BURNETT COUNTY
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017 VOL. 55 NO. 23 www.burnettcountysentinel.com $1.00
ATV ROUTES: County says ‘No’ to adding an application fee. P8
Wheeler takes reins at Forts Folle Avoine
‘Meth abuse is exceptionally concerning’
BY TODD BECKMANN SENTINEL
BY TODD BECKMANN SENTINEL
DANBURY—The ink isn’t even dry on the new nameplate on her office door and Kim Wheeler is already making the job her own. The job? The new director of Forts Folle Avoine Historical Park. Anyone who knows Steve Wierschem, the director for the past 10 years, knows that Wheeler has some big shoes to fill. “He was definitely the face of the place,” she admitted. “It will be a challenge to come in after him — but it is a challenge I look forward to.” Given the nature of the historical park, there are not a lot of activities during winter, so it is a good time to transition to a new director. That said, Wheeler said she was eager to share the news Wierschem will stay on through the summer in a maintenance-type role. “It’ll give me a chance to learn even more,” she declared. Wheeler, who just began
teachers, but we hope this training will help increase our student achievement,” Joni Burgin, superintendent, noted. “We’ve come so far, we don’t want to plateau our achievement gains.” According to Burgin, evidence of the PLC model suggests that educational reform progress depends on teachers’ individual and collective abilities, plus school-wide ability, to promote student learning. “Developing professional learning communities appears to hold considerable promise for sustainable improvement,” Burgin pointed out. Olson said she started PLC-type meetings with the elementary school teachers last year. “It wasn’t a lot but some of our teachers got a taste,” she declared. “It really
SIREN—Methamphetamine abuse has been an issue on the back-burner for the last dozen years, but all of a sudden, it’s become a huge problem. “We saw a 40 percent increase in meth use in 2016 compared to 2015,” Burnett County Health and Human Services Director Kate Peterson said of the crisis. “Why?” is the big question. “Is it the type of high users get from the drug or is it because it is relatively cheap?” Peterson quiried about the draw of the drug. “It’s not just men using and it’s not just teens using. We see Kate Peterson housewives, 50-yearDirector, Burnett Co. olds, even kids and Health and Human Services their grandparents using together.” She said the pervasiveness – the constant flow of the drug – is one of the roots of the problem. “In fact, we conducted a recent point-intime review of our caseload,” Peterson continued. “Forty-eight percent of our cases were meth-related. That’s a significant increase from even two years ago.” Still not convinced? The number of referrals to Peterson’s department regarding meth abuse has increased threefold in the past five years, from 129 referrals in 2011 to 462 referrals in 2015 and 404 referrals in 2016. “Thirty to 35 percent of those referrals get investigated,” Peterson explained. “The cases we take on, what we refer to as our ‘screenin’ rate, is up nine percent. That’s telling us we are getting more referrals and more referrals of a serious nature.” In her time as director of the department, Peterson has seen her share of functional drug addicts, whether it is drugs or alcohol — people who can passably perform everyday tasks. “We are not seeing that with meth,” she declared. “They think they can manage but the drug quickly takes over.” Peterson said her department has 60 days to investigate the case before determining what services are to be offered.
SEE RENOVATION, PAGE 7
SEE METH, PAGE 2
SEE FORT, PAGE 6
Kim Wheeler
STACY COY | SENTINEL
Crowned Makensie Biedermann was consumed by emotion as she was crowned the 2017 Miss Grantsburg on Saturday night. More photos on page 31.
Looking to increase student achievement BY TODD BECKMANN SENTINEL
GRANTSBURG—Most everyone in the field of education would agree that increasing student achievement in schools is an uphill battle. To that end, 24 Grantsburg School District educators will be traveling to Minneapolis in July to attend the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) Institute’s national convention. “It’s about our teachers working more collaboratively,” Ibby Olson, elementary principal, explained to the Grantsburg School Board last week. “We need to change our focus from ‘Who can learn,’ to ‘Who will learn,’ — this will help take us from a good school to a great school.” The district will be using part of a $30,000 grant and other funds to attend the convention. “It’s pretty expensive to train our
NEWS 715-463-2341 todd@burnettcountysentinel.com
ADVERTISING 715-463-2341 sales1@burnettcountysentinel.com
‘Forty-eight percent of our case load is meth-related.’
SUBSCRIPTIONS 715-463-2341 office@burnettcountysentinel.com
NEWS & ADVERTISING DEADLINE IS MONDAY AT NOON