Oconto County Times Herald

Gillett passes $3.25 million school tax levy for 2020-21

Published by admin on Tue, 10/20/2020 - 6:33pm

The Gillett School District emerged from a two-week all-virtual experience with “no hitches,” Superintendent Todd Hencsik said last week.

“We got our numbers down from about 150 affected students and staff down to around 40,” Hencsik said after the Oct. 14 annual school district meeting, which had been delayed by a week after in-person classes were suspended.

The school board had authorized running the Acellus Digital Curriculum in parallel with five-days-a-week in-classroom experiences, in part so that a transition to all-virtual learning could be as seamless as possible.

Eye to eye with the least bittern

Published by admin on Tue, 10/20/2020 - 6:26pm

The least bittern outlasted me; frozen in position, beak pointed forward, blending beautifully with its environment, it hoped to become invisible to my eye. That it did not, for I was fascinated first with even seeing this elusive bird, and second with its tenacity to hold its position, conditioned no doubt by millions of forebearers who honed this survival and hunting skill.

Vets 4 Vets spaghetti dinner is takeout this year

Published by admin on Tue, 10/20/2020 - 6:16pm

Vets 4 Vets of Northeast Wisconsin is hosting its 18th annual Veterans Spaghetti Dinner as a “Take Out Only” event from 3-6 p.m. Nov. 11 at Red Maple Country Club, 501 Golf Course Road, Suring.

Because of the current COVID-19 situation, the group is not planning to offer a sit-down dinner this year. All spaghetti dinners will be packaged for pickup only at a drive-through lane at Red Maple.

Holiday shoebox ministry continues through pandemic

Published by admin on Tue, 10/20/2020 - 6:03pm

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause fear and uncertainty, Samaritan’s Purse is calling on churches and families to pack more shoebox gifts than ever before for Operation Christmas Child — making sure millions of children experience the joy of the holiday. Samaritan’s Purse is committed to its mission of reaching millions of children across the globe with hope.

Green Valley-Morgan Fire Department marks Fire Prevention Month

Published by admin on Tue, 10/20/2020 - 5:59pm

Greetings, Morgan! I hope you and your family are doing well this autumn.

As you may know, October is Fire Prevention Month. In past years, the Green Valley-Morgan Fire Department has visited Fairview Elementary School to provide students with fire safety information. Due to local schools not currently meeting in person, the fire department was unable to do the school visit this year. However, fire safety is just as important as ever.

Gillett Library Friends plan annual book sale

Published by admin on Tue, 10/20/2020 - 5:57pm

The Friends of the Gillett Library Annual Book Sale is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 6 and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Gillett Library Community Center, 204 W. Main St., Gillett.

The sale is the Friends’ major fundraiser planned for this year. The group promotes the library and assists at providing funds to meet special projects, like the newly renovated courtyard and the Halloween Haunted Square.

Oconto Falls hospital receives national award

Published by admin on Tue, 10/20/2020 - 5:55pm

HSHS St. Clare Memorial Hospital in Oconto Falls and HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center in Green Bay have each received a 2020 Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award for achieving and sustaining excellence in clinical quality.

City, county leader loss seen across state

Published by admin on Tue, 10/20/2020 - 3:49pm

The county public health officer has resigned. Shawano County’s administrative coordinator Brent Miller’s last day on the job was Oct. 16.

Shawano’s city police chief is leaving at year’s end. The Shawano mayor is leaving at the end of November. The city’s zoning administrator position is vacant. The city of Shawano has hired a private law firm for its legal services after Katie Sloma, the previous city attorney, was appointed to a judgeship.

Oconto County Sheriff's Department logs

Published by admin on Fri, 10/16/2020 - 10:45am

Oct. 15

Deputies logged 38 incidents, including the following:

Line down — reported near McDonald Street and Hansen Avenue, City of Oconto, 5:53 a.m.

Animal neglect — reported in the 8000 block of Busy Nook Road, Town of Oconto Falls, 8:03 a.m.

Property damage — reported in the 7000 block of County Road R, Underhill, 12:47 p.m.

Theft — reported in the 300 block of Schwartz Road, Chase, 2 p.m.

Property damage — reported in the 600 block of East Main Street, Suring, 9:06 p.m.

Fire extinguishers donated in family’s memory

Published by admin on Thu, 10/15/2020 - 1:27pm

The fire that claimed four lives in Oconto on Jan. 17 led employees of Johnson Controls to provide more than 12,000 fire extinguishers to the families of students in 26 schools in Oconto, Marinette and Menominee counties.

The donations are in response the Oconto house fire that took the lives of Katherine DeCoursin, 35, and her children, Jeri Leigh Schroeder, 15, Dalton Schroeder, 13, and Nicholas DeCoursin Jr., 11, along with their family pet, Hagrid.