BURNETT COUNTY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017 VOL. 55 NO. 26 www.burnettcountysentinel.com $1.00
KNOW YOUR CANDIDATES Judicial and village board profiles P. 6-7
Grantsburg board to fine ‘deadbeat landlords’ BY STEVE BRIGGS SENTINEL
GRANTSBURG — Saying they were tired of being ignored, the Grantsburg Village Board Monday agreed to take action against landlords and building owners who continually violate building safety and fire codes. If they ignore the inspector’s repair orders, fines will grow from $150 to $500 or more. If the structural conditions don’t improve, the board said it will restrict or end the landlords’ ability to rent. Now in his third year of the job, Grantsburg Fire Chief and Building Inspector Cory Barnett says the violations he wrote up when he started haven’t been fixed, and have only gotten worse. “My biggest concern is where people live and where people frequent, such as stores and other businesses,” Barnett said. In his role as fire chief, he said, “All of the Phil Brenizer properties are substandard. I am surprised we haven’t pulled bodies out of there yet. If any of these places catch fire, they will burn
to the ground. I won’t send my guys (firemen) into these buildings after I know everybody is out. No way. They are too dangerous. I have written up these landlords time after time after time. Now I need backing of law enforcement.” Barnett named Thing-a-Majigs store in downtown Grantsburg as another site of multiple building code violations. Aisles are too narrow, he said, causing people to trip and fall. The rear emergency exit door broke, so it was permanently sealed with bolts into the frame, leaving the front door as the only exit. “People are living in the store. It has no CO detectors, no smoke detectors, no exit lights or egress lights. If something happens in there, no one is going to be able to get out,” Barnett warned. Police Chief Jeff Schinzing said he and Barnett agree that one of the main concerns is the safety of people living in second floor apartments. Barnett maintains seven years of building inspection records. If a fi re SEE FINES, PAGE 2
STEVE BRIGGS | SENTINEL
Communication tower demand unsettles Webster board
Leprechauns at Shamwalk Webster’s Formanek family took first place for costumes Saturday at Siren’s Shamwalk 5K and 10K run during St. Patrick’s Day festivities. From left, Danielle, Daniel, Laura and Cassidy.
Post offices move to earlier outgoing mail on April 14 BY STEVE BRIGGS AND JULIE HUSTVET SENTINEL AND SPOONER ADVOCATE RESPECTIVELY
SPOONER — With the announced closing of the U.S. Postal Service’s Spooner Hub, all area post offices will move to an earlier final daily collection time (dispatch) for outgoing mail, starting April 14. Current and new dispatch times in each community are listed in the table on page 8. All times are p.m. Once a regional processing center, the
Spooner Hub lost that duty several years ago when all 548 zip code mail sorting transferred to Eau Claire. “Spooner Hub became a dock transfer location where the mail for the 548 zip codes is transported to Spooner, off-loaded, then re-loaded for transportation to individual post offices,” said Peter Nowacki, a U.S. Post Office spokesperson in Minneapolis. “The change on April 14 will eliminate SEE POST OFFICE, PAGE 8
NEWS 715-463-2341 todd@burnettcountysentinel.com
BY STEVE BRIGGS SENTINEL
Welcome Sean! This week the Sentinel welcomes Sean Devlin as Editor. Everyone is invited to the Sentinel open house from 1-3 p.m. Wednesday, March 22 to bid farewell to former Editor Todd Beckmann and greet Sean Devlin. Refreshments will be served. See Sean’s column on page 4.
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WEBSTER—The Webster Village Board was less than enthusiastic at its meeting Wednesday night about a request to build a 120-foot communications tower east of Oak Grove Cemetery. A representative of Mobilitie, a communications tower builder, told the board that it wants to place the tower in village-owned right-of-way along State Road 35 near the Webster SEE TOWER, PAGE 12
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