Researched by Michael J. Caylor, Jr.
7-6-71
The City of Merrill is at a crossroads, and the controversial question soon to appear before the Council is: Which way will it turn? The issue is what to do about Main Street in downtown. Everyone agrees the road is in pathetic shape, but the question facing City leaders is whether they should take a band aid approach or just completely re-do the street in order to fix it for the long run. Suggestions for quick fixes include putting another layer over the existing road or scraping off one layer and adding a new. City Engineer Charles Pierotti said adding another layer isn’t logical, and he expects if the City goes down one layer, they will find bricks from Merrill’s horse and buggy days. Another issue is a complete inspection of the underground sewer system. Pierotti hopes the system is in good shape but knows it likely isn’t; he points to evidence that some downtown buildings may, in fact, be putting raw sewage into the storm drain system. Other issues include the need to widen some intersections, most curb and gutter and sidewalks need replacing, and as long as everything is being torn up, the city might as replace the aging lights. Mayor Voigt is expected to call a meeting in August to discuss all this.
A seven-year-old Merrill girl is dead and her cousin injured after an incident Monday morning involving a Soo Line freight train north of Tomahawk. Dawn Peterson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Peterson, was likely walking on the tracks with her cousin, Debra Latzig, also seven, when the train came through. The train engineer reported the girls appeared to be walking toward him when he rounded a curve on the tracks while traveling at 33 MPH. Witnesses reported Peterson appeared to freeze and crouch down by the tracks before she was struck and knocked into the water. The Latzig girl was either brushed by the locomotive or jumped into the water. Two young brothers from West Allis, who were fishing from a boat, were credited for recovering the girls and bringing them to shore.
On Friday, traffic heading north on Highway 51 through the city was backed up three miles south of the city. By Saturday, traffic was again a steady stream as local police operated the stop and go lights manually to keep things moving. No accidents were reported on Friday. On Monday, a Wausau man suffered serious injuries after his vehicle left Highway 51 near Tomahawk. A large crowd, gathered for fireworks at the fairgrounds, had to be evacuated after a bomb threat was phoned in for the grandstand. Police and firemen checked the structure and found nothing.
A 65-year-old Merrill man was arrested Friday evening after a shooting in the Sixth Ward. Just after 10:00 p.m., callers to the Police Department reported gun shots on Foster Street. Officers found bullet holes in the homes of Andy Olivotti and Edward Slewitzke. A short time later, the suspect was located and arrested; police confiscated a 30.06 rifle.
7-7-81
No, Sheriff Krueger is not starting a chain gang. Recent landscaping around the new safety building got residents and elected officials talking when a truckload of rocks was dumped out in front of the main entry point. The Sheriff said no prisoners will be outside breaking up the pile; instead, a company will install them around a new sign that says “Sheriff’s Office” that was made from salvaged stone from the original jail building which was torn down earlier this year. (I did not know the origin of the sign, which was moved but is still out front.) The controversial part of the $38,000 exterior plans, is an underground sprinkler system. Krueger explained the planners failed to put any faucets on the outside of the building.
Local resident, Don Heckman, is asking that whomever is stealing the flag off the grave of his great-uncle to stop it. Heckman reported the flag, which sat atop the grave of Herman Stiefvater, has been stolen five times now over the past eight years. The problem likely lies in the fact that the flag is from the Confederate Army. Heckman tells how Stiefavater served in the 22nd Tennessee Infantry after joining when he was just 14 years old. Stiefavater was twice wounded during the war and crippled from his wounds, but served until the surrender to Union forces. No one knows what drew him to Merrill; however, he lived here in the Sixth Ward until his death in 1915. Stiefavater is buried at St. Francis Cemetery.
Things are starting to look up on the unemployment front, as less people were collecting benefits this past month. The rate of unemployment in the county was 9.6% for May, which is down from 10.7% in April and 13.2% in March. Jim Alft said more people are getting back into the work force, but also pointed out part of the drop is the amount of people who have exhausted their benefits and are not counted in the figures, as they no longer are collecting compensation. Alft said the number of people re-entering the work place in June is continuing to grow.
7-10-91
It was a deadly start to the holiday on Lincoln County roadways as two head on collisions claimed four lives. Two people were killed last Wednesday when their vehicles collided head-on south of Tomahawk. Two brothers from New Berlin were killed later that night when their car collided with a truck near Irma. In total, 20 people were killed across the state over the long holiday weekend. A Merrill teen also drowned on Saturday on Lake Mohawksin. Danyelle Williams, 14, had been on a raft before she vanished under the water. An EMT from Tomahawk ambulance recovered the girl, but she died two hours later at Sacred Heart.
Mayor Ken Sparr’s work to eliminate most elected officials in City Hall came to a halt last night as the Council only voted to make the City Attorney appointed, rather than elected. Sparr was hoping to flip the Attorney, City Clerk, and Street Commissioner to appointed rather than elected positions, but two of those measures were defeated by wide margins. Council members said strong community opposition swayed their votes to keep those positions elected.