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Operation Santa Claus making Christmas merrier for over 50 years

Operation Santa Claus is over for another year, but for those who forgot to make your donation, there is still plenty of time, and plenty of items that need to be paid for. According to Rhonda Stubbe, Prairie du Chien Jaycee Senator, donations are still being accepted to help pay for the food purchased for the drive. She said that most of those bills will be paid in January.

The annual food and toy drive ended last week with the large item donations taking place Dec. 12-14. Rachael Smith, who has served as chair of Operation Santa Claus for the past three years, said that all of Crawford County was served in this year's drive, which totaled to 180 families. After all items were purchased, collected, counted and sorted, families were able to pick up their gifts at the National Guard Armory on Dec. 16 and 17.

The pick-up method, however, is not the way the Operation Santa Claus ran in the beginning. According to Tom Nelson, long-time member and now Senator of the Jaycees, the focus of Operation Santa Claus has changed dramatically in the last ten to fifteen years. Stubbe agrees. "The biggest change is the pick-up," she said. Op. Santa Claus has been going on for over 50 years in Crawford County. Up until 1995, Jaycees members and volunteers hand-delivered the packages to families around the county. "It was really an eye-opener to see how much poverty was in Prairie du Chien and the rest of the county," said Stubbe, who co-chaired the drive for about 7 years, referring the days of delivery. "It made you realize not to take what you have for granted," she added.

When Operation Santa Claus first began about 50 years ago Nelson said that the Jaycees spent a lot of their time repairing old toys that people had dropped off. Now, the Jaycees spend less time fixing old toys, but will still clean and fix donation items if needed. Smith did emphasize that both old and new toys were accepted.

According to Nelson, the program started out serving about 50 families in Crawford County. Now, the project costs over $10,000 to run each year and usually serves between 350-400 families. Stubbe said that she's unsure as to why numbers were down this year. The large cost of Op. Santa Claus is helped paid for by the Rendezvous Flea Market that the Jaycees hold every summer. Stubbe also said that Wal-Mart, 7-Up and Dr. Pepper were also large contributors to this year's project. Also helping out the event was Pizza Hut, by having special guest server nights. During those nights, the tip given to the server was matched by Pizza Hut and given to Op. Santa Claus. Over the course of three nights, Pizza Hut was able to raise almost $700 for the drive.

The Prairie du Chien Eagles club also held a fundraiser during which the local band, Wind in the Barley, performed. This event also raised over $700 for Operation Santa Claus.

The money raised is used to buy toys, food and Prairie du Chien Chamber Bucks, which are all given accordingly to area families who have signed up to receive donations. Stubbe said this year was the first year that they have had a hat, coat and mitten drive in conjunction with Operation Santa Claus. "There was just a great turn-out," she said of the winter clothing drive, "we had two tables full of winter clothes."

Although numbers were down for families receiving donations, Jaycees Treasurer Katie Halada said that they are still unsure about the number of donations received because they will hopefully receive donations into January.

Contributions to Operation Santa Claus may be sent year-round to the following address: P.O. Box 341, Prairie du Chien, WI 53821.

Plat for Highland Bluffs project approved

The Highland Bluffs Golf and Waterplay Resort (formerly River Bluffs Resort) took a big step forward recently when the final plat for the development was approved by the Clayton County Planning and Zoning Board on Tuesday, December 13. The final vote by the board was four to two in favor, but was not without controversy.

Board member Kathy Koether abstained from the vote, but read a statement to the board explaining some of her reasons for not voting. In her statement, Koether noted with frustration that "...each meeting it felt as though the developer/attorney [for River Bluffs] attempted to supersede the rules - to change our rules rather than comply with our existing ordinances....I have been determined to make this subdivision comply with the same regulations as other subdivisions have obeyed." Planning and Zoning Board Chair Mark Zwanziger did not vote either, as the chair votes only in the event of a tie.

Zwanziger also expressed frustration that two safety concerns the board had asked the developer to address were not in the final plat. Zwanziger wanted to see the fire hydrant locations in the plat, but was satisfied that they appeared in the plan, according to the developer's engineer. Several members of the board and the public also expressed concern about a golf cart crossing on a street within the development called Jasper Avenue. As the course is designed, golfers will cross the street in order to access greens three through seven, then cross it again to access greens eight through 18. Jasper Avenue is a dead-end street lined with 42 lots that are part of second phase of the development. The board asked the developer to include an over or underpass for the carts across the street. According to Zwanziger, the attorney for Highland Bluffs, Mike Schuster, told the board that the cost for an over or underpass for golf carts was too expensive. Schuster said it would cost about $170,000, according to estimates the developer had solicited. "Some of the people on the board weren't buying that," Zwanziger said, noting that such a cost was small for a multimillion dollar development. "To me, the safety issues are huge," Zwanziger added. In its the final recommendations to the Supervisors, the Planning and Zoning Board added a recommendation that the Supervisors address the safety issue of the golf cart crossing on Jasper Avenue.

This week, mandatory public hearings were held on Monday and Wednesday mornings on the plat to take public input. After completion of the hearings on Wednesday morning, the Clayton County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve the plat. According to Supervisor Neil Meyer, the supervisors will ask the County Engineer, Rafe Koopman, to look into the safety issues for golf carts at the Jasper Avenue intersection.

Denise Schneider, executive assistant for housing and condominium development for Highland Bluffs expressed relief and optimism that a major hurdle will soon be over for the development. The next major obstacle will be to secure state and federal permits for three deep wells and a water tower and sewage treatment plant. The development hopes to complete the Iowa Department of Natural Resources permit application process for for water and sewer utilities in March. Approval of the permit and for the design for the water system could be lengthy, since it could affect nearby state-protected trout streams. If all permitting processes proceed smoothly, Schneider anticipates that construction on the sewage treatment plant could begin late next summer.

Other elements of the development are in the design phase, and some of them will be under construction next summer, Schneider said. The architect's sketches of the design of the hotel and waterpark show Prairie Style architecture, such as the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright. The hotel and waterpark will be let for bids this March. Work on the golf course will continue next summer with the installation of greens and irrigation, with completion anticipated for next September, according to golf superintendent Mike Hillesland. Housing lots and condo units will also become available. "I'm sure some of the home lots will be sold next year," Schneider said. The entire project is scheduled to be completed and open for business by Thanksgiving, 2007.

No pier pressure

Vast majority of piers unaffected by new rules

Those who own piers in the Prairie du Chien area and across the state may have many questions concerning the new rules that were approved by the Natural Resources Board Dec. 7.

The vast majority of those pier owners can rest easy, however, because 99 percent of the estimated 187,000 piers on Wisconsin waters would see no changes under the new rules.

The remaining one percent of existing piers ­ the very largest structures which have a deck exceeding 200 square feet ­ will have three years to get the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) review and permit required under laws dating back 70 years.

The DNR is updating pier rules to carry out a 2004 law, which sought to streamline the state's waterway project permitting system. Todd Ambs, the DNR's top water official, said that the rules set clear standards that make it easy for people to know if they need a permit and they assure that new piers will be reasonably sized to protect Wisconsin waters in the future while allowing people to dock their boats and get into them, the use recognized by state law.

The rules also meet the goal of grandfathering in all existing larger piers that don't harm lakes and rivers, fisheries and boaters. The rules also provide pier owners with protection against neighbors or others questioning their pier size in the future, Ambs said.

Finally, the rules provide a mechanism to analyze the largest structures to assure that they do not harm the public's interest in public waters, said Ambs.

"The new rules protect against inappropriate private use of public waters," said DNR Waterway Policy Coordinator Lisa Lehmann, who noted that the rules set clear standards and clear requirements for piers.

Lehmann said that under the new rules, all new and existing piers will qualify for an exemption from permitting of they meet size requirements that were formalized in the 2004 law and which mirror size quidelines the DNR has used since 1991. Lehmann said that a pier would not need a permit if it had a maximum width of six feet, had up to two boats moored for the first 50 feet of shoreline frontage and one boat for each 50 feet thereafter. The pier could also extend out as far as needed to moor the owner's boat or to the 3-foot water depth, whichever is greater. Based upon a summer 2005 study by the DNR, 85 percent of all piers in Wisconsin meet these size requirements and therefore do not need a permit.

Furthermore, Lehmann said that all existing piers that are too big to qualify for a permit exemption can be grandfathered in if they are no wider than 8 feet and have a deck that is 200 square feet or less. Owners of these piers will not have to change their pier but will have three years to go through a free registration process (known as a "general permit") to document that their pier existed before the 2004 law change. Approximately 14 percent of existing piers fall into this category.

Lehmann said that the owners of these piers would need to fill out a one-page application form, which will include a diagram with the dimensions of their pier and a photograph of their pier. This registration process is free and is done one time. Lehmann said that it is good for a pier owner to have their general permit application on record with the DNR in case a neighbor or any other person questions the size of the pier or if the owner sells the property and pier.

The remaining one percent of piers are those that have decks that exceed 200 square feet. Those large piers will be required to get an individual review by the DNR and a $300 permit. Lehmann said that the permit for such large piers is a one time fee and that DNR field staff would go out to look at the pier to assess its impact upon fish and wildlife habitat and neighboring properties. The DNR review would also take into account how long the structure has been in the water, whether it is being used to serve disabled users, or if it interferes with boating or other public interests.

Lehmann said, "there is no guarantee" that all of the owners of these large piers will get a permit. Some owners may be required to downsize or otherwise modify the pier to avoid damage to habitat, interference with boating or impacts to other public interests.

Of course, existing piers with the proper permit are not affected by the new rules.

Nonpermanent, inflatable water rafts or water trampolines are unaffected by the new rules. The rules governing inflatable water rafts or trampolines remain unchanged, said Lehmann.

Wisconsin Fisheries Director Mike Staggs said that the rules are necessary because lakes and rivers are public resources and thousands of changes are made every year to shorelines and shallow water areas that can harm the public's rights in these waters. Piers are among the most common changes.

Studies have long shown that shallow water areas where property owners want to place piers, riprap, seawalls and boathouses are the same areas that provide critical spawning, nursery and foraging areas for fish. Structures and other activities that displace or destroy aquatic plants, downed trees and other natural habitat in these areas can impact fish, fishing and water quality, said Staggs.

Recent studies looking specifically at piers in Wisconsin have corroborated earlier findings in other states that showed that piers and their associated boats shade out aquatic ecosystems, including food for fish. These same plants also provide habitat for fish and positively influence water quality.

Staggs said that piers with large decks make the area underneath them "basically a dead zone."

Staggs said that the revised rules protect the Wisconsin lakes and rivers that belong to all Wisconsin residents while also respecting the rights of people who own land along these waters.

New district manager coming to local Fish and Wildlife office

Cathy Henry decided to take on a new challenge, if only temporarily. When John Lindell, the McGregor District Manager of the the Upper Mississippi River National Fish and Wildlife Refuge retired on October 1, Cathy asked if she could step in to act as interim district manager. She has been director of the Driftless National Wildlife Refuge for eight years. Both refuges are operated out of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) McGregor facility.

Clyde Male, assistant director of the McGregor District of the Upper Miss Refuge, would have been the normal stand-in for the position. But Henry requested the job, in order to gain more experience. Refuge Manager Don Hultman said he had no qualms about Cathy taking the position. "Cathy is just an outstanding employee," Hultman said, noting that the position will offer her some supervisory experience. Henry will hold the position until the end of January, when Clyde Male will take it up until the new district manager takes up his duties in March. Henry will return to her duties with the Driftless Refuge.

Henry has been busy. "I've been finishing up on a couple of projects that John started," she explained. She is currently handling the right-of-way permit for the underwater electric cable replacement for power to Indian Isle, finishing up paperwork for the Wisconsin River railroad bridge project and, of course, handling some aspects the new changes to the proposed Comprehensive Conservation Plan that created so much controversy earlier this year. "I've been enjoying it," Henry said of her work.

Tim Yager, a biologist with the FWS based in the Twin Cities, has been selected as the new district manager. Hultman said that there were 19 applicants for the position, which was open to qualified U.S. government employees. Hultman said that Yager has a history of work on Upper Mississippi River projects as chair of the the FWS work group of the inter-agency teams that have dealt with Environmental Management Plan projects such as last summer's drawdown on Pool 5. So-called inter-agency teams are made up of federal and and state agencies who have jurisdiction on the Mississippi River, such as the Corps of Engineers, FWS and state DNR departments. He also has worked for the Corps of Engineers. "He's been heavily involved on the Mississippi," Hultman said. Moving to Iowa will be something of a homecoming for Yager, who has a bachelor of science degree in fisheries and wildlife and a master's degree in water resources, both from Iowa State University. As McGregor District manager, Yager will oversee FWS activities in Pools 9 through 11, which includes 90,000 acres of refuge lands. He is scheduled to take up his duties on March 19. Hultman is confident that people in the community will like their new district manager. "One of the things I look for are people skills. Everyone will like Tim," Hultman added.