The Shawano County Board approved a 1.52 percent increase in the 2015 property tax rate Wednesday as it finalized the 2015 budget. The proposed levy of $14,887,788 — the most allowed by the state — is $127,660 more than the 2014 levy.

Eric D. Herrmann, 15, of Shawano, passed away on Oct. 22, 2014, in Shawano. Eric was born in Shawano on April 1, 1999, to David and Kim (Maltbey) Herrmann. Eric was a sophomore at Shawano Community High School, where he played the trombone in the band and jazz band. He was a member of the St. James Lutheran Church and loved hunting, computers and other tech gadgets.

Tyler D. Welch, 18, of the town of Washington, Shawano, passed away unexpectedly as a result of injuries sustained in an accident on Oct. 21, 2014. Funeral service arrangements are pending and will be announced at a later time. Mickelson Funeral & Cremation Service, Shawano, is assisting the Welch family with the service arrangements. www.mickelsonfs.com

The Bonduel community is mourning the loss of a 15-year-old high school sophomore. Paige Brunette was killed along with two Shawano Community High School students in a two-car accident on state Highway 22 in the town of Belle Plaine on Tuesday evening. “We would like to send out our prayers and thoughts to the Brunette family as well as the families, students and staff of Shawano High School who are also dealing with this tragedy,” said Patrick R

For Shawano School District staff who knew them, the memories of Cody Borsche and Tyler Welch are as closely knit in the wake of their tragic deaths as their friendship was in life. “They were both good friends and good guys,” Shawano Community High School Principal Scott Zwirschitz said. “They loved tech ed and they took a lot of courses,” he said.

Rumors of the accident spread quietly but quickly through the crowd at the Shawano Community High School volleyball match Tuesday night. A few hours later, the rumors were replaced by official verification that three area students — two from Shawano and one from Bonduel — had been killed and another critically injured in a two-car crash in Belle Plaine. Officials on Wednesday morning released the names of the teenagers involved. Two SCHS seniors,

The Shawano County Board received a report Wednesday on an investigation of the Sheriff’s Department over the objections of some supervisors who wanted it discussed only in closed session. The Administrative Committee hired attorney Dan Borowski in May to investigate $1,000 in jail bond money that went missing in 2013. Borowski’s investigation ultimately expanded to include the actions of Sheriff’s Department employees involved in a campaign dust

WEEK AHEAD VOLLEYBALL WHAT: WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal: No. 1 Bonduel vs. No. 5 Crivitz WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday WHERE: Bonduel High School WHY IT MATTERS: Bonduel will open the regional after getting a No. 1 seed and sitting out regional action Tuesday with a bye. Crivitz pulled off a tie-breaker upset over No. 4 Coleman (14-25, 25-21, 18-25, 27-25, 16-14) to open regional play Tuesday.

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