Presented with a handful of teaching vacancies in the district and expecting less funding from the state, the Oconto Falls School Board agreed to fill one vacancy, then ranked five other positions to be filled as finances allow. From highest to lowest priority are Abrams Elementary guidance (Cathy Ehlert resigned), middle school agriculture (Bret Iverson resigned), Abrams Elementary fifth-grade teacher (new), library media specialist (Marsha Mell

Progress on the state Highway 22 street construction work in Oconto Falls was visible Friday morning, as paving took place on the west half of Chestnut Avenue, beginning at the the East Highland Drive intersection. Paving was scheduled to continue past Monroe Street, and the pavement will take about a week to cure, meaning drums, barricades and ropes will remain in place to keep traffic off the street.

A private firm will collect garbage and recyclables in the city of Gillett beginning Jan. 1. The City Council on Thursday agreed to contact with Great American Disposal, which has its corporate office in Kingsford, Michigan, and a location in Suamico. City officials have discussed garbage collection alternatives since 2012 because of the cost of the service (the city spent $56,000 in 2013) and the age of the garbage truck.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the nomination period for local Farm Service Agency county committees began on June 15. “Through the county committees, farmers and ranchers have a voice. Their opinions and ideas get to be heard on federal farm programs,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.

Cynthia Howe, 93, of Suring, formerly of Winfield, Kansas, passed away Wednesday, June 3, 2015, at Woodland Village Nursing Home in Suring. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, June 19, 2015, at the First Baptist Church in Winfield. Visitation will be held Thursday, June 18, 2015, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Shelley Family Funeral Home in Winfield.

Woodland Village of Suring has selected Melvin Scheer as its June Resident of the Month. Scheer was born on Dec. 31, 1935. He grew up on the family farm in the town of How. He attended St. John’s School and Suring Public School, graduating in 1953. He was an active member of the Suring FFA for four years. He worked as an auto mechanic at Elfie’s Garage and then as a mechanic for the Co-Op Store in Suring.

Ginny O’Harrow, president of Little Hearts for Life, was a presenter at the fourth annual Neurodevelopmental Symposium held recently in Milwaukee. Milwaukee hosted the symposium with the help of a $20,000 donation to Children’s Hospital given by Little Hearts for Life. The funds were raised at the organization’s third annual corn roast in 2013. The symposium had previously been held in Boston, Atlanta and Cincinnati.

To the editor: Another Gillett business is down the tubes. The Gillett School Board has hired Lamers to transport students. They have a five-year contract and underbid the local bus company by $61,000. Will Lamers shop locally, like the Rademanns did? Will they bank in Gillett, buy gas in Gillett, buy parts at the local parts store? How many drivers will be looking for jobs? The Gillett School District also buys elsewhere.

Several years ago, I happened to walk into a room where the TV was playing and I heard Andy Rooney say something like this: “Writing is pretty special work — or I like to think it is anyway. The trouble with writing is you’re always working.