Researched by Michael J. Caylor, Jr.
8-11-71
The MAPS Board of Education has agreed to appoint Jack Ader as the athletic director. The new position will coordinate all coaches, equipment, and interscholastic athletics, including girl’s athletics. The change in job title does not come with a pay increase though, according to Superintendent Roger Lowney. The Board also approved a new contract with the Custodians’ Union. The new pay scale calls for a custodian with no experience to start at $454 per month and will work up to $564 per month at 11 years. The radio operator/food distributor will top out at $586 per month.
Patrons of the T.B. Scott Free Library will notice a change this week as the library has implemented a card system for those borrowing books. Each person seeking to take home a book will fill out a short application and, once approved, will be issued a permanent library card. Then, on return trips, the same card will be used each and every time. The library will also now have cards in the back of each book which will have the return date stamped on them. The system of stamping the book cover will be abolished.
Congregants of St. John’s Lutheran Church are mourning the passing of the Rev. W.F. Ludwig. Pastor Ludwig died at noon on Sunday after a lingering illness. He served as Pastor of St. John’s from 1950 until his retirement in 1967, after 45 years of ministry. During his tenure, St. John’s built their new church and school building. Funeral services will be held tomorrow at the church; Rev. Herman Schedler, Rev. Gust Krueger, and Rev. J.H. Nau will officiate.
The County is taking applications, but the list of candidates may be short, as the County Board and Law Enforcement Committee try and decide the future of the Sheriff’s Office. Current Sheriff Alfred Giese is locked in a court battle with the County and Chief Deputy Harvey Woodward. Yesterday the County Board proposed putting every County employee under the umbrella of the civil service rules, but that proposal was eventually tabled. Giese argues that the ordinance as written is illegal and he has sole power to hire and fire in his agency. District Attorney James T. Rogers says the ordinance is legal and is preparing to defend both the County and the ordinance in court. Supervisor Patrick Nugent told how he worries if the ordinance is invalid, then arrests made by Deputies could be considered false arrests. By the way, if you want to apply to be a Deputy, you must be at least 21, but not older than 40, and the starting salary is $587 per month, or $1 more than the radio operator/food distributing custodian at MAPS.
8-12-81
The County now has until November to decide what it wants to do with the Prairie Dells Dam. The Forestry Department petitioned the State and received permission to hold off on any decisions on the Dam until further studies are completed.
Lincoln County may soon see millions of dollars in State aid to pay for a bypass highway to go around Tomahawk. It was in 1974 that the section of Highway 51 around Merrill was opened, removing a steady stream of thousands of cars through the city, and now the State wants to finish the project by completing ten miles of road around Tomahawk, thereby removing all the traffic from that city. The State is working to finalize land purchases to move the project forward, and if all goes well, the new road from County Rd. S to US Hwy. 8 may be open by fall of 1984.
Residents in Tomahawk will now have the ability to call 911 if they have an emergency. Phone users in the 453 exchange who dial 911 will be routed to the Tomahawk Police Department, where they will then dispatch police, fire, EMS, or a deputy. Tomahawk Police will also dispatch several fire departments in southern Oneida County whose area is served by the 453 exchange. It is not known when the County will implement a full county-wide system. (1994)
One municipality’s trash is another man’s treasure, or at least that is what auctioneer Carl Theorin found out this past weekend as the County and City held a surplus auction at the new Safety Building. The County had plenty of items cleaned out of the former Jail building before it was demolished. Sheriff Ron Krueger found a large amount of furniture in the attic of the building. Leather covered wood rockers went from $25 to $60 apiece. Unclaimed bikes went anywhere from .50 cents to $60 for trail bikes. A motorcycle seized by the court around 1974 finally found a home for $25. Merrill Transit Director Harry Banaszak was happy, as he unloaded the three original Merrill Go Round buses for $875 each. Earlier attempts to sell those buses under sealed bid found no bidders. One unique item, which probably held more than its share of dirt over the years, was a bathtub on wheels, which came from the original jail. Although lots of interest and tales were told of the tub, it went home with Phil Borchardt who paid $16 for it.
8-14-91
Lincoln County has given the green light to an expansion of the landfill in the Town of Merrill. The site will be expanded two and one half acres or one module. There is a total of eight modules on the grounds, which hold capacity of 660,000 cubic yards of garbage. Solid Waste Manager Robert Reichelt said he expects the first module, which opened in 1989, to be full by sometime next year. Currently, the landfill takes in about 12,000 to 13,000 tons of garbage each year, and at the current pace ,the landfill will be full in about 20 years. (Now 20 years later, and no talk of running out of room; recycling. I am sure. helped those projections.)
Work began this past week to remove the dam at Prairie Dells. A small group of protestors picketed at the park when a backhoe began its work. Controversy over the dam began in 1984 when the DNR told of the 85-year-old dam being near collapse.