W A S H B U R N C O U N T Y
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INSIDE
Oct. 14, 2015
Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015 Vol. 127, No. 9 • Shell Lake, Wis.
We e ke nd w atch • St. Joseph/St. Catherine’s Fall Bazaar @ Shell Lake • Oktoberfest @ Shell Lake • Fall/winter fashion show @ Spooner See calendar on page 6 for details
75¢
Jack O’ Lantern Fest faces
Namekagon River studied by fourthgraders Page 23
Learning what to do in case of fire Page 2
Shell Lake over Northwood
SPORTS Page 14
BREAKERS
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SHELL LAKE — The Shell Lake Chamber of Commerce and the Shell Lake Arts Center invite you to the fourth-annual Oktoberfest on Saturday, Oct. 17. Oktoberfest will be held from 6-11 p.m. in the center’s Darrell Aderman Auditorium at 802 First St. in Shell Lake. This Guild acoustic guitar valued at over $800, Food and beverage samples will be offered donated by Schmitt Music, will be just one of the by local businesses. This many items you can bid on at the Oktoberfest siyear, Kali Campbell of lent auction. — Photo submitted Utopia Massage, part of Vitality Village, will be offering chair massages focusing on the shoulders and neck for Oktoberfest guests. The Porch Dogs will be playing your favorite country, blues and honkytonk songs to dance the night away to. You can also partake in the raffle and silent auction with fabulous prizes and items to bid on like a Guild acoustic guitar, donated by Schmitt Music, and valued at over $800. Bidding on the guitar will start at only $300, so be sure to get your name in the mix so you don’t miss out. Entrance to the event is $10/person at the door, and proceeds from this event go to support the Shell Lake Chamber of Commerce and the Shell Lake Arts Center. If you would like more information, or are interested in volunteering, please call the arts center’s office at 715-468-2414, or visit their website at shelllakeartscenter.org. — from SLAC
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Zombies attended the Spooner Jack O’ Lantern Festival held Saturday, Oct. 10. You would never know that these two zombies are sisters. Rachel Wieting is from Spooner and her younger sister, Shannon, is attending Chippewa Valley Technical College. More photos on page 11. – Photo by Larry Samson
Washburn County Economic Development Corporation director steps down Danielle Danford | Staff writer SPOONER — Mike Spafford confirmed that he will be stepping down as director of the Washburn County Economic Development Corporation. “I can’t treat it as a part-time position. There are just too many things to be doing and they should be done,” said Spafford. Spafford stepped into the part-time position back in April of 2014, but there was more demand for
the position than he or the WCEDC board realized. Since he announced his intention to step down, the WCEDC has advertised for the position and has been taking applications with the intention of making it a full-time position. “They are going to increase the wages a little bit and make it a full-time position and hopeSee Director steps down, page 3
Annual meeting includes vote on increasing board size along with various resolutions Danielle Danford | Staff writer SPOONER — Often described as grassroots democracy in action, annual meetings for school districts give authority to a district’s school board to perform duties charged by state statute including the care, control and management of the property and affairs of the school district. The Spooner Area School District’s annual meeting will occur on Monday, Oct. 19, which will start at 4:30 p.m. for voter signing and voting card distribution, as all votes will be done via a paper voting process this year. At 6 p.m. the budget hearing will start, at 6:30 p.m. the annual meeting will start and at 7:30 p.m. a regular board meeting is scheduled to start. Electors at the annual meeting may vote on a slew of resolutions from setting board members compensation to voting on a tax for the operation of the schools, each is important to maintaining the operation of the school district. During this year’s annual meeting, the electors of the Spooner Area School District will vote on whether to increase the existing seven-member board to an 11-member board. “If at the meeting the petition requested to change the number of school board members is adopted by a majority vote, the school board members shall be elected in the next school board election,” said Dan Rossmiller, govern-
ment relations director with the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. School board elections take place during the April spring election. The next spring election will be April 5, 2016. If necessary there would be a primary held on Feb. 16, 2016. Rossmiller explained that common reason school districts choose to increase the number of members on the school board is the district sees an increase in population. A news release from Families United for Spooner Excellence, the group that circulated the petition for the school board member increase, lists seven reasons for increasing the board size. Those reasons are assist present board with cost-saving solutions for budget concerns, explore effective ways to deal with decreased state funding for public education, allow citizens to participate in the workings of government to ensure proper public input when addressing compensation of board members, improve community relations through increased transparency and open dialogue, develop a comprehensive plan to address high student open enrollment out of the district, create a positive school environment to encourage staff retention, reduce time commitment overloads and improve effectiveness of board committee assignment. See Annual meeting, page 3
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