BURNETT COUNTY
WEDNESDAY, JULY 4, 2018 VOL. 56 NO. 36 www.burnettcountysentinel.com $1.00
HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE FOURTH OF JULY!
Summer’s for swimming at the Grantsburg pool LINDA LUHMAN SENTINEL STAFF
LINDA LUHMAN | SENTINEL
Danbury celebrates Independence Day
Gramer Construction, Danbury, shows their patriotic spirit at the Danbury Independence Day Parade on Saturday, June 30. Following the parade, spectators were invited to the Danbury Fire Hall to partake in food, games, and water fights.
Plant sales help local animal rescue program JONATHAN RICHIE EDITOR@BURNETTCOUNTYSENTINEL.COM
SIREN––“We opened at 10, but there have been people here since about 8:30 and thank heavens for this breeze,” said Pattie Wilson as she welcomed people to her plant sale as the temperature crept up to 90 degrees. “If not for that, we’d all be popsicles out here.” Pattie Wilson along with her husband Neal, own and operate the Lilac Village Bed and Breakfast in Siren. This is her third year having the large plant sale at Lilac Village. This one is different, it’s called Plants for Paws. Wilson is donating a portion of the proceeds to Tammi’s Wildlife Rescue, run by Tamara Larson. Over the weekend they ended up earning over $700 for Tammi’s Wildlife Rescue and Wilson said some people did SEE PLANTS, PAGE 13
JONATHAN RICHIE | SENTINEL
The back deck of Lilac Village Bed & Breakfast in Siren has rocks that Neal Wilson hauled from the couple’s cabin in Ely, Minn. The property has 40 different gardens on it.
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When summer gets hot and humid, there’s nothing like hitting the water. Sometimes that means schlepping to the lake and fending for yourself against weeds, mud, or leeches. If you’re lucky, you’re within a short distance of a lazy day at the pool. The Grantsburg Community Pool began as a dream in 1970, opened in June of 1980 and currently is the only outdoor municipal pool in Burnett County. Construction was funded with a combination of donations, a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) grant, and contributions from seven surrounding townships. It serves as the venue for the Grantsburg School District’s swimming lesson program and currently boasts 28 family and 38 single memberships. “We have 15 - 20 members here every day, so they are definitely getting their use out of it,” says the pool’s new manager, Sarah Covey. In fact, looking at the nearly 62 people who descended on the pool within its first hour on Friday, it is hard to believe that only six years ago things almost went aground. Between 2010 and 2013, the cost of government-required remodels threatened to sink the pool for good. In addition to the cost of initial construction, general maintenance costs run high. The pool had been operating at a loss for several years, but had been kept afloat by donations. But in 2010, the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Safety Act required pool drains retrofitted or replaced with anti-entrapment drain covers. “The kiddie pool shut down in 2010 because there was no way to replace the drain easily,” said Village Treasurer Sheila Meyer. “They filled it in.” The financial strain of that and other repairs created a critical issue for the facility, whose maintenance SEE POOL, PAGE 2
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