Bulletin

Dr. Jeffrey Whiteside

WHAT HAPPENED 

• The Door County Sheriff’s Department is looking for a missing person who was last seen in the Ephraim area of northern Door County on June 29, 2015. Dr. Jeffrey R. Whiteside, 63, is a physician in the Fox Valley area and lives in Grand Chute, Wis. He has a boat slip and vacation cabin in Ephraim. Whiteside was with family at the boat slip in Ephraim when he walked away. His family and office have not heard from him and are very concerned about him. The Door County Sheriff’s Department was notified that Whiteside was missing the morning of July 1. The department canvassed the area and is planning to use dogs in the search. The Sheriff’s Department asks for the public’s assistance in finding Dr. Whiteside. If anyone has seen him, call the Door County Sheriff’s Department at 920.746.2416.

• Smoldering fireworks were the cause of a fire that destroyed a garage along with a boat and vehicle on July 5. The garage fire was at 2950 Spruce Lane, Ephraim.

• The state veterinarian has broadened the restriction against poultry gatherings in a modified order that now prohibits all poultry at any swap meet in the state through the end of 2015. A previous order issued June 10 prohibited swap meets held in conjunction with a county, regional or state fair. “As long as avian influenza is still potentially in the environment, we need to better manage the gathering of birds to ensure that we are not spreading the virus to new areas of the state,” said Dr. Paul McGraw, Wisconsin State Veterinarian. This action is intended to prevent any further spread of H5N2 avian influenza. Wisconsin had its first confirmation of the disease on April 13 and its last on May 4. The decision was made after careful consideration and consultation with representatives from the poultry industry, show coordinators and fair organizers. “We realize this will be a challenge to some who rely on swap meets to sell their birds, but this is necessary to protect all poultry owners in Wisconsin,” McGraw said. “It is still acceptable to advertise birds for sale and sell them privately directly from an owner’s farm.” Additional information and resources concerning avian influenza can be found on DATCP’s website at datcp.wi.gov.

• Door County Hardware in Sturgeon Bay is offering a $50 gift card to anyone who provides information about an American flag that was stolen from a light pole across the street from the hardware store shortly after 1 am on July 5. You can view the security video footage of the theft on Door County Hardware’s Facebook page.

• In its vacation rentals blog, TripAdvisor named Door County as one of eight emerging Midwest vacation destinations for rentals. The county was named along with Osage Beach, Mo., Hill City, S.D., South Haven, Mich., Logan and Hocking Hill, Ohio, Branson, Mo., and Wisconsin Dells. The item on Door County reads:  Home to five state parks and jaw-dropping natural scenery, Door County is a little known gem with big-time culture. A four-season getaway, this Wisconsin town offers traditional winter activities like skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing, while the amazing arts, music, food and wine scenes flourish during summertime. Strolling through the famous cherry orchards is a must, where sweet scents permeate across 2,500 acres of cherry blossoms. One vacation rental reviewer may have put it best: “We came, we stayed, and we didn’t want to leave!”

• The Great Lakes Commission has released updated versions of the myBeachCast iPhone and Android mobile app. myBeachCast provides swim advisories, weather conditions, and beach hazard alerts for more than 2,000 beaches in the Great Lakes region. Beach hazard alerts will include statements when high winds and waves, and strong and dangerous currents are present or forecasted. The app also connects to health department databases to alert users of contamination advisories.

COMING UP

• Lake Michigan Day is a time set aside to consider our connection to Lake Michigan’s water. Lake Michigan Day was started in 2014 to highlight the importance of this great water body to the basin’s environment and economy. The Lake Michigan Stakeholders promotes this basin-wide event to highlight the special connections people have to this unique world treasure. To show appreciation for the lake, individuals, communities, businesses, tribes, First Nations, churches and other groups celebrate Lake Michigan Day each year on the second Friday in August. Each Lake Michigan Day, all residents who live, work, play, and worship around the lake can organize events in their communities or take action in their homes, at their places of employment or in community groups to help protect the treasure that is Lake Michigan.