Richard and Sue Van Ark are scheduled to ride in style as grand marshals of the 2024 Independence Day parade through Gillett. The longtime Gillett area residents were nominated by Dick Jewell, who has volunteered with Richard Van Ark on the Gillett Civic Club for more than 40 years. They arrived in town when Richard Van Ark became vice president of what was then the Gillett State Bank, which later became part of Wells Fargo.

Many school districts in northern Wisconsin are dealing with steadily declining enrollments, but Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District is dealing with the opposite dilemma as its student population is continuing to trend positively. There’s some breathing room at two of the district’s three schools, but Wittenberg Elementary-Middle School is looking at having every available classroom space filled to almost overflowing, which is leading the distr

The PCSD Board of Education approved the presentation of an honorary Pulaski High School diploma June 26 to Jack Kraszewski, who, once he turned 18, was drafted into World War II military service. As a result, he was unable to complete his senior year at PHS. Kraszewski was drafted March 1, 1943, into the 553 Anti-aircraft Battalion, Ninth Division.

The Shawano Park and Recreation Commission is recommending Bontrager Carpentry to replace the roof of the small chapel at Woodlawn Cemetery after voting unanimously June 26 in favor of the $56,900 bid. Four companies expressed interest in the project, but only two of them sent bids for the work, which city officials have said is long overdue.

The Gillett School Board is close to a decision on hiring a school resource officer. School officials have been talking for several months with city and county law enforcement about the idea of having a police officer whose main job would be to interact with students and school staff on a daily basis.

The Shawano Park and Recreation Commission is taking more aggressive steps to fight back against invasive plant species at four of the city’s parks. The commission approved a proposal from Green Elf, a new Shawano company, to spend $16,900 to kill invasive plants at Kuckuk, Sturgeon, Lieg and Channel parks that have been a challenge to the city.

Gillett and Suring school officials are having conversations about expanding their sports team co-ops, the Gillett School Board was told June 27. Athletic director Michael Kaczmarek emphasized that any talks are very preliminary, but the two school districts are coping with declining numbers. “Right now we co-op three sports — baseball, softball, wrestling — and that’s been successful for us, so now we want to expand that and look at all of our s

A falling inventory of homes for sale is helping to drive up prices in Shawano County, said Peter Thillman, executive director of Shawano County Economic Progress Inc.

Bill Hurley and Mike Daley grew up together in the 1960s and 1970s, so it’s only natural that 50-some years later, their music would reflect that era. “We sing along with our two acoustic guitars and a drum machine,” Daley said. “People can dance to us. We play a lot of Everly Brothers, Beatles, Eagles, Elvis, Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Diamond.” Hurley and Daley will perform from 6-8 p.m. July 9 at the Art Park in Wittenberg.