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WJFW News

In Wake of Shooting, Local Priest Preaches Tolerance Submitted: 08/06/2012

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RHINELANDER - A white supremacist skinhead - that's what we're learning about the suspect who killed six people at a Sikh temple outside of Milwaukee.

Police shot and killed 40-year-old Wade Michael Page, but not before he killed six people and wounded four, including a police officer.

As it becomes clear this was a crime of hate, we spoke to a local pastor about the importance of tolerance.

Father Tom Thakadipuram has been at Rhinelander's Nativity Catholic Church for about a year.

But until 2002, he lived in India, where Sikhism is based.

India and America, Sikhism and Christianity - Father Tom says there are more similarities than differences.

"My simple example is, just like we have different flavors of food we enjoy, and people have different tastes, there are different religions," he said. "Different religions means people have different temperaments, different likings, different appreciation of the divine. And that's a reason the different faiths come into existence, and they have a place."

Tolerance and coexistence was also the message this morning from the son of the temple's president, who was killed in the shooting.

"We as Americans are a melting pot of so many cultures," Amardeep Kaleka said. "We have to understand each other's cultures whether they be Italian, Polish, German or they be far east Chinese or Bangladeshi, we need to know the nuances because we live together we rub elbows right next to each other."

Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world, with about 25 million followers worldwide.

America is home to about 700,000 Sikhs.

"Some of the principles of the faith are very similar to the principles this country was founded on," said Kavneet Singh, managing director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund. "You see Sikhs being staunch advocates of religious freedom, of civil rights, and of gender equality, which are very much fundamental principles of the founding of America, and I think that's why you'll see a number of Sikhs here in America looking to make a permanent home here, because there's a synergy between their two beliefs."

Story By: Lex Gray

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 In Other News:
ArtStart Opens New Exhibit Submitted: 06/19/2013

RHINELANDER - You don't need to go outside to enjoy the outdoors.

The new ArtStart exhibit brings nature indoors.

The exhibit features work from artists around the country.

It includes artifacts, paintings, and sculptures.

Mitch Mode is a guest curator.

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Medford man searches for photo of every Vietnam death from Wisconsin Submitted: 06/19/2013

MEDFORD - “Our goal is to find them all," says Bryce Kelley.

Kelley, a Medford resident, wants to find a picture of every Wisconsin soldier killed in Vietnam.

“I know that I will continue to work, and I have enlisted the help of many others that will continue to work until we find them all," he says.

Nearly 1,200 Wisconsinites’ names are etched on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington.

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Woman killed when ATV goes over cliff Submitted: 06/19/2013

SAXON - A woman died when an ATV sailed over a cliff in Iron county.

Deputies got the call around seven last night about the ATV crash near Harbor Drive in Saxon.

The ATV did not make it around a corner on Harbor drive and traveled over the cliff, coming to rest on the beach.

A 42 year old woman who was a passenger on the ATV was dead at the scene.

Her 44 year old husband had been driving, and suffered severe injuries.

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Man dies when a train hits his van Submitted: 06/19/2013

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TOWN OF UNITY, WI - An elderly man from central Wisconsin killed in a terrifying crash when a train crashes into his van.

Charles Podbelsek, 81, was driving on a Clark County Road Tuesday morning.

When he approached the railroad crossing he did not stop at the stop sign and hit a Canadian National train.

His Caravan was thrown from the crossing, landed on its roof, and Podbelsek was thrown from the van.

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Woman with Alzheimer's found safe Submitted: 06/19/2013

WOOD COUNTY - A barking dog led searchers to a Wood County woman with Alzheimer's disease.

Just before five last night, a call came in saying the woman was missing from the 46-hundred block of Lynn Hill Road in Port Edwards township.

The woman was enrolled in the "Project Lifesaver" program, and was wearing a transmitter.

However, the battery had apparently gone dead, so searchers could not find her that way.

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Mapping and controlling Yellow Iris in wetlands Submitted: 06/19/2013

MINOCQUA - These plants may look pretty but they're taking over our rivers and lakes. Michele Sadauskas is Oneida County's Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator. She is working to map and control the yellow iris, the plant you see here. She and two other conservation workers spent the day weeding Stacks Bay.

"They invade our wetlands. They're a really robust, aggressive plant. What they do is they crowd out our native species and make actually the wetland a lot less diverse," says Michele Sadauskas, Oneida County AIS Coordinator.

Removing yellow iris is a slow process. It takes three hours of work just to properly map and control 20 feet of shoreline.

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USDA Merrill Service Center Relocates Submitted: 06/19/2013

MERRILL - Farmers in Lincoln and Langlade Counties may need to make a longer drive or call a different office for USDA services.

The Merrill Service Center will be temporarily split up between Rhinelander, Wausau, and Medford.

The Farm Service Agency will move to the Wausau Service Center and the Natural Resources Conservation Service will be relocated to the Rhinelander and Medford Centers.

These moves will last until further notice.

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