BURNETT COUNTY
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019 VOL. 57 NO. 14 www.burnettcountysentinel.com $1.00
4-H CONCERT: Photos from the annual Burnett County 4-H concert P14-15
Initial permit pulled for proposed RV park on Wood Lake
Was last week’s cold historic? JONATHAN RICHIE EDITOR@BURNETTCOUNTYSENTINEL.COM
BURNETT COUNTY–– Last week it was colder in Burnett County than in Antarctica for a short time due to a polar vortex. Tuesday through Thursday businesses closed and even the Post Office suspended deliveries. But was it the coldest winter ever? Meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Duluth Josh Sandstrom said that the weather station in Siren recorded a low of -26 degrees with a windchill of -49 on Tuesday night at 10:55. “The nearby weather station in Siren recorded a temperature of -26 degrees with a wind chill of -49 on January 29 at 10:55 p.m. After this time, this station stopped reporting data so that is the coldest I am able to find for that site.” Sandstrom explained what a polar vortex is and what we went through last week. “The Polar Vortex is a large area of low pressure that exists near the North and South poles. It is always there, and becomes strongest during the winter,” he said. “When we talk about the polar vortex affecting us here in the Northland, what is really happening is that a piece of the large polar vortex at the pole expands southward. This happens often in the winter, and when it does, it sends cold air southward.” He continued by saying that this area usually sees SEE HISTORIC COLD, PAGE 2
JONATHAN RICHIE EDITOR@BURNETTCOUNTYSENTINEL.COM
SUBMITTED
Smiles, sunshine and hungry fish on Webb Lake Young Annika was excited when she caught this fish this weekend. She and everyone else enjoyed the (somewhat) warm weather on Webb Lake last weekend. More photos from the Webb Lake Men’s Club Annual Ice Fishing Contest on page 13.
BURNETT COUNTY––There was a proposal to turn the former Wood Lake Bible Camp site into an RV park with up to 90 sites, but that permit was pulled late in January. The owner, Patrick Kinsella, and his wife, Judi, are now in the process of coming up with a new plan. There was an online petition started to “preserve the history and community of Big Wood Lake,” which received over 800 signatures. The proposal was set to have a public hearing March 5 with the Land Use and Information Committee at the Government Center. “We have pulled the conditional use permit to turn the camp into an RV park,” Jeff Sventek said. “This decision has nothing to do with the petition going around. The decision to pull the permit was based on wanting to take another approach to the site.” Sventek of Frederic applied for the conditional use permit for the site and described himself as the “middle man” of the project. “I’m the go-between for the owners, the Kinsella’s, and the county,” Sventek said. Then on Jan. 31 Sventek submitted a new proposal that would “preserve the character and history of the Wood Lake Bible Camp.” Sventek said the Kinsellas plan on turning the site into a camp that will benefit underprivileged kids in the community and want the camp to be somewhere for families to have fun and enjoy SEE RV PARK, PAGE 2
School hoping to get back on track after last week’s cold caused closings JONATHAN RICHIE EDITOR@BURNETTCOUNTYSENTINEL.COM
BURNETT COUNTY––Last week’s Polar Vortex caused all school districts in the county to close last Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Grantsburg and Webster both had a two-hour
delayed start on Monday because of the snow and wind. All three schools were set to go back to school on Friday. However, Siren had to let students out at 10 a.m. due to a water main break that forced the school to send SUBMITTED
SEE CLOSINGS, PAGE 2
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