FROM THE CORNER

BY DAVID JANKOSKI

With winter here, I found a recent article in The Clark County Press on safety tips for Snowplow Driver Appreciation Day, interesting and informative. The truth is, I personally didn’t even know there was such a day as Snowplow Driver Appreciation Day (November 24), until reading the article by Valorie Brecht. I give her credit for all this information gleamed from her article, which in turn includes information from Clark County Highway Commissioner Brian Duell. “Clark County Highway Department maintains approximately 300 centerline miles of county truck highways and 150 miles of state highways. Centerline miles converted to lane miles equals approximately 1,050 lane miles, figuring each actual driving lane that requires a plow pass over it (STH 29 has four lanes). This is roughly equal to the distance from Greenwood to New Orleans, LA.” That should give us all a little better understanding why the roads in the winter are not always as clear as we might think they should be. Clark County has 21 plow routes and 21 plow operators. When necessary, foremen and mechanics are required to operate a plow truck to fill vacancies. According to Duell, "It takes approximately three hours to complete a plow route.” So in heavy snowfalls it may seem that the snowplow isn’t making it by one’s house as quickly as you might think it should. One also needs to keep in mind that snowplows operate at approximately 35 miles per hour. Typically, snowplows operate between the hours of 4 am to 10 pm. As most of our winter weather is still before us, we all need to remember that Wisconsin law requires 200 feet minimum distance when driving behind a snowplow. Hopefully, you have gained a better appreciation for a group of county employees who need to be better appreciated for the job they do. Each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties have such a group of employees keeping our roads as safe as they can each winter. *** The 2021 All-Northwest Football Squad has been named by the Eau Claire Leader. Stanley-Boyd players Carson Hause (Quarter Back), Brady Potaczek (Wide Receiver), and Michael Karlen (Kicker) were named to the First Team Offense. Named to the First Team Defense was Jacob Nesterick (Defensive Line). Named to the Second Team Defense was Lucas Smith (Defensive Back). Cooper Nichols received Honorable Mention. All those honored are seniors. Congratulations to all. Football fans are going to miss watching you next year at Oriole Park. *** Do you remember where Bill Martin’s Cloverleaf Cheese Factory once stood on the northwest corner of Kosar Avenue and County Highway N? If so, you will remember that fire destroyed the factory. If you have recently traveled out that way, you had to have noticed that out of the ashes of that cheese factory has risen what is called Affordable Auto Parts. We recently made a visit to the store and was totally blown away by the magnitude of the stock of Hot Wheels, toy farm equipment and tractors, tin signs, T-shirts, memorabilia of all kinds and more. I was personally surprised to see a “diner room” has been added to the multiple spaces that display the enormous stock. The diner features the booths from the former Dairy Bar in Thorp. While you won’t find them serving food, you will find the tables covered with signs that are for sale. I would truly be surprised if you couldn’t find a gift for someone hard to buy for at the store. Check it out – Affordable Auto Parts, W10906 County Road N, Stanley, Wisconsin. Craig Paul is the owner. They also have a website that includes a few photographs that show the enormous stock carried at this unusual store.

*** The major portion of the deer hunting season is again history. The statewide deer kill is reported as down, but in our area of the state and north the kill was overall up. Once again we are reminded how important that wildlife hunting is to the Wisconsin economy. Annually, hunters spend $2.5 billion in our state. *** Did you know? According to the Department of Labor, only 40% of Americans have calculated how much they need to save for retirement. It is thought that the low number is attributed to the difficulty in striking a balance between realistic return ex pectations and a desired standard of living. Seeing a credentialed financial advisor can help you calculate out what is needed. +++ Dollar General expects to add 1,050 new stores by the end of 2021. +++ Costco expects to open at least 25 more locations in 2022. They introduced seven new stores in July and August of 2021. They also opened a new warehouse in Texas, Minnesota. *** Here are a few more bits of information from the October 21, Community Relations Board Meeting, held at Stanley Correctional Institution. The apple trees that didn’t survive last year have been replaced. This year SCI had 11 bee hives and expected to harvest 200 pounds of honey, which will be used in various recipes, including honey dijon dressing. On the advice of a bee expert, one difficult hive had to be removed. The institution gar den produced 14,464 pounds of produce this year. SCI is thankful to Reit’s Garden Center for again supporting the facilities garden needs. The institution continues to operate a licensed compost operation. *** You do wonder about all the ads you see looking for workers. You hear lots of reasons given including the pool is small and you wouldn’t hire what’s coming through. To much free money being given out by the government and its a disincentive to work. I wonder if the pool of workers just isn’t there, because the most recent figures (from September 2021) indicate that the unemployment rate is really low in our area? While the Wisconsin, not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 3.3%, the area unemployment rates are Chippewa 2.9%, Clark 2.5%, Eau Claire 2.7% and Taylor 2.4%. *** Smile time. Adult: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle. +++ Beauty Parlor: A place where women curl up and dye. +++ Cannibal: Someone who is fed up with people. +++ Chickens: The only animals you eat before they are born and after they are dead. +++ Dust: Mud with the juice squeezed out. +++ Committee: A body that keeps minutes and wastes hours. +++ Handkerchief: Cold Storage. +++ Inflation: Cutting the money in half without damaging the paper. +++ Mosquito: An insect that makes you like flies better. +++ Secret: Something you tell to one person at a time. +++ Skeleton: A bunch of bones with the person scraped off. +++ Toothache: The pain that drives you to extraction. +++ Tomorrow: One of the greatest labor saving devices of today.+++ Yawn: An honest opinion openly expressed. +++ Wrinkles: Something other peo – ple have. You have character lines. +++ Egotist: Someone who is usually me-deep in conversation. +++ Raisin: Grape with a sunburn. +++ A good friend will come and bail you out of jail, but a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, “damn, that was fun.”