Story originally printed in the Coulee News or online at www.couleenews.com
Published - Thursday, April 03, 2008
News in brief
Here is a selection of brief news items from this week's paper edition.
Parents of West Salem High School seniors are putting together a post-graduation party for the kids this year, and there are plenty of opportunities for the community to pitch in.
For example, aluminum can donations will be accepted from now until the day of the event, which will be May 25. Drop off times are as follows:
The La Crosse District of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge will hire four youths this summer to work on a Youth Conservation Corps crew. This summer’s YCC program will begin June 16 and end eight weeks later on Aug. 8.
Crew members will be paid $6.50 per hour for a 40-hour work week. The work week is Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Young men and women, 15 through 18 years of age, who are permanent residents of the United States, its territories or possessions are eligible for employment without regard to social, economic, racial or ethnic backgrounds.
YCC is a work-learn-earn program that develops an understanding and appreciation in participating youth of the nation’s environment and heritage. Crew members will work with agency staff and volunteers on a variety of biological, maintenance, and visitor service projects.
Teens interested in being considered for the crew must complete a YCC application form. Applications are available at the La Crosse district office at 555 Lester Ave. in Onalaska. Office hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday and the telephone number is 783-8405.
The application deadline is 4 p.m. on Friday, April 18. Applicants will be selected by a random drawing and notified by April 22.
U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold has been awarded the 2008 James Madison award from the American Library Association for his work to champion, protect and promote public access to government information.
Feingold has been a Senate leader on strengthening the Freedom of Information Act, reforming lobbying disclosure rules, restricting data mining and the use of National Security Letters and seeking greater public access to court proceedings.
“I am honored to receive this award from a group that is dedicated to enhancing learning and ensuring access to information,” Feingold said. “When the workings of government are transparent, the American people can more readily hold their public officials accountable. Our government will better respond to the concerns of the American people if it is open for public scrutiny.”
Feingold has been a leader in supporting legislation improving transparency in government. Feingold is a cosponsor of legislation to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act by ensuring that agencies act on FOIA requests in a timely manner and empowering citizens to track their FOIA requests. Feingold also spearheaded legislation that improves lobbying disclosure and bans gifts from lobbyists to members of Congress. In addition, Feingold has introduced legislation requiring federal agencies to report to Congress on data mining programs, which are capable of analyzing millions of records on every American, as well as legislation cutting back on the authority granted to the FBI in the USA Patriot Act.
Illegal sales of tobacco to youth reached an all-time low in Wisconsin. Gov. Jim Doyle announced that the state’s 2007 sales compliance survey, which determines the number of retail outlets that are selling tobacco illegally to minors, shows a noncompliance rate of 4.5 percent — the lowest rate ever recorded for Wisconsin. Results from 2007 demonstrate significant improvement from the record noncompliance of 33.7 percent in 2001.
La Crosse County has seen a similar downward trend in illegal sales of tobacco. Checks conducted by La Crosse County Health Department through the WI Wins program show a noncompliance rate of 4.26 percent for 2007.
“We all benefit when youth stay tobacco-free. Preventing youth access is part of a comprehensive community approach to preventing youth smoking,” said Judi Zabel, health educator/ and WI/Wins coordinator. “The diligence on the part of local retailers to check identification and refuse sales to minors is appreciated. I don’t think that anyone in our community wants to see kids take up smoking.”
The annual survey randomly selects retail outlets from across the state to determine a reliable estimate of the rate of illegal tobacco sales to minors.
“Many things are coming together to reduce youth smoking in Wisconsin — the success of the WI Wins program, the cigarette tax, a funded tobacco prevention program, access to quitting help through the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line, and the proposed statewide smoke-free workplace law,” said Zabel. “When the community helps youth avoid tobacco, they have a much better chance of being a tobacco-free adult.”
The UW-La Crosse Small Business Development Center will again offer its Supervisory Management Certificate Program.
The first of its three core courses, Supervisory Management 1, will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, April 8-9.
Supervisory Management 1 serves as an introduction for new managers facing the challenges of leading a work group. The program concentrates on four key topics: 1) the transition to management; 2) analyzing leadership styles; 3) motivating employee performance; and 4) discipline and work ethics.
Past participants have included business owners and managers in offices, healthcare and education-related organizations, restaurants, retail, and manufacturing facilities.
The certificate program consists of three core courses: Supervisory Management 1, 2, and 3. Participants are welcome to attend the individual courses without completing the certificate. It is recommended that the core courses be taken in sequence.
Supervisory Management 2 will be offered May 7-8; Supervisory Management 3 will be offered June 3-4. All courses will be held at the UW-La Crosse Cleary Alumni & Friends Center.
Pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, call the center at 785-8783 or log onto www.uwlax.edu/sbdc.
The seventh- and eighth-grade Bible class at Coulee Region Christian School will show their appreciation to all area veterans or surviving spouses at an appreciation luncheon on April 8 at the school.
The event will be held from 3-5 p.m. at the school cafeteria with a special program at 4 p.m.
On that same day, the students will be partnering with Operation Homefront to support active troops overseas by conducting a troop drive at the school from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Some items that can be dropped off include letters of encouragement, AA batteries, toothbrushes and toothpaste, protein bars and snacks.
Veterans interested in attending the luncheon can contact Bible teacher Sabrina Ross at 786-3004 or sross@crcschool.com.
The annual meeting of the Burns Cemetery Association will be held on Monday, April 7 at 8 p.m. at the Burns Town Hall for election of officers and other business.
All fall and winter decorations are to be removed by April 15 because Good Friday comes early this year.
The annual Melrose-Mindoro Pool Party will be held April 5 at 6 p.m. at the Melrose Legion Hall.
Cost is $60 per ticket and covers appetizers, a meal of steak or ham with potatoes, vegetables, dessert and beverages for two people plus a drawing to win the money back. There are also games available. Money raised is used to maintain the district’s existing pool.
Tickets are available both in advance and at the door. They can be purchased by sending a note and a check to: Melrose Swimming Pool, c/o Friends of Melrose, P.O. Box 261, Melrose, WI 54642.
A pancreas transplant benefit for Lisa (Subjek) Foster will be held on Sunday, April 6 at The Log Cabin in Bangor from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The benefit will include a chili dinner, silent action and bake sale, a raffle, kids activities and a quilt drawing.
Donations may be sent to Farmers State Bank in Bangor or River Bank in La Crosse.
The West Salem Relay for Life will be held April 4-5 at West Salem High School. This year’s theme is “One Step Closer ...,” which will recognize milestones in the fight against cancer.
Team registration will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 4 and the closing ceremony will be at 6 a.m. the next day. For more information about the event, visit www.events.cancer.org\rflwestsalemwi.
The June Dairy Days Committee is always looking for new members. Meetings are held on various Sunday evenings throughout the year. E-mail junedairydays@yahoo.com for more information on how to join.
Chileda’s Friends of Autism will host a Hawaiian-themed party from 7 p.m. to midnight Friday, April 4, at the City Brewery banquet hall in La Crosse.
Cost is $30, which includes hors d’oeuvres and beer. The event also features a silent auction and a music deejay.
All proceeds will benefit local families in need of services and support.
The 26th annual WIZM Radio Auction to benefit the Pump House Regional Arts Center will run from 1 to 5 p.m. on April 5-6.
This year’s auction features a wide variety of items, including signed sports memorabilia, spa treatments, concert tickets, a year’s supply of organic milk, gift certificates at fine restaurants, motorcycle rentals, stained glass lamps, dance lessons, jewelry and hotel stays.
How it works: People identify the items that interest them by logging onto www.ThePumpHouse.org. There they will find a link to “Radio Auction” for details and photos. Many of the items also are available for viewing at the Pump House, 119 King Street, La Crosse.
Note the day and time slot that the item will be auctioned off. A new group of items will be up for bidding every half-hour during the auction.
During the auction, bidders should tune their radio to WIZM-AM 1410. The WIZM radio announcers will keep listeners up to date on the status of the bids throughout each half-hour time period.
Place bids by phoning 785-7880 or bid in person at the Pump House during the time slot for the item(s) of interest. Volunteers on duty will be able to answer questions about items and update people on current bids.
During the last 30 seconds of bidding in each round, phone volunteers are only allowed to accept bids and do not discuss prices on current items.
Winners are announced approximately 20 minutes after the bidding has ended.
Items may be picked up at the Pump House during the auction (up to 5:30 p.m. both days), and then during regular business hours the following week: noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman in downtown La Crosse will host a talk by Msgr. Robert Hundt on “Wise Ways to Keep Your Marriage Strong” on April 9.
Hundt has had vast experience working with married couples and has great insight to the problems that can arise. The talk, which will run from 6 to 8 p.m. in the church undercroft, is free and open to the public.
Refreshments will be served and questions will be welcomed. For more information, call Dr. Carole Edland at 785-2787 or 782-0322.
The West Salem Baptist Church of West Salem will be holding a “Bible Evangelism Crusade” with evangelist Dr. Charles Sanders April 6-11.
Sanders will be showing his recent slides of the Bible lands and will be sharing practical life-changing messages designed to encourage and spiritually uplift the entire family.
The Bible Evangelism Crusade will begin on Sunday, April 6 at 9:30 a.m. for Sunday school and at 10:45 a.m. for morning service and will go through all evening serves that week at 7 p.m.
The public is invited to attend, and bus services is available upon request. A nursery will be provided.
The West Salem Baptist Church is located at 341 S. Mill St. in West Salem. For more information, call 786-3333.
Upcoming events
All stories copyright 2006 Coulee News and other attributed sources.