Here is a little more information on Julia Nunes, Wisconsin's new Alice in Dairyland. She’s 23 years old, comes from Tilden, where her family farmed, and she grew up involved in 4-H. She graduated from the University of Minnesota -Twin Cities, where she earned a bachelor's degrees in Agricultural Communication & Marketing and Animal Science, with minors in Agricultural & Food Business Management and Horticulture. Doesn’t that sound like the prefect educational background for her new title? The new Alice said, “I will strive to be a role model that Alice in Dairyland was for me growing up.” *** There are a couple of big projects to be watching for in the next few months. The new Dollar General Store should be started soon on S. Broadway. And a real change is coming to the former Shokpo building, with Courtesy Ford doing a major remodeling that will result in an expanded business location for them. Most noticeable will be a greatly expanded service area, showroom space and new and used vehicle parking outside. When completed, it is going to have a very appealing front that will be very visible from Highway 29. Repeatedly I have heard the question, both in Stanley and Thorp, “Why are they moving to Stanley?” It was all about the cost of building a new facility in Thorp vs remodeling the available Shopko in Stanley, at a much lower cost. It always seems to come down to money and who can blame the current owners for the decision they are making, if they can save megabucks and meet the requirements of Ford Motor Company? Rumors are rampant that Kwik-Trip is going in at the current Courtesy location in Thorp. *** Every time I go through Chapman Park or travel near the closed 8th Avenue bridge, I get rather disturbed that the bridge replacement project has not been started yet. Originally, I understood the bridge was projected to be completed by December 2020. It is equally disheartening that the replacement building at Chapman Park has not been started. These are two major projects that have a great impact on our community. The bridge project should have our state senator and assembly representative working to have the process move forward. Have they been contacted? Do they have a pulse on the needs of the communities they serve? What are they good for, if they can’t advocate for their constituents? Where are they when we need them? I haven’t heard of any Meet and Greet Meetings in our community in some time. 8th Avenue is a major artery for cars and foot traffic to Chapman Park and to County Highway O. I understand that the Chapman Park building came in over budget. So, why not back to the drawing board for a building that will fit the money available? Or, is there something else in play that the public doesn’t know about? Certainly, the two public hearings I attended indicated that the public sentiment was in support of getting a replacement building in place and a major grant had been obtained. Do we have to go another summer (2021) with no Community Building or 8th Avenue Bridge? Not good!!! *** We attended the first Mass of Fr. Daniel Williams III at St. Joseph's in Boyd on Sunday, June 28. The socially-distanced gathering, with limited seating capacity, still allowed his family and many friends to gather for the important occasion. Following the beautiful church service, family and friends gathered at Holy Family Hall in Stanley, where the new priest individually greeted his well wishers. I had the pleasure of associating with Daniel from 2009-2011, when as a high school student, he worked at The Stanley Republican. I can assure you he is still the nice individual he was then. The newly ordained Fr. Daniel will be assigned to ministry in Marshfield, which he will begin in July. In my time, I recall we have had three priests from this area who are graduates of Stanley-Boyd High School. They are: Fr. Allen Slowiak (Class of 1965), Msgr. Richard Gilles (Class of 1985) and now Fr. Daniel Williams III (Class of 2011). Fr. Slowiak is still ministering at Rothschild and Msgr. Gilles is at Tomah. Best wishes to Fr. Daniel as he begins his public ministry.

*** In checking the high school annual collection at the local museum, to confirm the dates the above mentioned men graduated from Stanley-Boyd High School, I discovered a couple of more things about Daniel Williams. He was his senior class president. The writing beside his senior picture certainly was a predictor of his future as it read: “I will be remembered as the person that seeks to do the best in all circumstances.” *** Here are a couple more fuel tips that come from the May/June issue of AAA Living Magazine. (1.) Is premium always better? No. Some vehicles call for premium but unless yours does specifically, stick to regular-octane fuels. According to the Federal Trade Commission, higher-octane gasoline (known as “premium”) does not increase performance, provide better gas mileage or run cleaner than regular-octane options. And consider that consistently using premium would cost you an extra $100 a year – at least. (2.) Is maintenance for a vehicle’s fuel system a waste of money? No. A fuel system typically consists of a fuel pump in the tank, a fuel filter and injectors (usually, one per cylinder). The vehicle's central computer manages this system and is generally reliable, but if the fuel system is not regularly maintained, gas consumption will increase over time, and the system could even fail. So follow the manufacturer’s recommendations in the vehicle owner’s manual. *** As anyone with a computer knows, you get a lot of E-mail daily that you simply discard without even opening it up. But then, you also can get a surprise when you open some things. Some people are very good about sharing items that are uplifting. Here is one of those little postings that is rather powerful if you think about it for moment: “I opened two gifts this morning. They were my eyes. Thank you God. Amen” *** Smile time. With the tax deadline this year pushed back to July 15, it seems this humor is appropriate. “One difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.” (Anonymous) +++ “The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has.” (Will Rogers) +++ “It is more deductible to give than to receive.” (Henry Leabo) +++ “Some taxpayers close their eyes, some stop their ears, some shut their mouths, but all pay through the nose.” (Evan Esar) +++ “An income tax form is like a laundry list – either way, you lose your shirt.” (Fred Allen) +++ “Tax reform is when you take the taxes off things that have been taxed in the past and put taxes on things that haven’t been taxed before.” (Art Buchwald) +++ “I figured out why Uncle Sam wears such a tall hat. It comes in handy when he passes it around.” (Soupy Sales) +++ “There is one difference between a tax collector and a taxidermist – the taxidermist leaves the hide.” (Mortimer Caplan, former IRS Director)