BURNETT COUNTY
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015 VOL. 53 NO. 49 www.burnettcountysentinel.com $1.00
BACK TO SCHOOL: It’s that time of year again. P13-15
DNR, Village Board act on nuisance bears
BY STEVE BRIGGS SENTINEL WRITER
The Grantsburg Village Board and Wisconsin DNR took the first steps toward formulating a plan to rid Grantsburg of its nuisance black bears. The problem is acute on the north side of the village along Jackson Avenue. Village President Glenn Rolloff said, “We have a bear corridor through a couple of residential yards down to Memory Lake.” DNR Wildlife Biologist and Grantsburg area resident Steve Hoffman represented the DNR at the meeting. Hoffman said he and several high-level DNR supervisors are “well aware” of Grantsburg’s unique bear situation, which has grown from a spring annoyance to a steady, year-around problem. Hoffman agreed with Rolloff’s assessment that some north side families with children and pets are “practically hostages in their homes” because the bears are so frequently in their yard. “It’s the same animals, coming back time after time,” usually in early morning or 6-9 p.m. The intruders this spring include an ear-tagged sow bear with four cubs, another ear-tagged sow with two cubs, and a large male bear seen frequently in the village, both day and night. Rolloff, who lives on Jackson Avenue, said he has warned families who were out for a daytime stroll on Jackson Avenue that a bear was in the vicinity. One bear chased a mother and her kids back into their home, board members were told. Hoffman said the DNR’s attempts in recent years to relocate the sows 74 miles to Pattison State Park, 119 miles to Glidden WI, have not worked. “It ends up being nothing more than a nice ride for the bears,” he said. By the following spring, at least five of the nine relocated bears, including the two ear-tagged sows, had found their way back to the village. Hoffman said the DNR would work with the village to formulate a plan based on one or more of three DNR-suggested options: The first option would be to encourage hunters with bear permits to hunt on the outskirts of Grantsburg to take the nuisance bears during the regular bear hunting season. A second option would be set baited traps in the village, in remote areas like the ski trails and SEE BEARS, PAGE 7
STEVE BRIGGS | SENTINEL
Gandy Dancer fun JoAnn Treichel and Deb Benson of Webster enjoyed a brat at the American Legion tent during Webster’s Gandy Dancer Days. More photos on page 27.
Small-town charm marks diamond jubilee BY HARRIET RICE SENTINEL
WEBSTER—Stop in at Connor’s Marathon on St. Rd 35 in Webster most any morning around 8 a.m. and you’ll find Paul Connor behind the counter sharing coffee with his “wedding party” buddies and chewing the fat about old times, football, the outdoors or local happenings. “Yup, those guys were at my wedding,” Paul quips. The gift of gab runs in the family, and that’s been their best marketing strategy: small town charm and friendliness with steadfast customer relationships. It’s worked for 75 years,
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Grass runway opens BY STEVE BRIGGS SENTINEL WRITER
That “new” station was Connor’s [Phillips] 66. Joe is the fourth generation Connor to own the business. He remembers how “even when I was a kid, I had to go out there and pump gas, wash the windshields, and check the oil.”
The Grantsburg Village Board received favorable reports about its village airport runways at its August meeting Monday. Public Works Director Chris Bartlett told the board he and his crew have mowed the grass runway to make it operational. He and others at the meeting said Burnett Dairy has sent a worker out to trap gophers along the runway surface to keep the population under control. Village Clerk Jennifer Zeiler said Burnett County Sheriff and private pilot, Ron Wilhelm, has used the grass runway. In his capacity as a pilot and former member of the village’s aviation committee, the sheriff released the current NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) that the Grantsburg grass runway is now permanently open. Private Pilot Tim Thompson of St.
SEE CONNOR’S MARATHON, PAGE 6
SEE AIRPORT, PAGE 7
starting with great-grandpa Paul Connor who opened the business in 1940. The story goes that great grandpa Paul worked for one of the many service stations in the area, but then decided to open his own in Webster.
Remember the “ding, ding”?
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