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Clintonville has new council president

The Clintonville City Council is under new leadership.

At the Clintonville City Council reorganizational meeting Tuesday, April 21, Alderwoman Lois Bressette was elected council president.

Bressette and former council president Jeannie Schley were both nominated for council president. After the paper ballot votes were counted, both Bressette and Schley had received five votes. Mayor Judy Magee broke the tie by voting for Bressette.

Earlier in the meeting Bressette was sworn in after being reelected in the April election. Sworn in as new council members were Darrell Teall, Steve Kettenhoven, Brad Rokus, and Julie Stumbris.

During the Citizens Comments portion of the meeting, Dave Wood, general manager for the Tribune Gazette, addressed the council. He asked that the council consider choosing the Tribune-Gazette for the city’s official newspaper. He asked that the council follow the lead of the Clintonville School District and switch each year between the Tribune-Gazette and the Clintonville Chronicle. The Chronicle currently holds the official newspaper designation with the city.

Schley made a motion to choose the Chronicle as the official city newspaper.

When the council discussed the matter, Alderwoman Mary-Beth Kuester talked about circulation numbers for both papers.

Kuester claimed the Chronicle was able to get late items in the paper because the Tribune-Gazette has an earlier deadline. The Chronicle actually goes to press a day earlier than the Tribune-Gazette.

Kuester also said the city should stay with a company that has local ownership.

Rokus said the city has two newspapers, and it would be a good idea to promote both newspapers.

“We used the Chronicle last year, and I think it’d be a good idea to promote both local businesses, that we do rotate back and forth and try the

Clintonville Tribune-Gazette this year,” Rokus said.

Alderwoman Gloria Dunlavy said the Tribune-Gazette was the official newspaper for many years in the past, so it wasn’t time to start taking turns now.

Stumbris said she thought it would be a nice change to switch newspapers each year.

“It wouldn’t be the same paper forever and ever,” Stumbris said.

“How many people who work for the Tribune live in this town, support or pay taxes in this town? We should be supporting the people that pay taxes in our city,” Alderman John Wilson said.

Kuester had previously mentioned that the Chronicle employed eight people. It wasn’t mentioned how many live in Clintonville.

Kuester also said she thought the Tribune-Gazette only employed one person from Clintonville.

“I think maybe the gal in the office lives in Clintonville, but none of the employees live in Clintonville,” Kuester said.

That statement is inaccurate, as the Tribune-Gazette employs more than one full time employee from Clintonville. It also contracts with nearly 20 carriers for the Clintonville Shoppers’ Guide, which the company also publishes. The council was not told this information.

“I think the Tribune-Gazette is a local business. I mean it’s operating here,” Bressette said. “Should we pick apart every business in our industrial park and see who’s employed and who’s not employed, who lives here and who doesn’t live here. 

“I think that it’s appropriate that we follow the direction of the county, which has the rotating with the Tribune. The school is rotating with the Tribune, and I think it’s appropriate that the city do that as well.”

When it came time to vote to appoint the Chronicle as the official city newspaper the council split 5-5 with Schley, Dunlavy, Kuester, Wilson, and Jim Krause voting for the Chronicle. Magee broke the tie by voting for the Chronicle.

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