Wcr june 19 final

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W A S H B U R N   C O U N T Y

Register wcregist eronline.co m

INSIDE

June 19, 2013

Wednesday, June 19, 2013 Vol. 124, No. 44 • Shell Lake, Wis.

We e ke nd w atch

• Community garage sale @ Spooner • Jazz camper performance at SLAC, Shell Lake • Breast Cancer Polker Run @ Rice Lake • Free community breakfast @ Spooner • Master jazz concert at SLAC, Shell Lake See Events page 6

75¢

Cool relief

Rodeo honors its own Page 2

SPORTS Softball tourney results

See pages 13-14 The deer are looking for relief from the insects that are unrelenting in the deep woods. This doe sought the safety of the river to protect her stomach from insects while others will stand out in a clearing or stand in the middle of the road. - Photo by Larry Samson

Man seriously injured by bear

Passion reconnects past BREAKERS

Man’s small dog may have played lifesaving role Page 10

Got an idea for a story? Email us @ wcregister@centurytel.net

STATEWIDE – Every year, lightning kills more than 50 Americans and injures hundreds of others, leaving them with lifelong pain and, in some cases, permanent neurological disabilities. Here in Wisconsin, 25 people have been killed and 208 injured as a result of lightning since 1982. You can protect yourself and your family by knowing simple lightning safety facts and tips. Lightning occurs in all thunderstorms; each year, lightning strikes the United States 25 million times. Lightning often strikes the same place repeatedly, especially tall, isolated objects. Most lightning victims are in open areas or near a tree. The energy from one lightning flash could light a 100-watt light bulb for more than three months. The air near a lightning strike is heated to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, five times hotter than the surface of the sun. The rapid heating and cooling of the air near the lightning channel causes a shock wave, which results in thunder. For information about lightning safety and awareness go to readywisconsin.wi.gov. You can also contact your local public health department, county emergency management director or the National Weather Service. – from Wisconsin Emergency Management ••• SHELL LAKE — Want to learn the number one way you can help companion animals in your community? The Farm, Feral and Stray organization of Northwestern Wisconsin is offering a free workshop to provide a trap/neuter/return program for Washburn County area free-roaming community cats. The workshop will be held at the Washburn County Law Enforcement Center, 421 Hwy. 63, Shell Lake, on Wednesday, June 26, 6 p.m. There are approximately 13,000 free-roaming cats in Washburn County. Currently there are no other organizations available to provide services to humanely reduce those numbers. Volunteers will learn how to coordinate the humane trapping, transport and recover stages of the program. Reservations for the work-

shop are required. Contact 715-501-8488, or tanyaffs@outlook.com. — from FFS

Find us on Facebook facebook.com/ washburncountyregister

by Gary King Register editor BURNETT COUNTY - A 63-year-old rural Shell Lake man was airlifted to North Memorial Hospital in the Twin Cities with serious injuries after being mauled by a black bear on Monday evening, June 17.

Jerry Brown was attacked at his residence on Swiss Chalet Road at approximately 9:15 p.m., allegedly after his dog, Cricket, tangled with the bear and Brown attempted to intervene. Brown sustained multiple injuries, including to the face, but was listed in stable condition on Tuesday. Cricket was treated by a local veterinarian and kept overnight for observation Tuesday. According to information from the DNR, Brown’s brother and neighbor, Randy, shot at

See Bear attack, page 3

Rural firefighters would benefit from proposed legislation For departments like Shell Lake’s, funding often depends on need by Danielle Moe Register staff writer SHELL LAKE - The largest wildfire to hit Wisconsin in over 33 years, the Germann Road Fire, consumed 7,442 acres and destroyed 47 structures within the towns of Gordon and Highland in Douglas County. After touring the aftermath of the fire U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin signed on as one of seven co-sponsors to the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Reauthorization Act of 2013. VRIPRA was introduced to the House of Representatives in 2011, but never went past committee stage. If approved by the House and Senate, the act would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend and increase the exclusion for benefits to volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders. Larry Peterson,

CPA and managing partner for Anderson Hager and Moe in Spooner, explained that even if the federal government enacted this law Wisconsin has historically not enforced it. “Unfortunately, Wisconsin wouldn’t follow the federal law because they wouldn’t want to take the tax hit,” explained Peterson. According to the Library of Congress the act has a one percent chance of getting past committee and a zero percent chance of being enacted. For 2011-2013 only 12 percent of Senate bills made it past committee and only 2 percent were enacted. The VRIPRA may not get past committee again this year, but as of June 6 the House of Representatives approved $680 million for two FEMA grant programs, Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response and Assistance to Firefighters. Amendments to these grant services have increased funding to critical fire service programs by $5 million, and were added to the fiscal year 2014 appropriation bill for the Department of Homeland Security. See Rural firefighters, page 4

Early copy, please SHELL LAKE — With the Fourth of July holiday approaching, readers and contributors to the Washburn County Register should be aware that the Register will be published a day earlier that week. There will be an early deadline for advertising and news articles for the Tuesday, July 2, edition of the Register. All copy is due by noon on Friday, June 28. The newspaper office will be closed Thursday, July 4, and Friday, July 5.


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