BURNETT COUNTY
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2018 VOL. 56 NO. 24 www.burnettcountysentinel.com $1.00
SPRING HOME IMPROVEMENT: Tips and tricks to update your home. INSIDE
Town of Grantsburg eyes new Town Hall in Village JONATHAN RICHIE EDITOR@BURNETTCOUNTYSENTINEL.COM
dispatchers of the St. Croix Tribal Police Department direct the activities of officers in a three-county area (Burnett, Polk, and Barron Counties) with a total of eight communities. The dispatch team consists of Chris Foehser, Sr., Alice Denotter and Tucker McCumber – all who typically work as the sole dispatcher on their respective shifts. On a lazy Sunday morning, Foehser sits in front of a multi-monitored computer station with four programs running – a field unit GPS mapping system(MACH), an inquiry system that links to DMV, radio software, and a computer-aided dispatch (CAD) to manage and edit calls for service. A building security monitor is mounted over the top of all this.
The process began two years ago for Jim Paden. He looked at the needs of the Town of Grantsburg and saw that something had to be done about their Town Hall The Town of Grantsburg Town Hall was built in 1939. It was not originally a schoolhouse, but was built specifically as a town hall and meeting space. “The old Town Hall has served it’s purpose, it’s archaic to say the very least,” Paden said. “The insulation is that of the time period (late ‘30s), it has no running water, doesn’t conform with today’s standards and is inefficient for elections.” Paden has been on the Town of Grantsburg Board for eight years and has served the last four as Supervisor. Last July, the town had a vote on whether they would construct a new town hall or remodel their current town hall on Highway 87 just south of the Village. “We had initial concept Jim Paden plans drawn up and had Town of Grantsburg Supervisor rough estimates for what it would cost to re-build and remodel,” Paden said. “The remodel was supposed to cost around $185,000. New construction would cost about $203,000 or that’s what we were told.” Paden admitted these were initial estimates and took those to the meeting on July 7. The meeting was attended by about 30 residents and both options were explained to the attendees who voted 20-10 in favor of rebuilding the town hall. “The only thing that made sense was to rebuild,” Paden said. “We had it approved by the town board and then reality set in.” Paden explained that their initial concept plan estimates were a bit off when they met with the first architect. “He said his estimate was about $380,000 for a new building,” Paden said. The cost was almost double what they had initially thought and Paden says it was due to public building codes. For a short period of time they took
SEE DISPATCHER, PAGE 2
SEE TOWN HALL, PAGE 2
JONATHAN RICHIE | SENTINEL
Yahoos and Houyhnhnm The Missoula Children’s Theatre with Moms for Kids brought Gulliver’s Travels to the Siren Auditorium this weekend. These are the Yahoos they are ruled by the Houyhnhnm Horses. More pictures on page 14.
Thanking the unseen during dispatch week LINDA LUHMAN SENTINEL STAFF
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week(NPSTW) has been honoring the work of the often-unseen heroes of the public safety spectrum – public safety dispatchers. Since 1981, the second week in April has been set aside to celebrate and thank those who often serve as the first contact citizens have with public safety personnel. Like many the field units they serve, dispatchers work long hours, holidays, nights, and weekends. They must able to extract accurate information from sometimes stressed individuals, dispatch appropriate field units to handle a situation, and provide additional information as appropriate.
Often, they are providing these services to multiple incidents simultaneously, while still handling incoming requests. Dispatchers provide answers to questions the public may have and are experts at finding information. It is not uncommon for a dispatcher to be asked about concealed carry laws, how the court process works, or who to contact for a variety of concerns. In honor of ‘dispatch week,’ the Burnett County Sentinel is featuring one of several dispatchers who serve our county. However, we’d like to t thank all the dispatchers who serve our area for the sacrifices they make and the jobs they do. Chris Foehser, Sr.; St. Croix Tribal PD HERTEL—Located in a small room in a modest building, the
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‘We had it [the rebuild] approved by the town board and then reality set in.’
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