by David Jankoski

Weather wise, it was a beautiful Easter weekend. We journeyed over to Appleton on Sunday and had a nice visit with our son, daughter and son-in-law. And that says nothing about the bountiful meal that was put before us. *** If you have observed lights on in the former Plombon Furniture Store, 314 N. Broadway, or walked by and saw a floor full of boxes, you have probably wondered what is going on in there? Well, the building is the new home of Bend The Trend Boutique, formerly of Eau Claire. The boxes are on the floor because the two rear rooms of the store are being readied for this business, which is only conducted over the Internet. You can Google the business and will find that they deal exclusively in trendy baby clothes. The For Rent sign in the window is for the retail space in the front of the building. That is all I can tell you at this point.

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On Monday, March 29, I stopped briefly at the site of the house that was located at 218 W. 1st Avenue and was burned on Saturday, March 27. I checked the bricks to see if any of them were made in Stanley. I found none. Under the auspices of the Chippewa Valley Technical College, the controlled burn was used as a training opportunity for area fire departments. The extended process drew an audience of cars that came and went from nearby viewing places during much of the day.

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“Our Wisconsin” magazine, April/May 2021 issue, arrived at our house recently. If you subscribe to this beautiful magazine, see page 28 for a very nice ad for Cody’s Classic Cars – Consignment Sales – Classic, Collectible and Special Interest Vehicles. Cody’s Classic Cars is located at 307 N. Broadway in Stanley, in what was originally built as Don Plummer’s Coast to Coast Store and prior to Cody’s Classic Cars, the building was home to City Side Liquidators.

Congratulations to Stanley-Boyd’s Blaine Brenner on being named one of the 2020-21 All Area Co-Wrestlers of the Year. He shares this title with Boyceville’s Trett Joles. Both wrestlers ended their high school wrestling careers with three state titles, and both ended this season with no losses. +++ You might recall that for the year 2019-2020 Blaine shared the same title with Cadott’s Brady Spaeth. Blaine is headed for the University of Minnesota where he and Brady will be teammates. +++ Blaine will remain in the history books of Stanley-Boyd wrestling for some time in that Coach Greg Burzynski notes that Blaine holds as many state titles as Stanley-Boyd has gotten from other kids.

Here is another one to bring a smile to your face. This happened yesterday and is important for my age group. A friend had his 2nd dose of the vaccine at the vaccination center after which he began to have blurred vision on the way home. When he got home, he called the vaccination center for advice and to ask if he should go see a doctor or be hospitalized. He was told NOT to go to a doctor or a hospital, but just return to the vaccination center immediately and pick up his glasses.

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On Tuesday, March 30, the girders were put in place on the new 8th Avenue bridge. By afternoon the work crew could be seen walking across the structure. The concrete bridge deck was laid on Friday, April 2. I would judge they are either on schedule, or ahead of schedule, for completing the bridge project. From the campgrounds, the new bridge looks closer to the water than the old structure was. Could it be open before the announced completion date at the end of May?

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On Friday, April 2, the concrete floor in the new Community Building at Chapman Park was laid. So that project keeps moving along.

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For any of you interested in playing disc golf, don’t forget Stanley has a course located directly across from the main entrance to Chapman Park. It is known as Mahr’s Meadow Disc Golf Park and I am told by those who play there that the course is challenging. Check it out.

Not being a pet owner, it always intrigues me when I read something that is hard to believe. I have always heard about what one is supposed to do if a dog is sprayed by a shrunk. Here is what I read recently. Bathe your dog in a mixture of 1 quart of hydrogen peroxide, % cup baking soda and 1 teaspoon liquid soap. Work the solution into the fur (avoiding eyes) and then rinse. +++ To rid the stench from your pet, douse him with tomato juice, leaving it on for several minutes before rinsing it off. You may want to use two cans of tomato juice for a large dog. You may have to repeat the procedure, but the odor will eventually work itself out of your pet’s coat. +++ Here is a list of toxic plants that dogs should not eat. Castor Bean, Chokecherry, Christmas Rose, Daffodil, Elephant Ear, English Ivy, Foxglove, Holly, Jimsonweed, Lantan, Morning Glory, Mums, Nightshade, Common Garden Potatoes (leaves, shoots, sprouts), Rose of Sharon and Yew.

It seems that every time one hears of a death more than likely the cause of death is heart disease or cancer. I recently explored the American Cancer Society website and found a wealth of information, most of it rather starling. Every day in the U. S. there are an average 5,200 new cases of cancer diagnosed and 1,670 deaths. In 2021, it is estimated there will be 1,898,100 new cases of cancer and 608,570 cancer deaths.

Smile time. Ten things God won’t ask on the day of your judgment. 1. God won’t ask what kind of car you drove. He’ll ask how many people you drove who didn’t have transportation. 2.) God won’t ask the square footage of your house. He’ll ask how many people you welcomed into your house. 3.) God won’t ask about the clothes you had in your closet. He’ll ask how many you helped to clothe. 4.) God won’t ask what your highest salary was. He’ll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it. 5.) God won’t ask what your job title was. He’ll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability. 6.) God won’t ask how many friends you had. He’ll ask how many people to whom you were a friend. 7.) God won’t ask in what neighborhood you lived. He’ll ask how you treated your neighbors. 8.) God won’t ask the color of your skin. He’ll ask about the content of your character. 9.) God won’t ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation. He’ll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven and not to the gates of Hell. 10.) God won’t ask how many people you showed or gave this to. He already knows your decision.