BULLETIN

WHAT HAPPENED

• Gordon Krist of Paris, Ky., placed the winning $48,500 bid on the Ship Canal North Pierhead Lighthouse near Sturgeon Bay, the General Services Administration revealed. The lighthouse was built in 1903. The U.S. Coast Guard will continue to use the lighthouse as a navigation aid.

• Wisconsin’s strict voter ID law for this fall’s election is up to the Supreme Court, but on Oct. 6 a three-judge panel of Republicans appointed to the 7th Circuit Court issued a ruling upholding the law. It was the same panel that last month removed a district court judge’s injunction on the law, leading voting rights groups to ask the Supreme Court to intervene. Andrea Kaminski, executive director of the Wisconsin League of Women Voters, issued a statement after the ruling:  “If lawmakers want to make it more difficult for specific groups of citizens to vote, they will restrict the list of acceptable forms of ID. That is what happened here in Wisconsin with the passage of Act 23. The voter ID law is bad enough. The timing of the 7th Circuit’s rulings on the case is atrocious. Changing the rules when an election is already underway is unthinkable, and surely some of the estimated 300,000 registered voters in our state who do not possess a Wisconsin driver’s license or state ID will not have a chance to cast a ballot and have it counted on Nov. 4. We urge every eligible citizen to exercise the precious right to vote in this election. …If you are not sure you have an acceptable ID, contact your municipal clerk or go to the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board’s “Bring It to the Ballot” website (bringit.wi.gov) to find out what you have to do. Don’t wait. It might take some time, but it is worth it to have a chance to select the lawmakers who set policies that affect your citizen rights and everyday activities.”

• Oneida County is the latest county in the state to be quarantined after confirmation of the Emerald ash borer in the city of Rhinelander. The Oneida County detection was on public property, in one of the purple traps set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services. A portion of the Lac du Flambeau Tribe’s reservation lies within the boundaries of Oneida County. The State of Wisconsin and the federal government are consulting with the tribe about the quarantine within the reservation boundaries. The tribe may institute a quarantine on its property at its own discretion. A decision is expected in the near future. Quarantines prohibit ash wood products and hardwood firewood from being moved to areas that are not quarantined. For businesses handling wood products that could carry EAB, this means that they must work with DATCP to assure that their products are pest-free before shipping to non-quarantine counties. For private citizens, a quarantine means that neither residents nor tourists may take firewood from these counties to non-quarantine counties.

COMING UP

• An Oshkosh developer has announced plans to break ground for a $5.5 million luxury hotel in Algoma in the next 30 days. Several lakeshore sites are being considered for the 55-room GrandStay Hotel. A conference facility is included in the plans for the hotel. GrandStay is a national chain with six hotels in Wisconsin, including Appleton, Eau Claire, LaCrosse, Madison, Mount Horeb and Sheboygan.

• To help identify potential options for yellow perch management in Lake Michigan, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Wisconsin Conservation Congress will convene a public meeting on Oct. 23 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences. The meeting will build on the findings of the Lake Michigan Yellow Perch Summit in March and focus on potential management strategies for the important near-shore perch fishery. Brad Eggold, DNR Lake Michigan fisheries supervisor, said the meeting aims to bring attendees up to speed on the latest scientific findings related to yellow perch and solicit feedback on viable strategic options in high-priority areas. Among the highlights of the Oct. 23 meeting, set to run from 5:30 to 9 pm, will be discussion of changes in the food web and an overview of yellow perch populations throughout the lake. For more information on the public meeting, visit dnr.wi.gov and search for yellow perch meeting.

For more information contact Brad Eggold, Lake Michigan fisheries supervisor, at 414.382.7921 or [email protected]; or Jennifer Sereno, communications, at 608.770.8084 or [email protected].

• Get the facts on the Southern Door School District referendum at these sessions:

Saturday, Oct. 11, 10 am, Southern Door High School Library (child care provided).

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 6:30 pm, Southern Door High School Library (child care provided).

Thursday, Oct. 16, 7 pm, Nasewaupee Town Hall.

You can also find information posted on the district website at southerndoor.k12.wi.us/referendum.

• Sevastopol School is holding an “Americana” Fall Concert in the elementary school gym at 6:30 pm on Thursday, Oct. 16. The concert will feature the 6^th grade choir and band, the 7^th and 8^th grade choir and band and the high school choir and band, under the direction middle and high school band director Tanya Hasenjager and choir director Cheryl Pfister.