U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Wisconsin state director Andrew C. Iverson has announced that it is providing the city of Gillett with a $994,000 loan for sewer system upgrades.

“This investment toward a dependable sewer system in the city of Gillett will improve the lives of families and businesses in the community by improving the sanitation system while keeping utilities rates affordable,” said Iverson.

The Shawano County Veterans Service Office will soon have a new home.

Members of the public property committee agreed Feb. 12 to move that office from the county courthouse on South Main Street to the Department of Human Services campus at W7327 Anderson Ave.

Julie Hasser, interim administrative coordinator, said the relocation is part of a trickle-down move.

A second plan for a solar farm on county-owned land along state Highway 22 has apparently gone the way of the first proposal — nowhere.

Members of the public property committee agreed by consensus Feb. 12 the OneEnergy proposal is apparently dead once it was determined the revenue for the county would be minimal.

Shawano County officials are in the process of authorizing spending up to $300,000 for a house that sits on land needed for a possible courthouse expansion project.

The house at 217 W. Third St., Shawano, is on the block west and south of the current courthouse. If a new courthouse and housing pod for the jail are authorized by the county board this spring, the site of the house would be needed for the project.

A former Oconto Falls High School teacher facing nearly a dozen felony counts relating to sexual misconduct waived his preliminary hearing in Oconto County Circuit Court on Feb. 13.

Judge Jay Conley accepted Gayle Gander’s waiver, with an arraignment now scheduled for 3 p.m. March 26.

Gander, 60, remains free on a $75,000 cash bond.