Cornell Schools have no caps on open enrollment

BITS & Pieces

NEWS OF NOTE FROM OUR NEIGHBORS

Courier Sentinel

At their January 24 meeting, the Cornell School Board voted to place no cap on the number of open enrollment students they will accept. +++ The Cornell City Council is seeking more information on electric vehicle charging stations, before making a decision if Cornell should invest in one in the city. +++ Spotting coyotes in the city limits of Cornell is nothing new, but recently the wild animals are coming further into the residential areas. Cornell Police Chief Glenn Rehberg said, “I have not received any reports of animals, like pets, being eaten or people being surrounded on the bike trail or anything like that.” Rehberg advises residents to not leave open garbage cans and pet food dishes outside. He also advises that dogs and cats should not be left unattended or allowed to run loose, especially because it is coyote mating season and they can become aggressive toward domesticated pets.

The Thorp Courier

The American Red Cross is still facing a national blood crisis. To provide needed blood another two-day blood drive is coming to Thorp. The next visit will be on Tuesday, February 15, from noon until 6 pm and Wednesday, February 16, from 9 am to 3 pm. For an appointment, you can call 1-800-733-2767 toll free. +++ The Thorp Veterans Memorial Committee continues to move ahead with plans for construction of a Veterans Memorial Park at the corner of S. Adams and W. Hill Streets. With delays in the supply chain and anticipated cost increases, the committee placedordersinDecember. Donationsarestillbeingsought for flagpoles, benches ($5,000) and legacy stones ($500). Five tablets with the names of deceased veterans are planned. Donors of $25,000 or more can have their name printed across the top of a tablet. +++ A nice article on the quilters at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Stanley appears in the January 26 issue of The Thorp Courier. It showcased the work of nine individuals who come together each Monday and Thursday from 9-11:30 am to create beautiful quilts and lap robes, which are then donated to Lutheran World Relief. Local needs are also met with donations. Quilting has been a part of the churches outreach for 82 years, beginning in 1940.

Bloomer Advance

The Bloomer City Council voted 2-1 to sell the property the city owns on 4th Avenue and Riggs Street to Charter Next Generation (CNG), for $120,000. The site is currently home to Struckert Baseball Field. Mayor Jim Kohler reported that the company plans to break ground for a $6 million dollar expansion project in 2022. However, the expansion was dependent on their ability to purchase the adjacent land. The indication was that if the sale did not happen, the companies expansion plans would not proceed. The city is hoping to work with the Bloomer School District, towards developing an additional baseball field at the school complex. Superintendent Brian Misfeldt indicated the district has other needs that also need to be addressed and that a new field is approximately $860,000. +++ The annual Bloomer rope jumping contest was held on Saturday, January 29, at the Bloomer High school.

The Sentinel & Rural News

The Owen Public Library is looking for a few people willing to volunteer an hour, or so, each week. Volunteers would be asked to shelve books, dust, setup for special events, help with events or bake a pan of bars. +++ Owen’s being on the Canadian National RR Line is credited with drawing several businesses to their north industrial park. Hartland Cooperative has located a fertilizer plant there. CN Railroad is headquartered in Montreal (Canada) and operates mainly as a freight carrier, but does offer a couple of passenger routes in Canada. +++ The development of the Yellowstone Trail began with the forming of the Yellowstone Trail Association in October 1912.

The Tribune-Phonograph The Abbotsford City Council approved a contract with KLM Engineering to rehab the city’s 400,000 gallon water tower at a total cost of $563,643. +++ Abbotsford has received nearly $117,000 in America Rescue Plan Act funds and is set to receive another $117,000 for a total of just under $234,000. +++ The Central Fire and EMS District headquartered out of Abbotsford had 94 EMS calls and two fire calls for the month of December 2021.

O-W Enterprise Scott and Lori Jalling have sold their Family Foods grocery store. The new owner, Earl Martin, will take possession of the store around March 1 and it will continue to run as a grocery store. Changes at the store will include no Sunday hours and no alcohol or cigarette sales. The Jalling’s have run the business for 13.5 years and plan to take a few months off before finding jobs elsewhere.+++ On Sunday, January 23, New Harvest Assembly of God church in Withee held its last service. The closed church and a parsonage will be going up for sale. +++ Johlissa Gerber, has opened Once Upon a Time Daycare, in the former Ray’s Variety building in downtown Owen. The business currently operates 7 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday.

The Clark County Press

The Neillsville community came together to hold a March For Life event on Sunday, January 23. The sizable group marched all over town, stopping to warm-up and enjoy cocoa and cookies at Hillside Community Church and St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

Tri-County – Area Times

Breanna Wier, a student at Osseo-Fairchild High School, is participating in the first ever single class and all 12 weight class es, WIAA State Girls Individual Wrestling Tournament, on Saturday, January 29, at the La Crosse Center. +++ Another Fall Creek resident, Karen Hurd, a Fall Creek Village Board Trustee, is entering the race for the Assembly seat being vacated by Rep. Jesse James, who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen Kathy Bernier.

Buffalo County News

The Independence School District has reached out to the Gilmanton School District, to explore expanding their current sports co-op, to add volleyball, basketball and golf. The current cooperative includes football, cross country, track, softball, baseball and wrestling. Lack of depth on both schools roosters’ doesn’t allow JV or Freshman competition. Both schools favor 50/50 split of both facilities for practices and games. Combining both schools athletic programs would also have a financial benefit for the schools as they would require fewer coaches. +++ Fountain City will become 183 years old in 2022. Most of the Fountain City settlers came from the German-Swiss areas of Europe.