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BURNETT COUNTY

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2017 VOL. 55 NO. 17 www.burnettcountysentinel.com $1.00

STIFFER PENALTIES: New drunk driving laws on books for 2017. P2

A lifeline for meth users A new diversion program began with the new year BY TODD BECKMANN SENTINEL

SUBMITTED

Fifteen visitors from Costa Rica will arrive January 12 in Grantsburg. Pictured are five of the students whom Grantsburg High School Spanish Teacher Katie Johnson met while on a summer 2016 trip to Costa Rica.

Costa Rican students to try Wisconsin winter

SIREN—Methamphetamine is one of the most addictive, destructive, illicit drugs available. As one former addict told the crowd at a meth town hall meeting in October, trying meth was the worst decision he ever made. From a criminal standpoint, meth use is a prevalent issue. “We made 82 meth arrests in 2015 — that was up 48 percent from 2014,” Sheriff Ron Wilhelm observed. “Our deputies seized 400 grams of the stuff in 2015 — that was a 1,363 percent increase from the year before.” With law enforcement and court services dealing with more and more cases, the meth crisis is real.

To that end, Burnett County is offering the first-ever methamphetamine diversion program in the state — maybe even in the country. The participant enters the program, which began at the start of the new year, in one of several methods. “It’s either a self-referral or people are referred by the court, the child and families unit, schools and even family-referrals,” Tammy Hopke, Restorative Justice (RJ) program coordinator, described. RJ would then gather all the significant paperwork and refer that individual to Aurora Community Counseling or a treatment facility of their choosing. “The counselor there does an assessment and tailors the assessment to the individual to meet his or her needs,” she continued. “No assessment will be the same — one SEE METH, PAGE 6

Grindell v. Mogen in April

BY STEVE BRIGGS SENTINEL

GRANTSBURG—Grantsburg High School students and host families are anticipating the arrival of 11 high school students, their instructor and three chaperones from Costa Rica on Thursday evening. Some of GHS students will be at the Minneapolis airport to meet their 15 arriving guests and accompany them back to the community on a GHS school bus. The visitors will be guests of the school and community during the school’s annual WinterNational Week — eight days filled with indoor and outdoor winter activities starting with a Friday evening dance plus weekend adventures including ice fishing and perhaps an ice cave visit on Saturday, tubing at Trollhaugen on Sunday and some international cooking Sunday evening. Monday morning will bring a visit to Four Cubs dairy farm. Back at school on Monday afternoon, the Costa Rican students will provide a cultural presentation to the GHS students. Tuesday will find them on a tour to Crex Meadows grounds and visitor center, lunch with the Rotary Club, presentations at the elementary and middle schools and an evening American Dinner at a local hosting home. On Wednesday they will depart for a visit to a Twin Cities school. “We are gearing up for this year’s WinterNational Week (Jan. 12-18) at the high school!” said Spanish teacher Katie Johnson. Last year, the Winternational guests were from China.

The winner gets the Burnett County Circuit Court judgeship BY TODD BECKMANN SENTINEL

SIREN—The first Tuesday of the new year was the deadline for Burnett County Circuit Judge candidates to get their nomination papers submitted. After reviewing the documents, Clerk of Court Trudy Schmidt told Burnett County’s Public Safety Committee on Thursday that David Grindell and Melissa Mogen are the candidates whose names will appear on the April ballot. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker sought names in December for anyone wishing

to be appointed to the office, but that is no longer an issue. “The Governor has decided not to make an appointment for Burnett County and will allow the electoral process to play out,” Tom Evenson, press secretary for Governor Walker, confirmed in an email. That news was hardly a surprise for Schmidt. “We’ll keep using reserve judges,” she explained. “We get them here for two or three days a week — and they are very full days when they are here.” Even after the election, the winner does not take the bench until August. For that reason, Schmidt wouldn’t be surprised if the Governor

Dave Grindell

SEE JUDGE, PAGE 7

Melissa Mogen

Full slate of candidates for Grantsburg village board BY STEVE BRIGGS SENTINEL

GRANTSBURG—Voters in Grantsburg’s municipal election on April 4 will have a full slate of candidates from which to choose for their next village

president and three trustees, if all the nominated candidates agree to run. They were selected at the Annual Caucus Monday night during the January village board meeting. Larry Ebersold and Vincent Zilka will vie for the position of Grantsburg Vil-

lage President. Diane Barton, Glenn Rolloff, Josh Olson, Gary (Goob) Coy, Ebersold and Zilka were nominated for the three trustee positions. Ebersold and Zilka were nominated in both the trustee and village president

SEE ELECTION, PAGE 2

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