BURNETT COUNTY
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 VOL. 58 NO. 47 www.burnettcountysentinel.com $1.00
GRANTSBURG AIRPORT: Village going to referendum to fund runway project. P7
What you need to know for Absentee voting JONATHAN RICHIE EDITOR@BURNETTCOUNTYSENTINEL.COM
2020 has been a year full of surprises. One of those surprises is many people for the first time will be voting by absentee ballot instead of going to the polls to cast their ballot on election day. This is not just a national trend; Clerks in Burnett County are mailing out more absentee ballots than ever before. In Webster, village clerk/ treasurer Debra Doriott-Kuhnly received about five to seven absentee ballots to mail out. For the November election, she sent out 59 ballots, almost twice as many that were mailed for the presidential election in 2016. To vote absentee you need to be registered to vote first and then can request an absentee ballot. Registered voters need to request a ballot before Oct. 29, which is the last day ballots will be mailed out. Siren Village Clerk/Treasurer Ann Peterson has received 81 requests for absentee ballots. They received a total of 39 absentee ballots in 2016. In Grantsburg, Village Clerk Sheila Meyer has sent out more than triple the amount sent out in 2016. So far this year they have sent out 152 ballots and in 2016 they mailed 49 ballots. SEE ABSENTEE, PAGE 2
Schools dealing with COVID JONATHAN RICHIE SENTINEL EDITOR
Grantsburg and Siren school districts are now handling COVID-19 cases inside the school. Burnett County Public Health has informed both districts of presumed positive cases of the coronavirus linked to individuals at the school. Both districts sent emails to parents and posted on their respective Face-
book pages on Monday. In Grantsburg, students and staff members who were in close contact with the individuals were contacted, and they will be “excluded from school for 14 days from their last date of exposure” with the individuals. The two individuals will be “excluded from school until they have been determined to be no longer infectious.” The SEE SCHOOLS, PAGE 2
SENTINEL PHOTO
Siren administrators notified families of COVID on Sunday.
JONATHAN RICHIE | SENTINEL
Plenty of fine cars on display at Siren Nationals The Burnett County Airport infield was packed on Saturday for Siren Nationals. There were plenty of cars on display at the car show while other cars were participating in the radar run. More photos from Saturday on page 10.
County exceeds 100 cases JONATHAN RICHIE SENTINEL EDITOR
Burnett County Public Health confirmed this week the number of positive cases of the coronavirus has passed 100. On Monday, the department reported 143 positive cases amongst Burnett County
residents. It is another milestone that didn’t seem possible when the pandemic started. The first case in Burnett County was reported in May and since then the number has been slowly rising. Throughout the summer there was no big rise in cases. Then August
came, summer was ending and people started moving again. The number of cases in mid-August was 30 and by mid-September it had tripled to over 90 cases. The Wisconsin Department of Health (DHS) has reported a big SEE CASES, PAGE 2
1105 Wisconsin Ave S. • Frederic, WI 54837 715-327-4217 • Body Shop 715-327-4627
www.larsenauto.com
SALES • SERVICE • PARTS • BODY SHOP • SALES • SERVICE • PARTS • BODY SHOP • SALES • SERVICE • PARTS • BODY SHOP • SALES • SERVICE • PARTS • BODY SHOP NEWS 715-463-2341 editor@burnettcountysentinel.com
ADVERTISING 715-463-2341 marketing@burnettcountysentinel.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS 715-463-2341 office@burnettcountysentinel.com
NEWS & ADVERTISING DEADLINE IS MONDAY AT NOON