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WHAT HAPPENED

• Speaking before the Joint Finance Committee on March 3, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp told lawmakers she is considering selling naming rights in an effort to generate more financial support for state parks. She said it is premature to talk about prices for those naming rights and no corporations have approached the DNR about purchasing the naming rights for any park. She said she’d like to gather input from lawmakers over the next two years about the idea. The finance committee began questioning state agency heads on Monday as it prepares to make revisions to Walker’s budget before sending it on to the full Legislature for votes later this spring.

• A home designed by Virge Temme Architecture of Sturgeon Bay is featured in the newly released Cottage Style magazine, in a story titled “15 Prettiest Cottages – New England to Pacific Coast.” This Ellison Bay home belonging to Andy and Melissa Mather overlooks the waters of Green Bay and replicates the style and construction techniques of a 1920s Door County cottage that Andy’s parents once owned. It was built in 2005 using mainly locally-harvested wood and stone by Dennis Laaksonen. 

• Last weekend Sturgeon Bay investigators working an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) operation targeting online predators arrested two Door County men for their involvement. Both men were incarcerated at the Door County Jail awaiting charges from the Door County District Attorneys Office.

• The Door/Kewaunee Drug Task Force executed an overnight search warrant in the township of Egg Harbor near Carlsville on March 3. Items seized from the home include quantities of cocaine, marijuana, packing materials and several thousand dollars in cash. Three suspects were taken into custody and face charges that include delivery of cocaine, possession of cocaine with the intent to deliver, possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver, and maintaining a drug trafficking place. The suspects remain incarcerated in the Door County Jail pending their initial appearances in Door County Circuit Court. The search warrant culminates an almost three month investigation.

COMING UP

• The Door County Sheriffs Dept. is accepting applications for Sheriff’s Reserves. Individuals will be responsible for assisting with parades, county fair, basketball games and various traffic duties. Hours will vary as needed. Door County residency is required. Must be able to successfully pass a background check with no felony arrest and be of sound moral character with good judgment. Starting wage is $13 an hour. For application and job description, visit co.door.wi.gov and click on the employment tab. Submit completed application to Door County Human Resources Dept., 421 Nebraska St., Sturgeon Bay, Wis. 54235.

• Wisconsin tart cherry growers may now nominate candidates for three open seats on the five-member Wisconsin Cherry Board. Two of the open seats would represent District 1, and one would represent District Two. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) will accept nominations until April 1. Completed nomination forms must include signatures from at least five eligible growers other than the nominee. The affidavit of eligibility, located on the nomination form, must also be completed and notarized. DATCP will mail nomination forms and maps of the reapportioned districts to eligible growers. Growers who have not received nomination forms by March 15 or who have other questions about the nomination process should contact DATCP’s Stacie Ashby at 608.224.5116 or [email protected] to have one mailed. DATCP will conduct the Wisconsin Cherry Board election from May 15 through June 10. Elected producers will serve 3-year terms beginning July 1, 2015, and ending June 30, 2018. Members of the cherry board voted in April 2014 to reapportion the districts to represent the eastern and western halves of Kewaunee and Door counties.

• Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a one-time extension will be provided to producers for the new safety-net programs established by the 2014 Farm Bill, known as Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC). The final day to update yield history or reallocate base acres has been extended until March 31, 2015. The final day for farm owners and producers to choose ARC or PLC coverage also remains March 31, 2015. If no changes are made to yield history or base acres by March 31, 2015, the farm’s current yield and base will be used. A program choice of ARC or PLC coverage also must be made by March 31, 2015, or there will be no 2014 payments for the farm and the farm will default to PLC coverage through the 2018 crop year. The online tools, available at fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc, allow producers to explore projections on how ARC or PLC coverage will affect their operation under possible future scenarios.

• A blood drive will be held from 9 am to 2 pm on March 20 at Sturgeon Bay High School. The American Red Cross encourages eligible blood donors to become everyday heroes by giving blood in celebration of Red Cross Month this March. To make an appointment to give blood, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 800.733.2767.

• Don’t forget to spring ahead. Daylight Savings Time returns Sunday, March 8.