Researched by Michael J. Caylor, Jr.
3-24-71
Major changes have been announced by the Church Mutual Insurance Company, as long time President W. W. Schuster will step down as President of the company and will now fill the role of Chairman of the Board. Schuster, who joined the company in 1945, was elected its President in 1945. The Board selected Dieter H. Nickel as the President of the company, only the sixth person to fill that role in its 74-year history. Thomas J. Young has been elected as Executive Vice President – Finance and Administration; he had been Executive Vice President and Treasurer. Schuster said in a statement that he felt 1970 was a tremendous year of growth for the company and feels it is in good hands moving forward with the appointment of Nickel, who has been Legal Counsel for the company for the last nine years and Director for the past two. Under Schuster’s watch, he saw the company expand to 18 states and negotiated the merger of five insurance companies which now encompass Church Mutual. Nickel, a graduate of Valparaiso University Law School, had previously served as the District Attorney of Lincoln County for four years before entering private practice. He is involved in many civic organizations and was cited as Merrill’s “Outstanding Young Man” in 1969. Young, a Merrill native, is also very involved in the community and is President of the Merrill Chamber. He was cited as Merrill’s “Outstanding Young Man” in 1968. (I have a good feeling about these two “young men.”)
It appears Saturday will be the final run for the City operated bus service. State Senator Clifford Krueger (R-Merrill) related information this past week to Mayor Voigt that the application to transfer the motor carrier license to Park City Cab and Bus Service will be approved. The plan is to make one final west run on Saturday afternoon and then Peterson’s will take over Monday, if they file and get approval for their rates with the State prior to that. The City had previously granted the company the exclusive franchise for taxi service, and now owners, Ralph and Glenn Peterson, will move ahead with their plans to run a bus service in the city to provide an afternoon and evening run for students. Mother Nature showed her sense of humor with the start of spring. Three inches of snow fell on the ground Sunday into Monday morning. The Prairie River is currently two to three feet above flood stage in some places.
More than 55 County sportsmen participated in the Annual County Conservation Hearing at the Courthouse on Monday night. Those present voted to maintain the current ruffed grouse season, which ends the week before the gun deer season. Some hunters had requested the season north of State Rd. 64 be extended until the end of December. The group also voted to abolish deer variable quotas for the 1971 deer season. Emery (Trapper) Morrison, DNR game technician at Merrill, stated the deer habitat is deteriorating in some areas of the county, however, when he was in the New Wood area this winter, he saw more deer then he has in the previous 31 years.
3-25-81
Should Supervisors on the Lincoln County Board receive a meal stipend for meetings that don’t last all day? That is the question posed by Chairman Neil LeMay after he learned Supervisors on the Resource and Zoning Committee voted for lunch payments after their meeting on March 3. Supervisors on that Committee contend that because their meeting did not adjourn until 12:30 p.m., they were entitled to the $5 lunch payment; however, LeMay stated that meal payment is only for all day meetings. Harry Osness, a member of that Committee, also explained that because the meeting is technically two meetings in one, the Committee felt they qualified for the payment. LeMay referred the matter to the Finance Committee to investigate.
Merrill dentist, Dr. Edgar Rajek, has died. Rajek died unexpectedly this past Friday morning at his Riverside Ave. home. Dr. Rajek was a native of Merrill, having graduated from Merrill Senior High School in 1938. He attended Brigham Young University and its school of dentistry. During World War II, Dr. Rajek practiced in the Canal Zone before being discharged in 1946. Funeral services were held Monday, and he was laid to rest at St. Francis Cemetery.
3-27-91
Watch out for robbers, so says the Merrill Police Department. A group of bandits have been traveling the state conducting what is known as distraction robberies, where several people enter a store and create a distraction, which allows one or more to enter an office area and steal money. The group has been in Merrill before, taking nearly $5,000 from a Merrill supermarket at the end of January. Police Chief Charles H. Johnson is concerned they may return, based on information on their travels, which is being shared among law enforcement agencies in the state