BURNETT COUNTY
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018 VOL. 56 NO. 11 www.burnettcountysentinel.com $1.00
BIG WOOD LAKE RESCUE: See more photos of the ice rescue. P28
Big Wood Lake vehicle rescued JONATHAN RICHIE EDITOR@BURNETTCOUNTYSENTINEL.COM
JONATHAN RICHIE | SENTINEL
GRANTSBURG–– Karl Anderson and his crew got to Big Wood Lake around 10 a.m. on Sunday not knowing exactly how the day was going to go. Thirty minutes later they had hauled the majority of their equipment onto the lake and began the arduous process of getting a full sized SUV out from under almost 18 inches of ice. On Christmas day, the SUV broke through the ice and the two passengers were saved by people who lived near the lake and ice fishermen who were on the ice. 12 days later, the plan was to extract the vehicle from the bottom of the frozen lake. They were on the lake to recover an SUV first believed to be a Chevrolet Suburban, but was actually a GMC Yukon. Since the vehicle went under, Anderson had different members of his crew checking on the ice and the vehicle, saying they had been out earlier in the week and noted the ice was at least 12 inches thick. This
Almost 50 people were standing around when Karl Anderson’s crew with help from Interstate Divers brought this SUV out from over 16 inches of ice on Big Wood Lake.
Cold Snap JONATHAN RICHIE EDITOR@BURNETTCOUNTYSENTINEL.COM
BURNETT COUNTY–– It has been cold since Christmas, very cold. The sun comes out and brings no heat with it. According to data from the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station on NASA’s Curiosity rover, today’s forecast high temps across much of Canada and the upper midwest are colder than the last reported high from Mars by Mars Weather on Dec. 15, 2016. Yes, it was colder here than on Mars. The average temperature on Mars is minus 81 degrees, according to NASA. But this used to be the normal temperatures and milder winters the past few years have helped this cold stretch seem even worse. “Overall, these temperatures in the recent past have been usual and we’ve had mild winters the last few years,” said Duke Snyder. Snyder has a weather station at his home and often helps out the Wiscon-
sin DNR with weather reports. He said this kind of cold used to be the norm for this area. “Back in the 70’s we didn’t see zero (degrees) for a month,” Snyder said. “I remember going out before work to start my truck and it was 43 below zero.” This means that it hasn’t regularly been this cold since the 1970s. Most residents might not be used to this type of extreme. People are starting their cars in the morning, driving them around lunchtime just to warm them up. “It’s simple. This is the jet stream doing its thing,” Snyder explained. “We’re used to this kind of thing up north, but when it hits the east, molecular motion seems to come to a halt.” Snyder explained it would be more unusual if we didn’t have temperatures below zero during winter. “Late December and January have always been historically cold in this region,” Snyder said. “That’s just the way it is.”
Jailer conditions major concern at County jail JONATHAN RICHIE EDITOR@BURNETTCOUNTYSENTINEL.COM
GOVERNMENT CENTER––The Burnett County Jail Administrator came to the Public Safety committee meeting last week to voice the departments concerns and ask for any solutions or ideas they may have to help the staff. “I’m open to absolutely any ideas you have,” Burnett County Jail Administrator Mark Schmidt asked the committee. “If you can offer anything, we’ll take it. I’ll take any idea you have.” Schmidt explained to the committee that the jail requires 13 full-time positions along with a floater position that fills in when someone takes a vacation or is sick. Part-time workers fill the gaps left behind. “We have two-thirds of the full-time jail staff considering going elsewhere,” Burnett County Jail Administrator Mark Schmidt said. “We’re in trouble in
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the jail.” Schmidt talked about the plight of the part-time workers trying to remain employed by the county. “They get no benefits for 30 hours a week and they get lousy hours to work,” Schmidt said. “It’s not appealing to part-timers.” He came with a list of grievances he’s heard from department employees. “Other counties have higher pay. The communication between officer and jailors are feeling insulted,” Schmidt said. “They feel no appreciation or under appreciation because somebody always has to be working. They’ve also got safety concerns and people are worried.” Schmidt added that his department is the only one that cannot take any days off, with the jail always being operational even on holidays and weekends. “I’m not complaining, I’m worried.
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SEE JAILER CONDITIONS, PAGE 2
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SEE ICE RESCUE, PAGE 28
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