BURNETT COUNTY
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2017 VOL. 56 NO. 9 www.burnettcountysentinel.com $1.00
HAPPY NEW YEAR
HAPPY NEW YEAR
HAPPY NEW YEAR
6th graders donate to HSBC JONATHAN RICHIE EDITOR@BURNETTCOUNTYSENTINEL.COM
SUBMITTED
6th Grade students gather around Emily Hengst of HSBC after she answered questions about taking care of the animals at HSBC.
Board of supervisors hears more about epidemic JONATHAN RICHIE EDITOR@BURNETTCOUNTYSENTINEL.COM
GOVERNMENT CENTER––The opioid epidemic is just beginning to show it’s affect on Burnett County, according to the Health and Human services (HHS) department. The department gave their annual report that showed they are facing more cases than ever, but don’t have any more employees to tackle the workload. At the monthly meeting, the board discussed an array of topics concerning the county. They also recognized county employees retiring and gave committee reports.
HHS Report Katherine Peterson, HHS director explained that the impact of meth, heroin and the overall opioid epidemic is just beginning to have a major impact on her department. It was her last report to the board because she is retiring after working for the department for 10 years. “Our employees are running from fire to
fire,” said Peterson. “They’re doing what they can, when our staff shows up they make sure the kids are okay and then it’s off to the next fire.” She said that although it is one case, it could include 3 or 4 children who all need to be taken care of. The department is handling more cases on an exponential level and has the same number of employees, that was Peterson’s main point. “We do hair follicle tests on these kids and they test positive for meth,” Peterson said. “meaning the parents are smoking or using the drug with the kids in the home.” Peterson added that her report was for 2016 and that the 2017 report will not be any better. She did explain one positive is that Wisconsin Women, infant and children (WIC) is seeing much better numbers, due to the fact that the offices are in the Community Resource and Learning Center (CRLC.)
SEE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, PAGE 2
Expert wound care, faster healing
GRANTSBURG––Sixth graders at Grantsburg Middle school donated $200 to the Humane Society of Burnett County (HSBC). The students chose to donate money instead of their traditional gift exchange. “It was decided that they weren’t real excited about a $3 gift and wanted to use their money to make a local impact,” said sixth grade teacher, Kim Hallberg. Hallberg explained that a small donation of $3-$5 was suggested because that is the usual guideline for the classes gift exchange. The entire sixth grade - 65 students- was involved and when all the money came in, it was pooled together and given. “We are overwhelmed by the generosity and compassion of these youth in our community,” said Emily Hengst, assistant manager at HSBC. “It is amazing that they are thinking of the animals in need and acting
upon that need to make a difference for homeless animals.” Hengst said the money would pay for a plethora of essential every day items like food and litter as well as cleaning supplies like laundry and bleach. She added that some of the money also goes to toys and treats for the animals. “These donations are critical to HSBC. We are completely funded by donations,” Hengst said. “Without these donations, stray animals would not have a safe place to wait for their families to find them or if unclaimed, to find new homes.” When Hengst went to get the money, she met with the students and answered questions about HSBC. This included questions about services provided by HSBC, pet care and socialization. “Some of the students who participated were from families who struggle financially yet still donated,” Hallberg said. “It was great to be able to show them how a seemingly small donation can really help!”
Webster schools give steady raise to staff JONATHAN RICHIE EDITOR@BURNETTCOUNTYSENTINEL.COM
WEBSTER–– Webster had their school board meeting last Monday night. At the meeting, the board approved the snowplowing bid of Ross Tollander for two years at $100 an hour. They also approved Austin Elliott and Chad Stenberg as volunteer boys basketball coaches. Lastly, the board approved employee raises averaging between 1.5 and 2.5 percent. Superintendent Jim Erickson explained that these raises cover all employees. Support staff
like instructional aides and cooks will all receive a 2 percent increase. Teachers and administration staff will see raises in that range and it will depend on many variables for how much each individual gets. “We did bump up our starting pay to $37,500, up from $36,210 the previous year, so the younger staff members will see a bigger raise individually,” Erickson said. “But overall, the total given out in wages stayed under the 2.5 percent number.” Erickson added that this was about the same as last year, an overall district salary increase totaling about $100,000.
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