BURNETT COUNTY
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2017 VOL. 55 NO. 29 www.burnettcountysentinel.com $1.00
ELECTION RESULTS: See Complete Election Results. P2
‘Problem landlords’ respond positively BY STEVE BRIGGS SENTINEL
GRANTSBURG-—Landlords whom the Grantsburg Village Board sent letters in March threatening fines for safety code violations have responded positively to the board’s demands, the board learned at its Monday evening meeting. The landlords have begun working with Village Fire Inspector Cory Barnette and tenants in their buildings to correct longstanding code problems. The board expressed surprise and delight at the positive turn of events. By consensus, the board agreed to levy no fines for now and to work with the landlords whenever possible to encourage safety improvements. Barnette said he plans another visit to the buildings in late May to ensure progress has been made.
Problem building downtown
SUBMITTED
Stuck on Reading
In another building-related event, the Public Safety Committee met an hour before the full board meeting to discuss concerns about vacant downtown buildings, in particular the former Red Owl building between U.S. Bank and Hummer’s Rendezvous on the south side of Madison Avenue (main street).
Siren Elementary First Graders who finished their ‘200 Minutes of Reading Challenge’ got to tape their Principal Carrie Herman to the wall on Monday.
Who will Ebersold choose? BY STEVE BRIGGS SENTINEL
GRANTSBURG—After winning two seats on the Grantsburg Village Board at the April 4 election, Larry Ebersold has some choices to make. First will be to decide whether to serve as village president or trustee, since he won both seats. At the March 21 forum for Grantsburg Village Board candidates, Ebersold said he would accept the village president position if he won both, but he has until Tuesday, April 18, to decide. The newly-elected board positions for Ebersold, new Trustee Gary (Goob) Coy and re-elected Trustee Diane Barton become official when the election results are certified on April 18. But, since the village board already met April 10, their positions don’t become official until the next village board meeting on May 8. SEE EBERSOLD, PAGE 8
SEE LANDLORDS, PAGE 6
Siren Civics class tackles ambulance cost BY STEVE BRIGGS SENTINEL
SIREN—The challenge of funding the anticipated big increase in county ambulance service has Burnett County Towns Association Chairman Chris Sybers thinking “way outside the box,” he says. “We’ve got to have some new thinking on this problem, so why not turn to the next generation of taxpayers?” To find some original thinking about the problem, Sybers turned to Siren High School’s Government and Civics class and their teacher, Richard Larson. Sybers visited the class on a couple of occasions this winter to address the ambulance issues and give them time to ponder it. He plans to return on April 21, the day after the ambulance committee receives and opens the bids for the next contract. “I put the problem on the board and asked the students to figure this out, because I can’t,” Sybers said. “I am getting some really good ideas and options from them. “They are the ones who are going to start paying for this in a few short years. It is a five-year contract,
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so the seniors and juniors in this class are going to be getting jobs and starting to pay taxes. This problem is coming to them, so I figured, let’s bring the problem to them and get some fresh thinking.”
Real-world concerns
Sybers said the prospect of not having ambulance service was worrisome to the students. He assured them that ambulance service would be provided because it is required by law; paying for it is the issue. Last month, statistics released by the Wisconsin Department of Health showed Burnett County today has Wisconsin’s fifth oldest population, with 35.2 percent of residents age 60 or more. Only Adams, Door, Iron and Vilas counties have an older population, with Vilas the highest at 37.7 percent. “The kids understand that older populations use the ambulance more, so there is no question we’re going to need ambulance service. The kids agreed and they want assurances that when they call an ambulance, it will be there in a short amount of time. SEE LEARNING EXPERIENCE, PAGE 2
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