Wittenberg Enterprise & Birnamwood News

Panel bends from budget trimming request

Published by kjpasson on Fri, 09/13/2024 - 9:24am

A request for Shawano County department heads to trim 5% from their original 2025 budget levy proposals did not go the way county supervisors hoped.

Only two departments made the requested cuts. Two departments – the treasurer’s office and the district attorney’s office – did not even respond to the request. The rest of the departments offered up some cuts but fell short of the 5%.

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Wisconsin farmers see dip in price paid for corn

Published by kjpasson on Wed, 09/11/2024 - 12:37pm

The average price received by farmers for corn during July in Wisconsin was $4.08 per bushel according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service Agricultural Prices report.

This was 16 cents below the June price and $2.08 below July 2023.

The July average price received by farmers for soybeans, at $11.90 per bushel, was 90 cents below the June price and $2.80 below the July 2023 price.

The July average oat price per bushel, at $3.38, was 15 cents above June but 44 cents below July 2023.

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Coroner reports three suicides in August

Published by kjpasson on Tue, 09/10/2024 - 10:56am

Brian Westfahl, Shawano County’s coroner, reported three suicides in August, nearly one-third of all so far this year.

His monthly report indicated there have been 10 deaths by suicide in the county in 2024.

Westfahl also reported one traffic fatality in August, making a total of three for the year.

He also noted there were 15 hospice deaths (139 for the year) and 21 cremations (181 thus far in 2024).

One organ procurement was also performed.

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Wittenberg fire tender shows signs of trouble

Published by kjpasson on Tue, 09/10/2024 - 10:49am

A tender for the Wittenberg Fire Department is already showing signs of wear and tear, one year after the village received it.

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K-9 handler training authorized

Published by kjpasson on Tue, 09/10/2024 - 10:28am

Shawano County Sheriff’s Deputy Jacob Ostrowski has been chosen as the new K-9 handler for the department.

He will travel to Canada later this year for a two-week training session with his new dog.

The Shawano County Public Safety Committee authorized his trip at its Sept. 4 meeting.

Lt. Nick Prey said the county has already purchased a couple of dogs from the same vendor, Tony Pallotta, of Toronto. Exact training dates have yet to be set, but Prey said they will probably be in early to mid-November.

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Board hires logging company to remove trees for dog park

Published by kjpasson on Tue, 09/10/2024 - 10:21am

The Wittenberg Village Board gave approval Sept. 3 for Hoekstra Logging to clear out trees from the community’s former dump to make room for a future dog park.

Board member Theresa Gatz, one of the people spearheading the project, said she looked into several companies and individuals to determine who would be best suited to remove trees, but most of the people she has contacted have either expressed they were not interested in doing the work or did not reply at all.

“There’s no monetary value in the trees out there,” Gatz said. “They’re scrub trees.”

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Sheriff says there isn’t 5% in his budget to cut

Published by kjpasson on Tue, 09/10/2024 - 7:33am

Shawano County Sheriff George Lenzner is adamant when it comes to his department’s budget for 2025. He and other department heads have been told to trim 5% from their requests for next year.

“Our budget is basically wages and fringe benefits,” he said. “That 5% we have left is $230,000, and we’re supposed to cut $366,000. It’s impossible to be done.”

Administrative Coordinator Jim Davel told all department heads they needed to review their budget requests and either trim 5% or the executive committee would do it.