MADISON - Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill aimed at curbing underage drinking.
The so-called ``Brown Jug bill'' creates an additional $1,000 fine for those under age 21 who buy or drink alcohol.
The measure gives bars the ability to report underage drinkers to police and then take them to court.
The underage drinker would be required to pay the business owner $1,000 if found guilty. The fine would be in addition to the $250 to $1,000 fine an underage drinker would receive from law enforcement.
The Capital Times (http://bit.ly/1dak7QJ ) reports the Tavern League of Wisconsin is pleased with Walker's decision to sign the bill.
Opponents say fines were already in place for underage drinkers.
The bill is named after an Alaskan bar that had a similar law passed.
PELICAN - Pelican Elementary school will close Friday because of sickness at the school.
The school made the announcement Thursday.
Kerri Schmidt, School Nurse for the School District of Rhinelander, says she's mostly seen vomiting, nausea and headaches.
But some of those affected are showing other flu like symptoms like high fever.
"It's been cold out, kids haven't been able to get out for recess and we had concerts here." Schmidt said. "So anytime you get a large number of people getting together and the right transmission takes place, you certainly can have the breeding grounds for illness."
The school started seeing lots of kids sick Wednesday. They decided to cancel school Friday because even more kids were getting sick Thursday. All co-curricular activities are canceled in conjunction with this school closure.
The decision was ultimately a joint decision between the School District of Rhinelander and the Oneida County Health Department.
"We try to keep the healthy kids at school and send the sick children home," Schmidt said. "But when your whole day becomes continue more sick kids going home, you know the transmission is still taking place."
The school hopes the three day weekend will help stop the spread of the sickness. About 30 percent of the school's 295 students are sick.
Parents should keep their kids home at least 48 hours after showing the first signs of symptoms.
This is the first time since 2002 that a Rhinelander school has shut down because of sickness.
To stop the spread of illness people should: • Drink plenty of liquid (juice, water) • Keep the sick person as comfortable as possible. Rest is important • For fever, sore throat and muscle aches, use ibuprofen (Motrin) or Acetaminophen (Tylenol). Do not use Aspirin with children or teenagers; it can cause Reye’s syndrome, a life-threatening illness. • Be sure everyone in your home washes their hands frequently. • Keep the people who are sick away from the people who are not sick.
For more information, call your healthcare provider or contact the Oneida County Health Department at 715-369-6111.
MADISON - Gov. Scott Walker has signed into law a bill that creates a new open crossbow season to run concurrently with the archery deer season.
Crossbow hunting had been allowed only for those over age 65 and those with physical disabilities. Under the new law, hunters of all legal ages and physical abilities can use crossbows to hunt deer and other smaller animals including rabbits and coyotes.
The crossbow season will be the same as the archery deer season, which runs from mid-September until the end of November or beginning of December, depending on the year.
Creating the new crossbow season ran into some opposition from traditional bow-and-arrow hunters who worried that allowing a crossbow would taint archery hunting. Walker signed the bill on Tuesday.
ACROSS WISCONSIN - Gov. Scott Walker has signed into law a Republican-sponsored bill that gives landlords more power over tenants.
The bill Walker signed privately Thursday allows landlords to dispose of any property an evicted tenant leaves behind, immediately tow parked vehicles and toss tenants out if a crime occurs on the property and the tenant was in a position to prevent it.
Democrats who opposed the measure argued that it strips tenants of their rights and limits local governments' control over property in their jurisdiction.
The bill was opposed by the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the cities of Milwaukee and Madison as well as the League of Wisconsin Municipalities and others.
RHINELANDER - People don't want their pipes to freeze this time of year. That's why the city of Rhinelander will start their water credit program on Monday.
The program allows about 400 businesses and homes to run their water 24 hours a day. That prevents pipes and sewers from freezing. The city gives them a credit on their water bill.
“If it freezes up with either have the water utility coming out here and thawing it out again,” says Joe Brauer, Rhinelander Airport Director. “It's very inconvenient it's the traveling public that uses Rhinelander flying service such like that too again we had to put porta-potties out there the first winter we went through like that and was very, very inconvenient for our customers.”
Places like the Rhinelander airport have dealt with pipes freezing in the past. Right now the frost level is 2 feet underground. This means if your pipes are buried less than 2 feet underground they could be at risk for freezing.
“When you turn the water on to keep a steady flow of water that's going through your sewer pipes and such like that so they don't freeze up, because if you don't do that what will end up happening is the frost drives down and such like that or it will freeze it up so it's very important just to have a trickle of water to have a constant flow of water going through your sewer system,” says Brauer.
The water credit program can cost the city between 50 to 100 thousand dollars.
RHINELANDER - Many veterans are not eligible for full dental coverage.
But a new VA healthcare program is changing that.
Veterans who don’t have dental insurance can now join a new program that will give them coverage.
The VA partnered with insurance companies MetLife and Delta Dental.
Brad Nelson is the public information officer for the VA in Iron Mountain.
"About 90 percent of our veterans who are enrolled in VA healthcare, are not eligible for VA dental care directly, like we mentioned," said Nelson. "So that's why this insurance program would be a very good option for them if they don't already have dental insurance."
The new program allow veterans can work directly with the two insurance companies for the best coverage plans.
The closest full-care VA hospital is in Iron Mountain.
The program will cut down on travel time for veterans by helping them find a dentist who will accept their new insurance plan closer to home.
"Taking control of your healthcare is actually one of the messages that the VA wants to come across to our veterans, including dental care," said Nelson. "Again, we want recognize at the VA that oral health can impact a person's overall health."
The program will get vets a reduced monthly cost for the insurance.
Coverage goes into effect January 1st.
For additional information, visit the VA Healthcare website.
Disclaimer: All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Neither Rockfleet Broadcasting / Northland Television, Inc. nor By Request Web Designs shall be responsible for any typographical errors, misinformation, or misprints.
Play Video
