Local Antigo Headlines

Tom Tiffany, Hazelhurst, takes over as 12th District Wisconsin senator

Hazelhurst Republican Tom Tiffany was sworn in Monday as the new state senator for the 12th Senate District, a job he had been seeking since 2004. The ceremony took place at the State Capitol in Madison, part of a day full of celebrations before the governing bodies got back to work. The sprawling district includes a huge swath of northeastern Wisconsin including Antigo, Merrill, Rhinelander and Eagle River. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Summit Lake club damaged by Friday fire

A Friday night fire in Billy Timber’s Pub & Eatery damaged the upper level of the massive Summit Lake building, but owners of the building and the fire departments from Elcho and southern Oneida county controlled a potential loss. Elcho Volunteer Fire Department Chief Bob Jensen said the call came in shortly before 9 p.m. for the fire on the second residential level, and that the owners of the building were already attacking the situation with fire extinguishers. But the room was burning and it took water from firefighters to bring the situation under full control. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Building projects advance

The walls are steadily rising on what will be Antigo’s tallest industrial building—an addition to the Freshtech facility in the city’s northside industrial park. While the ornamental dome on the Langlade County is a bit higher, the 64-foot high addition to the plant certainly qualifies it as the community’s tallest “all-working” facility. The dome, capping a very busy courthouse, does not contain any offices and is largely ceremonial. The 36,900 square foot building at 2611 Clermont St., will allow introduction of new equipment, production increases and create a more competitive market for the packaging industry. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Salvation Army says thank you to Antigo

The Salvation Army in Langlade County celebrated a great success Sunday evening. Volunteers and Salvation Army representatives met for the annual post-campaign dinner and this year, as in the past, they all marked a an excellent drive. Bill Kelly, who leads the local drive, explained that this year the bell ringers collected $76,000, which was far over the goal set late last year. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Sled Dog Races in Antigo Delayed by Lack of Snow

ANTIGO - Organizers of the sled dog races in Antigo have postponed the January event because some parts of the race trail don't have enough snow. Chamber of Commerce executive director Deena Grabowski says strong winds have blown the snow away in some open fields, leaving patches of ground. Grabowski says the races could be held in mid or late February. Full Story: WJFW

Traffic stops spark pair of local arrests

Alcohol proved troublesome not for the driver, but a passenger of a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation at Fifth Avenue and Fulton Street at about 2:40 a.m. today. Antigo police arrested the 44-year old man on a felony count of bail jumping after a records check revealed he was out of custody on bond with a stipulation that he not consume alcohol. A preliminary breath test indicated a blood alcohol reading of .20 percent, more than twice the limit considered legal evidence of intoxication. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

BB gun shots cause a stir

An Antigo man was in his yard taking shots at the icicles hanging from his roof with a BB gun Wednesday afternoon, which probably isn’t a great idea. Even worse these days is being in your yard with any kind of gun, BB or not. Reports of shots being fired brought a 12:50 p.m. call to the police and eight heavily armed officers from that department, sheriff’s personnel and an officer from the Wisconsin State Patrol converged to the area of a home on Fifth Avenue just west of Langlade Hospital. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal
Related Blog Post: Shooting in Antigo

School board races sparks spring election

The Antigo school board, struggling to balance fiscal realities with the wishes of parents and taxpayers, will see a full slate of candidates for three available seats this spring. The local school board race is the only election to draw an overflow of candidates by Wednesday’s 5 p.m. filing deadline. Three candidates have filed for two openings on the White Lake board, but only the incumbents are seeking new terms at Elcho. And the city of Antigo will see no contested contests, despite potential elections for mayor and five of the nine aldermanic seats. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Some sno-mo trails opening

Langlade County snowmobile trails in the northern portions of the county will open Friday afternoon, but riders should not expect pristine conditions. With only spits and spats of snow since a major storm on Dec. 20, trail conditions will be only poor to fair in the areas where the sleds will be allowed to run. According to Tammy Kubiaczyk, Langlade County recreation coordinator, Section A of the snowmobile trails will open, with restrictions, effective at 5 p.m., Friday. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Journal's 'first baby' arrives

Langlade Hospital staffers are celebrating the birth of “their” baby today.

Seventeen hours and eight minutes into the new year, Camron Daniel Lockwood made an unexpected arrival and friends and co-workers of his parents, Annie and Dan Lockwood of rural Antigo, are thrilled.

Annie is a longtime hospital staffer, now employed as the provider support services coordinator after years as the assistant to CEO Dave Schneider. She is also familiar to many area residents as a yoga instructor. Dan was previously employed in the hospital lab and is now a laboratory supervisor at Aspirus in Wausau.

Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

$1.5 million paid to CoVantage members reflecting a year of planning

Members of CoVantage Credit Union are starting the new year with a boost in their savings accounts.

The board of directors announced $1.5 million in patronage has been returned to the credit union's borrowing and saving members. The money appeared on most people’s statements on Monday.

Like the patronage paid in 2012, there are two components to the $1.5 million reward this year. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

New Year's Day stabbing leads to arrest

Deputies arrested a 20-year-old Keshena man on a charge of attempted first-degree intentional homicide after a New Year’s Day stabbing at a residence in the Town of Birnamwood in Shawano County. Capt. Thomas Tuma of the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department said a 35-year-old Shawano man suffered serious stab wounds to his neck in an altercation with the Keshena man. Full Story: Post Crescent

Annual 'baby watch' begins at midnight

The Antigo Daily Journal’s annual “baby watch,” a light-hearted contest that dates back decades, begins at midnight. The annual contest, supported by local merchants and businesses, awards the first baby born at Langlade Hospital in the new year along with his or her’s married parents a plethora of gifts. The wait can be brief or a bit more extended. This year, Emmy Lou Lewis waited until 7:27 a.m. on Jan. 5 to arrive in the new world. Rules are simple. The winning baby must be born at Langlade Hospital to married parents, who are current residents of this area. The exact time of birth must be certified by the attending physician. In the event of a tie, all prizes will be divided equally. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

White Lake addition named top '12 story

The completion of the White Lake Recreation Center, a project some likened to an “extreme community makeover,” highlighted events in the Antigo area during 2012. The Antigo Daily Journal editorial staff made the decision after pouring through thousands of pages of newsprint in preparing the annual year-end edition included with today’s newspaper. There were certainly other contenders, but White Lake emerged the clear winner based on the long-term effects on the small eastern Langlade County community and, frankly, the “feel-good” attitude the entire project created across the northwoods. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Jobless claims up, but county still leads north

Unemployment rates rose across the northwoods between October and November, but Langlade County fared better than most of its surrounding neighbors. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development reported this week that the jobless rate in Langlade County rose to 7.8 percent, from 7.2 percent a month earlier. That is still well below the 8.4 percent recorded a year ago. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Perfect time to enjoy winter recreation

A bit more snow would be perfect, but this still promises to be a very big winter weekend in the Antigo area. With the weather forecast calling for seasonable temperatures mixed with perhaps a bit of snow and sun, conditions should be perfect for a range of outdoor activities. In the city of Antigo, cold conditions have allowed the Peaceful Valley ice rink to be flooded and ready for skating today. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Looking for historic gift? Prints available of cattle pavilion painting

A longtime Langlade County landmark lives on in a one-of-a-kind painting, and now prints are available as well. Back in April, Tom Igl had an inspiration. He knew the historical value of the old barn on the Langlade County Fairgrounds, and he felt sentimental about it. “For me and for a lot of people, it had value,” he said. “At the time, I didn’t want it taken down, and so that made me think of something I could do.” Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Crandon man sentenced for burglary at Neva tavern

A prison term was imposed but stayed here this week for a young Crandon man charged in connection with a July break-in to a Neva area tavern. Adam L. Fontaine, 25, will instead serve six months in jail after pleading no contest in Langlade County Circuit Court to a felony count of burglary as a repeat offender. Following his release, he will be under the supervision of the Department of Probation and Parole for three years. Should he violate terms of his supervision, an order for a three year stay in prison will go into effect. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Spring vote thoughts already here

Winter is just a week old, but thoughts are already turning toward the spring election, when a host of seats on school boards, the Common Council and town boards will be decided. In the city of Antigo, Mayor Bill Brandt has filed papers for re-election to a third two-year term. The former city police chief was elected in 2009 by a narrow margin, and re-elected with no opposition in 2011. There are also five aldermanic seats up for re-election. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Night spots prepare for New Year's

With the presents unwrapped and Christmas trees losing needles at a rapid pace, thoughts have shifted to the New Year’s Eve revelry less than 100 hours away. Area night spots are going all out for New Year’s Eve on Monday night with banquets, buffets, bands, and of course champagne at midnight. The Refuge will be serving prime rib, grilled shrimp and Italian Night specials. Reservations are accepted. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Weapon, suspected 'salts' seized, area men charged

Two Antigo area men remain in local custody today following their weekend arrest on an assortment of weapon and drug charges, including possession of suspected “bath salts.” Those charged in Langlade County Circuit Court Wednesday were Jason E. Schreiber, 36, of 1033 Third Ave. and Daniel W. Walton, 43, of W6794 Rabe Lane in Bryant. Schreiber is being held on a $5,000 cash bond on charges which include two felony counts of bail jumping, a felony count of possession of a firearm as well as carrying a concealed weapon and counts of possessing both a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Kettlebowl season starting

Dust off those boards and boots and head out to Kettlebowl this weekend. The family-friendly ski hill, certainly among the best bargains in the northwoods, will be open for action Friday, Saturday and Sunday, meeting the annual goal of the Langlade County Ski Club to be operating for the Christmas holiday. And, if the snow cover remains adequate, the hill will be open on New Year’s Eve as well. Hours are noon to 4 p.m. through the weekend. Kettlebowl will remain operating on winter weekends as conditions permit. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Ski breakfast scheduled at Gartzke facility Saturday, public is invited

The recent major snowfall came just in time for the third annual Breakfast at Gartzke sponsored by the Antigo Bike and Ski Club. The club will host the breakfast Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Gartzke Flowage Trails, which, due to the recent dumping, are packed and tracked for the outing. The club will provide waffles, prepared by Nick Salm, as well as coffee, hot chocolate, some sausages and toppings for waffles. There is no charge but a free will offering for trail maintenance would be appreciated. Special waffle toppings are welcome but not required. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

Potato growers group ends deal with troubled Suzy Favor Hamilton

The Antigo-based Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association has revoked its contract with its spokeswoman Suzy Favor Hamilton. In its newsletter “Tater Talk,” officials said they were in contact with the three-time Olympian Friday who confirmed the news was true that she worked as an escort and she agreed to the contract revocation. Full Story: Antigo Daily Journal

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