Opinions

To the editor:

As the Supreme Court race nears, it is good to be reminded about the many positive attributes of Judge Michael Screnock.

After having served in local government for over 12 years, he received further training when he worked at the law firm of Michael Best and Friedrich in its Madison office.

Civil litigation and administrative proceedings in a wide variety of subject areas continued to be Judge Screnock’s focus, as well as many complex cases, including defending Act 10. He has co-authored annual legal updates on administrative law topics for a Wisconsin State Bar publication.

As one of three Sauk County judges, he handles every type of case including, but not limited to, probate, juvenile cases, small claims disputes, divorce and family matters, traffic violations, civil commitments, as well as every type of criminal case.

To the editor:

I am endorsing Ed Whealon for mayor of the city of Shawano. I do not live in the city, so I am not able to vote for Ed, but I do live in the county. I want the city of Shawano to be successful because a thriving Shawano city affects the county in a positive way. A successful thriving city assures that county residents have employment opportunities, shopping and medical support close to home, just to name a few things.

Ed has run a business and understands the difficulty in starting and operating a business. As the chief of police, Ed worked with several agencies in and outside the city and county to build a modern weapons firing range that is in use to this day. That type of project takes planning, team/consensus building, leadership and vision.

One of the questions, at the mayoral debate, was a issue dealing with the city of Shawano’s transparency, i.e., meetings and such.

Candidate Ed Whealon answered the question by saying: “There was not enough transparency.”

Though there are many examples, he used the euthanizing of the geese at Smalley Park and Huckleberry Harbor at this debate. He discovered the $6,000 expense in the city budget for killing the geese while he was preparing for the debate. Let’s be clear; the city wanted to kill the geese.

Wisconsin is working.

Employment in our state is at an all-time high, and the unemployment rate of 2.9 percent is at a historic low. To continue to build our workforce, we invested more actual dollars into schools than ever before and included major increases for our technical college system. We balanced our budget and had another surplus yet still eliminated the state property tax. In fact, the cumulative impact of our tax relief through the end of the budget is $8 billion. We froze University of Wisconsin tuition for six years in a row to make college more affordable for students and working families. Our health care systems are ranked number one in the nation for quality.

To build on our successes, we laid out an ambitious agenda during our State of the State address in January. A special thanks to the members of the state Legislature who passed our ambitious agenda for 2018:

I love a newspaper! It not only gives you the news without interruptions of annoying commercials, but it offers so much entertainment. Opinion articles are most enlightening with letters to the editor and essays from famous people. Comics offer a choice of your favorites with wise conclusions.

Then you can settle down to your favorite puzzles. Mine are crosswords and jumbled words. I can crack them most of the time. I never got into sudoku and gave up on cryptograms.

Columns include advice, recipes, gardening, health, personal tales of the good old days and more. When I was a kid, they always had a dress pattern, and I would make cut-out dolls out of them. One paper offers hours of interest for me in the quiet of my living room.

Don’t forget, April 3 is an important mayoral election. Under the leadership of Mayor Jeanne Cronce, the city of Shawano is experiencing a positive change in momentum. There has been business expansion, business facade improvements and new business arrivals — Tumbleweed, Belmark, Culver’s and Stubborn Brothers Brewery, just to name a few.

Our city parks have improved amenities either just completed or slated for completion this year.

In 2017, Shawano had the highest rate of new home building permits in 10 years.

Mayor Cronce and city officials have shown grit and gumption in tackling the vacant building epidemic in downtown Shawano. After a long, methodical process, neglected buildings will either be renovated or demolished. This will open the way for limitless destination possibilities that will attract visitors and encourage residential establishment in our city.

To the editor:

Mayor Jeanne Cronce knows Shawano, is dedicated in her role as mayor and has the perseverance to continue in a positive direction for the community. This prompts me to voice my support for Mayor Jeanne Cronce.

Over the past two years that I have gotten to know Mayor Cronce, not only did she listen to me, but I also listened to her and her endeavors to improve Shawano.

Property was sold with promises to bring in high-end stores and make Shawano thrive. Now empty buildings stand with legal constraints that make it difficult to move forward. This negative transition did not happen overnight, and it can’t be fixed overnight. I also see business owners coming into the area and thriving.

Is anyone else fed up with getting half the story when watching most broadcast news?

In the Florida shooting tragedy, almost nobody in the reporting of the incident points out that the shooter violated multiple gun laws when purchasing firearms. Did those laws stop him? No, no, no.

You first have to have law enforcement agencies report threats and mental issues to the local police and instant check system so actions can be taken. That includes the FBI dropping the ball when very clear threats were made on social media. Just what good is it to make something illegal if the law enforcement people are not going to do something with the information?

Passing more laws never means they will be enforced. Prime example would be immigration laws and the actions of California. Do I make my point?

The other day, my hubby got a sliver underneath his fingernail. It was in quite deep, and there was no way he could get to it. He remembered a home remedy his mother used. She worked at Weber’s handling wood for many years, and she would occasionally get a sliver.

Hubby got out the jar of honey and put a heavy layer on his fingernail. He asked me to put tape tightly around his fingernail. I did as he requested but must admit, I was skeptical.

The next morning, he removed the tape. I was quite amazed to see the sliver was gone. He was relieved, as he said that a sliver beneath a nail hurts like the devil. Such a simple yet effective method.

Old home remedies are still the preferred choice in many parts of the world, as they are natural, easily available and often less costly than pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter medications.

Humans often see the color of winter as only white. Yet, so many greys and shadows play across that white snow that the scenes can be breathtaking. Plus, perhaps there is a bright blue sled racing down the hill with children clad in bright clothing, shrieking in pure joy.

In winter, I see ice skates, and skaters gliding, or falling, as may be the case. Perhaps a mountain with skiers flying down the slope, or a fishing shack on the frozen water, and a fisherman with a tip-up and a dream.

In winter, there are deer in the silent woods, and turkeys feeding along the roadway. As I drive the side roads, I catch a glimpse of a majestic eagle soaring through the air, looking for its next meal. The other day, I saw geese on the pond, walking on the not-yet-thawed ice.