March 23, 2023 Corner Booth

• How did you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?   In the Stanley area, the tradition is to have a meal of corn beef and cabbage.  We did, and it was excellent.  St. Patrick’s Day is the traditional day for planting peas.  Cabbage seeds are also often planted on that day and old-time farmers believed that to make them grow well, you needed to plant them while wearing your nightclothes! This year you would have had to shovel snow off your garden in order to plant anything! And planting in your nightclothes?  This year you would have needed a snowmobile suit. 
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• If you lived around here any length of time, you have at least heard of the Highground, located just outside of Neillsville.  It is a beautiful tribute to Veteran’s of all wars and there are individual memorials for each war and those who sacrificed their lives in those wars. Four years ago the Highground had announced an effort to raise $4 million to build a 12,000 sq. foot building and enhance traffic flow in and out of the park,  Then COVID hit.  Since then the estimated cost of the original building plan has risen $1.2 million, just in costs related to building material and labor.  This has caused the Board to revise plans.  Currently in discussion is a plan to remodel the current “Museum” building into indoor program space, private rooms for counseling and add 6,000 sq. feet of museum exhibit space. The main sacrifice is the Gift Shop having to remain in its present location. “In short, we are not surrendering, we are just attacking from a different direction!” The new direction is seen as maintaining fiscal responsibility and yet meet the current needs.
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• I like human interest stories that bring a smile to ones face!  This story is a shortened version about a 15 year old, Jonah Larson from La Crosse, who was born in Ethiopia in 2008, was abandoned and adopted by his family and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who you may know as the “Greek Freak.”  Larson is a crochet prodigy and Antetokounmpo is the Milwaukee Bucks basketball superstar.  In the spring of 2021, Jonah presented Antetokounmpo with a blanket that he crocheted for his son, Liam.  On Sunday, February 25, Jonah and his family had floor seats (center court) at the Bucks home game and he was able to present Antetokounmpo with another blanket for his second son, Maverick.  The blanket was white with a big “Buck” in the middle. At the first meeting of the two, Antetokounmpo took off his jersey, signed it and gave it to Jonah. Jonah is no ordinary 15 year old.  He has become nationally known by having his own website, has 395,000 followers on Instagram, 258,000 followers on Facebook and 145,000 You Tube subscribers.  He has made TV appearances on “The Drew Barrymore Show” and “Little Big Shots.”  Through auctioning off items, he makes GoFundMe fundraisers, and donations Jonah has improved the school he likely would have attended in Ethiopia.  He has furnished the school with desks, funded a library with over 3,000 books, a science lab and private bathrooms for female students. What a guy! A child celebrity all through crocheting – with a hook and a ball of yarn.
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• Here are a few prison statistics I learned at the recent 20^th Anniversary open house at Stanley Correctional Institution. They came from a handout entitled “Division of Adult Institutions - Corrections at a Glance.”    There are ten Medium Security prisons in Wisconsin. The largest is at Oshkosh, which has a population of 2,044, and the second largest is at Stanley with a population of 1,549.  Both are the populations at the end of January 2023.  The oldest male in prison in Wisconsin is 99 years old and the oldest female is age 79.  The youngest male and female are both age 18.  The average age of incarcerated males in Wisconsin is 40 and for females it is age 39.  Of the male prison population in Wisconsin, 51% are White, 42 % Black, 5% Native and 1% Asian or Pacific Islanders.  For the females in prison, 72% are White,  18% Black, 9% Natives and 1 % Asian or Pacific Islanders.  And you might be surprised that 6% of the males and 8% of the females in prison have an Associates, Bachelors, Masters or PhD degree.  And 18% of the males and 25% of the females have some Graduate or Vocational Education.  Also noteworthy is that 41% of the males have a mental health condition and of these 7% are classified as serious.  Here is what crime costs the taxpayers of Wisconsin:  The daily cost of males is  $120 per day or $43,843 per year (July 1, 2021 -June 30, 2022) and for females the daily cost is $146 per day or $53,271 per year. The cost per year for those prisoners in Maximum Security facilities is $55,252 and for those in Medium Security Facilities is $45,070.
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• Did you know that camping opportunities exist for blind or visually impaired youth or adults, youth with diabetes, autistic and intellectually-disabled youth and young adults, youths with epilepsy, and youths and adults who are deaf or hard-of-hearing are eligible to apply for a camping event.  These camping experiences are sponsored by Wisconsin Lion Clubs and run for one week during the summer months. There is a $25 deposit that can be waived by contacting the camp or your local Lions Club.  There are also opportunities for paid summer positions for counselors and other support positions.  Camper applications can be found at https///www.rjotto.com/LionsCamp and then under Lions Camp -rjotto.com
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            •           Smile time. She says I keep pushing her buttons.  If that were true, I would have found “mute” by now. +++ I was so worried my mechanic would try to rip me off.  I was relieved when he said I only needed blinker fluid. +++ When I was young, I was poor.  But after years of hard work, I am no longer young. +++ It’s not my age that bothers me.  Its the side effects. +++ Common sense is like deodorant.  The people who need it the most never use it. +++ I hate it when I see an old person and then realize we went to high school together. +++ Sometimes The Universe puts you in the same situations again to see you’re still dumb. +++ I am responsible for what I say, not what you understand. +++There is no such thing as a grouchy old person.  The truth is, once you get old, you stop being polite and start being honest. +++ Beer is now cheaper than gas! Drink, but don’t drive. +++ I am gonna quit my job and travel the world until I run out of money!  I estimate I’ll be home around 10 pm this evening… +++ I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a reasonably intelligent person who does moderately stupid things on a semi-regular basis. +++ I’m not saying I’m old and worn out, but I make sure I’m nowhere near the curb on trash day. +++ The older I get, the better I us