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Wausau school district looks at music policy recommendation Submitted: 03/10/2014

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WAUSAU - You might remember the emotional debate over limiting religious music in Wausau schools last year.

The school district formed a committee to research and make recommendations for a district policy to find a solution to the problem.

They met the school board tonight.

Newswatch 12 was there at the meeting.

A committee in Wausau wants to make sure the school district stays neutral with respect to different religions.

20 people sit on the Religious Music Policy Advisory Committee.

They are music teachers, parents, students and district administrators.

One of the members is a rabbi at Mt Sinai Congregation.

He says one of the concerns for the Jewish community was having templates for the community to follow.

"That really allows for all the voices in the community to be heard and for really have a way of resolving conflicts when they come up," said rabbi/clergy member, Dan Danson.

"Especially trying to derive inclusive policies on an ongoing basis as a regular part of the music program in the community."

The committee's goal was to try and come up with a policy framework.

But the school board felt committee's plan didn't show who would make the final decision on music.

"Clearly though we are always sensitive to the fact that the devil is in the details and that would be the implementation piece," community member, Don Hermanson said.

"But we wanted to see how the board viewed the overall policy first. So I don't think anybody is particularly surprised by that."

The committee will be at next months meeting with the added material.

They'll collect more information and meet again with the board.



Story By: Shardaa Gray

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 LOCAL NEWS
Tomahawk LP expands to keep up with demandSubmitted: 03/10/2014

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TOMAHAWK - Wood means jobs in Northern Wisconsin.

For Louisiana Pacific in Tomahawk, wood means lots of business.

“Even at full capacity we can’t keep up with demand,” says Jon Smith the Mill Manager for Tomahawk LP.

That’s why the group plans to expand.

It will cost more than $21 million, but it will increase their production by 50%.

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Northwoods School District facing big budget cuts Submitted: 03/10/2014

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TOMAHAWK - The Tomahawk School District will need to make big budget cuts in the next year. The district will need to cut more than $500,000. Rising transportation costs along with declining enrollments challenge many Northwoods School Districts.

“We have a lot of issues in Northern Wisconsin that many districts in the state of Wisconsin don't have,” says Cheryl Baker, Tomahawk School District Superintendent. “For instance in the Tomahawk School District there's about 425 and I'm rounding that off, square miles of terrain that has to be covered everyday two times a day to pick kids up, to bring them to school, and to take them home.”

“That cost is our cost,” says Baker.

The school district does not plan to cut any electives. Instead they are moving from an 8 to a 7 period day.

“We're moving from an 8 period day to a 7 period day purely for economic reasons,” says Baker. “In other words had we not gone to the 7 period day for next year we would have had to of cut entire classes, electives, and or start cutting down teachers full time positions.”

The school district will also need to cut its full time social worker.

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Snow on an overhang causes damage to downtown buildingSubmitted: 03/10/2014

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RHINELANDER - Warm temperatures and lingering snow on roofs doesn't make for a good combination.

Around 3 p.m. Monday, the weight of the snow on the roof of the building next to the Elbo Room in Rhinelander caused major damage to the building.

The awning to the building fell down onto the Brown Street sidewalk.

Fire leaders say it's important to remember to how dangerous heavy snowfall left on roofs can be this time of year.

“Well with this heavy snowfall this winter there's a lot of snow load with warm weather today the snow melting it created a lot of weight and it can damage structures with all the weight from the snow,” says Josh Schmitz, Rhinelander Fire Deptartment Deputy Chief.

No one was injured in the collapse. The fire department is not sure when cleanup will begin.

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An earlier version of this story indicated that the facade of the Elbo Room awning had fallen. That was incorrect. It was the building next to the Elbo Room. That has been corrected in the story above.

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Wis. schools may see longer days, shorter yearsSubmitted: 03/10/2014

MADISON - A bill that would allow Wisconsin schools to extend school days and shorten school years to save money is up for a vote in the Senate this week.

The bill would get rid of the requirement that schools teach for 180 days or lose state funding. Schools are still required to teach the same number of hours under the bill.

Another change under the law allows the state Department of Public Instruction to fund remedial courses and interim school sessions. The package is being viewed as a cost saving measure for districts that have seen state funding decrease in recent years.

Three Democrats joined the bill's Republican sponsors, and DPI and other education groups have voiced strong support for the proposal.

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Update: Rhinelander City Council intersection to get permanent stop sign.Submitted: 03/10/2014

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RHINELANDER - UPDATE: Monday, Mar 10, 2014; 10:45 p.m.

A temporary stop sign at a Rhinelander intersection will become a permanent fixture at the intersection.

The Rhinelander City Administrator Blaine Oborn says The City Council unanimously agreed to permanently keep the stop sign at the Davenport and Sutliff Street intersection.

The stop sign was put up at the three-way intersection during a construction project last summer.

The permanent signs could be in place in the next couple of weeks.

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Drivers might need to get used to a stop sign at one intersection in Rhinelander.

The City Council held a public hearing to decide if the temporary stop sign on Davenport and Sutliff should stay.

The stop sign was put up at the three-way intersection during a construction project last summer.

"We put up a temporary stop sign because we had the closure on Kemp, and we sent all the traffic this way," says Rhinelander City Administrator Blaine Oborn. "Once we had the stop sign up, a lot of people in the community started voicing support for keeping it."

Members of the community voiced their support for or against the permanent stop sign at the public hearing.

"People who live on the west side over here go straight through, it slows them down a little bit by having to do a stop sign," says Oborn. "The people on Sutliff that have to make a left or right turn, they really favor the three-way stop sign here because it makes it a lot safer for them."

The permanent signs could be in place in the next couple of weeks if the council approves the move.

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Renovations for Antigo's rural elementary schoolsSubmitted: 03/10/2014

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ANTIGO - Schools in the Northwoods can be expensive to maintain.

Many school boards are closing some of their rural schools to save money.

Unlike other Wisconsin districts, Antigo's school board will keep its seven elementary schools open.

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Merrill police wants to put a stop to false emergency callsSubmitted: 03/10/2014

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MERRILL - You dial 911 during an emergency.

But one Northwoods police department seems to be getting a lot of false calls.

They want people to be more careful.

The Merrill Police Department put a warning on their Facebook page last week.

They got five false 911 calls in about half an hour.

The calls are filtered through the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department.

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