Local 911 victim was true hero to many Page 5
The summer of the sky ghosts
Grantsburg Rotary chooses Teacher of the Year Currents, page 11
Currents feature
Leader
WED., SEPT. 7, 2011 VOL. 79 • NO. 3 • 2 SECTIONS •
INTER-COUNTY
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Fugitive sought
Not quite endless
Escaped inmate assaults Town of Blaine garage attendant - and then steals his truck PAGE 3
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Balsam Lake trustees deal with speed signs, TIFs and pay issues
Deaths
Dorothy M. Soper Glen E. Soper Donald H. Hansen Leona Carpenter Lawrence M. Bremer Nora F. Searles Henry A. Rasmussen Donald C. Moody Margaret G. Olson Dianna Lynn Dinger Howard L. Chouinard Warren Beyl Donald A. Leigh Obituaries on page 17-19B
PAGE 6
9/11 and state: A decade after 9/11 attacks, Wisconsin’s homeland security spending falls sharply PAGE 3
Annual school district meetings start next week
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A citizen’s guide PAGE 11
Employee benefit changes may offset cuts in state aid Reductions may cause vacancies in district attorney’s office PAGE 11
Deer farming at a major league level SPORTS
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Board puts the pedal down
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$1
Tommy Swenson, 13, got a few runs in as the sun set over the Siren Skate Park in late August as the final days of of an endless summer ended.- Photo by Greg Marsten
Innocence lost
Notes on 9/11: Local officials recall the events and how things have changed since the attacks
by Greg Marsten Leader staff writer BALSAM LAKE/SIREN – For many people of this era, the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are one of those “where were you when it happened” moments, and still rate as one of the most bizarre, helpless times in modern memory. Even in remote northern Wisconsin, the events of that morning sent chills down many officials’ spines. That morning, the Polk County Emergency Management office in Balsam Lake became a hub of activity, as they had one of the few TVs in the plaza, and
director Richard Fabbrini was in near constant contact with local officials. Fabbrini has since passed away, but his secretary at the time, Kathy Poirier, recalls the office was a gathering point of sorts, as he was open to queries from the press, law enforcement and others as the events unfolded. “I remember there were people in and out all day,” stated Poirier, who is now the emergency management director. “Nobody knew what was going on.” Polk County Sheriff Peter Johnson was working as a deputy on a day-shift patrol when the attacks took place. “I actually remember that I was going out to a call in Sterling township when I first heard that a plane had hit the World Trade Center,” he recalled, listening to the account on the radio at the time. “They made it sound like initially it was an accident of some kind, until the sec-
INSIDE Briefly 3A Letters to the editor 8-9A Sports 13-19 Outdoors 20-21A Town Talk 6-8B Coming Events Back of B Currents feature 1B Behind the Signpost 5B Letters from Home 3B Cold Turkey 3B Just for Laughs 3B River Road Ramblings 4B Focus on the Family 20B Church directory 21B Copyright © 2011 Inter-County Cooperative Publishing Association Frederic, Wisconsin
See Innocence lost, page 4
The Leader is a cooperative-owned newspaper • Since 1933