Researched by Michael J. Caylor Jr.
4-14-76
The City of Merrill has issued bonds in the amount of $750,000 to Hill Top Medical Group (Family Medical Clinic) in order to construct a clinic on O’Day St near the hospital. The facility will house up to eight doctors and will be built by the House of Merrill. The city council also approved the transfer of $100,000 from the general fund to finance a development in the Merrill Industrial Park. In other city news, the Merrill Go Round is celebrating its first year in service with a birthday fare special. Rides on the bus will cost you a dime from check point to check point starting Monday. The bus had 65,000 riders in the first year, more than two and a half times the number of its predecessor the Dial a Bus program.
Dan Burk will be the new head of the Chamber of Commerce. Burk will graduate from Ripon College next month and will head straight to Merrill to head the organization. He is a 1972 graduate of Merrill Senior High School and will receive his A.B. degree in economics and speech. Burk is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Burk of Cotter Court in Merrill. Another local association also has a new head, Ron Priebe was elected chair of the Lincoln County Bar Association at their meeting April 6th; Dennis Montabon is vice-president and John Ament treasurer.
I found Dan on Facebook, still alive and well. He told me after 35 years in the St. Louis area he is back in Wisconsin and could not be happier about coming home. And of course he still subscribes to the Foto News.
Sunday is Easter and if you are looking for someplace to go this weekend the Entertainment page has your answers. Club Modern has a buffet on Sunday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. which has ham, chicken, roast beef, tips and ribs for only $3.25. Les & Jim’s will entertain you all weekend with Chucky and the Dip Sticks Friday and the Rhythm Masters Saturday. The Riverside Club will feature a full menu Sunday including spring lamb and Easter ham. Club 64 has Finn Power on Friday and a ham dinner Sunday. Schmitt’s will have a dance on Easter featuring Ray Dorschner and the Rainbow Valley Dutchman. Hinz’s Cork and Dine has a buffet Sunday featuring crab stuffed flounder, sirloin beef, broasted chicken, ribs, tips and ham as well as a dinner menu with duck, turkey and leg of lamb. Or if you want to travel, you can head up to the Silver Birch in Tomahawk where on Saturday night a complete steak dinner is $4.95 or the Sunday buffet will include the music of Guss Wurl.
4-16-86
The new Merrill City Council took their seats last night, four of them sporting new faces. Robert Monti, Patricia Woller, Cheryl Kanitz and Bryan Stimers were all sworn in Tuesday along with the returning four representatives. A change in committees will bring a new face to chair the personnel and finance committee with Roger English moving from the water and sewer committee to chair the P&F committee and Plautz moving to the water and sewer committee. David D’Amico will head the health and safety committee.
Months of work to obtain a new site for a Lincoln County Landfill may be back to square one after the property slated to be purchased in the Town of Birch was suddenly taken off the market. The solid waste committee has spent thousands of dollars testing and preparing the Alfred Turner property, but according to attorney Glen Hartley, Turner has now informed the group he is not selling. Hartley stated the county’s only recourse now would be to take Turner to court to force him to go through with the sale. Despite the fact that the solid waste committee will soon be filled with new faces thanks to recent elections at both the county and city level the group voted to proceed with the Turner purchase at the meeting last week.
The news for the Merrill Rural Fire Department keeps getting worse as now the Town of Texas in Marathon County has given notice that they intend on pulling out of the rural network. Currently the Merrill Rural Fire Department services Texas along with the Towns of Pine River, Corning, Harding, Rock Falls, Merrill, and Scott. Lawrence Walters of the Town of Texas reported they would like to continue to receive service from Merrill, but they feel it would be less expensive for them to start their own department. Texas actually contracts with and splits their town with Merrill Rural, Town of Maine and Wausau City Fire Departments. They estimate it will take $100,000 to begin their own department. Last week in the Foto News an article made it quite clear that the Town of Corning will most likely start their own department in the next year. Despite the news, the rural fire committee directed Chief Harvey Emmanuel to explore costs associated with his plans to purchase a new pumper and tanker for the rural department. The remaining members of the group have expressed concern that they will need to reimburse townships that get out of the multi-township formation, causing Pine River board member Bill Behrens to express the desire to hold off on the new purchases until the future of the group is more certain.
Make sure you get to Drew’s Supermarket this week and get your Bankroll card punched! The progressive jackpot is at $900 this week. Sorry to Annette Burdick, she did not have her card punched this past Saturday when her name was drawn.
4-17-96
A picture on the front page shows snow filled trees in front of a city home. About two inches of fluffy white snow fell from the sky on Monday. According to the headline the weather pattern has been snow followed by melt followed by snow. A total of 9.1 inches of precipitation has fallen on the area since November 1.
If you are going to prom time is running out to buy tickets. Prom will be this Saturday and the theme is “A Love to Believe in.” Prom royalty is Bill Weix and Jamie Sullivan. Post prom activities are at Lincoln Lanes beginning at 10:30 p.m.
Looking for something to do this weekend? The Entertainment page has you covered: Club Modern is having a seafood buffet for only $7.49 Friday night, Mulligans Restaurant has a buffet lunch next Wednesday to celebrate Secretaries Day for only $6.50 per person. Grecian Delight’s special this week is the deluxe burger for .99. Jean’s Supper Club in Gleason will have prime rib and ribs this Saturday and a buffet on Sunday. Diamond Dave’s in the Pine Ridge shopping center is gearing up for Cinco de Mayo, but in the meantime margarita’s on Monday are only $1.49. Piggots Pub in Pine River has the Broken Arrow band on Friday; the Pike has the music of Deja Blue; the Edge Tap has karaoke on Friday; Laurie Lee’s is now open at the former Gil’s Bar site and they advise the shuffle board is back and ready to play. Tim Out Sports Bar has $1 Pabst all weekend. And if travel is on your mind Central Wisconsin Travel is planning for the UW Madison – UNLV game in September with packages starting at $499 out of CWA.