Valley Sentinel - 12-02-2020

Spring Green, Wisconsin

Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020 Vol. 1, No. 7 Free, Single-Copy

Spring Green prepares for holiday celebration Photos by Quincy Aston-Lott, Managing Editor

A Christmas tree and holiday decorations are now displayed in Post House Garden in Spring Green.

Spring Green Country Christmas will offer Winter Fireworks 6 p.m. Dec. 5 at North Park to celebrate the hollidays.

This year’s weekend-long event will also include virtual visits with Santa and Mrs. Clause via Zoom. The Spring Green Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a home decortating contest for residents to decorate the outside of their homes with Christmas lights to win cash prizes.

Cases slow, but Iowa County still at ‘Critically High’ virus level Iowa County Health Department Iowa County – The Health Department confirms over the Holiday weekend, since reporting case numbers Wednesday, 11/25, 2020, we added 42 additional cases bringing the current COVID-19 confirmed case count in Iowa County to 1,266. Recent cases are in persons in the following age ranges: 0-17 (5), 18-25 (9), 26-35 (2), 36- 45 (7), 46-55 (6), 56-65 (7) and 66-75 (6). See https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/ covid-19/county.htm for a breakdown of the location of positive cases by census track. The number of individuals that have recovered is 808, meaning 458 cases are active.

“There is good news, cases are not climbing at the pace each day that they were 10 days ago. We are grateful to community members who are following the recommendations. We also know that we are just coming off the Thanksgiving Holiday and testing decreased over the Holiday as well as a 14 day incubation period must ensue before we see implications,” states Debbie Siegenthaler, Director, Iowa County Health Department. “Overall, incidence of disease

in the community remains critically high.

Anytime you leave your home, you should anticipate that you will come in contact with coronavirus. If you are in a high risk category, staying home as much as you can continues to be extraordinarily important,” Siegenthaler noted Iowa County numbers continue to be at a high volume of cases each day. The average case increase each day is now 26.86 slightly down from a daily average of 30.14 at last dashboard report, and steady from an average of 26.36 the week prior.

The percent of positive tests has decreased to 12.5% down from 14.7%. These metrics both remain at a red status in today’s Dashboard update.

The Health Department continues to implement crisis standards for contact tracing which means that priority is to contact positive cases. As a result, the Health Department is unable to reach out to close contacts. If you are awaiting a test result, please be sure to remain quarantined. If you test positive, please isolate yourself and let your close contacts know to self-quarantine for 14 days and consider being tested. For more information, please

visit https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p02599.pdf We continue to be concerned about hospital capacity, locally and regionally. Our local Dashboard includes local metrics for Upland Hills Health. Facility use status represents medical surge and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) capacity. Staffing status indicates the number of available staff to care for the volume of patients. Both metrics are at yellow status. Critical supply status reflects adequate levels of critical supplies. This metric remains green.

Our regional health care infrastructure metric represents regional hospital bed use and is currently yellow, as 86% of regional hospital beds are in use. In addition, 85% of total regional ICU beds are in use. It is important to note that this metric simply reports bed capacity and doesn’t measure staffing. There are concerns across the region as hospital staff continue to get sick or must be quarantined due to exposure to the virus. Regional hospital capacity can be found on the DHS website https://www. dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/disease.htm We are asking the Iowa County community to continue to:

• Limit indoor gatherings to 10 people or less.

• Limit outdoor gatherings to 25 people or less.

• Post-pone or cancel all non-essential events, gatherings and travel In addition, we reiterate continued diligence in the following: · Wear a cloth face covering in public settings, especially when it is difficult to practice physical distancing. · Stay at least 6 feet away from other people when you leave your home. · Wash your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

Iowa County status remains at the CRITICALLY HIGH activity level. The “critically high” category distinguishes counties and regions that have case rates (or case burdens) of greater than 1,000 cases per 100,000 residents over the last 14 days.

Iowa County’s burden is 1639 per 100,000.

See page 4

Page 2

opinion/editorial

WednesdaY, Dec.2, 2020

EDITORIAL

10 items in 10 minutes? Let’s start attending village board meetings It can sometimes be easy to feel a certain line of division between citizens and the public officials that serve them, as it seems there is a strong separation between a person who decides policy and budgets, and a person who doesn’t.

While it’s important to note that public officials are just regular people as well as we are, they have families, jobs, worries and responsibilities— however, they’re people with a little extra power, and the power they have can deeply impact an entire community of people.

Valley Sentinel recently attended an Arena village board meeting via teleconference. We dialed into the meeting, running 10 minutes late due to prior obligations, and we promptly discovered that the board was already on item 10 of its agenda. That means the board had seemingly already moved through and acted on 10 items, with approximately a minute per item.

What were in those 10 items? Unimportant stuff hopefully? You decide — the items included a public hearing of the proposed 2021 general budget and action adopting that 2021 annual budget and establishing the 2020 local tax levy — literally how much everyone is paying in taxes and where those taxes are going.

That seems incredibly fast for a meeting where a group of our fellow community members are making decisions on our behalf, regarding the services they are or aren’t going to provide, that can affect how we live our daily lives.

We, as community members, deserve more than a minute per agenda item.

A selfless public official should be distraught if no one comes to speak up when it’s most important that they do so. A jaded, autocratic or incompent public official might think it nice that no one shows up, that numbers are conveniently confusing, that no one is requesting graphs to see where the money is going.

The real question is why are residents not calling in or coming to meetings?

Why aren’t people interested or involved? Perhaps their local governments are being run extremely well?

Perhaps they’re disillusioned, and why?

That’s a question that only the residents of each community can answer.

For some public officials, especially in hard times like these, the temptation for agenda items to become just that—agenda items—can be strong, as their term draws on and they are forced to make important financial or safety decisions for hundreds of people month after month, but it’s imperative they also remember the things they deal with at these meetings are more than

just agenda items—they are people’s lives and livelihoods.

Sadly, the situation in Arena isn’t the only example, while Sauk County government could never be accused of having too brief of a meeting, as they often find themselves arguing and finding it hard to come to an agreement to pass items that keeps things moving.

This can hurt the process and ultimately hurt the final product that makes it to the residents. But even they, in their regular November Sauk County Board meeting, spent merely 30 minutes on their budget — a far cry from something like six hours last year.

Public officials are meant to be representatives of the citizens, and are meant to protect the best interests of their constituency, and it’s important they are reminded of that.

It’s important that, at meetings, public officials treat public comment with respect, and truly take the time to listen to those who choose to come forward.

There is a reason public comment is on most agendas and that meeting is open to the public, it makes the public officials accessible, which really, is the whole point. So let’s show up.

Public officials should take the time to truly listen to the issues their constituents bring to the table, absorb that information and do what they can to help that person or solve issues.

Public officials also need to focus on their listening skills when it comes to their colleagues. Public officials shouldn’t shut each other down during board meetings, instead constructive and in-depth discussion on disagreements, to find constructive and logical solutions, is the best path to uphold the best interests of their community.

A reminder that seats are up for re-election in many of our local governing bodies this spring. Want to get involved? Contact your clerk, figure out the deadlines and get the necessary paperwork.

We need to do better than perfunctory, budgets aren’t fun, neither is accountability, but we need to give more attention to both.

The Election is over, Wisconsin turns to redistricting Peter Cameron, The Badger Project

The veto is intact.

Now that the election is over, it’s time to move on to the next political fight in Wisconsin. The results from that will last longer than a Joe Biden presidency.

Like every state in the union, Wisconsin must redraw its political districts. Many consider the Dairy State’s to be among the most gerrymandered in the nation.

Post-election in Wisconsin, nothing much changed in regards to the state legislature, which draws the maps.

Republicans held onto both houses, but failed to win the 2/3 supermajorities that would have allowed them to override the veto of Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat.

That means Evers can block any maps the Republican-controlled legislature will produce next year.

Then who will draw the maps?

“Probably the federal court,” said James Simmons, a political science professor at UW-Oshkosh. “But who knows these days.”

Liberals fear the conservative-leaning Wisconsin Supreme Court will break precedent and allow the legislature to circumvent the governor.

In that event, one prominent

opponent of gerrymandering in Wisconsin has reluctantly threatened a recall of state Supreme Court justices. Another in the state floated the possibility of primary challenges to state legislators who fail to support a nonpartisan redistricting process.

The Past Every ten years, after the U.S. Census is completed, states must redraw their district maps for U.S. Congress and both houses of their state legislature for the coming decade.

In its history, the state government in Wisconsin has rarely been under full control of one party, as it was in 2010. That has led to frequent partisan squabbles. Wisconsin also is unusual compared to other states in that the governor must approve the maps drawn by the legislature.

So when the legislature couldn’t agree on district maps, or the governor vetoed them, the courts had to step in. In recent decades, the federal court has been the one to do it, said Ed Miller, a political science professor emeritus at UW-Stevens Point.

After this situation repeated itself for several decades, the Wisconsin Supreme Court considered — before redistricting in 2001 — enacting a method for drawing the maps when state

government deadlocked, said Miller, who was involved with the process.

The plan would have been to randomly-select state appeals court judges to draw the maps, Miller said, but ultimately, the Wisconsin Supreme Court pulled out and the effort stalled.

So redistricting was again left up to the federal courts, which produced maps that were fairly competitive. Both houses in the state legislature swung back and forth between the two parties from 2001 to 2011.

For that whole decade, Spencer Black, a Democratic state representative from Madison, repeatedly begged his colleagues to launch a nonpartisan redistricting commission modeled after the one in Iowa.

Republicans scoffed, but they weren’t the only ones.

In 2009, when they had full control of state government, “Democrats had a chance too, and they didn’t do it either,” Black said.

It was a critical error. The election of 2010, a Tea Party-fueled red wave, saw Republicans swamp Democrats all over the country, including Wisconsin.

With full control of state government, Republicans hired a Madison law firm to draw hyper efficient maps, and required any-

one looking at the new lines to sign a secrecy agreement, Miller said.

The results have been near perfect for Republicans. For much of the past decade, the Wisconsin GOP has won more than half the seats in the legislature, often much more, while winning much lower percentages of the vote.

Sometimes less than half. Also, the 7th Congressional District, which Democrat Dave Obey held for more than 40 years, is now a safe red seat after redistricting pushed the bluer areas like Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids into the left-leaning 3rd Congressional District to the west.

Democrats have won all the statewide elections in the last two elections — including governor, attorney general, U.S. senator, and now president — but have failed to make any significant gains in the legislature or for U.S. Congressional seats.

The Present In June, Scott Jensen, a former Republican Speaker of the Assembly, along with the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to “redeem that promise” to create a procedure for redistricting.

See page 3

WednesdaY, Dec.2, 2020 Page 3 opinion/editorial How far will the parties go to defend, or break, Wisconsin’s gerrymandered districts?

Continued from Page 1 At the same time, Evers has launched The People’s Maps Commission, a nine-member group representing each of the state’s eight congressional districts. Evers chose three retired judges to select the commission, which excludes lawmakers and lobbyists and will draw an alternative set of maps to those done by the legislature. Outgoing Republican state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who was elected to Congress, has called the commission “unconstitutional,” and Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has called the commission “phony,” but the group doesn’t actually have any power to enact its maps. Evers has said he hopes the legislature adopts the maps, which most think is unlikely.

In 2017, at a cocktail party of state legislative leaders, Vos reportedly cursed at former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a prominent Republican and former presidential candidate, for supporting nonpartisan redistricting, and accused Kasich of betraying his party. In a follow-up report, Vos confirmed the confrontation, but quibbled with the details.

After this most recent election, 55 of the Wisconsin’s 72 counties have passed resolutions and/ or referendums — essentially a message to the legislature — in

Photo via Badger Project Pictured are the current maps for U.S. Congress in Iowa and Wisconsin. Iowa’s are drawn by a nonpartisan commission, while Wisconsin’s were drawn for Republicans by a law firm.

support of nonpartisan redistricting, said Matt Rothschild, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a Madison-based good-government organization. A Marquette Law School Poll from 2019 found that more than 70% of respondents said they prefer a nonpartisan commission do the redistricting.

A bill sitting in the state legislature would enact an Iowa-style nonpartisan redistricting commission. It has been backed by all legislative Democrats and a handful of Republicans, but so far has gone nowhere.

The Future While some states have stiff-

armed their state legislatures and enacted nonpartisan redistricting commissions by offering the option directly to voters on election day, Wisconsin does not allow ballot initiatives.

Should the Wisconsin Supreme Court let state Republicans break decades of precedent and ignore the governor’s veto, proponents for nonpartisan redistricting have some ideas on what to do next.

In that case, Black says Democrats would be left with no choice but to consider recalling Supreme Court justices.

“I generally don’t like the idea of recalling judges because you don’t like their position. I think

Contact us

PO Box 144 Spring Green, Wisconsin 53588 USA (608) 588-6694 editor@valleysentinelnews.com valleysentinelnews.com Editorial Editor-in-Chief Emilie Conlon Creative Director Morgan Marlenga Managing Editor Quincy Aston-Lott Legal Editor Gerry Strang, esq.

that’s a bad precedent,” Black said. “But if the Supreme Court acts more like partisan hacks rather than justices and basically denies voters of the state a chance to decide who should run the legislature, then I think you have to look at that.”

If the Supreme Court takes that “extreme step,” recalling would be the only possible remedy voters have, he noted.

“I would hope it wouldn’t come to that,” Black said. “But it has to be out there.”

And Schulz said any legislators resistant to nonpartisan redistricting may face new and different electoral challenges in coming elections.

“I think that you’re very likely going to see an evolution of how people go at this,” he said. “Either through primaries within parties or primaries generated across party lines.”

The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, reader-supported journalism nonprofit that focuses on Wisconsin government and politics.

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Est. 2020 igne conflatum “Forged in Fire”

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Page 4

Community

WednesdaY, Dec. 2, 2020 In other news Holiday Donation Drive-Thru

Instead of hosting its usual Holiday get-together, members of the Hyde Chapel in Ridgeway will be accepting non-perishable items at the chapel noon to 3 p.m.

Dec 5. Donations will go to the Ridgeway Marshal’s holiday fund. Gift card donations can be sent to the Ridgeway Clerk’s office. The drive-thru event will include cider and holiday music during donation drop offs.

Business Spotlight

Holiday Craft & Vendor Show

Over a dozen crafters and vendors will be at Keg and Kettle in Lone Rock, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 12 for a holiday themed craft show.

Carolling at the Counthouse

Peace United Methodist Church in Richland Center will be carolling outside the Richland County Courthouse starting at 3 p.m. Dec. 5. The group will also be taking donations of food or money for the Richland Center Food Pantry.

Arena water improvement projects Photo by Emilie Conlon, Ediitor-in-Chief

Ten manholes in the village of Arena were rehabilitated with new covers and concrete liners last month.

According to Village Public Works Superintendent, Mike Schmidt, the project cost $48,480, and was completed by Hydro-Klean, a midwest based industrial cleaning service.

Schmidt said the project was completed to stop the groundwater infiltration into the sewer system, which can increase the cost of water processing at the Dane/Iowa Wastewater treatment facility.

The rehabilitation of the manholes in the village is part of an on-going effort to reduce costs for wastewater processing.

Attention Businesses!

You’re important to us and to our community, neither could thrive without your support, and you thrive through engagement with them.

We’re offering annual brief spotlight stories at no cost to you so you can inform our community of any updates or new offerings you may have.

Want to snag one of our first spots?

Photo by Quincy Aston-Lott, Managing Editor

Contact us today! editor@valleysentinelnews.com

Let’s Build

Community Together

Community

WednesdaY, Dec. 2, 2020

Page 5

County recommends virtual instruction for all area schools Continued from page 1

These enhancements to the Disease Activity Dashboard give Wisconsinites a better picture of the impact of COVID-19 in our state.

Iowa County Dashboard Metrics Epidemiology: Our percentage of positive cases decreased to 12.5%, this metric remains red. The average cases reported daily metric decreased to 26.86, remaining in the red. The Outbreak metric remains red. Healthcare Status: Testing rate remains green with an average of 215.1 tests performed daily. We encourage anyone with symptoms to contact his/her health care provider to be tested. Local health care partner’s facility use status (represents med surge and ICU capacity) has changed to yellow. Staffing status indicates the number of available staff to care for the volume of patients and is currently yellow. Critical supply status reflects at least fourteen days’ worth of supplies. This metric remains green. Our regional health care infrastructure metric represents regional hospital bed use and is currently yellow, as 85.8% of regional hospital beds are in use. In addition, 84.5% of total regional ICU beds are in use. Public Health Status: Community spread remains in red, as 44% of cases are reporting no known source of transmission in the past two weeks. Our goal is that fewer than 20% of cases have no known source of transmission. This value is a reflection of current information, some data is missing, as not all cases have been in contact with the health department. Our contact tracing ef-

forts are at 88%. This metric is dependent on individuals either answering the phone or returning our calls, which remains an issue. Our health department volume and staffing metric remains red. We continue to see an increase in cases and have had to modify our outreach to close contacts.

Emergency Management: Our emergency management partners remain yellow.

PPE demand continues to be up and the supply chain is experiencing issues with gloves, gowns and N95 masks.

School Capacity Indicator Dashboard https://www.iowacounty.org/COVID-19IowaCountySchoolGuidance This dashboard contains key dashboard metrics from our Iowa County COVID-19 Dashboard along with new case rate metric (per 10,000) in the past two weeks. Today, the new case rate is 158, down from 178 per 10,000 at last dashboard report and steady from the prior week’s value of 155.

School Recommendation The Iowa County School Capacity Indicator Dashboard https://www.iowacounty. org/COVID 19IowaCountySchoolGuidance has a total of 10 metrics and 8 of its 10 metrics are either red or yellow, and 4 of the 8 metrics remain red. The new case rate is 158 per 10,000, while down from last week’s value of 178, it is steady from the previous value of 155 and still remarkably above the guidance of 30 or more.

Please note, a column has been added to the table above to track this metric over time. Cases among school age children has also increased and the number of total cases in November is significantly more than

October numbers.

Due to 9 of the 13 Iowa County COVID-19 metrics being red or yellow, 8 of the 10 school indicator metrics being red or yellow, as well as additional statistical data needed to understand potential impacts from the recent Holiday, we recommend that schools consider remaining in virtual instruction for middle and high school students, and consider doing so for the entire district as operationally necessary or feasible. We recommend these measures be in place until December 11, 2020. Several school boards and districts have made a pivot to virtual and we completely support these decisions. In addition, we recommend that schools postpone all contact sports through December.

Next scheduled community testing in Iowa County: · Thursday, December 3 from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm · Friday, December 4th from 11:00am to 4:00pm -- Wisconsin National Guard Both tests sites are held in Dodgeville at the Health and Human Services Center located at 303 West Chapel Street in Dodgeville.

Testing is free and open to anyone (age 5+) who feels they have a need to be tested.

Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian with consent. Appointments are not required, but it is requested that those who wish to be tested pre-register at https://register.covidconnect.wi.gov.

People should consider visiting the testing site if: * They have had close contact with

someone who tested positive for COVID-19. * They have COVID-19 symptoms * They have regular exposure to a large number of people (i.e., people who work in grocery stores) * They work closely with high-risk populations (i.e., healthcare workers, people who work with people who are incarcerated, people who work in long-term care facilities) There are additional testing sites in southwest Wisconsin in Grant, Lafayette and Richland counties. Visit the Iowa County COVID-19 website and/or follow our Facebook page for a list of weekly testing opportunities in southwest Wisconsin.

Upland Hills Hospital continues to provide COVID testing. Please see the Upland Hills website for information on getting tested at their facility.

Local Community testing for the remainder of December: · Lafayette County: Thursday, December 10 from 11:00 am – 1:00pm at the Ames Road Multipurpose Building at 11974 Ames Road in Darlington. · Iowa County: Thursday, December 17 from 11:00 – 1:00 at the Health and Human Services Center located at 303 West Chapel Street in Dodgeville. · Lafayette County: Wednesday, December 23 from 11:00 am – 1:00pm at the Ames Road Multipurpose Building at 11974 Ames Road in Darlington · Iowa County: Wednesday, December 30 from 11:00 – 1:00 at the Health and Human Services Center located at 303 West Chapel Street in Dodgeville.

Brewhaha Coffee Roasters provides deer camp caffeine

Photos by Quincy Aston-Lott, Managing Editor For the second year in a row, Brewhaha Coffee Roasters in Spring Green provided coffee offerings for a deer camp breakfast in Portage. This year, the breakfast hosted by I-39 Trailers in Portage, was a drive-thru breakfast on Nov. 21. “This was our second year of providing coffee for the Deer Camp Breakfast. We are honored to be part of such a wonderful event. Pete and his staff do a wonderful job providing meals and residing funds for Empowered Dream Hunts,” said Brewhaha.

Weekly Activites

Varsity Girls Basketball Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m.

Lancaster High School JV Girls Basketball Dec. 4, 6 p.m.

Lancaster High School Varsity Boys Basketball Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m.

RVHS New Gym JV Boys Basketball Dec. 4, 6:30 p.m.

RVHS New Gym Freshmen Boys Basketball Dec. 4, 4:45 p.m.

RVHS New Gym JV/Varsity Wrestling Dec. 4, 6 p.m.

RVHS Old Gym

Fall Sports All-Conference Boys/Girls Cross Country: 1st Team All-SWC: Julius Ross 2nd Team All-SWC: Seth Rhoades Honorable Mention: Madison Krey Girls Swimming State Qualifier: Beverly Harper Boys Soccer 1st Team All-SWC: Tristen Schmidt - Defender Ben Whitaker - Midfielder Josh Kerr - Forward 2nd Team All-SWC: Noah Zumm - Midfielder Conrad Younquist - Forward Bradley Richardson - Goalie Honorable Mention: Luke Snow - Midfielder Girls Volleyball 2nd Team All-SWC: Brooke Anderson - Setter Kate Hanson - RS Hitter Honorable Mention: Katie Hahn - Outside Hitter

Football Southwest Conference Champions 1st Team All-SWC: Will Bailey - Quarterback Zach Gloudeman - Running Back Tyler Nachreiner - Receiver Sam Cady - Offensive Line Aaron Christensen - Offensive Line Josh Crook - Defensive Line Zach Gloudeman - Inside Linebacker Jesse Day - Outside Linebacker Tyler Nachreiner - Defensive Back 2nd Team All-SWC: Ryan Norton - Offensive Line Isaac Prem - Defensive Back Honorable Mention: Roman Jensen, Landen Alt, Cole Stiemke SWC Offensive Player of the Year: Zach Gloudeman SWC Defensive Player of the Year: Tyler Nachreiner SWC Assistant Coach of the Year: Kyle Heckendorf SWC Coach of the Year: Tim Eastlick

Page 6

Outdoors/recreation

WednesdaY, Dec. 2, 2020

Nine-Day Deer Hunt Harvest Totals, License Sales Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin’s hunting legacy runs deep. As hunters put another gun deer season in the books, preliminary license sale, harvest registration and hunting incident numbers for the 169th nine-day gun season are now available.

Preliminary License Sales Totals Preliminary figures continue to indicate that the number of deer hunters in Wisconsin increased compared to the same period for both 2019 and 2018.

As of midnight, Sunday, Nov. 29, sales for gun, bow, crossbow, sports and patron licenses reached 820,299. Of that total, 569,203 were for gun privileges, including gun, patron and sports licenses. The year-to-date sales for all deer licenses are up 3.5% from the same time last year.

Female hunters remain the largest growing demographic in 2020, with the number of female hunters reaching nearly 92,312, up 12% from last year.

The number of non-resident licenses decreased this year, likely due to COVID-19.

Of the licenses sold to date, 42% were sold in person through transactions at DNR license agents. The remaining 58% of licenses were purchased online. Deer hunting license and harvest authorization sales will continue throughout the remaining deer hunting seasons.

Final license sales figures will be available in January, at which time DNR staff will perform a thorough analysis and interpretation.

Preliminary Registration Totals Preliminary figures show that hunters registered 188,712 deer during the nineday gun deer hunt, including 85,340 antlered and 103,372 antlerless deer. Since archery season opened Sept. 12, hunters have registered 305,171 deer statewide, showing the growing impact of earlier seasons on cumulative harvest.

Deer harvest trends since the beginning of the archery season were above 2019 levels, and this trend continued through the gun deer season. Compared to 2019, the total nine-day gun deer harvest was up 15.8% statewide, with buck harvest up 12.2% and antlerless harvest up 19%. All management zones showed harvest increases from 2019.

Current deer harvest totals have surpassed the total deer harvested in 2019, but harvest trends lag behind 2018, which had the highest total deer harvest since 2013. While many southern farmland zone counties saw double-digit increases in the buck harvest, the harvest was not evenly distributed across

Photos Via Wisconsin DNR Female hunters remain the largest growing demographic in 2020, reaching over 90,000. the state.

A number of units in the northern forest zone including Ashland, Florence, Forest, Iron, Lincoln, Marinette and Price counties, experienced another year of declining buck harvest during the nine-day gun deer season. However, total buck harvest in those counties appears to be similar compared to 2019 harvest for the same period.

While opening weekend saw mild temperatures throughout the state with some snow in the northwest, DNR staff across the state reported excellent hunting conditions and weather throughout the season except for a day or two of rain and wind midweek.

Harvest numbers will climb as hunters enjoy additional hunting opportunities: Nov. 30-Dec. 9: Statewide muzzleloader hunt Dec. 10-13: Statewide four-day antlerless-only hunt; Dec. 24-Jan. 1, 2021: Nine-day antlerless-only holiday hunt in select Farmland Zone counties; Now until Jan. 3, 2021: Remaining archery and crossbow seasons; and Jan. 4-31, 2021: Extended archery and crossbow seasons in select Farmland Zone counties.

Hunters may use any unfilled antlerless harvest authorization during any of these hunts, but they must be used in the zone, county and land type designated on the harvest authorization. For more information regarding hunts offered in each county, check out our interactive deer map here.

Hunters are required to register harvested deer before 5 p.m. the day after

recovery at gamereg.wi.gov or by calling 1-844-426-3734. Any hunter who failed to follow mandatory registration rules should do so now, despite having missed the deadline.

More information regarding preliminary registration totals, including county-level numbers, is available here.

A 2010-20 comparison of preliminary nine-day gun deer season registration totals is also available online.

Nine-day Season Hunting Incidents At the time of this news release, the DNR Bureau of Law Enforcement reports nine firearm-involved injuries and one fatality for the entire 2020 nine-day gun deer season.

Washburn County, Bashaw Township: On Nov. 21, 2020 at approximately 11:30 a.m. a 62-year-old male victim was struck in the upper arm and face by a rifle round. A 19-year-old shooter and victim were participating in a deer drive together. The victim was taken by helicopter for medical treatment.

Saint Croix County, Eau Galle Township: On Nov. 21, 2020 at approximately 2:55 p.m. a 14-year-old male victim was struck in the left leg by a shotgun slug.

The 27-year-old shooter and the victim were participating in a deer drive together. The victim was taken to a hospital, treated and released.

Adams County: On Nov. 22, 2020 at approximately 1:00 p.m. a 40-year-old male shooter/victim was working the action of his pistol when it discharged into his left hand. The victim was treated at a local hospital.

Door County; Washington Island: On Nov. 22, 2020 at approximately 4:27 p.m. a 65-year-old male victim/shooter was exiting his blind with his shotgun when he tripped and the firearm discharged into his chest. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. pronounced dead at the scene.

La Crosse County, Onalaska Township: On Nov. 24, 2020 at approximately 8:45 a.m. a 62-year-old male victim was walking with a rifle when he slipped and fell on the snow, causing the rifle to discharge. A round entered his right foot. The victim went to a local hospital for treatment.

Richland County, Sylvan Township: On Nov. 24, 2020 at approximately 5:10 p.m. a 68-year-old male victim was sitting in his vehicle when a loaded rifle discharged and the bullet grazed his forehead. The shooter placed the loaded firearm in the vehicle with it pointed at the victim. The victim pushed the muzzle away when it fired.

Waushara County, Coloma Township: On Nov. 26 at approximately 4:40 p.m. a 26-year-old female victim was walking

on the Ice Age trail when she was struck by a bullet in the thigh. A 51-year-old male shooter was shooting at what he thought was a deer. Victim went to local hospital for treatment.

Marathon County, McMillan Marsh Wildlife Area: On Nov. 27 at approximately 9:30 a.m. a 30-year-old male victim was participating in a large deer drive. A 26-year-old male shooter was shooting at a running deer when his bullet struck the victim in the face and shoulder area. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Green County, Exeter Township: On Nov. 28, 2020 at approximately 9:50 a.m. a 15-year-old male victim was participating in a deer drive. A 45-year-old male shooter shot at a running deer and his bullet struck the victim in the leg.

The victim went to a hospital in Madison for treatment.

Wisconsin’s 10-year average for hunting incidents during the nine-day gun deer season is 6.8. At this time last year, the DNR Bureau of Law Enforcement reported four firearm-involved injuries and zero fatalities for the entire 2019 nine-day gun deer season. The DNR reminds all hunters to use the four firearm safety rules as a cornerstone for safe and successful outings: T - Treat every Firearm as if it is loaded A - Always Point the muzzle in a safe direction B - Be certain of your target, what’s before it, and what’s beyond it K - Keep your finger outside your trigger guard until you are ready to shoot Hunters Encouraged To Submit Deer For Chronic Wasting Disease Sampling Hunters are reminded that CWD sampling opportunities are available throughout the Hunters are reminded that CWD sampling opportunities are available throughout the remaining deer hunting seasons. Find a sampling location here.

Thanks to generous contributions from numerous partners, the Adopt-a Kiosk and Adopt-a-Dumpster programs gave hunters additional options to submit their harvested deer for CWD sampling and safely dispose of carcasses.

The cooperation of hunters and private businesses has become increasingly vital to the success of our sampling process. DNR staff would like to thank all those who continue to assist with CWD surveillance.

Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey Remains Open Through Remaining Seasons The Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey will remain active until all deer seasons have ended, and wildlife managers ask that hunters submit a report of what they observe during their time in the field.

This information provides valuable data to improve population estimates for Wisconsin’s deer herd and other species.

First Harvest And First Experience Certificates Will Help Hunters Remember Time In The Outdoors For Years To Come Hunters of all ages who head out for their first hunt are encouraged to mark the occasion with a first harvest and first hunting experience certificate.

DNR VIOLATION HOTLINE: Anyone with information regarding natural resource violations may confidentially report by calling or texting: 1-800-TIP-WDNR or 1-800- 847-9367.

The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Trained staff relay the information to conservation wardens. File an online report https://dnr. wisconsin.gov/contact/Hotline.html

See page 7

Outdoors/recreation

WednesdaY, Dec. 2, 2020

Page 7

SUBSCRIBE to Valley Sentinel!

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Send a check with your name, address and $30 to: Valley Sentinel PO Box 144, Spring Green, WI 53588.

Or visit valleysentinelnews. com/subscribe to pay using a credit card, debit card or paypal.

Photo by Quincy Aston-Lott, Managing Editor Sandhill cranes flock to a recently harvested corn field to feed, north of Arena on Nov. 30, ahead of their winter migration south.

Continued from page 6

Photo Via Wisconsin DNR

2021 State Park Admission Passes On Sale Now Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

MADISON, Wis. – Anyone looking for the perfect holiday gift for outdoor enthusiasts can purchase the new 2021 Wisconsin State Park admission sticker or trail pass just in time for the holidays.

The 2021 state park stickers and state trail passes went on sale Dec. 1. Get ahead of the fun and give those looking to find an adventure access to some of the most scenic areas in Wisconsin, including thousands of miles of trails, dozens of beaches and a wide variety of outdoor recreation opportunities.

“We are excited to offer annual admission passes online this year in addition to at properties and on the phone,” said Diane Brusoe, DNR Fish, Wildlife and Parks Deputy Division Administrator. “With winter quickly approaching, visitors can get their passes easier than ever and make the most of a year of outdoor recreation fun.”

The 2021 stickers and passes for admission to parks, forests, recreation areas and trails are valid from the date of purchase through Dec. 31, 2021. The vehicle admission stickers provide access to more than 60 state parks, forests and recreation areas across Wiscon-

sin. The stickers are required on all motor vehicles visiting state parks and recreation areas. Some state forest and trail parking areas also require the sticker.

A state trail pass is required for all people age 16 or older biking, in-line skating, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, or off-highway motorcycling on specific state trails. A state trail pass is not required for walking or hiking.

An admission sticker costs $28 for Wisconsin residents or $38 for non-residents.

If there is more than one vehicle registered to the same household, additional state park stickers are available for $15.50 for residents and $20.50 for non-residents. A senior citizen annual sticker for $13 is available for Wisconsin residents 65 years of age and older. Annual trail passes are $25 for residents and non-residents.

Resident and non-resident annual admission stickers are available online, at state park facilities statewide and over the phone.

State trail passes are available only at individual properties or over the phone.

Starting Dec. 1, phone customers can purchase stickers over the phone by calling the DNR at 1-888-305-0398 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., seven days a week, to place their order. Customers need to order stickers and passes online or over the phone by Friday, Dec. 11, to receive them before the holidays.

More information about the Wisconsin State Park System vehicle admission sticker is available www.dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/ parks/admission.

High school students can enter artwork in the 2022 Wisconsin State Park Sticker Design Contest

High school students design the admission stickers, with the winning design chosen in a statewide contest. The winning 2021 admission sticker featuring a winter image for the first time that includes a cross-country skier was designed by Emma Džurbanová, a junior foreign exchange student from the Czech Republic at Rice Lake High School.

Wisconsin high school students can now submit entries for the 2022 Wisconsin state park sticker design contest. The contest will run through Friday, April 30, 2021. The contest is open to all high school age students (9th through 12th grades) attending public, private or parochial schools or homeschooled in Wisconsin. The winning design will be displayed on hundreds of thousands of vehicles.

The design must be the artist’s original creation and cannot be copied or duplicated from previously published art, including photographs, clip art or electronic graphic images. Photographs or photo manipulations are not accepted. Contest rules, a design template and entry form are available on the DNR website.

“The good stuff.”

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Outdoors/recreation

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Outdoors/recreation

Community

WednesdaY, Dec. 2, 2020 Page 11

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Community

Page 12 WednesdaY, Dec. 2, 2020

COVID-19 Dashboard Wisconsin Summary Cases as of 12/1/2020

+27,340 from 11/24 15.4%

391,313 Positive Cases

84.6%

2,156,410 Negative Cases

3,420 Deaths +305 from 11/24

+51,654 from 11/24

Iowa County

Richland County 885 Positive Cases

8,878 Negative Cases

+202 from 11/24

10.3%

+53 from 11/24

89.7% +28 from 11/24

14 Deaths

7,734 Negative Cases

1,306 Positive +86 from 11/24 Cases

5 Deaths

+1 from 11/24

+2 from 11/24

Sauk County 3,613 10.9% Positive Cases 29,678 89.1% Negative Cases

+296 from 11/24

+843 from 11/24

Graphic by Whitney Back

18 Deaths +1 from 11/24

Data From: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/index.htm