It might not be news to health professionals or those working in the social services, but Shawano County has a drinking problem, with a rate of alcohol abuse that’s above the state average — in a state where the average is already well above the national norm. According to county health rankings compiled this year, 27 percent of Shawano County adults drink excessively, compared to 24 percent statewide.

Shawano Police Department Dec. 10 Police logged 19 incidents, including the following: Fraud — Police investigated a fraud complaint at Qualheim’s True Value, 1345 E. Green Bay St. Shoplifting — A 38-year-old woman was cited for shoplifting at Walmart, 1244 E.

Jean V. Westphal, 94, Appleton, passed away at her home on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014. Jean was born on Aug. 9, 1920, to the late Paul and Emma (Radtke) Dobratz in Zachow. She married Howard Westphal, and he preceded her in death in 1993. Jean liked to play a mean game of cards as well as playing Yahtzee and giving to the slot machines. She was an avid Brewers fan and never missed watching a game on TV.

KEYS Packers Run, Run, Run It’s that time of year. For outdoors teams, the temperatures are falling, game day conditions are worsening and fields are browning and turning to mud or ice. It’s time for running games to make a difference for northern outdoor teams. When the Packers show up in Buffalo on Sunday, they’ll need Eddie Lacy and James Starks to have big performances.

Many times my readers ask me how I come up with the topics I write about. I always tell them that at times it is difficult, and at other times there is so much stuff going on, that I have multiple choices. This is a multiple choice kind of week. When I wrote last week’s column, I had multiple choices already.

As much as possible, we try to remain accident-free on our farm. We know there are many circumstances where an accident just could not be prevented, but for all intent and purposes, we try very hard to stay safe. As our kids grew up on the farm, there were the usual little scrapes and bruises, with a couple of mishaps requiring a trip to the doctor. One time a few stitches at the hairline was necessary.

This is the second year of the Tigerton High School Spirit Club, which involves grades 9-12 and occasionally grades 6-8. It was started last school year by special education assistant Wanda Tucker and library assistant Debby Griepentrog. “We wanted to get some spirit back,” Griepentrog said. There are 20 active members of the club.

Ella Shelley volunteers to help the kindergarten and first-grade students at Tigerton Elementary School. Shelley was born and raised in White Lake, graduating from White Lake High School. She earned an associate degree in secretarial science at Northcentral Technical College and worked for a few years at a clinic in Antigo. After Shelley married, she stayed home to home school her four daughters.

To the editor: By now all of you have heard that Ray Rice has been reinstated on his appeal to play in the NFL again. If some team wants him. You can bet Adrian Peterson will also be reinstated soon. All the sports media wants to do is take shots at Roger Goodell. Has Roger Goodell punched a woman and knocked her out? Has Roger Goodall taken a tree branch and whipped some little kid’s butt and scared him?