Chetek-Weyerhaeuser consolidation referendum passes
 The first official joint meeting of boards from the School District of Chetek and the Weyerhaeuser School District will be Monday at 5:30 p.m. in the Chetek HS/MS IMC. This gathering depended upon whether or not Tuesday's referendum for consolidation of the two districts passed or failed.
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Wolves leave only trace of heifer in Dovre pasture
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Bones were all that remained of a 750-pound heifer after wolves attacked it the evening of Oct. 23.
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Don't believe there are wolves in this part of Barron County? Eric Mickelson has a pretty convincing photo.
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Meeting clarifies why lake study wasn't funded
Experts from all over the state met last Wednesday in Eau Claire to explain why a study of phosphorus in the Chetek chain hadn't been funded by a Department of Natural Resources grant.
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Veterans Day ceremony
Area American Legion, American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts and auxiliaries will present a Veterans Day ceremony in the Chetek High School gymnasium.
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Early deadline for Nov. 11 issue
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Hopes, concerns discussed before consolidation vote
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Three Chetek students discussed the pros and cons of the Chetek-Weyerhaeuser consolidation and shared their thoughts on the topic. Left to right are senior Brandon Zeman, student council president, freshman Paula Omtvedt and sophomore Josie Reisner.
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With Tuesday's special referendum to vote on the Chetek-Weyerhaeuser consolidation, a number of Chetek and Weyerhaeuser students and faculty were given the chance to share their thoughts, worries and hopes for the future.
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Chetek business spices up fundraising drives
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Tim Wall poses with products from Sugar ‘N Spice’s fundraising line. A former physical education teacher, Wall hopes organizations will consider selling spices as a healthy, useful alternative to prepared foods.
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A dynamic local business is reinventing itself while helping nonprofit organizations make money.
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Flying high: banners to be hung in spring
The City of Chetek will be brighter when new business-promoting banners go up this spring.
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Schools' fitness grant now 'up and running
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Roselawn Elementary School teacher Hilary Nichols reviews how genetics affects overall health Tuesday morning. Following discussion, the fifth-graders ran off their excess energy with noodle tag.
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The Chetek School District begins the implementation of a new physical fitness program in November. This summer, the district was awarded a three-year $975,000 Physical Education Program grant to improve student health. Bob Rykal was hired to coordinate the effort.
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City approves hike in hangar lease fee
Chetek City Council members voted to approve a maximum 20-percent increase in hangar lease fees at their Oct. 13 meeting.
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Quint chosen for Freedom Honor Flight to U.S. Capitol
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John Quint, of Chetek, had his chance to partake in the Freedom Honor Flight Oct. 10 to Washington, D.C. While there, the veterans toured memorials and monuments with a main interest in the World War II memorial.
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Although World War II ended in 1945, the national memorial in Washington, D.C., to honor those who fought wasn't completed until 2004. That many years later, most WWII veterans can't make the trip without financial or physical help, which is how the Freedom Honor Flight started. Through this program, one Chetek resident saw the monument that honors him and millions of others.
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Police department awarded grant for imaging equipment
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A $16,000 Gadget – Chetek Police Department will soon own a TacSight SE35 Advanced Thermal Imager.
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Chetek Police Chief Mark Petersen has applied for so many grants, he can't remember them all.
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$1.4 million Knapp Haven project begins
After more than a year of delay, the $1.4 million improvements at Knapp Haven Nursing Home should begin within weeks.
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Ridgeland bank robbed; police hunt for suspect
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Sgt. Marshall Multhauf (left) and Deputy Joe O’Connell (right) discuss what O’Connell found in a search of the area.
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Police are still looking for the man in a Richard Nixon mask who robbed a Ridgeland bank last week.
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County receives grant to combat substance abuse
Drug Free Communities grants worth $12 million will be awarded to 161 communities across the country, and Barron County will get a portion of that amount.
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The perfect size pumpkin
18-MONTH-OLD PORTER ECKERMAN, of Osceola, had no trouble finding pumpkins proportioned to his small stature while visiting Mommsen's Produce Patch in Rice Lake Sunday.
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Chetek expels first student of year
 A month into the 2009-10 school year, Chetek schools have already ousted a student for repeated refusal to obey school rules.
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Wild rice, clear water: crop a boon to Northern ecosystems
As locals look to fix the green water problem, they could take a new approach that's as old as the lakes themselves.
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Program allows youths to explore career paths
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Trey Wardon was part of the manufacturing classes as part of the Workforce Resource youth employment program. He is 17 and attends Prairie Farm High School.
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While Workforce Resource in Rice Lake has had a youth program since the 1980s, a new source of funding allowed increased numbers of youths to explore career paths this year.
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New area code going into effect soon
Wisconsin's new 534 area code goes into effect this weekend.
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Cottage businesses still blooming in local economy
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Scott Ebbert, of Prairie Lake, holds a bag for a shopper Sept. 17. Ebbert’s vegetable stand near Chetek Express is one of his several home-based business ventures; he also does yard work, sells firewood and guides fishing tours.
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What functions as an office, business headquarters and artist's studio?
Home, of course.
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County board to vote on lowering tax burden
Barron County residents could see the lowest tax levy increase since 2005 if county supervisors adopt the executive committee's recommendations.
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Early release, no school
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Local rail effort nets $1 million grant
Barron and Chippewa counties' efforts to rehabilitate railroad tracks were rewarded with another $1 million grant in September.
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Event to raise Dollars for Skiers, Scholars
The Chetek Hydroflites Water Ski Show Team and the Chetek Area Scholarship Foundation will kick off its annual scholarship fundraiser.
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