Government is rarely efficient, but when it happens, it is always a refreshing surprise.

At year’s end, I made the decision to buy and then apply for the transfer of a firearms silencer.

So did thousands — and perhaps tens of thousands — of gun owners and hunters in 42 states.

Hillside Assembly will sponsor its free 30th annual wild game banquet Jan. 24 at Oconto Falls High School, 210 N. Farm Road, Oconto Falls.

Participants are invited to bring their favorite dish to the potluck dinner at 5:30 p.m., with the featured seminar speaker, Carl Parks from Fishers Of Men, talking at 6:30 p.m. One low level raffle ticket will be given for each wild game dish brought.

I’m not sure when coffee introduced itself into my life, but I think it was back in the 1970s during my Shamoco Ford days. Fresh out of high school, a greenhorn in the working-off-the-farm world, I started drinking coffee.

Ricky Skaggs is opening up the 2026 lineup for Rubber Soul Productions as the first of three shows taking place at the Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School auditorium, 400 W. Grand Ave., Wittenberg.

All concerts begin at 4 p.m.

The Shawano Area Writers has kicked off the 2026 George Putz Memorial Student Writing Contest.

Information about the contest is being distributed to public and private schools and homeschoolers in Shawano and Menominee counties. The contest is open for four grade groups: 1-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. There are three categories: Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction.

Capital Credit Union has announced that applications are now being accepted for the Tom Young Educational Scholarship.

This year, $2,000 scholarships will be awarded to 10 outstanding high school seniors who are members of Capital Credit Union and are pursuing higher education in the fall.