BURNETT COUNTY
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2016 VOL. 55 NO. 11 www.burnettcountysentinel.com $1.00
TIME OUT FOR SPORTS: Your guide to winter prep sports action. INSIDE
Don’t get taken Burnett County residents bilked for $100,000 a year by scammers BY TODD BECKMANN SENTINEL
SIREN—“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” or “If it doesn’t pass the smell test, steer clear.” Sure, the platitudes are plentiful, but they are plentiful because it happens more often than people might realize. “We’re looking at $100,000 lost in scams last year,” Jameson Wiltrout,
a Burnett County Sheriff’s Department detective, reported. His advice is simple: be vigilant, do your homework, do self-credit checks, and pay attention to your own personal finances. “Question it all,” is Wiltrout’s advice when it comes to sharing personal financial information. “You’re not a jerk if you’re protecting your personal information.” Wiltrout sees more than his share of people being duped by scams. Fellow detectives agree. “You are not being rude if you are
protecting yourself,” Tracy Finch interjected. “If you didn’t initiate the transaction, don’t give out your personal information.” It seems like the elderly are the victims of these types of crimes but according to Wiltrout, it can happen to anyone. “Older folks, kids —even people with good credit,” he pointed out. “These crimes happen to people who just don’t understand what’s going on.” SEE SCAMS, PAGE 7
The presidential recount is on BY TODD BECKMANN SENTINEL LISA SLATER
Kurtis “Little Buck” Slater and some future K-9 hopefuls.
Barking up the right tree BY TODD BECKMANN SENTINEL
GRANTSBURG—Grantsburg’s Lisa Slater likens it to law enforcement officers not putting bullets in their guns. “It’s unacceptable,” she declared. The “it” is the Burnett County Sheriff’s Department not having a K-9, especially with today’s methamphetamine crisis. But help is on the way. For close to two years, the sheriff’s department has been researching dogs and the training they need to become a viable “weapon” in the department’s arsenal against crime. Sheriff Ron Wilhelm said the department hopes to have a K-9 on patrol by summer. Slater, a volunteer for the Burnett County Sheriff’s Department Auxiliary, the organization tasked with fundraising for the dog, admits that she is new to fundraising. “I went to the town hall on methamphetamine and saw what they are up against,” Slater explained. “I genuinely wanted to help the people who protect us.” Dogs, well-known for their exceptional sense of smell, 10,000 times more accurate than a human, is the ‘help’ Slater is helping to procure. SEE K-9, PAGE 6
SIREN— Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein on Friday formally requested a recount of election results in Wisconsin. President-elect Donald Trump narrowly won Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and has a small lead in Michigan.
Stein has said she planned to request recounts in the three states — all reliably Democratic in recent presidential elections — to see whether hacking may have taken place, though there’s no evidence voter results were hacked or electronic voting machines were compromised. Wisconsin’s unofficial election results show Trump with 1,404,000
votes, Hillary Clinton with 1,381,823 votes and Stein with 31,000 votes. Wisconsin officials have already announced a limited audit of state voting machines, but the state is less vulnerable to cyber attacks because it uses electronic machines with voter-verifiable paper trails in most SEE RECOUNT, PAGE 6
Grindell announces candidacy for judge BY TODD BECKMANN SENTINEL
SIREN—Dave Grindell, who currently serves as Burnett County’s Corporation Counsel, has announced his candidacy for Burnett County Circuit Court Judge. Being Burnett County Circuit Court Judge is something Grindell has long considered — in fact, he applied
for the judgeship eight years ago. “Both Ken and I went to Madison to interview for the job before he was appointed in 2008,” he explained. He said the timing is right for him to throw his hat in the ring. “I think I can serve the people of Burnett County very well,” Grindell noted.
“Especially with my legal background and my legal experience.” He has been practicing law for over 35 years. “I have my private practice, Grindell Law Offices, in Frederic and have served as Burnett County’s Corporation Counsel for more Dave Grindell
SEE CANDIDACY, PAGE 8
Combating child hunger GRANTSBURG—For the first time ever, local churches are joining forces to combat the scourge of hunger among our vulnerable school children. The historic task force of eight churches is working with the Salvation Army on operation Lunch BackPack™.
The program now underway provides immediate assistance to families facing emergencies with meals for school children when that food is not available such as on weekends and during school vacations. According to the local Salvation Army, there are many families in
Burnett County who are in desperate financial need and rely on free and reduced-priced school lunches during the school year. Within the Grantsburg School system, there are over 40 families in need, and one of SEE HUNGER, PAGE 8
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