Amery Free Press February 4, 2020

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AMERY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2020 VOL. 123 NO. 36 www.theameryfreepress.com $1.00

Few answers available yet for library

A plea for closure BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM

BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM

“We do not have a pot of money.” That was the final response from Alderman Tim Strohbusch when banter went back and forth between him and a community member who had questions concerning the cost of remodeling the current Bremer Bank to house City Hall, the Amery Public Library and police department. A group of people who wanted their questions and concerns heard showed up at the Tuesday Jan. 28 meeting of the Finance Committee at City Hall. They were asked to approach the podium, state their name and keep comments to two minutes or less. The first to approach council members was Shannon Schacht “I was shocked at this proposal. Amery is a gem. We have a wonderful community. I am not doing this to criticize, but to take something that is so monumental and wonderful and diminish it? You don’t build something up that is this magnificent and supportive of every level of people that live here; rich, young, old, in between, handicap-you name it. What we are about is serving our community. Why would I build a beautiful house that took me years to build and dedicated resources from neighbors and I say, ‘OK now we are going to move to an adequate house and spend almost equally as much?’” She said she is concerned about the age of the Bremer building, parking and handicap access. “I really, really want you to reconsider. We need to put our money where the jewels are and the library is a stellar jewel. Why wreck something if it isn’t broke? If you think this is something we SEE LIBRARY, PAGE 8

SEE SMITH, PAGE 8

SEE COLD CASE, PAGE 2

SUBMITTED

Mac Smith of the 100-point club is shown with L-R: parents Jessica and Kevin Smith, grandparents Lyle and Diane Lauritsen and cousin Kylie Hansen.

And then there were eight BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM

Hustle and heart has led McAdam (Mac) Smith into the small group of Amery Warrior hockey players who have reached the 100-point mark. He joins teammates Jackson Henningsgard and Grady Martin, along with what some might now call the O.Gs (a slang term for originals) Ryan Humpal, Matt Mullendore, Tanner Tryggestad, Kyle Schultz and Jake Mullendore. Mac looks at his induction into 100 Club as a bonus. He said, “I did not set the 100 points as a goal. My goal was to win games and hopefully go to State. As far as the 100 points I thought, ‘If it happened it happened.” It happened January 25 during an

WD The The Law Firm of Williams and Davis

away win over Black River Falls. Smith achieved his accomplishment during the third period, and by the end the Amery Warriors had defeated the Tigers 5-3. Mac said he started skating around the age of three or four and like his older brother, Camden, played hockey ever since. Their father, Kevin played hockey in Amery as well. He hung up his skates as a Warrior player after graduating in 1987, but continued to be a to be a familiar face in various roles around the rink. Mac said he grew up watching older kids like Jake Mullendore and Kyle Schultz and hoped to be like them someday. Now he shares a spot in an elite group with the two of them.

“I still have hope. I just wish the driver would come forward. Maybe his life would change too. It is hard to forget when you can’t find who to forgive,” said Georgia Cobenais in a video released January 31 by the Polk County Sheriff’s Department. The video was part of a press conference that was a joint effort between the Polk County Sheriff’s Department, the Tribal Police and the families of Ben Juarez and Rick Cobenais. Polk County Sherriff, Brent Waak, said the goal Friday was to revisit an unsolved case that affected Polk County and the Round Lake Community on January 11, 2014; the hit and Cobenais run, double fatality that took the lives of Juarez and Cobenais. Friends and family of both victims gathered inside and outside of the press conference room where information was shared in hopes of keeping details Juarez fresh in people’s minds. Those coordinating the event are hopeful that by sharing the story Friday afternoon, the details will spread both online and through media outlets to help solve the case. “We are asking for a plea for some humanity today and that somebody come forward with some information on who did this,” said Waak. The video shared with those in attendance featured Georgia, Rick’s widow who witnessed the incident and the chilling 911 call she made after the men were stricken and killed by a truck.

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