Door County News and Notes from May 1 – 14

• The Gibraltar baseball team clinched a share of their first Packerland Conference championship in 22 years by shutting out Sturgeon Bay May 10, but coach Jay Kita said the team has loftier goals.

“It’s great to be conference champs,” said coach Jay Kita after the game. “But we want to run the table and be undefeated conference champions.”

The Vikings, ranked 5th in the state in D4, last won the conference title under legendary coach Rod “Chief” Billerbeck in 1988. Kita was a player on that team.

• The Village of Egg Harbor won its contested case hearing brought by the Peninsula Shores Condominium Association. The association argued that the marina’s floating piers would obstruct navigation and natual scenic beauty. Construction on the village’s marina will proceed as scheduled.

• The Sturgeon Bay Common Council selected Robert Schlicht to take the seat of District 7 Alderman Thad Birmingham. The seat opened up when Birmingham won the race for mayor April 6.

• A bill banning texting while driving in Wisconsin was signed into law by Governor Jim Doyle May 5. The bill imposes a fine between $20 and $400 for sending an email or text message while driving, with limited exceptions.

• The International Joint Commission, the joint American and Canadian committee investigating Great Lakes water levels, received permission from the two governments to modify the scope of the International Upper Great Lakes Study. The commission has asked the study board to evaluate the feasibility of looking into possible climate change scenarios and possible mitigative measures to control water levels.

• Baileys Harbor began a formal review of its comprehensive plan May 6. A pdf of the initial presentation may be downloaded at http://www.townofbaileysharbor.com/smartgrowth/Baileys%20Harbor%20KO%20PDF.pdf

• Four Door County student-athletes were honored for excellence in the classroom and on the field of play. Sevastopol’s Crystal Burke and Amanda Karnopp and Gibraltar’s Adam Breseman and Ava Neddersen were awarded the Packerland Conference Outstanding Achievement Award. Students with a 3.9 grade-point average or above who participated in three sports as juniors and seniors, while earning seven varsity letters, qualified.

• The Wisconsin Department of Transportation approved the Door County Coastal Byway Steering Committee’s request to designate Highways 42 and 57 north of Sturgeon Bay as a Wisconsin Scenic Byway. The Scenic Byways program was established to preserve promote and enhance some of the most scenic and historic state highway corridors.