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February 20, 2008

County receives Hometown Hero Award
Last County Board meeting for Butteris

State Representative Lee Nerison presented Crawford County with the Hometown Hero Award during the County Board meeting Tuesday morning. The Hometown Hero Award is usually presented to a deserving individual in each county, but Nerison said that Crawford County has numerous heroes that emerged during the August floods.

"Neighbors helped neighbors," said Nerison. "There are many heroes out there that we don’t even know about yet."

Dale Klemme, director of Community Development Alternatives, gave a presentation before the board during which he stated that a grant will be received for $218,000 from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce to cover the costs of homeowners for damage that occurred in the August floods. The grant will help cover costs for approximately 160 individuals that did not have sufficient insurance or who sustained damage above and beyond what FEMA could cover.

Dr. Karen Knox, the president of Southwest Technical College in Fennimore, gave a presentation regarding the upcoming referendum for a comprehensive building project at SWTC. The referendum will be asking voters whether or not to approve of obtaining general obligation bonds for the proposed $31.9 million project.

Southwest Technical College has not had a referendum in 42 years and Knox said that the school is in great need of new facilities. She said that if the referendum passes, a homeowner with a home valued at $100,000 would pay $28 per year for the next 20 years, or 8 cents per day.

It was noted at the board meeting that this year will mark the 150th anniversary of the Crawford County Fair. Supervisor Peter Flesch said that the anniversary will be a good marketing tool for the fair.

It was also noted that Supervisor Gary Knickerbocker has officially resigned from the board after having served for six years.

"We’ve lost a good man," said Board President Ron Leys, who noted that Knickerbocker resigned because it was recently discovered that one could not be on the county board and also a county employee at the same time. Knickerbocker will keep his bailiff position.

Tuesday’s meeting also marked the last county board meeting for Virgil Butteris, who has served on the board for 31 years. Butteris filed non-candidacy papers and will not be seeking re-election. He received a plaque Tuesday for his years of dedicated service.

"Everyone on the board has been a real friend and we have worked together," said Butteris to the applause of the other board members and others in the meeting room.

Vanderbilts model the spirit of giving

There’s a very convincing public service ad on television showing a crippled man hobbling up a set of stairs, and the accompanying sound track says something to the effect that he was ‘almost’ healed by a hospital that was ‘almost’ built with money from people who ‘almost’ gave. There’s no ‘almost’ about Wendy and Charlie Vanderbilt, recipients of the Danny Ruehlow Award presented at the 2008 Eagles Heart and Cancer Telethon.

The Vanderbilts are people who don’t just talk about doing things: they act on them, and they do it so quietly that, were it not for the efforts of Don Ruehlow, who did some research before presenting the award, the rest of the world would hardly notice. "Everything they do," said Ruehlow, "is just an everyday occurrence for them."

The Vanderbilts, who have lived in the Prairie du Chien area all their lives, tend to see their work as "opportunities which have come to us." Active in a number of organizations, including the Mississippi Sculpture Park, Rotary and Cornerstone Church, where Charlie plays in the worship band, they put in many volunteer hours for the good of the entire community. Wendy, for example, has been a hospice volunteer for over 20 years. Over and above that, however, are the things they do to assist individuals.

In December, they hosted a ‘Special Country Christmas’ at their cabin for a group of special people. Assisted by donations from others in the community, they were able to present their guests with gift and fuel cards and other items.

They frequently provide transportation for people who need to go shopping, visit a hospitalized friend or relative, or make other important trips.

Frequent visitors at the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester, they sometimes "just hang out" with children who are recovering from treatments at the Children’s Hospital, and sometimes take the children to events in the Rochester community to take their minds off being sick.

During a recent trip to Mexico, they befriended a man named Jose Cortez, a clerk at a store they visited. The man, who was so poor he had no running water in his home, wanted to be a teacher, but could not afford the $3,000 necessary for his education. The Vanderbilts returned to Prairie du Chien and raised $1,000, which they sent to him. Today, Jose has achieved his dream and is teaching.

They also have a very direct connection with Danny Rueh-low, for whom the award is named. Daniel was an emcee on the Eagles Club Heart and Cancer Telethon for several years while he was sick with cancer. His magnetic personality and natural actions in front of the camera made him an instant hit with viewers. Daniel believed that it was more important to give than receive, and that is they way he conducted himself.

In December, 2000, Daniel was in Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee, where he had received a second bone marrow transplant from his sister, Nicole. His health was failing. The Vanderbilts called Norb Aschom at WPRE Radio Station in Prairie du Chien and made a plea for residents to donate gifts which could be taken to the Ruehlows in Milwaukee during this time. On Christmas Eve Day, Wendy and Charlie, who had also donated blood platelets for Danny, and their daughter, Danielle, delivered these presents to the overwhelmed Ruehlow family. Daniel passed away Dec. 28 from complications developed after the second bone marrow transplant.

There are probably many more stories which could be told about the Vanderbilts, but because they are private people who do not feel comfortable talking about what they have done, those stories may never be told.

Wendy wanted it made clear that they are able to do so much because of the community in which they live. "Anytime we ask people to help out, they always come through. It’s good to live in such a community," said Wendy. Even with the help of the community, their example shows that it is good to give, not until it hurts, but until it feels good. "We take pleasure in being able to help others but," said Wendy, "we don’t want the notoriety."

County Highway Dept. dealing well with rough winter

"It has been a really long and eventful year," said Highway Commissioner Dennis Pelock in his presentation of the annual Highway Report before the Crawford County Board Tuesday morning.

Pelock told the county supervisors that 87.7 inches of snow has fallen upon Crawford County so far this winter. In the winter of 2006-07, there was a total of 63.5 inches by Feb. 19.

Last winter, the cost of maintaining the county trunk system was $261,000 by Feb. 19. This winter, it has cost $512,000 so far. It cost a total of $411,586 for all of last winter through April 1.

"What you spend in the winter, you lose in the summer," said Pelock regarding the Highway Department budget.

The county has spent $552,000 clearing the state highways within Crawford County this winter. The county spent $320,000 on state highways last winter by Feb. 19. The county gets reimbursed by the state for the cost of maintaining state highways.

"We’ve had a lot of great compliments this winter," said Pelock about the phone calls from county residents regarding snow removal. "We’re doing the best we can, with what we’ve got."

"The 33 people in the Highway Department have been working their tails off keeping the highways and equipment going," Pelock said. "They’re getting a bit stressed but they’re doing a great job."

Pelock said that the flooding in August of 2007 and now the heavy snow this winter have taken their toll upon the crew, as well as the department’s budget. "It’s been a really stressful year and a long, hard winter. And, it’s not over yet," he said.

The floods of Gays Mills, Steuben and other areas of the county in August caused $1.1 million in damage to county highways. Pelock said that $387,000 has been received from FEMA. Pelock said that he is currently working with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration in an effort to obtain "flood aid moneys" to help pay for the rest of the damage.

"There is a lot of work yet to do with the flood," said Pelock regarding damages yet to be repaired.

There is also a salt crisis in the state, said Pelock, who noted that the Crawford County Highway Department has been applying a mixture of salt and sand in order to get by.

"It’s getting to be real tight. It’s not a good situation," said Pelock, who noted that a six-year average is used in the filling of the state’s salt requirements. That means that when there are several mild winters in a row, the state doesn’t get enough salt when a big winter happens. The state is now out of salt for highway maintenance and each of the 72 counties are getting by with whatever they have.

February 18, 2008

Area wrestlers earn trip to State

Seneca senior Dylan Kansier and River Ridge senior Jon Oates each earned State Tournament berths at the Mineral Point Division 3 Sectional wrestling tournament Saturday.

Kansier, who wrestles for North Crawford-Seneca, will defend his 103-pound State title from last year. Kansier pinned Duren of Weston in 3:38 to capture the Sectional title at 103 pounds.

Oates, who wrestles for River Ridge-Cassville, defeated Nofsinger of Brookwood 3-1 in the third-place match at 285 to earn a trip to the State Meet at the Kohl Center in Madison Feb. 21-23.

Kansier’s teammate on the North Crawford-Seneca team, Zach Miller of North Crawford High School, defeated Sheldon of Viroqua 7-1 in the third-place match at 112 pounds to earn a trip to the State Meet.

Memorial Committee discusses potential sites

The pros and cons of seven proposed sites for the new Prairie du Chien Veteran’s Memorial were touched upon during a meeting of the Veteran’s Memorial Committee Wednesday afternoon in the Crawford County Administration Building.

"We won’t make a decision on these properties until late this summer," said committee chairman Dean La Pointe. "A lot needs to be looked at."

"We want to pick the best site and we want to make it look fantastic," said committee member Sue Tiller.

The prospective sites for the memorial so far include:

• A site along Blackhawk Avenue located in the green area behind Rowdy’s Bar.

• A site along South Main Street across from the Tourist Information Center.

• A site at Lochner Park.

• A site at the Old Rock School, roller rink property.

• A site at the Fort Crawford Cemetery.

• A site on the Tourist Information Center grounds along Wisconsin Street.

• A site on private properties near the National Guard Armory.

La Pointe said that the five-person committee will eventually vote on a site for the new Veteran’s Memorial. La Pointe, a Prairie du Chien veteran who began the Veteran’s Memorial project, is the Chairman of the committee. He asked four other Prairie du Chien residents to be members of the committee, including Laura Moore of the Veteran’s Service Office, Cindy Jelinek of the Veteran’s Service Office, retired Major Sue Tiller, and VFW and American Legion Commander Gene La Pointe.

La Pointe said that the committee needs input from the public regarding the prospective sites and any other suggestions concerning the new memorial.

Ten people attended the committee meeting Wednesday afternoon to offer suggestions. Bill Howe was on hand to help explain various aspects of six of the sites, which were suggested to him by several other Prairie du Chien residents. The site on South Main Street across from the Tourist Information Center was originally considered by La Pointe, Blair Dillman and State Senator Dan Kapanke.

"We want a site that has high visibility, safety and traffic," said La Pointe, who noted that the South Main site is such a site. He said that 5,200 cars drive past the site each day. He also said that there is a parking lot, picnic tables an restrooms on or near the site and that a piece of state property at the site may be able to be obtained for free. Drawbacks to the site included safety concerns due to expected traffic increases in the coming years and also the possibility that round-abouts may be constructed in the area.

Lochner Park offers an attractive site. It is already city-owned. It has plenty of parking, public restrooms, picnic tables, and a shelter. Community activities draw people to the area and vandalism is very low. La Pointe pointed out that the site does not have high traffic driving past and thus, "low visibility." Buzz Esser, a longtime National Guard member, said that maybe the "visibility" factor should not be rated so high because the vast majority of people who would visit a memorial would be from the Prairie du Chien area and they already know were Lochner Park is. Karl Steiner said that signs could be put up to show people how to get to the memorial.

Steiner, a former mayor and a current mayoral candidate, helped by answering some technical questions regarding easements at the Old Rock School and some other sites.

It was noted that the site along Blackhawk Avenue behind Rowdy’s floods on a regular basis. It does have benches and picnic tables, however.

The site at the Armory would involve the possible purchase of private properties. There are tables and public restrooms, however.

The Fort Crawford Cemetery was considered too low of visibility and possibly too small.

The area on the Tourist Information Center grounds along Wisconsin Street has tables and public restrooms, along with good visibility and traffic. The site has a slope and would need to be modified, however, said some committee members.

The Old Rock School site, where the current memorial is, was also considered a viable site, offering a large piece of land. The large area offers several possibilities for the location of the 40x40 memorial and also for parking. The site is also highly visible.

La Pointe said that he will be meeting with Mayor Cheryl Mader and City Planner Garth Frable in the near future to discuss the city’s role regarding the new Veteran’s Memorial and its possible sites.

La Pointe also said that he has mailed 500 letters to Prairie du Chien Chamber of Commerce members asking for financial support for the project. He estimated that the 40x40 structure would cost between $90,000 and $100,000.

La Pointe said that donations have been trickling in but that much more are needed.

Representatives of the Jaycees, the Eagles Club and the National Guard all said that their organizations will be conducting fundraisers.

"That’s what we need right now is fundraisers," said La Pointe.

Mike Mergen of the Jaycees asked about the possibility of having someone write and apply for grants to help fund the project.

La Point said that families or individuals could donate benches for the memorial. People can also buy 4x8 and 12x12 pavers. Samples of the pavers can be viewed at Tiller’s Furniture in Prairie du Chien. It was also noted that the VFW still has money in its Veteran’s Memorial Fund.

La Pointe said that everything regarding the structure of the new memorial will be brand new material.

"The veteran’s deserve the best and that’s what their going to get," he said.

Even the lighting will be "caged" and secure, said La Pointe, who also noted that the memorial site could possibly be expanded at some point to include not only a memorial structure and benches but also a "memorial park."

Anyone wishing to donate, to buy benches or pavers, to give input or new ideas or to help out in any way, can contact Dean La Pointe at (608) 326-2779 or the Veteran’s Service Office at (608) 326-0204.