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. First Lutheran Church in Onalaska has two days of food, prizes and youth-oriented fun planned as part of First Fest on Main, which will be held Sept. 12-13 at the church, 410 Main St. Saturday’s activities run from 8 to 10:30 p.m. and include free pizza, prize drawings and a rock concert by local band Seventh Resistance and Venus on Fire, a band from the Twin Cities. Festivities on Monday will run from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and include music by Hans Meyer, skateboarding demonstrations, dance team performances, entertainment by comic juggler Paul Halter and food provided by Festival Foods. Worship services will be held at 8 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday. For more information, call 783-2236 or log onto www.firstluttheranOnalaska.org. The Friends of the Onalaska Public Library movie series, Sizzling Saturday Cinema, continues Sept. 5 with “Earth,” the feature-length version of the BBC series “Planet Earth.” A showing of “Monsters vs. Aliens” is planned for Sept. 19. All shows start at 10 a.m. in Onalaska meeting room A. They are free and open to the public. Children younger than 10 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The Friends of the Onalaska Public Library also is considering starting a classic movie series. If anyone has a favorite classic movie they would like to see, drop the name off at the library’s circulation desk addressed to the “Friends classical movies.” Anyone who would like to know more about the world of Cub Scouts is encouraged to attend an informational meeting at the Viking Elementary commons in Holmen, starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8. The event is sponsored by Holmen Cub Scout Pack 91. For more information, call Cubmaster Jeff Frank at 399-1037 or send an e-mail to holmencubmaster@yahoo.com. The Onalaska Knights of Columbus Council invites all boys and girls ages 8-12 to participate in the Punt, Pass and Kick contest Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Onalaska High School football field beginning at 10 a.m. The rain date is Sept. 20 at the same time. There is no cost to enter and registration in advance is not required. Winners will move on to the diocesan competition in Elroy. The public is invited to the grand opening of the Franciscan Skemp Healthcare Holmen Clinic at 1303 Main St. S. The approximately 20,000-square-foot clinic officially opened on June 22. As part of the festivities on Sunday, Sept. 13, everyone is welcome to tour the building and meet clinic providers and staff between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. A picnic lunch will be provided featuring Holmen Meat Locker hotdogs prepared by T-Bone’s Pork & Beans and refreshments from The Blue Cup. Everyone attending will also receive a small gift. A public dedication of the building will take place at 1 p.m. Speakers will include Franciscan Skemp President and CEO Robert E. Nesse and others. The Franciscan Skemp Holmen Clinic is home to four family physicians, a pediatrician, two physician assistants and behavioral health specialists. Bob Zettler of Design Photography in Onalaska has earned a Bronze Level Photographer of the Year Award from Professional Photographers of America. He will be honored at PPA’s annual convention in January in Nashville, Tenn. A PPA member earns a Photographer of the Year Award by having all four of the images they enter in the International Competition accepted into PPA’s General Collection. In 2009, Zettler was one of 61 Bronze Level Photographers of the Year in the International Competition. The winners of the Onalaska Lions Club Yard of the Week Award are Tom and June Lubinsky, 608 Oak Ave. N. The Lions will donate $25 in the name of the award recipients to the Wisconsin Lions Foundation. To nominate somebody for Yard of the Week honors, send the nominee’s name and address to Onalaska Lions, P.O. Box 212, Onalaska, WI 54650. Check out the online gallery to view a photo of their yard as well as photos of past winning yards. The Friends of the Onalaska Public Library will host a chickencue at the library from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sept. 17. Tickets are $7.50 and will be on sale at the library circulation desk. The Friends are looking for volunteers to work that day. A volunteer signup sheet can be found at the library circulation desk. 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. The La Crosse County Library System will cap its space-themed summer reading program with a bonus program on Friday, Sept. 11: Family Astronomy Night. The event starts at 7 p.m. with participants meeting at the Hazel Brown Leicht Memorial Library, 201 Neshonoc Road in West Salem. After an astronomy presentation by youth services librarian Karen Kroll and Gordon Stewart, participants will caravan to the experimental forest near Bangor for some stargazing that will include looking at Jupiter, double stars, galaxies and nebulae. If the sky is cloudy, the free program will be held entirely at the West Salem library without stargazing. The La Crosse Area Retired Educators will meet for breakfast at 9 a.m. Monday, Sept. 14, at River Jack’s Restaurant in La Crosse. Everyone who has retired from Wisconsin public schools is invited. Breakfast will be followed by a short meeting and presentation by Jane Elmer on “What WREA Can Do for You.” Cost of the meal is $8.50. Call Karen Broadhead at 788-2485 for reservations. The La Crosse branch of the American Association of University Women will meet Saturday, Sept. 12, and will hear a program titled: “Pakistan: Yesterday and Today at the Crossroad of the World.” The speaker will be Rev. Canon Patrick Augustine, a third-generation Anglican Christian from Pakistan. He has been an ordained priest for more than 30 years. Since 1983, he has resided in the United States and now serves in La Crosse at the historic Christ Episcopal Church as rector. The meeting will be held at UW-La Crosse’s Cartwright Center in the Ward Room. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. with brunch at 10 and the program at 10:30. The cost of the brunch, which will include veggie/cheese egg bake, sausage, fruit tray, assorted pastries, juice, coffee and tea, is $10. Reservations/cancellations are due by noon Sept. 9 to Jane Wernecke at 780-1121 or ajja701@triwest.net. La Crosse area singers have an opportunity to sing with the UW-La Crosse Choral Union. Auditions will be held by appointment through Friday, Sept. 11, in 134 Center for the Arts. To schedule an audition, contact director Paul Rusterholz at 784-4497 or rusterho.paul@uwlax.edu. The UW-L Choral Union includes 100 UW-L students, faculty, staff and adult singers from the greater La Crosse area. The ensemble rehearses from 7 to 9:15 p.m. Mondays in 58 Center for the Arts. The Choral Union will sing “Hodie,” a Christmas cantata by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The concert will be Sunday evening, Dec. 6, at English Lutheran Church in La Crosse. Bill and Becky Byron of Onalaska have opened their new FETCH! Pet Care of the Coulee Region business. They recently bought their franchise, which covers the counties of La Crosse, Monroe, Trempealeau and Vernon in Wisconsin and Winona and Houston in Minnesota. The Byrons are hiring pet sitters throughout that region. “They’re all trained, insured and bonded,” Bill Byron said. FETCH! franchisees provide such services as daily small pet visits, private dog walks, in-home overnight sitting, day and evening care, private boarding, hotel pet sitting, pet taxi services, yard pet waste cleanup and medication for pets. The telephone number is 1-866-231-0753. For more information, visit www.FetchPetCare.com. Entries are sought for the 12th annual photography contest sponsored by the Friends of the Upper Mississippi River Refuges. Photos will be accepted from amateur and professional photographers until Oct. 31 at the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge office at 51 E. Fourth St., Room 203, Winona, Minn. Contest categories include scenic views of the refuge, birds, wildlife, plants and connecting people with nature. All photos must be taken on the Upper Mississippi River, Driftless Area or Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuges. Photos will be judged on the three criteria: capturing the spirit of the refuge, technical quality and intrinsic beauty. Winning photos will become part of a year-long traveling exhibit beginning Jan.1, 2010. Best of show winner will be determined by public vote during these exhibits. For rules and other information, call park ranger Ed Lagace at (507) 494-6236 or log onto www.friendsofuppermiss.org/index.html. Briggs and Stratton Chief Executive Officer John Shiely will open Viterbo University’s 2009-10 Leadership at Noon Series Tuesday, Sept. 15 in room 107 of the D.B. and Marge Reinhart Center on campus. Briggs and Stratton is the world’s largest producer of air-cooled gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment. Headquartered in Milwaukee, the company designs, manufactures, markets, and services their engines for original equipment manufacturers worldwide. The Leadership at Noon Series features business leaders discussing the key values that contribute to successful business practice. The series will continue Monday, Nov. 16 with Craig Culver, co-founder and CEO of Culver’s restaurants. Craig Culver and his wife, Lea, own six Culver’s restaurants and oversee 370 franchised restaurants in 17 states. All events will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in the Reinhart Center and are free and open to the public. Audience members are welcome to bring their own lunch or purchase a box lunch for $5. Franciscan Skemp’s Onalaska clinic will host a Qigong class by instructor Brian Wright from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12. Qigong (chee-gung), or “energy-skill,” is an ancient Chinese meditation practice in the tradition of Tai Chi, which combines visualization, breath and posture to restore and maintain a natural state of mind-body vibrancy and balance, regardless of age or health condition. Cost is $45 and registration in advance is required. Call Cathy Pupp at 392-4172 to register. Songwriter Derek James will perform at UW-La Crosse at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, in the Cellar in Cartwright Center. James describes his music as “Mama blushin’, old-school, bubblegum rock ‘n’ roll.” His pop/rock style has drawn comparisons ranging from Jack Johnson to Tom Petty. James began performing in Australia. He then spent time in southern France before settling in Brooklyn, N.Y. He has opened for well-known acts including Blues Traveler, MOE, Sugar Ray, OK Go, Gin Blossoms and Ben Kweller. Admission is free as part of the Cellar Thursday series. An open house celebrating 50 years for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, at 2630 Fanta Reed Road on French Island. Learning opportunities and activities for all ages will be provided. Wisconsin’s only storytelling festival will be held on Sept. 11-12 at Myrick Park in La Crosse. This seventh annual event will feature entertainment for the entire family. Featured guests include LaRon Williams, a storyteller and musician from Michigan; Hans Mayer, a children’s musician from La Crosse whose latest CD won a Parents’ Choice Award; Debra Morningstar, from the Fox Valley region and member of the Oneida Nation; and Michael Scott, a La Crosse area entertainer. Friday’s events include an evening of scary stories by storytellers with the Bluff County Tale Spinners, a local storytelling guild. Workshops for aspiring storytellers, parents, and educators will be held Saturday morning. Throughout the day Saturday, there will be two storytelling stages, a children’s area with a juggler, caricatures, and lots of music. There will also be food available throughout the event, including a pig roast on Saturday. On Saturday evening, an adults-only “Cabaret Night” event will feature stories and music for grown-ups, headlined by LaRon Williams and Hans Mayer, as well as adult refreshments. Admission prices range from $5 to $20 and can be purchased at the door. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the La Crosse area Boys and Girls Club, and nonperishable food donations will be collected for the Wafer Food pantry. For more information on the festival, go to www.lacrossestoryfest.com or contact Sara Slayton at sara.slayton@gmail.com. The last of the monthly Season of Art outdoor art fair events will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at Grandpa’s Barn, 7203 North Shore Drive on Brice Prairie. The event, sponsored by the La Crosse Society of Arts & Crafts, will feature about 30 artists in a wide variety of media, including paintings, photography, lapidary and wire wrapping, jewelry, art dolls, weaving, fiber art, stained glass and more. Don D. Harvey will provide musical entertainment from noon to 2 p.m. Refreshments will be catered by Connie Gibson. Admission is free. The National Weather Service Office in La Crosse will host an open house on Thursday, Sept. 10, from 2 to 7 p.m. This is an opportunity to visit a state of the art weather forecast office that provides forecasts and warnings for residents of southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa, and central and western Wisconsin. The open house will include a self-guided tour of the facility, including demonstrations of the national-award-winning computer and display systems, automated weather radio, and severe weather operations. Amateur radio operators and local emergency management officials also will demonstrate their equipment. Staff members will be on hand to answer questions. A highlight of the open house will be tours of the Doppler radar system, including the opportunity to climb the 100-foot radar tower and see inside the radar dome. Dome tours will be weather dependant and limited to those 14 and older. In addition, the National Weather Service will be conducting a food drive for the Hunger Task Force of La Crosse during the open house this year. Non-perishable food items will gladly be accepted. The La Crosse NWS office is on Highway FA, on the ridgetop east of La Crosse. People can reach the office by taking Main Street east up the side of the bluff, past the entrance to Grandad Bluff. Highway FA is about a half mile farther up the hill. The La Crosse Area Youth Sympony Orchestras are looking for young musicians to fill spots in its two orchestras. Placement auditions will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Sept. 3 in Viroqua, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 5 in La Crosse and from 5 to 9 p.m. Sept. 8 in La Crosse. The Youth Symphony Orchestra, a full orchestra for advanced student musicians, is directed by Randall Mastin, orchestra director for the Viroqua schools. The Philharmonic Orchestra, a string orchestra for intermediate student musicians, is directed by Linda Lebakken, orchestra director for the Onalaska schools. To register and find out what to play for placement in one of the orchestras, log onto www.lyso.org. The UW-L Foundation Commitment to Diversity Scholarship Award chickencue is set for Saturday, Sept. 5. Serving goes from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or until the chicken is gone in Lake Neshonoc Camp Resort’s garage area, N5334 Neshonoc Road, West Salem. Tickets are $8 per dinner. The dinner includes grilled chicken, cole slaw, baked beans, dinner roll and beverage. Purchase advanced tickets at the Multicultural Student Services Office, 243 Graff Main Hall, or in the main office at the Lake Neshonoc Camp Resort. Make checks payable to UW-L with CDAF in the memo portion. Additional scholarship donations would be appreciated. The event is catered by Thomas Harris and friends with assistance by the UWnL Diversity Organization Coalition. Nominations for the YWCA’s 27th annual Tribute to Outstanding Women are being accepted, according to the organizations’ executive director. Awards are given in recognition of an individual’s sense of the YWCA mission, high level of personal and professional accomplishment, and positive contributions to the improved quality of life within the Coulee Region community, Mary Kay Wolf said. Anyone in the community can nominate an outstanding woman for the award. “Part of the YWCA’s mission is to empower women,”Wolf said. “It is completely appropriate that this organization be the one to recognize those women who are identified by community members as empowered in their individual areas of expertise.” The YWCA continues to acknowledge corporations, businesses, agencies or organizations that encourage women to develop leadership skills, are responsive to the emerging needs of women in the workplace, and promote advancement of women in their organization, Wolf said. Nominations for the Corporate Award are also available on the YWCA Web site, www.ywcalax.org. Outstanding Achievement Awards will be given out in a ceremony from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Nov. 12 at the La Crosse Center’s South Hall Ballroom. To obtain a nomination form or to learn more about this event, call the YWCA of the Coulee Region at (608) 781-2783 ext. 221, or log onto www.ywcalax.org. Nomination forms are being accepted until Sept. 20. The track at the newly constructed Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex at UW-La Crosse is now open to the public again. Gates to the track are open from approximately 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays except when events are scheduled. Weekend hours will eventually be added. Runners and walkers should enter the southwest gate of the facility, just off the small parking lot directly south of the grandstand. This is the only gate that will be open to access the area. Chris Schwarz, facility manager of the complex, called the $16.6 million complex “one of the premier Division III facilities in the country.” The complex will be officially dedicated Sept. 12 prior to UW-L’s football game against Azusa Pacific University. The complex can also be rented for a variety of other indoor and outdoor events. A Web site on the facility will be launched soon. Inquiries can be referred to the facility office at 785-6540. People interested in attending one of the nation’s service academies can send their applications to U.S. Rep. Ron Kind or U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, but they must submit applications by Friday, Oct. 16. A congressional nomination is required for students wishing to enter U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York; U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md.; U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colo.; or Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. The application process is open to any United States citizen who will be a high school graduate and between the ages of 17 and 22 by July 1, 2010, and is unmarried with no dependents. Generally, high school students entering their senior year apply for admittance the following year. Interested applicants can obtain the necessary forms and information by contacting Mark Aumann at (715) 831-9214 or Michelle Murray at (608) 828-1200. Applications are available online at www.house.gov/kind or www.feingold.senate.gov. Got a spare bowling ball? The Neshonoc Center work therapy program at Lakeview Health Center in West Salem wants it. Participants in the work therapy program have been recycling discarded bowling balls, painting them to create ladybug and bumblebee garden ornaments, which are sold for $10. Balls can be dropped off at Lakeview Health Center, or pickup can be arranged by calling Rebecca or Carol at 786-1400. Orders for the bowling ball ornaments also can be placed by calling Lakeview. Check Advance is seeking donations of school supplies at its office at 9360 Hwy. 16, with items collected to be given to the Onalaska School District for distribution. Drop-off hours through Aug. 30 are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays (closed 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.) and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. The La Crosse Skating Sirens, the area’s newest roller derby team, are seeking adult women to join the team or serve as referees. No experience is required and all skating levels are welcome. The Sirens are looking to expand their roster and are having open practices on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 to 10 p.m. in the old rubber mill building on St. Andrew Street. The Sirens, a nonprofit organization, are an all-woman, skater-owned, flat-track roller derby league founded in April 2009 by Melissa Larivee and Leslie Malekovic. The Sirens follow the guidelines and standards set forth by Women’s Flat Track Derby Association. For more information, log onto www.SkatingSirens.com. Registration is now open for the Greater Wisconsin Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2009 Memory Walk. More than 31 walks will be held in the chapter area during September and October to raise funds for care, services and programs of the Alzheimer’s Association. Registrations for team captains, walkers and walk sponsors are available online at www.alz.org/gwwi (click on Memory Walk). Materials are free and easily downloaded from the Web site. Interested walkers may also call their local Alzheimer’s office or the Greater Wisconsin Chapter office at 920-469-2110. Get Sustainable of Trempealeau County has released the 2009 edition of its local food brochure for Trempealeau County and outlying regions. Get Sustainable, which was founded in 2007, is a diverse group of concerned western Wisconsin citizens who meet to discuss what to do in their communities to highlight the need for sustainable living. This food guide is one project which came out of this collaboration. Eating local means seeking out food grown and raised as close as possible to where one lives. Buying local food also means eating foods that are seasonally available and unique to the region. The Get Sustainable booklet contains tips on eating wisely, Web sites to explore, and includes Wisconsin and Minnesota community-supported agriculture sites, area farms, orchards and farmers’ markets. For more information about the food guide or Get Sustainable, contact Mary Graziano at (608) 582-2975 or getsustainablewi @gmail.com. MADISON — The Wisconsin Department of Justice is urging people to be on guard against a phishing scam that has recently appeared in Wisconsin. The department has received reports of people calling homes and cell phones in an attempt to gain personal information. Wisconsin residents have been contacted by a man identifying himself as “Officer Smith with the United Law Enforcement and Investigation Department.” The caller provided a phone number (814) 273-1518 and attempted to gain the persons’ Social Security number and other information. “The Wisconsin Department of Justice wants to take this opportunity to remind folks that identity theft is a serious problem,” said Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. “Never give your personal identifying information out without fully confirming the source of the call and circumstances.” Legitimate businesses will not ask for personal information on the phone or through an unsecured e-mail. “If you should receive a call trying to solicit this information or any type of personal identifying data, do not give it out,” Van Hollen said. Phishing scams are attempts made by individuals to fraudulently gain access to protected or personal information that could compromise a person’s identity. Typically these attempts are made over the Internet or through e-mails and will have the appearance of an “official” correspondence seeking a reply. MADISON n After 25 years, the Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program has launched a new name and look, branding itself as Leadership Wisconsin. The change is designed to more effectively communicate the program’s goals by reflecting participants who have both urban and rural backgrounds. As the only statewide leadership program, Leadership Wisconsin remains committed to its key mission: developing leaders to strengthen communities. “The goal of our new look is to increase the understanding, benefits and outreach of our work with all of Wisconsin,” said Sarah Halstead, board president. “Our mission remains the same. Our new brand reveals immediately what we have been and what we remain committed to: strengthening communities through the development of vibrant leaders.” Halstead noted that as Wisconsin and the nation pass through a period of social and economic transition, quality leadership is even more critical. “Leadership Wisconsin is a proven method of leadership development that continues to produce top-notch leaders for cities, towns, villages, rural regions, in public, business, and nonprofit endeavors. Our work has been nationally recognized as one of the exemplary leadership development programs in the nation and we are proud to build on that recognition,” said JoAnn Stormer, executive director. Applications are being accepted for the next group of Leadership Wisconsin fellows. People interested in applying may contact Stormer at (608) 263-0817 or visit www.LeadershipWisconsin.org. Sign up for more information by clicking on the “Request Information” tab or download an application packet at the “How to Apply” tab. A construction project is under way at the Onalaska Department of Motor Vehicles customer service center and is expected to continue through Sept. 7. During construction, parking is limited and access to both the parking lot and service center is restricted. The DMV has posted signs to help direct customers, and customers might wish to consider alternative service options, such as renewing vehicle registrations online at www.wisconsindmv.gov or by mail. Customers may also obtain vehicle registrations and/or titles at one of the many third-party vehicle registration/title agents statewide, which are listed online at www.dot.wisconsin.gov/drivers/vehicles/plates/walkin.htm. The number of skill test appointments available at this location during this timeframe will be limited. Customers wanting appointments sooner should consider scheduling them at other sites: Tomah, Whitehall, Mauston or Black River Falls. To submit your information for a public service announcement, e-mail it to wsm.news@lee.net |