AMERY
TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020 VOL. 128 NO. 2 www.theameryfreepress.com $1.00
After years of attempts, chicken ordinance passes
Amery woman steps up to be ‘the helper’
BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
For many, watching recent events in Minneapolis play out on television made a city located 50 miles from Amery seem worlds away. A local resident saw that what took place the last week of May hit some communities in the Twin Cities very hard, limiting their access to the most basic needs. Instead of watching the happenings with sorrow and feeling helpless, Collette Early decided to step up and volunteered to do something about it. Early reached out to her church, Amery’s First Lutheran, and explained The Little Earth Native American Community was in need of diapers, garbage bags, paper towels, toilet paper, laundry soap and personal hygiene items. The Little Earth community is located in the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis. She knew the grocery stores within walking distance were destroyed and the transit system was down. SEE DONATION, PAGE 2
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Celebrating Father Gene Members of local parishes surprise Father Gene Murphy with an hour of music, dance and readings. See page 16.
The clucking continued during meetings of Amery’s Public Safety committee and regular meeting of the city council and the cries of people wanting to get closer to their food source have been answered with an unanimous yes. Although in numerous previous attempts, the keeping of chickens within city limits has been turned down; it was five yesses June 3 from the council. The ordinance becomes legal June 10. Councilperson Tim Strohbusch, who chairs the Public Safety committee, said the highlights of the ordinance included no roosters, a maximum of five hens, a waste plan requirement and coop and fences were needed (no free range chickens). The ordinance also defines setback regulations and requires permission from neighboring properties. The ordinance is for non-commercial production of eggs. He said the full ordinance was available on the City of
Amery website and motioned to approve. Councilperson Julie Riemenscheider gave the second and with no further discussion, there was not a single opposing voice and the resolution passed. Residents can legally purchase poultry once they submit a license form and fee of $35.00. Also needed is a coop drawing form, neighborhood approval form and chicken keepers must pass onsite coop inspection. An annual license renewal and fee required. A Facebook group, Amery Backyard Chickens, has been started where an abundance of information for people interested in raising chickens can be found.
Wisconsin recognized as the birthplace of Flag Day BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
“And let us not forget that in honoring our flag, we honor the American men and women who have courageously fought and died for it,” President Ronald Reagan. Sunday, June 14, 2020 is the observance of Flag Day. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1916, and President Calvin Coolidge, in 1927, issued proclamations asking for June 14 to be observed as the National Flag
Day. But it wasn’t until August 3, 1949, that Congress approved the national observance, and President Harry Truman signed it into law. Just where did the idea of the flag belonging to the United States of America hail from? A resolution adopted by the Continental Congress June 14, 1777 stated, “That the flag of the United States shall be of thirteen stripes of alternate red and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white in a blue field, representing the new
APRIL ZIEMER | AMERY FREE PRESS
The American flag flies high at Amery’s Heritage Flag Pole Park.
constellation. The resolution was made following the report
of a special committee, which had been assigned to suggest
the flag’s design. A flag of this design was first carried into battle September 11, 1777, in the Battle of the Brandywine. The American flag was first saluted by foreign naval vessels February 14, 1778, when the Ranger, bearing the Stars and Stripes and under the command of Captain Paul Jones, arrived in a French port. The flag first flew over a foreign territory in early 1778 at Nassau, Bahama SEE FLAG DAY, PAGE 2
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