2011: Year in review
Readers of the County Post East will remember 2011 as the year when New London's girls basketball team won the state title, a woman was killed at a New London hotel, Clintonville citizens debated the merits of having a city administrator, Klein Chevrolet Buick and Walgreens built new facilities in Clintonville and Manawa began planning for a new athletic complex.
The year was also significant for the County Post, especially for the newspaper's WaupacaNow website.
Over the course of the year, the number of unique visitors to WaupacaNow and the number of page views more than doubled. This summer, WaupacaNow reached over 14,000 visitors and more than 100,000 page views per month.
The website's growth can be attributed to daily updates. Breaking news often appears within hours of a major event, such as fires, storms and traffic fatalities. Stories that may take days to appear in a weekly paper can now often be read online within 24 hours.
New London
On March 26, 2011, New London's 53-45 win over Luxemburg-Casco gave the girls' basketball team its first state championship.
The Lady Bulldogs had made two previous trips to Madison and both time returned home without winning the state title.
And earlier that season, New London had lost to the Spartans twice. But they hit five of six three-pointers to take a 15-5 lead six minutes into the Division 2 title game.
Tara Knapstein led the Bulldogs with 13 points, Brooke Fitzgerald added 11 and Emily Steffanus came off of the bench to score 10.
This year, the New London girls basketball team is ranked No. 1 in Division 2 and remains undefeated.
On May 24, 2011, Chad Magolski, 35, was charged with the December 2007 murder of James Park.
New London police found the 77-year-old man's body on Dec. 15, 2007, in his apartment, located on the lower level of 301 N. Shawano St., directly across from the police station.
Park had been stabbed multiple times in the neck, chest and abdomen. His death was estimated to have occurred between Dec. 7 and Dec. 9. Magolski lived in the second-story apartment above Park at the time of the murder.
The state Department of Justice is prosecuting the case. Magolski is scheduled for a jury trial in late March.
In August, New London residents were shocked by news of another homicide.
Police were called out to America's Best Value Inn, 1409 N. Shawano St., in response to a domestic disturbance.
When they arrived, officers found Amelia A. Schmitz, 18, of Richfield, unconscious.
Schmitz was transported to New London Family Medical Center where she was later pronounced dead.
Kevin J. Lombard, 23, Richfield, who was staying in the same room, was taken into custody as police investigated the scene of the incident.
Lombard, who has several convictions for violent crimes, reportedly told police that he had choked the woman.
With several convictions for violent crimes, Lombard was on extended supervision at the time of his 2011 arrest in New London. He had been released from state prison five months earlier after being convicted of battery to an officer in Washington County. His prior convictions also include battery, car theft and felony escape.
Although no charges have been filed against him yet in Waupaca County, Lombard is currently incarcerated because his extended supervision was revoked.
Clintonville
In March 2011, Klein Chevrolet Buick announced plans to build a new facility in Clintonville.
The new 24,000 square-foot dealership would be on a 22-acre parcel at the intersection of Highways 22 and 45. It opened on Dec. 5.
With the addition of a 10,000 square-foot Kwik Trip and 13,000 square-foot Walgreens, Klein became the focal point of major commercial development in Clintonville last year.
In September, John Moericke circulated a petition to eliminate the Clintonville city administrator's position.
He told the County Post that a dwindling population and weakened economy were among his reasons for wanting to eliminate the position.
The Common Council scheduled a special meeting for Sept. 28, at the Community Center and a large crowd of citizens attended to show their support for City Administrator Lisa Kuss.
Business owners and plant managers argued that Kuss had played a major role in making their plans for expansion possible.
"If it wasn't for Lisa, Walgreens wouldn't be coming here. Walgreens will bring 35 jobs and $3.5 million to the tax base," said Mark Lake, with Midland Commercial Development Corp.
The council voted 7-3 in favor of a motion to accept the petition, table it and take no further action. Council members John Wilson, Gloria Dunlavy and Jeannie Schley, all of whom signed the petition, voted against the motion.
In November, the city of Clintonville had to cut its budget by $357,000 and decided to save about $7,000 per year by shutting off about 70 street lights.
The number of dimmed lights represented 10 percent of Clintonville's total street lighting. The darker streets were noticeable to residents.
At the Common Council's Nov. 21 meeting on the budget, residents criticized the cost-cutting move as detrimental to public safety.
Mayor Judy Magee said some lights that were originally turned off have been turned on again - mostly those illuminating dead-end streets.
Manawa
Manawa schools were the big news in 2011.
In August, new leadership took the reins in the school district.
Ed Dombrowski became the district administrator, Megan Yeska was hired as the new elementary school principal and Duane Braun, who has been with the district for many years, was selected for the position of junior and senior high school principal.
Dombrowski is originally from Brooklyn, N.Y. He had served as the interim superintendant for the Osseo-Fairchild School District in Winneconne prior to relocating to Manawa.
Yeska came from Waupaca where she was dean of students. Among her responsibilities in Manawa, Yeska is the director of curriculum and instruction.
Braun had served as both district administrator and elementary principal last year. In addition to his duties as principal, Braun also oversees the Building and Grounds Department.
In late November, Point of Beginning, a design and engineering firm based in Stevens Point, unveiled plans to build a new activity complex behind Little Wolf High School.
The project would include grading the area in the center of the track where the new football field would go, and adding lights, a scoreboard, bleacher pads, bleachers and a security fence. An underground irrigation system was also recommended as part of the plan.
The new facilities are estimated to cost between $300,000 and $350,000.
On Dec. , the Manawa School Board voted 4-3 in favor of chartering a committee to raise funds for the Manawa Activity Complex. Michelle Kaczorowski, who told the board that she has already received donation commitments of $54,800 for the project, will chair the committee.
The board also voted to construct the complex once the fundraising committee has raised 66 percent of the total cost of the project.
However, board members voted down a proposal to pledge an amount equal to the proceeds of the sale of land on Butternut Road and of the old elementary school contents to the construction of the Manawa Activity Complex.
The year was also significant for the County Post, especially for the newspaper's WaupacaNow website.
Over the course of the year, the number of unique visitors to WaupacaNow and the number of page views more than doubled. This summer, WaupacaNow reached over 14,000 visitors and more than 100,000 page views per month.
The website's growth can be attributed to daily updates. Breaking news often appears within hours of a major event, such as fires, storms and traffic fatalities. Stories that may take days to appear in a weekly paper can now often be read online within 24 hours.
New London
On March 26, 2011, New London's 53-45 win over Luxemburg-Casco gave the girls' basketball team its first state championship.
The Lady Bulldogs had made two previous trips to Madison and both time returned home without winning the state title.
And earlier that season, New London had lost to the Spartans twice. But they hit five of six three-pointers to take a 15-5 lead six minutes into the Division 2 title game.
Tara Knapstein led the Bulldogs with 13 points, Brooke Fitzgerald added 11 and Emily Steffanus came off of the bench to score 10.
This year, the New London girls basketball team is ranked No. 1 in Division 2 and remains undefeated.
On May 24, 2011, Chad Magolski, 35, was charged with the December 2007 murder of James Park.
New London police found the 77-year-old man's body on Dec. 15, 2007, in his apartment, located on the lower level of 301 N. Shawano St., directly across from the police station.
Park had been stabbed multiple times in the neck, chest and abdomen. His death was estimated to have occurred between Dec. 7 and Dec. 9. Magolski lived in the second-story apartment above Park at the time of the murder.
The state Department of Justice is prosecuting the case. Magolski is scheduled for a jury trial in late March.
In August, New London residents were shocked by news of another homicide.
Police were called out to America's Best Value Inn, 1409 N. Shawano St., in response to a domestic disturbance.
When they arrived, officers found Amelia A. Schmitz, 18, of Richfield, unconscious.
Schmitz was transported to New London Family Medical Center where she was later pronounced dead.
Kevin J. Lombard, 23, Richfield, who was staying in the same room, was taken into custody as police investigated the scene of the incident.
Lombard, who has several convictions for violent crimes, reportedly told police that he had choked the woman.
With several convictions for violent crimes, Lombard was on extended supervision at the time of his 2011 arrest in New London. He had been released from state prison five months earlier after being convicted of battery to an officer in Washington County. His prior convictions also include battery, car theft and felony escape.
Although no charges have been filed against him yet in Waupaca County, Lombard is currently incarcerated because his extended supervision was revoked.
Clintonville
In March 2011, Klein Chevrolet Buick announced plans to build a new facility in Clintonville.
The new 24,000 square-foot dealership would be on a 22-acre parcel at the intersection of Highways 22 and 45. It opened on Dec. 5.
With the addition of a 10,000 square-foot Kwik Trip and 13,000 square-foot Walgreens, Klein became the focal point of major commercial development in Clintonville last year.
In September, John Moericke circulated a petition to eliminate the Clintonville city administrator's position.
He told the County Post that a dwindling population and weakened economy were among his reasons for wanting to eliminate the position.
The Common Council scheduled a special meeting for Sept. 28, at the Community Center and a large crowd of citizens attended to show their support for City Administrator Lisa Kuss.
Business owners and plant managers argued that Kuss had played a major role in making their plans for expansion possible.
"If it wasn't for Lisa, Walgreens wouldn't be coming here. Walgreens will bring 35 jobs and $3.5 million to the tax base," said Mark Lake, with Midland Commercial Development Corp.
The council voted 7-3 in favor of a motion to accept the petition, table it and take no further action. Council members John Wilson, Gloria Dunlavy and Jeannie Schley, all of whom signed the petition, voted against the motion.
In November, the city of Clintonville had to cut its budget by $357,000 and decided to save about $7,000 per year by shutting off about 70 street lights.
The number of dimmed lights represented 10 percent of Clintonville's total street lighting. The darker streets were noticeable to residents.
At the Common Council's Nov. 21 meeting on the budget, residents criticized the cost-cutting move as detrimental to public safety.
Mayor Judy Magee said some lights that were originally turned off have been turned on again - mostly those illuminating dead-end streets.
Manawa
Manawa schools were the big news in 2011.
In August, new leadership took the reins in the school district.
Ed Dombrowski became the district administrator, Megan Yeska was hired as the new elementary school principal and Duane Braun, who has been with the district for many years, was selected for the position of junior and senior high school principal.
Dombrowski is originally from Brooklyn, N.Y. He had served as the interim superintendant for the Osseo-Fairchild School District in Winneconne prior to relocating to Manawa.
Yeska came from Waupaca where she was dean of students. Among her responsibilities in Manawa, Yeska is the director of curriculum and instruction.
Braun had served as both district administrator and elementary principal last year. In addition to his duties as principal, Braun also oversees the Building and Grounds Department.
In late November, Point of Beginning, a design and engineering firm based in Stevens Point, unveiled plans to build a new activity complex behind Little Wolf High School.
The project would include grading the area in the center of the track where the new football field would go, and adding lights, a scoreboard, bleacher pads, bleachers and a security fence. An underground irrigation system was also recommended as part of the plan.
The new facilities are estimated to cost between $300,000 and $350,000.
On Dec. , the Manawa School Board voted 4-3 in favor of chartering a committee to raise funds for the Manawa Activity Complex. Michelle Kaczorowski, who told the board that she has already received donation commitments of $54,800 for the project, will chair the committee.
The board also voted to construct the complex once the fundraising committee has raised 66 percent of the total cost of the project.
However, board members voted down a proposal to pledge an amount equal to the proceeds of the sale of land on Butternut Road and of the old elementary school contents to the construction of the Manawa Activity Complex.
More from Community News
- Seniors caught with pot will graduate (1)
- St. Jude Walk slated in Scaninavia
- Spring Cruise Car Show Friday
- Students learn from Food for America
- Main Street options debated (1)
- Vets Home to hold open house
- Tea Party event in New London (2)
- Benefit set for crash victim's family
- Senior Tribute Concert at WHS
- Book Swap at Lincoln
