A big thank you goes out to the city crew who did a great job of clearing the roads during the back to back snow storms.  By 9 am on Friday, the town was back to normal with all roads plowed and street corners sanded.  Those of us who shoveled have some sore muscles but have survived and are ready for whatever we must endure before the arrival of SPRING!

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It was a great disappointment when some of us discovered that McDonald’s dining room was closed on the afternoon Tuesday, February 21. A sign on the door encouraged using the drive through and that the dining room was only going to be open M-F from 4:30 pm-10 pm, but would be open Saturday and Sunday 5 am to 10 pm. Why?  The same as other businesses that have cut back – not sufficient help available.

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I have done a little research on the results of the 2022-23 Stanley-Boyd Wrestling Season and here is what I found.

For the season, Stanley-Boyd and Cadott were the only two members of the Cloverbelt that did not have co-op teams.  The conference standings were Cadott 8-0; Regis Catholic/Altoona 7-1; Stanley-Boyd 6-2; Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal 5-3; Abbotsford/Colby 4-4; Bloomer/Colfax 3-5; Spencer/Columbus Catholic 2-6; Thorp/Owen-Withee 1-7 and Oseeo-Fairchild/Augusta/Fall Creek 0-8. *  Cadott won the Cloverblet Tournament held in Abbotsford on Saturday, February 4, with a score of 236, Regis Catholic/Altoona was second with 152 and Neillsville/Greenwood/Loyal and Stanley-Boyd tied for third with 128.5 each.

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• While on sports, congratulations to Stanley resident Brady Ingersoll, who became the Ladysmith High School all time leading scorer in school history. His record came on Tuesday, February 21, in a game against Hayward. With points scored that evening, he had scored 1,464 points so far in his time playing for the Lumberjacks. Brady played his freshman year at Stanley-Boyd and then open enrolled to Ladysmith.  He was named Basketball Player of the Year for the Heart of the North Conference last year. His coach is Brian Roger’s a former Stanley-Boyd teacher/coach.
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• Did you know?  General Grant National Memorial is the largest mausoleum in North America.  It is made with stone that was quarried in Montello, WI, after taking 5 years for the Grant Monument Association to choose the stone for the tombs.  Of 282 samples submitted from four continents, Montello granite was deemed the winner.  The Montello quarry opened in 1879 and was closed in 1976 and is now part of Daggett Memorial Park. +++ The $182 billion Tesla CEO Elon Musk lost since November 2021, has earned him a spot in the Guinness World Record Book.  It was the largest loss of personal fortune in history. +++  In October 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth dived by $11 billion in a single day. +++ In July 2020, Jeff Bezo’s net worth increased $13 billion in a single day. That too, is in the Guinness World Record Book. +++ As reported preciously in this column, a new A&W opened recently in Altoona, near Woodman’s.  With that opening, there are now 45 A&W restaurants in Wisconsin. And one of them is in Stanley at 175 Pine Street (corner of Pine and S. Broadway).
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• I recently attended a dinner sponsored by the Emer-Quinn Knights of Columbus, which has members from Stanley, Boyd and Cadott.  They handed out a sheet of paper which indicates they made $14,836.89 in Charitable Contributions in 2022.  Here are a sampling of the beneficiaries of those donations: Stanley-Boyd Special Education Programs,  Special Olympics of Wisconsin, a Thanksgiving Meal for a local family, Stanley-Boyd Girl Scouts, Sojourner House Meals for Homeless, purchase of two wheelchairs, Ukraine Relief Fund, and $3,000 in local tornado relief.
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• The Wisconsin Demographic Services Center and the U. S. Census Bureau 2022 have come out with a list of the Fastest Growing Counties in West Central Wisconsin. The fastest growing county in West Central Wisconsin in 2040 is  projected to be St. Croix,  Clark is second, Monroe is third, Pierce is fourth, Jackson is fifth, Trempealeau is sixth, La Crosse is seventh, Dunn is eighth, Chippewa is ninth, and Eau Claire is tenth.  Buffalo and Pepin counties are projected to loose population between 2022 and 2040. 
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• We will soon be seeing the return of the birds that migrated south for the winter.  I have seen few birds this winter, even on nice sunny days.  The only hardy birds around our neighborhood are the crows.  If our street happens to have a squirrel run over, the crows somehow get the message and are right there for an easy dinner.  Even some friends with bird feeders have seen less birds this winter.  A few downy woodpeckers have been seen in the area.   If you see them they are usually pecking away on a tree in hopes of discovering some beetles.  According to the National Audubon Society the downy wood pecker is the smallest woodpecker in North America.
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• It is interesting to note that three of the four largest credit unions in Western Wisconsin have operations in the Chippewa Valley (Eau Claire, Dunn and Chippewa Counties).  The largest credit union is Royal Credit Union, which has assets of $4,552,578,835 and a membership of 288,306.  Second largest is Altra Federal Credit Union, located in La Crosse, which has assets of $2,555,529,992 and 136,858.  Third largest is WESTconsin Credit Union, headquartered in Menomonie, has assets of $1,937,869,169 and 113,981 members.  Marine Credit Union, with headquarters in La Crosse, but has banking facilities in Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls and Stanley is fourth with assets of $1,034,078,281 and 78,213 members.  The oldest of the four top credit union is WESTconsin which was chartered in 1939.  Royal Credit Union, while being the largest, was chartered in 1964.  Marine Credit Union was chartered in 1949 and Altra Federal Credit Union is the newest having been chartered in 1984.
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• Smile time.   “I have become convinced that one useless man is called a disgrace, two useless men are called a law firm and three or more useless men are called a congress”-- John Adams +++ Q: Do you know why Adam and Eve had an ideal marriage? A: He didn’t have to hear about all the men she could have married.  She didn’t have to hear about the way his mother cooked everything he liked better. +++ The husband and wife had a tiff.  The wife called her mom and said, “He fought with me again, I am coming to live with you.” Mom said, “No darling, he must pay for his mistake. I am coming to live with you.” +++ Wife to her husband, “There is trouble with the car. It has water in the carburetor.” Husband: “Water in the carburetor?  That’s ridiculous.”  “You don’t even know what a carburetor is, I’ll check it out.  Where’s the car?”  Wife: “In the pool.” +++ A reminder about the importance of a good proof reader of the church bulletin: A new loudspeaker system has been installed in the church. It was given by one of our members in honor of his wife.