News in brief Here are a selection of brief news items from this week’s paper edition, and possibly a few news briefs that didn’t make it in the paper. The Holmen Area Fire Department will hold its 13th annual brat and hot dog fundraiser from 7 am. to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 16, at the Holmen Fire Station, 710 S. Main St. Other refreshments also will be served. The Holmen Community Theatre’s annual summer production, “Arsenic and Old Lace,” will hit the stage July 17-18 and 24-25 at Holmen High School . Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. for all showings. General admission tickets are $10, $8 for students and senior citizens and can be purchased at the door or in advance at all three area Festival Foods stores. First Lutheran Church in Onalaska will host a blood drive in partnership with BloodCenter of Wisconsin on from 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, in Fellowship Hall. Anyone who is at least 16 years old, weighs 110 pounds or more and is in generally good health can donate blood. The entire process takes about an hour, and all blood types are needed. Donors should bring a photo ID. Donors will be entered into BloodCenter of Wisconsin’s Big Summer Give sweepstakes, with prizes including summer getaways courtesy of Marcus Hotels and Trek Mountain Bikes. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call Sara Larkin at 781-0745. The Holmens Lions Club is taking entries for the 27th annual Kornfest Parade, to be held Saturday, Aug. 15, starting at 11 a.m. Cost is $50 for political entries, $35 for commercial entries or $20 for nonprofit or civic entries. Deadline for entries is Aug. 3. To obtain registration forms or more information, call Steve Topel, Kornfest parade chairman, at (608) 769-1705 between the hours of 4 and 8 p.m. The Onalaska Hockey Booster Club has scheduled a golf tournament on July 13 at La Crosse Country Club. The booster club renamed its annual golf outing in recognition of Jacob Trannel, who died unexpectedly in December. Proceeds from the four-person scramble will go toward a revolving scholarship for a graduating senior hockey player. The organization is looking for participants, hole sponsors and silent auction/raffle donations. For more information, call Jeff Waldera at 385-5695 or Tim Taylor at 779-9325. The John Chapman Aquatic Center in Holmen will host a special Disney theme day at the pool from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 15. Participants are encouraged to come dressed as Disney characters and be ready to join in theme-related games and contests. Also during the event, the Holmen Recreation Department will have a special sale on T-shirts from rec programs from the past 10 years, with shirts from youth small to adult XXL on sale for $1. For more information on pool events or other rec department programs, log onto the village’s Web site at www.holmenwi.com. A Holmen High School Class of 1999 reunion will be held on Aug. 8 at the town of Holland park. Call Lisa (Netwal) Robbins for details. (608) 797-6802. Daniel Walters and Christina Gianoli of 929 Wilson St. are winners of the Onalaska Lions Club Yard of the Week. Check out the online gallery to view a photo of their yard as well as photos of past winning yards. Several Onalaska equestrians participated in the 2009 Midwest Regional Pony of the Americas Show, which was recently held at the Minnesota Equestrian Center in Winona, Minn. More than 230 ponies and their riders from nine states participated with more than 1,400 entries in the show, which took place June 26-28. Claire Lommen was Midwest Regional Champion in Showmanship 9-12 Girls on her POA, Suncrests Pied Piper. Her brother, Tyler Lommen, earned championships in English and Western Walk-Trot Pleasure 8 & under Boys on A Misti Impulse. Tanner Mathy won Reserve High Point Equitation Boys 9-12. Other High Point winners were Christina Blomquist on J-N Sierra Gold winning Reserve High Point One Pony/One Rider 13-18 Girls. Her brother, Erik Blomquist, also won the Reserve High Point award for 13-18 Boys on his POA, Ruff N Tuff Impulse. Other area youths who competed included Makena Mathy and Grace Cowgill of Onalaska, Kate Heise. Russell Heise and Sierra Dewald of La Crosse, Emily and Zachary Herzberg of Melrose and Talon Sharp of Sparta. A plaque honoring Clarence Stellner — Onalaska Common Council, former mayor and past commander of the Onalaska American Legion — will be unveiled at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 11, at the south wayside on Highway 35 at Royal Street. After the unveiling there will be a gathering at the Legion at 731 Sand Lake Road. A 30-year class reunion for those who graduated from Holmen High School in 1979 is planned for Saturday, Aug. 1, at the town of Holland shelter. The event will run from noon to 8 p.m., with dinner served at 2 p.m. Cost is $15 per person. Help is being sought to contact the following members of the graduating class: Joy Boucher, Rick Carlson, Jim Chase, Renee Espland, Dawn Gabrielson, Amanda Mac Donald, Cindy Olson, Shelly Olson, Will Peaslee, Darrel Sever, Tim Sherry, Mary Sobkowiak, Carol Stankey, Mike Kryzewski, Roxie Carrier, Dawn Mashak and Lonnie Klinkenberg. For more information or to register, contact Al Bratberg at 792-2886 or bratbergalan@gmail.com. People who want to support Centering Onalaska can bring their empty aluminum cans to the collection cage recently set up behind the ATM machine in the Center 90 parking lot on Sand Lake Road. Money raised will support the activities of Centering Onalaska, which include adorning the streets of Onalaska with Christmas decorations, lamp post banners and flower baskets. On July 19-20, Christ the King Lutheran Church in Onalaska will host a group of 35 bicyclists who are making their way on a cross-country journey as a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity. On Sunday, July 19, the church will have a potluck dinner at 5:30 p.m. On Monday morning the church will serve breakfast to the bicyclists before they depart. Volunteers are needed to help with both meals. Call 783-1892 to sign up. After the potluck, the group will hold a bicycle clinic for children ages 5-14. The clinic will emphasize bike safety and will feature a short ride. The riders will also make a 15-minute slide show presentation about Bike & Build and the affordable housing cause. The Friends of the Onalaska Library’s Monday Night at the Movies series will offer a free screening of “Doubt,” starting Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, on July 13. The show starts at 6 p.m. in Meeting Room A of the Onalaska Public Library. Coming up on July 27 is “The Tale of Despereaux.” The Friends of the Onalaska Library will have a book and bake sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 18 at the Onalaska Public Library meeting rooms in conjunction with the Onalaska citywide garage sale. The Gertrude Salzer Gordon Jazz in the Park series, with the Great River Big Band, continues its 35th season at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 12, at the band half-shell in La Crosse’s Riverside Park. Featured artists include vocalists from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Chancellor Joe Gow will take the microphone for renditions of Sammy Davis Jr.’s “Can’t We Be Friends” and Frank Sinatra’s “Luck, Be A Lady.” Alumni Tim Henke and Gina Jorgenson step out front with their renditions of “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “Goody, Goody,” “Street of Dreams,” “On A Wonderful Day Like Today” and “Orange Colored Sky.” The band also will perform the second half of Benny Carter’s “Kansas City Suite.” Originally written for the Count Basie Orchestra, the five selections on this week’s performance feature saxophonists Jeff Ericson and Chip Schreader, along with trumpeter Scott Jensen and trombonist Marty Busch. The concert is free. The rain site is the City Brewery Hospitality Center. All area youths are invited to take part in the La Crosse Parks and Recreation Department’s Youth Outdoor Fest, which will be held from 10 am. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 18, at Pettibone Lagoon. The free event will offer the chance to try a variety of outdoor activities and check out area vendor displays relating to hiking, camping, fishing, canoeing and kayaking and archery. All equipment and bait for activities will be provided. Hot dogs will be served, and there will be prize drawings. The second annual Wisconsin Science & Technology Symposium on July 23-24 will bring together science and technology researchers, entrepreneurs and investors from across the state to help them share ideas and spark new collaborations. Registration is open for the event, which is intended to encourage interdisciplinary research and offer valuable information and networking opportunities. Academic and industry researchers, entrepreneurs, business leaders and interested community members are encouraged to participate. Government officials and representatives from key companies also are expected to attend. The symposium will be held at the Cartwright Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. It will feature the latest scientific discoveries from the UW System and Wisconsin clinical organizations in the areas of biomedical engineering, nanotechnology, tissue engineering, bioenergy and clinical sciences. Participants will include representatives from the UW System, Marshfield Clinic, Aurora Health Care, BayCare Health Systems and private industry and state government. For more information, including registration and sponsorship opportunities, log onto www.wisys.org. Questions may be directed to Mike Cenci at mcenci@wisys.org or Chandra Hawkins at hawkins.chan@uwlax.edu. Workforce Connections is recruiting unemployed adults for the Constructing Opportunities program, which is designed to help people build their employability skills to find and maintain employment in the construction industry. Each participant will: For more information, contact Linda Zimmerman at (608) 785-7003 or at Zimmermanl@workforceconnections.org or log onto www.workforceconnections.org. Informational seminars are set for July 15 and 30. Tom Thibodeau, a religious studies professor at Viterbo University, will discuss the main ideas covered in Dr. John Izzo’s book, “The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die,” at a Successful Aging program talk on Tuesday, July 28. Thibodeau will explore advice based on interviews with 235 of the wisest individuals, ranging in age from 60 to 106, selected from 15,000 nominees. Thibodeau will help the audience explore some of the oldest secrets to happiness and give new meaning to the phrases “every day is a gift” and “live the moment.” The program will be in Marycrest Auditorium on the second floor of the Franciscan Skemp La Crosse campus St. Francis Building, 700 West Ave. S. Free refreshments will be served from 2 to 2:30 p.m. The talk will begin at 2:30 and last until 3:30 p.m., with a half-hour to follow for questions. The program is free and open to all. Contemporary Christian artist Michael Robert and his band will play two shows Sunday, July 12, at the Colonial Bowling and Banquet Center in Sparta. Also appearing will be Cross Over. Food and drink will be available, with doors open at 12:30 p.m. There will be no cover charge, but donations are requested. The first concert will start at 2 p.m. and the second concert will start at 4:30. He has two CDs, “I Come into Your Presence” and “Lift Up Your Voice.” Robert writes his own songs and his music is played on Christian radio stations all over the country. Robert, who grew up on a ranch in Oregon, has been playing guitar since he was a kid. A self-proclaimed “’80s rocker,” Robert also plays acoustic praise and worship music. Onalaska High School students graduating in the Class of 1999 and their 21-and-older guests are invited to a 10-year reunion celebration aboard the Island Girl on Saturday, Aug. 22, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets for the reunion are being sold in advance and include one boarding pass for the private chartered cruise, one coupon for a complimentary tap beer/soda, a cash bar, light hors d’oeuvres and a raffle ticket for a chance to win cool prizes. Deadline for registration is Aug. 20, and there are cash incentives for early bird registration. Tickets are available online at http://hilltoppers1999.eventbrite.com, with earlybird ticket discounts in effect through June 22. FORT McCOY — All are invited to attend Family Fun Day, which will feature events from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 11, at the Pine View Recreation Area campground at Fort McCoy. The events begin with Grandpa Nick’s Petting Farm from 9 a.m. to noon. A crafts event and a Fire Department Smokehouse and McGruff the Crime Dog event will begin at 10 a.m. The crafts events will end at 1 p.m., and the smokehouse and crime dog event will end at noon. Inflatable games, including wrecking ball, three-in-one dragon bouncer, a water-bucket battle and Velcro wall climbing, will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Family games will begin at 1 p.m., and a five-event family relay race will begin at 1:45 p.m. A brat fry will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Free mini-golf will run from 3 to 5 p.m. A free movie and popcorn at 9 p.m. will end the events. People wanting to attend Family Fun Day events should take Highway 21, enter Gate 19 and follow the signs to Pine View. For more information, call 1-800-531-4703 or view the event flyer at www.mccoymwr.com/Flyers/Family%20Fun%20Day%20Jul%2009.pdf. The Coulee Region Childhood Obesity Coalition, Gundersen Lutheran’s 500 Club, Viterbo University and Festival Foods are launching the Footsteps to Health Program July 2 at all area Festival Food stores. Fruit and vegetable kiosks will be staffed at each store to offer shoppers the opportunity to taste different fruits and vegetables, learn how to choose them, and sample quick, tasty healthy ways to prepare them. A different fruit and vegetable is featured each month. For more information, go to www.childhoodobesitycoalition.org. To submit your information for a public service announcement, e-mail it to wsm.news@lee.net |