The day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday to some), I was listening to “All Things Considered” on public radio, and I heard what I thought was an amazing interview with Mormon Bishop David Musselman from Taylorsville, Utah. The bishop said that on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, he attended his weekly church service in Taylorsville, not as a preacher, but as a member of the congregation.

Kellie Claflin, agriscience teacher at Gillett Secondary School, attended the National Association of Agricultural Educators conference Dec. 2-6 in Las Vegas. RAM Trucks sponsored the trip where Claflin was selected as one of 41 participants for the Teacher’s Turn the Key program. Teacher’s Turn the Key is a professional development program focused specifically for early career teachers at the NAAE convention. The attendees heard from Dr.

Dewey Krueger won his bracket as the Oconto Falls High School wrestling team finished 11th at the Battle of the Bay wrestling tournament Saturday at Bay Port High School. Bay Port (559) won the tournament. Two Rivers (421) took second and Pewaukee (404) took third.

It took all four quarters for the Oconto Falls High School girls basketball team to take care of Denmark to open Bay Conference play Thursday in Denmark. The Panthers won 48-39 after outscoring the Vikings 14-6 in the final period. “Denmark came out in a half-court trap,” Oconto Falls coach Michael Kaczmareck said.

There were bound to be people unhappy with the WIAA conference realignment proposal. Marinette and Oconto Conference officials, though, didn’t think it would be them. After the M&O went untouched in early drafts of the proposal, Oneida Nation High School was added to the conference in the latest plan, approved by the WIAA Board of Control by a vote of 6-2 Dec.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Dec. 9 for a two-story medical office building that will expand health care services on the Community Memorial Hospital campus. The 28,000-square-foot facility will offer specialty medical services such as orthopedic and podiatry care, urology, oncology and pain management.

At 10:03 a.m. Dec. 14, a car driven by an Oconto man sustained minor damage after leaving U.S. 141 north of U.S. 41 in the town of Abrams. The vehicle struck a guard rail, then entered the ditch and sustained minor damage. At 1:45 p.m. Dec. 14, a female from Lena was southbound on U.S. 141 south of County Road A in the town of Lena when her vehicle skidded on the snow-covered roadway, entered a ditch and struck a highway fence.

The school calendar approved by the Oconto Falls School Board for 2014-15 includes a revised schedule for parent-teacher conferences and one less day for face-to-face instruction. The board on Dec. 9 looked at two proposals for the school calendar and chose a fall schedule that expands parent-teacher conferences to allow for additional parent access. Fall parent-teacher conferences are scheduled after school on Oct. 27 and 28 and from 8 a.m.

The boiler room of Oconto Falls Elementary School may seem like an unusual place for a ribbon cutting, but the symbolism was perfect because the upgraded heating system was getting a good workout on Dec. 9, due to the frosty temperatures outdoors. The heating system at that building, along with the heating systems in several other district buildings, received major upgrades as part of an energy-savings project coordinated by Ameresco.