The passage of two referendum questions in the Oconto Falls School District was among the top news events of 2014, as decided by the staff of the Oconto County Times Herald. A complete list follows.
1. School referendum passes: Voters in the Oconto Falls School District on Aug. 12 approved two referendum questions.
The first referendum question, for $2.2 million, passed with 63 percent of the vote. It will fund parking lot repaving at the district’s buildings, renovations of the parking lot and entrance at Abrams Elementary School, and development of a football stadium and track at Oconto Falls High School. Work has already begun.
A second referendum question, which passed with 60 percent of the vote, will provide an additional $400,000 each year for three years to attract and retain teachers, repair roofs and provide individual laptops for students.
2. Deep freeze arrives in winter: A prolonged cold snap caused water pipes to freeze in the area, prompting a run-water order. Gillett and Oconto Falls residents were advised to run a steady stream of water—about the width of a pencil—from one faucet in their homes at all times.
When water mains buried under city streets began to freeze, Gillett Utility began linking homes with insulated hoses, burying the hoses under the snow and feeding water from one home to another. By early February, the city averaged a freeze-up a day, resulting in about a dozen homes having water fed from a neighbor’s home.
Because of the below-zero temperatures, Gillett workers changed the water level in the city’s water tower every four hours to break up the ice.
3. Utility work begins on state Highway 22: An $8 million street reconstruction project started in August in Oconto Falls and continued until December. Traffic was detoured to West Highland Drive as contractors replaced water mains, sanitary sewer and storm sewer on state Highway 22 from Main Street to Chestnut Avenue. Streets were patched with asphalt after the utility work was completed.
Work will begin anew in the spring when the streets are redone. Construction is scheduled to end in fall 2015.
4. Plans gel for LEC: Oconto County continues to prepare for the construction of a $30 million law enforcement center featuring sheriff’s offices, a 911 center and a jail. The new jail will replace an outdated facility in the courthouse complex that needs major repairs and has limited capacity. The LEC will be built on the block north of the courthouse.
The county hired consultants to help with the acquisition of the 14 properties and the removal of the buildings. Another firm has worked with county personnel to create a design for the LEC. Construction is scheduled to begin in August 2015 and be completed in late 2016.
5. Panthers compete at state: The Oconto Falls High School girls basketball team competed in the WIAA Division 3 state semifinal on March 21 at the Resch Center in Green Bay. The game ended in a 64-41 loss to Kettle Moraine Lutheran. The Panthers squad was the first team in school history to reach the WIAA state basketball tournament.
McKenna Larsen, a 5-foot-7 guard, was the Panthers’ only offense at times, on her way to a career-high 31 points.
6. Fire damages Oconto High School: An April 16 fire at Oconto High School originated in a men’s bathroom when a 16-year-old boy’s cigarette accidentally ignited a toilet paper roll and the stall divider. The fire, though contained to the bathroom of the science hall, caused an estimated $5 million damage when the ventilation system spread smoke throughout the building. Nearby classrooms suffered water damage.
Classes were held at the middle school for three weeks while the high school was wiped clean.
7. Lena builds treatment plant: The village of Lena is constructing a water treatment plant to lower the radium level in the village’s water. In February 2013, Well No. 1, at the Village Hall, was out of compliance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards and was immediately shut down. Radium is a radioactive element that is considered a health hazard when consumed over a prolonged time period.
Over the summer, the village began a $3.4 million project to modify its two wells and build a radium reduction plant and related underground infrastructure.
8. Meth labs found in county: Three methamphetamine labs were discovered in Oconto County from May to July, and eight related arrests were made. Investigators found meth cooking supplies, meth smoking devices and other drug-related items in homes in Oconto Falls in May, Stiles in June and in Little River in July.
In Oconto County Circuit Court, several of the defendants have been sentenced to jail time.
9. Gillett has new community center: The Gillett Public Library purchased the BMO Harris Bank branch office building in Gillett and embarked on a three-phase plan to create library space and establish a community center and outdoor community square.
The bank closed March 1 at 204 E. Main St., next door to the library. The Friends of the Gillett Public Library tapped its capital improvement fund, a memorial donation from the Ann Horick estate, a grant from the Egan Foundation and contributions from the community, paying $120,000 for the 2,367 square-foot building. No taxpayer money was used.
10. On Sept. 3, Community Memorial Hospital marked its transition from small, rural hospital to a health ministry. The Oconto Falls-based health care provider affiliated with Hospital Sisters Health System to become St. Clare Memorial Hospital.
At an unveiling ceremony, Christy Kaemper, CMH board chair, said the affiliation will assure the survival of the Oconto Falls hospital and its six community clinics.
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