Fotos from the Past
Researched by Michael J. Caylor Jr.
4-4-79
With 70% of the voters turning out to vote, the county will now have a new judge and six new town chairmen following the spring election yesterday. In the most hotly contested race, local attorney J. Michael Nolan will be the first new judge in Lincoln County in a quarter of a century. By a very slim margin of 263 votes, Nolan, 41, defeated his challenger 33 year old William A. Wulf, also a practicing attorney with the Sazama-Wulf law firm. Nolan can thank the voters in the City of Merrill for giving him the margin of victory over Wulf. In the city of Tomahawk Wulf came out on top and he also won in all but six of the 17 rural precincts. Nolan will begin his six year term in January. On the town level many changes will be seen as Ernest Townsend defeated Leonard Ronis in Russell, William Behrens knocked off Elroy Schmidt in Corning, and there will likely be a recount in Pine River where Nicholas Hoffman defeated Edward Uttech by one vote, 174-173. New chairmen will also be found in the Town of King with Frank Werner, Edward Crass in Skanawan, and Clayton Sielaff in the Town of Tomahawk. No candidate was on the ballot for the Town of Harding Town Chair so voters took matters into their own hands and wrote in the incumbent Jere Westfall, no word if he will accept. Vivian Borchard, Lester Voigt, and Wayne Schultz will all return to the Merrill School Board after challenger David Haskins was defeated in the four way race for three seats. In Wausau, voters overwhelmingly approved a bonding referendum to secure funding for a downtown mall.
Many area farmers were on hand as President Jimmy Carter paid a visit to Wausau this past Saturday and spoke to a crowd of people at Newman Catholic High School. Carter acknowledged to the crowd the economy is in poor shape and inflation is extremely high. He promised a new future with renewed farm prosperity. He credited his farm bill for increased farm profits of 30% last year on average. Carter flew into the airport at Mosinee and then was brought by motorcade to the school to speak. Law enforcement officers from Lincoln County were part of the 200 plus that helped guard the president. Foto News photographer Phil Ziesemer has a front page picture of Carter speaking at the school.
In briefs: Former Mayor Patrick Nugent has announced he is moving to Texas. Nugent’s wife Beverly has secured employment as a bridal consultant in Victoria, Texas, the city they will call home by mid-April. Nugent resigned in February due to ill health. Pine Crest has announced they will open the remaining two empty floors at the facility. Administrator Mark Wilcom announced the move this past week; the extra 30 beds were kept empty mostly because he lacked the staffing to care for the residents. Lock up your stuff, so says an annual report by the city police who noted a 41% jump in thefts over the past year. Captain Alilson English believes juveniles are mostly responsible for the increase.
4-5-89
With a voter turnout of 27% county wide, Dennis Grefe won a special election yesterday and will now serve as the 8th district representative to the Merrill Common Council. The special election was the result of another Grefe leaving that district as Russ Grefe held the post previously but resigned after moving out of the district. Matthew Holt was serving in that position after being appointed by the council. The three incumbents on the Merrill School Board held their seats as Bruce Giese, Michael Willman, and Patricia Weber held off challenges from Barbara Chisnell and Brian Gridley.
Merrill House of Music is offering a great spring special where you can get a 27” TV that has a high quality picture tube, a remote will remember your favorite channels, and can scan up to 178 channels for just $579. If you would really like to be on the cutting edge of technology they are offering a CVJ hand held video recording camera, it has a power zoom along with a built in clock, the price is just $1179. (I have modern one of those, and it makes phone calls too)
4-7-99
The voters in Lincoln County chose the current jail location as where they want to see an expanded lockup for the county’s prisoners. A non-binding referendum yesterday gave the voters that choice, along with the choices of the Lincoln School lot or the hockey rink location; 6th St. at Memorial Drive. A total of 5,259 voters picked the current jail site as compared to 4,649 who selected the hockey rink, and 4,084 who chose Lincoln School. The County Board does not have to honor the voting results and only added the safety building choice as an option, based on pressure from the public and downtown merchants. Supervisor Melissa Schroder, who has campaigned against projects outside of downtown, feels voters may take their frustrations out at the ballot box next April if the board does not go along with the plan approved by the voters.
Lincoln County voters selected Glenn Hartley to be the judge in the newly created circuit court branch two, of Lincoln County Court. Hartley defeated assistant county corporation counsel Donald Dunphy after both men survived a four way primary in February. Hartley credited Dunphy on a well-run, clean campaign that focused on what both men brought to the ballot in experience.