April 10, 2002

Former PdC woman dies in two-vehicle accident
A 20-year-old Boscobel woman, formerly of Prairie du Chien, is dead
following a motor vehicle accident which occurred at about 5:15 p.m. on
April 8.
The accident took place on Highway 61, four-tenths of a mile south of
Dry Hollow Road, rural Boscobel.
Julie Konichek, 20, was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier north on
Highway 61. She pulled off the highway onto the shoulder and a 1992 Ford
Explorer, driven by Tricia Scott, attempted to go around the Cavalier.
At that time Konichek attempted to make a U-turn in the middle of the
highway. The vehicles collided and the Cavalier went into the ditch.
Both Tracie Aker, 20, Blue River, and Jason Konichek, 5, Boscobel,
(Julie Konichek's son) were extricated from the car with the jaws of
life. They were taken to the Boscobel hospital for treatment of minor
injuries.
Tricia Scott was also transported to Boscobel Area Health Care for minor
injuries.
Julie Konichek was pronounced dead at the scene.
Elaine Scott, 54, and Ayaka Ono, 17, both of Boscobel and passengers in
the Explorer, were wearing seatbelts and neither received any injuries.
The 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier, owned by Jason Kellogg, was totalled. The
1992 Ford Explorer, owned by Phillip and Elaine Scott, had moderate
damage.
This was Grant County's sixth traffic fatality of the year.

Council orders city attorney write another letter opposing closure of
Haydn St. RR crossing
Following a closed session at Tuesday night's meeting of the Prairie du
Chien Common Council, City Attorney Tom Peterson was directed to write
another letter concerning the potential closure of the Haydn Street
Railroad Crossing.
This letter will be directly addressed to Governor Scott McCallum, and
copies sent to Rep. Johnsrude and Sen. Meyer. The letter is to state the
city's displeasure with the seemingly unfair process of the closure and
it will state the city's opposition to the closure.
Earlier this year, the Prairie du Chien Common Council reversed a
earlier stance of neutrality on the closure of the Haydn Street
railroad, stating the hearings held by the Office of the Commissioner of
Railroads (OCR) were flawed and tainted.
The hearing examiner from OCR, Douglas Wood, has recommended to the
Commissioner of Railroads to close the crossing by November of this
year.
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) offered to fund half of the
approximate $2.1 million total cost for the signal improvements at all
of the other crossings in the city, contingent upon the closure of the
Haydn Street crossing, according to the OCR.
In other business, the council approved a report from the Community
Development Committee recommending the funds from the Wisconsin Division
of Housing be used to acquire and clear properties affected by flooding
at 944 S. 1st St. ($38,400), 950 S. 1st St. ($40,000), 409 S. Main St.
($60,000) and 941 S. 1st St. ($26,500). They also approved relocation
payments to the properties at 409 S. Main St. and 950 1st St.
The council approved a State Infrastructure Bank loan for the amount of
$625,860 for improvements to Frederick Street. The 4 percent loan does
not count against the city's debt load and will be paid for by funds
generated by Cabela's tax revenue in that TIF district. Bids for the
Frederick Street improvement will be approved in May. The total payback
amount of the loan over 15 years will be $860,625.
Two long-tern city employees announced their retirements in letters to
the council on Tuesday night. Wayne Fisher, Waste Water Treatment
Facility Supervisor, is retiring May 31 after 23 years with the city.
Jim S. Jacque of the street department will be retiring May 1 after 20
years of service with the city.
Jim White and Bob Welsh approached the council about a large horse event
they are considering for the city at the end of August. They are basing
the idea from the horse parade which used to be held in Waukon, Iowa.
The horse parade would travel from LaRiviere Farm Park to St. Feriole
Island. They are just in the idea stage and with the approval of the
council they will now start planning the possible event. There was some
concern of tying up traffic on Marquette Road.

PdC PALS forging onward
Mentoring program needs more adult volunteers for
'sharing and caring'
The PALS Program is continuing to go strong at Prairie du Chien Public
Schools with 14 high school students giving their time and talents to
help youngsters who could benefit.
Prairie du Chien High School students work throughout the school year
with students from Bluff View Intermediate School and B. A. Kennedy
Elementary School in an effort to lend some stability to the children's
lives.
"It's another arm of our counseling program in a way," said Guidance
Counselor Wendy Garrity, "It's a very valuable extension."
Garrity said that the high school students work over their noon hour
with the same children each week, which enables the "mentors" to build a
rapport with their pupils.
"I get just as much out of it as the kids do," said mentor Casey Gokey,
noting that the students and their mentors build a bond through a
variety of activities, including tag, Twister, Uno, a book fair,
basketball, scooters, Bingo, and Perfection.
"I learned to be more responsible and patient," said mentor Becky
Matousek, explaining that her experiences with her students have given
her an added insight as she plans to further her education and career in
the areas of school psychology and counseling.
Mentor Heidi Shedivy said that the students and mentors look forward to
seeing each other every week and, in addition to physical games, the
students build social skills, confidence and self-esteem through a
variety of word, number and guessing games.
Shedivy said that the children learn self-control through activities
with their mentors, but there are also times when mentor and student can
sit, have lunch and just talk.
Garrity said that some students feel more comfortable around a mentor
and open up a bit more.
High School mentors include Charlie Beinborn, Heidi Shedivy, Casey
Gokey, Jennifer Titlbach, Sara Jilek, Becky Matousek, Deb Frailey, Brad
Bark, Nicole Ruehlow, Molly Halpin, Craig Mezera, Kari Lenzendorf, Megan
Gokey and Jon Wachter.
In addition to the high school-age mentors, the PALS (People Actively
Linked with Students) program has four adult volunteers.
The program could use more adults, Garrity said, noting that adults,
especially retired persons, have more time to share activities with a
youngster.
Many children in the Prairie du Chien School District could benefit from
an adult male or female figure in their lives, Garrity said.
Activities that students have enjoyed with adult volunteers have
included hiking at Pike's Peak and Wyalusing State Park, bicycling and
boating and fishing on the Mississippi River.
Garrity said that there are a number of caring adults who have a
richness of talent and experience that could help a developing child
along.
Adults with a little time and the willingness to help a young person in
kindergarten through eighth grade, can call Wendy Garrity at 326-0503
Ext. 3210 or Nancy Becker at 326-8437 Ext. 4163.

57 attend Crawford Fish and Wildlife Hearing, vote on issues
In what was described as a nice turn out by Crawford County DNR Warden
Dennis Kirschbaum, 57 outdoorsmen and women discussed various issues at
the annual spring fish and wildlife hearings at the Crawford County
Circuit Courtroom Monday night.
Bill Howe of Prairie du Chien was elected unanimously to a 3-year term
as a delegate to the Wisconsin Conservation Congress and Ivan Hoffland
of Prairie du Chien was unanimously elected for a 2-year term.
In what was one of the more impassioned issues of the night, the
proposed increase in the minimum length limit to 18 inches for bass on
the Lower Wisconsin River, was voted down by Crawford County residents
50-3.
One fisherman read a prepared statement against increasing the length
limit to 18 inches and reducing the bag limit from five to one for bass
from the Prairie du Sac Dam on down.
Several other fishermen weighed in on the discussion, with the vast
majority wishing to keep the current 14-inch length and five-bag limits.
The proposed length increase and daily bag decrease for bass is not a
biological necessity as it was for Lower Wisconsin walleye a year ago.
The thrust of the question then, was, do fishermen want more and bigger
smallmouth and largemouth bass in a river bordering their county?
Despite most of the fishermen arguing that they release the smallmouth
that they catch anyway, Crawford County anglers voted against a proposal
and opted instead for the status quo in terms of numbers and size.
Concerning other issues, Crawford County out-doorsmen and women voted:
.35-0 in favor of increasing the population goal in bear management zone
"C" from 800 to 1,200 bears.
.31-1 in favor of prohibiting the harvest of hen pheasants at the
Blackhawk Lake Wildlife Area.
.28-1 in favor of fall turkey hunting at Mill Bluff State Park.
.44-10 against the concept of a 16-day gun deer season.
.26-12 in favor of creating an exception to the blaze orange requirement
for bow hunters when in elevated stands during times when the archery
season overlaps with a gun deer or muzzleloader season.
.48-4 in favor of the establishment of an elk hunting season that would
have a limited number of permits issued by management zone in Wisconsin.
.39-3 in favor of proposed rule changes that would simplify trout
fishing regulations in Wisconsin.
.32-4 in favor of requiring attending anglers to be within 100 yards of
all their fishing lines, except when ice fishing.
.46-0 in favor of eliminating tagging of fish by the public unless a
permit is issued by the DNR.
.22-11 in favor of eliminating the October T Zone deer hunting seasons.
.39-0 against including units 74A and 74B under the management program
"Hunter's Choice."
.37-0 against changing the bag limit for catfish to 10 fish on all
Wisconsin waters.
The total results of these votes statewide were not known at presstime
and state numbers will be reported in the April 15 issue of The Courier
Press.
Resolutions brought in by Crawford County residents for consideration
included the following votes:
.29-2 in favor of allowing raccoon hunting during deer gun season.
.46-0 in favor of a Mississippi River subzone and a later waterfowl
season along the river.
.26-5 in favor of not allowing walleye or sauger fishing below the
Lynxville Dam from the onset of winter to pre-spawn. Fishing would have
to be done downstream from the dam beginning where the water begins to
get shallow.
The above citizen-drafted resolutions will go before the Annual Conservation Congress, where they will be adopted, rejected or referred to a study committee.

Former PdC woman dies in two-vehicle accident
A 20-year-old Boscobel woman, formerly of Prairie du Chien, is dead
following a motor vehicle accident which occurred at about 5:15 p.m. on
April 8.
The accident took place on Highway 61, four-tenths of a mile south of
Dry Hollow Road, rural Boscobel.
Julie Konichek, 20, was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier north on
Highway 61. She pulled off the highway onto the shoulder and a 1992 Ford
Explorer, driven by Tricia Scott, attempted to go around the Cavalier.
At that time Konichek attempted to make a U-turn in the middle of the
highway. The vehicles collided and the Cavalier went into the ditch.
Both Tracie Aker, 20, Blue River, and Jason Konichek, 5, Boscobel,
(Julie Konichek's son) were extricated from the car with the jaws of
life. They were taken to the Boscobel hospital for treatment of minor
injuries.
Tricia Scott was also transported to Boscobel Area Health Care for minor
injuries.
Julie Konichek was pronounced dead at the scene.
Elaine Scott, 54, and Ayaka Ono, 17, both of Boscobel and passengers in
the Explorer, were wearing seatbelts and neither received any injuries.
The 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier, owned by Jason Kellogg, was totalled. The
1992 Ford Explorer, owned by Phillip and Elaine Scott, had moderate
damage.
This was Grant County's sixth traffic fatality of the year.

Council orders city attorney write another letter opposing closure of
Haydn St. RR crossing
Following a closed session at Tuesday night's meeting of the Prairie du
Chien Common Council, City Attorney Tom Peterson was directed to write
another letter concerning the potential closure of the Haydn Street
Railroad Crossing.
This letter will be directly addressed to Governor Scott McCallum, and
copies sent to Rep. Johnsrude and Sen. Meyer. The letter is to state the
city's displeasure with the seemingly unfair process of the closure and
it will state the city's opposition to the closure.
Earlier this year, the Prairie du Chien Common Council reversed a
earlier stance of neutrality on the closure of the Haydn Street
railroad, stating the hearings held by the Office of the Commissioner of
Railroads (OCR) were flawed and tainted.
The hearing examiner from OCR, Douglas Wood, has recommended to the
Commissioner of Railroads to close the crossing by November of this
year.
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) offered to fund half of the
approximate $2.1 million total cost for the signal improvements at all
of the other crossings in the city, contingent upon the closure of the
Haydn Street crossing, according to the OCR.
In other business, the council approved a report from the Community
Development Committee recommending the funds from the Wisconsin Division
of Housing be used to acquire and clear properties affected by flooding
at 944 S. 1st St. ($38,400), 950 S. 1st St. ($40,000), 409 S. Main St.
($60,000) and 941 S. 1st St. ($26,500). They also approved relocation
payments to the properties at 409 S. Main St. and 950 1st St.
The council approved a State Infrastructure Bank loan for the amount of
$625,860 for improvements to Frederick Street. The 4 percent loan does
not count against the city's debt load and will be paid for by funds
generated by Cabela's tax revenue in that TIF district. Bids for the
Frederick Street improvement will be approved in May. The total payback
amount of the loan over 15 years will be $860,625.
Two long-tern city employees announced their retirements in letters to
the council on Tuesday night. Wayne Fisher, Waste Water Treatment
Facility Supervisor, is retiring May 31 after 23 years with the city.
Jim S. Jacque of the street department will be retiring May 1 after 20
years of service with the city.
Jim White and Bob Welsh approached the council about a large horse event
they are considering for the city at the end of August. They are basing
the idea from the horse parade which used to be held in Waukon, Iowa.
The horse parade would travel from LaRiviere Farm Park to St. Feriole
Island. They are just in the idea stage and with the approval of the
council they will now start planning the possible event. There was some
concern of tying up traffic on Marquette Road.

PdC PALS forging onward
Mentoring program needs more adult volunteers for
'sharing and caring'
The PALS Program is continuing to go strong at Prairie du Chien Public
Schools with 14 high school students giving their time and talents to
help youngsters who could benefit.
Prairie du Chien High School students work throughout the school year
with students from Bluff View Intermediate School and B. A. Kennedy
Elementary School in an effort to lend some stability to the children's
lives.
"It's another arm of our counseling program in a way," said Guidance
Counselor Wendy Garrity, "It's a very valuable extension."
Garrity said that the high school students work over their noon hour
with the same children each week, which enables the "mentors" to build a
rapport with their pupils.
"I get just as much out of it as the kids do," said mentor Casey Gokey,
noting that the students and their mentors build a bond through a
variety of activities, including tag, Twister, Uno, a book fair,
basketball, scooters, Bingo, and Perfection.
"I learned to be more responsible and patient," said mentor Becky
Matousek, explaining that her experiences with her students have given
her an added insight as she plans to further her education and career in
the areas of school psychology and counseling.
Mentor Heidi Shedivy said that the students and mentors look forward to
seeing each other every week and, in addition to physical games, the
students build social skills, confidence and self-esteem through a
variety of word, number and guessing games.
Shedivy said that the children learn self-control through activities
with their mentors, but there are also times when mentor and student can
sit, have lunch and just talk.
Garrity said that some students feel more comfortable around a mentor
and open up a bit more.
High School mentors include Charlie Beinborn, Heidi Shedivy, Casey
Gokey, Jennifer Titlbach, Sara Jilek, Becky Matousek, Deb Frailey, Brad
Bark, Nicole Ruehlow, Molly Halpin, Craig Mezera, Kari Lenzendorf, Megan
Gokey and Jon Wachter.
In addition to the high school-age mentors, the PALS (People Actively
Linked with Students) program has four adult volunteers.
The program could use more adults, Garrity said, noting that adults,
especially retired persons, have more time to share activities with a
youngster.
Many children in the Prairie du Chien School District could benefit from
an adult male or female figure in their lives, Garrity said.
Activities that students have enjoyed with adult volunteers have
included hiking at Pike's Peak and Wyalusing State Park, bicycling and
boating and fishing on the Mississippi River.
Garrity said that there are a number of caring adults who have a
richness of talent and experience that could help a developing child
along.
Adults with a little time and the willingness to help a young person in
kindergarten through eighth grade, can call Wendy Garrity at 326-0503
Ext. 3210 or Nancy Becker at 326-8437 Ext. 4163.

57 attend Crawford Fish and Wildlife Hearing, vote on issues
In what was described as a nice turn out by Crawford County DNR Warden
Dennis Kirschbaum, 57 outdoorsmen and women discussed various issues at
the annual spring fish and wildlife hearings at the Crawford County
Circuit Courtroom Monday night.
Bill Howe of Prairie du Chien was elected unanimously to a 3-year term
as a delegate to the Wisconsin Conservation Congress and Ivan Hoffland
of Prairie du Chien was unanimously elected for a 2-year term.
In what was one of the more impassioned issues of the night, the
proposed increase in the minimum length limit to 18 inches for bass on
the Lower Wisconsin River, was voted down by Crawford County residents
50-3.
One fisherman read a prepared statement against increasing the length
limit to 18 inches and reducing the bag limit from five to one for bass
from the Prairie du Sac Dam on down.
Several other fishermen weighed in on the discussion, with the vast
majority wishing to keep the current 14-inch length and five-bag limits.
The proposed length increase and daily bag decrease for bass is not a
biological necessity as it was for Lower Wisconsin walleye a year ago.
The thrust of the question then, was, do fishermen want more and bigger
smallmouth and largemouth bass in a river bordering their county?
Despite most of the fishermen arguing that they release the smallmouth
that they catch anyway, Crawford County anglers voted against a proposal
and opted instead for the status quo in terms of numbers and size.
Concerning other issues, Crawford County out-doorsmen and women voted:
.35-0 in favor of increasing the population goal in bear management zone
"C" from 800 to 1,200 bears.
.31-1 in favor of prohibiting the harvest of hen pheasants at the
Blackhawk Lake Wildlife Area.
.28-1 in favor of fall turkey hunting at Mill Bluff State Park.
.44-10 against the concept of a 16-day gun deer season.
.26-12 in favor of creating an exception to the blaze orange requirement
for bow hunters when in elevated stands during times when the archery
season overlaps with a gun deer or muzzleloader season.
.48-4 in favor of the establishment of an elk hunting season that would
have a limited number of permits issued by management zone in Wisconsin.
.39-3 in favor of proposed rule changes that would simplify trout
fishing regulations in Wisconsin.
.32-4 in favor of requiring attending anglers to be within 100 yards of
all their fishing lines, except when ice fishing.
.46-0 in favor of eliminating tagging of fish by the public unless a
permit is issued by the DNR.
.22-11 in favor of eliminating the October T Zone deer hunting seasons.
.39-0 against including units 74A and 74B under the management program
"Hunter's Choice."
.37-0 against changing the bag limit for catfish to 10 fish on all
Wisconsin waters.
The total results of these votes statewide were not known at presstime
and state numbers will be reported in the April 15 issue of The Courier
Press.
Resolutions brought in by Crawford County residents for consideration
included the following votes:
.29-2 in favor of allowing raccoon hunting during deer gun season.
.46-0 in favor of a Mississippi River subzone and a later waterfowl
season along the river.
.26-5 in favor of not allowing walleye or sauger fishing below the
Lynxville Dam from the onset of winter to pre-spawn. Fishing would have
to be done downstream from the dam beginning where the water begins to
get shallow.
The above citizen-drafted resolutions will go before the Annual Conservation Congress, where they will be adopted, rejected or referred to a study committee.

April 8, 2002

Former PdC woman dies in two-vehicle accident
A 20-year-old Boscobel woman, formerly of Prairie du Chien, is dead
following a motor vehicle accident which occurred at about 5:15 p.m. on
April 8.
The accident took place on Highway 61, four-tenths of a mile south of
Dry Hollow Road, rural Boscobel.
Julie Konichek, 20, was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier north on
Highway 61. She pulled off the highway onto the shoulder and a 1992 Ford
Explorer, driven by Tricia Scott, attempted to go around the Cavalier.
At that time Konichek attempted to make a U-turn in the middle of the
highway. The vehicles collided and the Cavalier went into the ditch.
Both Tracie Aker, 20, Blue River, and Jason Konichek, 5, Boscobel,
(Julie Konichek's son) were extricated from the car with the jaws of
life. They were taken to the Boscobel hospital for treatment of minor
injuries.
Tricia Scott was also transported to Boscobel Area Health Care for minor
injuries.
Julie Konichek was pronounced dead at the scene.
Elaine Scott, 54, and Ayaka Ono, 17, both of Boscobel and passengers in
the Explorer, were wearing seatbelts and neither received any injuries.
The 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier, owned by Jason Kellogg, was totalled. The
1992 Ford Explorer, owned by Phillip and Elaine Scott, had moderate
damage.
This was Grant County's sixth traffic fatality of the year.

Council orders city attorney write another letter opposing closure of
Haydn St. RR crossing
Following a closed session at Tuesday night's meeting of the Prairie du
Chien Common Council, City Attorney Tom Peterson was directed to write
another letter concerning the potential closure of the Haydn Street
Railroad Crossing.
This letter will be directly addressed to Governor Scott McCallum, and
copies sent to Rep. Johnsrude and Sen. Meyer. The letter is to state the
city's displeasure with the seemingly unfair process of the closure and
it will state the city's opposition to the closure.
Earlier this year, the Prairie du Chien Common Council reversed a
earlier stance of neutrality on the closure of the Haydn Street
railroad, stating the hearings held by the Office of the Commissioner of
Railroads (OCR) were flawed and tainted.
The hearing examiner from OCR, Douglas Wood, has recommended to the
Commissioner of Railroads to close the crossing by November of this
year.
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) offered to fund half of the
approximate $2.1 million total cost for the signal improvements at all
of the other crossings in the city, contingent upon the closure of the
Haydn Street crossing, according to the OCR.
In other business, the council approved a report from the Community
Development Committee recommending the funds from the Wisconsin Division
of Housing be used to acquire and clear properties affected by flooding
at 944 S. 1st St. ($38,400), 950 S. 1st St. ($40,000), 409 S. Main St.
($60,000) and 941 S. 1st St. ($26,500). They also approved relocation
payments to the properties at 409 S. Main St. and 950 1st St.
The council approved a State Infrastructure Bank loan for the amount of
$625,860 for improvements to Frederick Street. The 4 percent loan does
not count against the city's debt load and will be paid for by funds
generated by Cabela's tax revenue in that TIF district. Bids for the
Frederick Street improvement will be approved in May. The total payback
amount of the loan over 15 years will be $860,625.
Two long-tern city employees announced their retirements in letters to
the council on Tuesday night. Wayne Fisher, Waste Water Treatment
Facility Supervisor, is retiring May 31 after 23 years with the city.
Jim S. Jacque of the street department will be retiring May 1 after 20
years of service with the city.
Jim White and Bob Welsh approached the council about a large horse event
they are considering for the city at the end of August. They are basing
the idea from the horse parade which used to be held in Waukon, Iowa.
The horse parade would travel from LaRiviere Farm Park to St. Feriole
Island. They are just in the idea stage and with the approval of the
council they will now start planning the possible event. There was some
concern of tying up traffic on Marquette Road.

PdC PALS forging onward
Mentoring program needs more adult volunteers for
'sharing and caring'
The PALS Program is continuing to go strong at Prairie du Chien Public
Schools with 14 high school students giving their time and talents to
help youngsters who could benefit.
Prairie du Chien High School students work throughout the school year
with students from Bluff View Intermediate School and B. A. Kennedy
Elementary School in an effort to lend some stability to the children's
lives.
"It's another arm of our counseling program in a way," said Guidance
Counselor Wendy Garrity, "It's a very valuable extension."
Garrity said that the high school students work over their noon hour
with the same children each week, which enables the "mentors" to build a
rapport with their pupils.
"I get just as much out of it as the kids do," said mentor Casey Gokey,
noting that the students and their mentors build a bond through a
variety of activities, including tag, Twister, Uno, a book fair,
basketball, scooters, Bingo, and Perfection.
"I learned to be more responsible and patient," said mentor Becky
Matousek, explaining that her experiences with her students have given
her an added insight as she plans to further her education and career in
the areas of school psychology and counseling.
Mentor Heidi Shedivy said that the students and mentors look forward to
seeing each other every week and, in addition to physical games, the
students build social skills, confidence and self-esteem through a
variety of word, number and guessing games.
Shedivy said that the children learn self-control through activities
with their mentors, but there are also times when mentor and student can
sit, have lunch and just talk.
Garrity said that some students feel more comfortable around a mentor
and open up a bit more.
High School mentors include Charlie Beinborn, Heidi Shedivy, Casey
Gokey, Jennifer Titlbach, Sara Jilek, Becky Matousek, Deb Frailey, Brad
Bark, Nicole Ruehlow, Molly Halpin, Craig Mezera, Kari Lenzendorf, Megan
Gokey and Jon Wachter.
In addition to the high school-age mentors, the PALS (People Actively
Linked with Students) program has four adult volunteers.
The program could use more adults, Garrity said, noting that adults,
especially retired persons, have more time to share activities with a
youngster.
Many children in the Prairie du Chien School District could benefit from
an adult male or female figure in their lives, Garrity said.
Activities that students have enjoyed with adult volunteers have
included hiking at Pike's Peak and Wyalusing State Park, bicycling and
boating and fishing on the Mississippi River.
Garrity said that there are a number of caring adults who have a
richness of talent and experience that could help a developing child
along.
Adults with a little time and the willingness to help a young person in
kindergarten through eighth grade, can call Wendy Garrity at 326-0503
Ext. 3210 or Nancy Becker at 326-8437 Ext. 4163.

57 attend Crawford Fish and Wildlife Hearing, vote on issues
In what was described as a nice turn out by Crawford County DNR Warden
Dennis Kirschbaum, 57 outdoorsmen and women discussed various issues at
the annual spring fish and wildlife hearings at the Crawford County
Circuit Courtroom Monday night.
Bill Howe of Prairie du Chien was elected unanimously to a 3-year term
as a delegate to the Wisconsin Conservation Congress and Ivan Hoffland
of Prairie du Chien was unanimously elected for a 2-year term.
In what was one of the more impassioned issues of the night, the
proposed increase in the minimum length limit to 18 inches for bass on
the Lower Wisconsin River, was voted down by Crawford County residents
50-3.
One fisherman read a prepared statement against increasing the length
limit to 18 inches and reducing the bag limit from five to one for bass
from the Prairie du Sac Dam on down.
Several other fishermen weighed in on the discussion, with the vast
majority wishing to keep the current 14-inch length and five-bag limits.
The proposed length increase and daily bag decrease for bass is not a
biological necessity as it was for Lower Wisconsin walleye a year ago.
The thrust of the question then, was, do fishermen want more and bigger
smallmouth and largemouth bass in a river bordering their county?
Despite most of the fishermen arguing that they release the smallmouth
that they catch anyway, Crawford County anglers voted against a proposal
and opted instead for the status quo in terms of numbers and size.
Concerning other issues, Crawford County out-doorsmen and women voted:
.35-0 in favor of increasing the population goal in bear management zone
"C" from 800 to 1,200 bears.
.31-1 in favor of prohibiting the harvest of hen pheasants at the
Blackhawk Lake Wildlife Area.
.28-1 in favor of fall turkey hunting at Mill Bluff State Park.
.44-10 against the concept of a 16-day gun deer season.
.26-12 in favor of creating an exception to the blaze orange requirement
for bow hunters when in elevated stands during times when the archery
season overlaps with a gun deer or muzzleloader season.
.48-4 in favor of the establishment of an elk hunting season that would
have a limited number of permits issued by management zone in Wisconsin.
.39-3 in favor of proposed rule changes that would simplify trout
fishing regulations in Wisconsin.
.32-4 in favor of requiring attending anglers to be within 100 yards of
all their fishing lines, except when ice fishing.
.46-0 in favor of eliminating tagging of fish by the public unless a
permit is issued by the DNR.
.22-11 in favor of eliminating the October T Zone deer hunting seasons.
.39-0 against including units 74A and 74B under the management program
"Hunter's Choice."
.37-0 against changing the bag limit for catfish to 10 fish on all
Wisconsin waters.
The total results of these votes statewide were not known at presstime
and state numbers will be reported in the April 15 issue of The Courier
Press.
Resolutions brought in by Crawford County residents for consideration
included the following votes:
.29-2 in favor of allowing raccoon hunting during deer gun season.
.46-0 in favor of a Mississippi River subzone and a later waterfowl
season along the river.
.26-5 in favor of not allowing walleye or sauger fishing below the
Lynxville Dam from the onset of winter to pre-spawn. Fishing would have
to be done downstream from the dam beginning where the water begins to
get shallow.
The above citizen-drafted resolutions will go before the Annual Conservation Congress, where they will be adopted, rejected or referred to a study committee.

April 8, 2002