meeting. The driveway approach project will be paid for by the city, as has been set by precedent with these types of projects in the past. The cost will be $5,000. The vote asking the residents to pay was defeated 8-1, with Alderman Joe Kapusta voting yes.
Other items approved through consent agenda included...
There will be more multi-family housing coming to Antigo in the near future, after a project was approved unanimously by the Antigo City Council at their Wednesday meeting.
S.C. Swiderski LLC based out of Mosinee, WI requested 300 Prosser Place in Antigo, be rezoned to General Residential District from General Commercial District. John Donovan with Swiderski, spoke to the council about the proposed project.
There will be 7 unattached buildings constructed with 3 or 4 apartments in each, but the buildings will be constructed separately.
Organizers promise “An Evening of Romance and Glamour” at the fourth annual Snow Ball Saturday evening.
The event, a fund-raiser for the Langlade Area Arts organization, will held at the Edison Club, beginning at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $35 in advance and are available at The Blue Awning, Antigo Daily Journal and Neve’s Floors to Go & Furniture. They will also be available at the door for $40 each.
The Elcho bank, formally known as Northwoods National Bank, Elcho branch of The Baraboo National Bank, has been purchased by the State Bank of Florence.
When combined with current branch locations in Florence, Aurora, Wausaukee, and Eagle River, State Bank of Florence will have approximately $105 million in assets, $56 million in loans and $92 million in deposits.
“We are very much looking forward to welcoming our new customers and employees in Elcho,” Thomas A. Wittkopf, president and CEO of State Bank of Florence, said. “We have developed a niche providing a wide array of financial services and developing personal relationships with people in small communities in Northern Wisconsin. The bank has been family owned and operated for three generations and looks forward to meeting the families in our new community!”
An extension of existing sidewalks along Langlade Road to Byrne Street, plus repairs in the downtown area, will spark the Antigo Common Council’s February meeting on Wednesday.
Aldermen will convene at 6 p.m. in the chambers at City Hall and will conduct two public hearings on sidewalk repair in the downtown area and construction of driveway approaches along Langlade Road.
The project likely to draw the most interest will be to extend sidewalks on the west side of Langlade Road from the 900 to 1000 block, and that may spark some testimony at the hearing.
Wisconsin grocery shoppers may soon be able to sample mini-shots of hard liquor in an aisle near them.
The Assembly's government operations committee will vote on a bill that would allow retailers with liquor licenses to provide mini-shots of booze to their customers.
The measure would allow shoppers to sample one 0.5-ounce sample of hard alcohol, the equivalent of one-third a shot.
At a recent industry meeting, an Antigo native was recognized for his efforts in the realm of potato planting. The Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) presented several awards at a banquet held February 4, 2015 in Stevens Point.
Among those awards, Eric Schroeder of Schroeder Bros. Farms, Inc., in Antigo, was named WPVGA Young Grower of the Year.
The Langlade County Executive Committee will wait a few months to decide the direction of the Juvenile Justice program, which is currently run by the courts and a judge who decides where to place children. The legislature will be making a decision soon on the program at the state level. Currently, a task force with members of both juvenile justice and social services, along with county finance director Gary Olsen are meeting monthly to come up with creative ways to trim costs, which Olsen says are out of control for out of home placements and alternative care. He adds that the county will need $200,000 more dollars in 2016 to cover the costs if the trend continues.
NORTHWOODS - This upcoming fishing season could be the first where no one could legally catch and keep a walleye on the Minocqua Chain of Lakes.
The walleye population in the chain of lakes has crashed during the past decade.
Now the DNR, fishermen, and tribes will work together to try to improve the walleye population.
An exceptional crowd enjoyed skating, sledding and even bowling on the ice at the annual Fun and Family Wellness Day Sunday at Peaceful Valley Park.
The annual event, designed to mix healthy fun and food with a dose of information about disease prevention, drew about 200 participants.
“Overall, the event is really fun,” Sarah Repp, director of parks and recreation for the city of Antigo, said. “ It's great to work with the sponsors that have returned year after year, which makes planning, staffing and clean-up a breeze.”
Snowmobiles of all makes and models—and even a “boat”—cruised out to Neva Corners on Saturday for the 12th annual vintage and antique snowmobile ride.
Sponsored by the Deerbrook Bridge Runners Snowmobile Club, the event drew over 177 riders, with many more joining in later to fill the trails in the Neva, Bryant, Kempster and Antigo areas.
“Some ventured even further in the near perfect weather and trail conditions,” newly-elected Club President Regina McDougal said. “Quite a few people thought they needed new glasses or maybe had too many beverages, when they witnessed Ken Schroepfer cruising the trails in a converted row boat.”
It’s easier than skiing, requires little more than a slippery slope and a plastic sled costing a couple bucks or so, and assures heart-stopping, terrifying fun.
An afternoon—or evening for the really adventurous— of sledding may be the perfect way to beat the winter blues and the city’s got one of the best facilities around at its Railway Activity Park located off First Avenue.
“I think sledding is the way my kids get me to instantly be in a great mood. Instantly laugh. Instantly have fun. And instantly realize how awesome the change in seasons can be, and how awesome it is my family can enjoy a variety of opportunities, year-round, within close proximity to our home,” Sarah Repp, the city’s official commandant of sledding, said.
A business catering to all-things canine has relocated to Antigo’s north side, with some expanded services as well.
Jenny’s House of Dogs, owned by Jenny Kressin, offers dog training, grooming, massage and now doggie day care to the furry set from offices at 29773 Hwy. 45 North, formerly Pampered Pet.
“People really have changing attitudes about their dogs,” Kressin, who moved to the Antigo area from Racine several years ago, “They are becoming more and more part of the family. They are like furry children to some people.”
