City of Stevens Point Street Tree Watering

The implications of the recent dry weather for farmers are obvious, but Stevens Point residents should be concerned, too, because of the threat to the city’s tree canopy. Trees, besides being nice to sit under on a hot day, are a big benefit to any community. A shaded house doesn’t need as much air conditioning. Trees boost property values. Trees are also good for the air and water quality because they filter out harmful pollutants that otherwise would wash directly into our streams and rivers or would be inhaled directly into our lungs.

Extremely hot and dry conditions quickly zap the life out of trees, especially those that are newly planted. Dry conditions also make trees more susceptible to disease or attacks from insects.

The City of Stevens Point asks residents to remember to water city street trees in front of their homes when they are watering other trees on their property, especially recently planted trees, during the hot and dry times we are presently experiencing.

Soak the soil beneath the tree out to the outermost ends of the branches for an hour or so every week. You may not have to water smaller younger trees as long, but during hot days you may have to water more often. For example, if you have a two-inch diameter street tree out in front of your home, that tree would need about twenty gallons of water every 5-7 days, which is the equivalent of an inch of rain. Providing this water would cost a homeowner about four cents per watering.

At least once a week, fill a 5-gallon bucket and slowly pour the water around the base of your tree, or poke 2-4 small holes in the bucket on the sides (near the bottom) and let the water slowly drip out. Tree-gators, which hold 20 gallons of water and slowly let it seep into the ground, can be purchased at garden centers.

If you prefer to use a garden hose, you can position it at the base of your tree set it on trickle for one hour to get the recommended twenty gallons at least once a week. Watering twice a week is better during hot and dry times like those that we are currently experiencing.

For larger, mature trees, or trees with visible signs of stress like loss of leaves or yellowing foliage, use a water-conserving drip hose around the drip lines of your trees, watering very gradually once a week for a 24-hour period.

Water your trees in the evening after 9 p.m., or in the morning before 7 a.m. to prevent evaporation and water usage during peak times.

In addition to watering, one of the most beneficial things you can do for your tree is to apply mulch around it. Mulches are materials, including wood chips and shredded bark, placed over the soil surface to help conserve moisture, improve soil conditions, and even protect the tree. A layer of mulch 3-4 inches deep, but not touching the trunk, should be applied as broadly as practical around the tree.

When conditions are this dry, it takes some time for water to penetrate. Short, hard rains fall so fast the water doesn’t soak into the soil. We need measurable or soaking rain to give our trees the moisture they need. Until we get that kind of rain, it’s up to us to water our trees so they can continue to benefit us.

Comptroller-Treasurer to Retire after 27 Years

Comptroller –Treasurer John Schlice announced today that he filed his non-candidacy papers at the City Clerk’s Office and will not be running for another term in 2013. Schlice, the longest serving Comptroller-Treasurer in the history of Stevens Point, was elected Comptroller-Treasurer in a Special Election on April fool’s day in 1986.

In the 27 years as Comptroller-Treasurer Schlice has attained National Certification as a Certified Municipal Financial Administrator (CMFA) and State Certification as a Certified Municipal Treasurer of Wisconsin (CMTW). Schlice has served as State President of the Municipal Treasurers Association of Wisconsin, and he has served on the Board of Directors of the Transit Mutual Insurance Company as well as numerous other governmental committees.

Schlice said he is especially proud that he spearheaded the issuance of the “First Build American Bond” issued in the nation which refunded 35% of the interest payable on a debt service payment, saving the City thousands of dollars. He has received numerous calls from across the county requesting information on how it was done.

Schlice said the past 27 years as Comptroller –Treasurer coupled with 6 years as a City Alderman has been a great experience and he is looking forward to retirement.

He is announcing at this time so there is no question as to whether he is running for another term.

Police Station Drop-Off Point for Project Fresh Start

The Stevens Point Police Department is proud to be a drop site for Project Fresh Start, which provides school supplies to students in Portage County who qualify for the free or reduced lunch program.

The start of a new school year means buying school supplies, and for lower-income families, it can be a time when money is tight. Project Fresh Start depends on the support of our Portage County community to help provide the school supplies for the students in need. This year there are over 2,900 students who are eligible.

Individuals, businesses, churches and other groups can collect school supplies to drop off at designated sites throughout the community, including the Stevens Point Police Department lobby, until August 13. Doors are open from 7:30 am until 4:00 pm.

NewPage Changes the Premium Paper Value Equation

MIAMISBURG, Ohio, July 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — NewPage Corporation today announced that it has created a shift in the premium paper value equation with the introduction of Sterling® Premium, Sterling® Premium Digital˙ and Sterling® Premium Digital˙ for HP Indigo.

The company’s legendary Sterling brand has been reengineered to provide enhanced optics, an extremely smooth surface and premium shade ˆ all at a No. 2 price.

“This is an exciting day as we mark the next chapter for our flagship Sterling brand,” said Tanya Pipo, commercial product manager, premium sheet and C1S grades. “We have been listening to our customers and found that they want a premium product at a price that reflects today’s reality. Sterling Premium delivers all the features customers look for in a premium grade ˆ premium optics, print performance and an elevated level of service ˆ all at an affordable price.”

With the introduction of the new product line, NewPage will be retiring Centura® sheets and web, Productolith® sheets and web and Sterling® Ultra sheets. Sterling Ultra web products will remain.

Seeing is Believing

The new Sterling Premium draws on decades of papermaking experience and technology. The result is a world-class surface with superior on-press performance. “When agencies, marketers or printers are looking to upgrade their printed materials, Sterling Premium delivers a game-changing solution,” said Steven DeVoe, vice president, Marketing and Customer Service for NewPage. “Feedback from our customers has been that this product out-performs premium sheets in the market and it delivers all of these qualities without the premium price tag. We are incredibly excited about the potential Sterling Premium offers to our customers.”

Beyond budget-friendly pricing, the new Sterling Premium offers strong value propositions for all stakeholders in the supply chain. Designers, marketers and corporate end users get a brand-building premium paper that delivers worry-free consistency. Printers get a superior substrate to showcase their work combined with the runnability they’ve come to expect from Sterling. A streamlined offering allows NewPage to stock more deeply, ensuring that merchants, printers and end users have what they need, when they need it, including press-ready mini skids and quick turn custom cut sheets.

NewPage will continue to offer matching digital products ˆ Sterling Premium Digital and Sterling Premium Digital for HP Indigo. The new product lines replace the current Sterling® Ultra Digital˙ and Sterling® Ultra Digital˙ for HP Indigo offering with improved optics and print surface while maintaining the great runnability and press performance the market has come to know and expect from Sterling. Both product lines will include a new 120 lb. gloss and dull cover offering.

Both the sheetfed and digital line ups are earth friendly; carrying three chain-of-custody certifications and containing 10 percent post-consumer recycled fiber and 100 percent of our products are made in the USA by NewPage, an American-operated manufacturer.

Representative Krug Tours Heartland Farms with Governor Walker

Colburn, WI — Today Representative Scott Krug welcomed Governor Scott Walker to the 72nd Assembly District to tour Heartland Farms in Adams County; one of 23 counties that has been designated by the United States Department of Agriculture as a natural disaster area due to the drought.

“I am thankful Governor Walker came to the 72nd Assembly district to talk with my constituents and see the conditions first hand. Farmers have consistently been telling me the conditions have steadily worsened as the season has progressed,” Representative Krug said. “This drought will have a long term impact on the livelihood for our state and community for years to come and am therefore appreciative that Governor Walker has coordinated the drought relief efforts for the state with the United States Department of Agriculture.”

The following counties received the natural disaster area designation by the USDA: Adams, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, Kenosha, Lafayette, Marquette, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha. This designation authorizes farmers affected by the drought to be eligible for low interest emergency loans.

For more information and resources for farmers during the drought emergency, please visit http://farmertofarmer.uwex.edu/, www.ready.wi.gov or call Representative Krug’s office toll free at (888) 529-0072 or email Rep.Krug@legis.wisconsin.gov

City Uses Volunteers to Shoo Geese

Stevens Point — The City of Stevens Point has received complaints about the number of geese present in Pfiffner Pioneer Park and the residue they are leaving on the paved trail and the grass area in front of the Bandshell.

Rain typically washes away most of the residue left behind by the geese, but because of the drought conditions we are now facing, most lawns in the area have gone dormant and the irrigated grass in front of the Bandshell has become a major food source for the geese – increasing their numbers in the area – and the lack of rain has also let the goose residue accumulate.

The Parks Department staff reviewed a number of different methods that other communities and businesses have used to try to control the number of geese on their property, ranging from making sites less attractive to geese by employing “no feeding” ordinances, scare tactics, habitat modifications, goose barriers, repellents, and trained dogs, to relocating geese and lethal techniques such as addling eggs, sterilizing geese, and rounding up geese to euthanize them.

A Wildlife Biologist for the USDA, APHIS, Wildlife Services recommended the best method for Stevens Point to use at this point would be to employ constant harassment. By using volunteers to scare the geese back into the water throughout the day by making noise with plastic clappers, the city hopes that many of the geese will eventually relocate and we will be able to maintain an appropriate number of geese for everyone’s enjoyment.

Changes to East Side / Crossroads Bus Route

On Tuesday, August 7, the new Copps Food Center (behind Len Dudas) will be added to the East Side/Crossroads bus route. From Washington School, the bus will take Wilshire Blvd. to Copps Food Center to Main St. The remainder of the route will stay the same.

Prais St. to Sunset Blvd. in Park Ridge will be eliminated from the route.

(Copps East and Copps on Church St. will close at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 6.)

Riverfront Jazz Festival Announces Line-Up for Labor Day Weekend

Stevens Point, WI- Central Wisconsin’s largest jazz festival is back again this coming Labor Day Weekend providing family friendly entertainment. Taking place at Pfiffner Pioneer Park along the scenic Wisconsin River, in downtown Stevens Point, the festival is free and open to the public.

The festival begins at 3:00pm on Saturday September 1st with Story City from Minnesota, known for their Pat Metheny, Michael Brecker, fusion sound influence. At 5:00pm the Bill Carrothers Trio from Michigan, will perform traditional jazz piano music. Internationally known jazz vocalist, Sachal Vasandani from New York City will close Saturday’s performances starting at 7:00pm. On Sunday September 2nd, Randal Harrison from Madison will start the evening out at 3:00pm with his New String Trio. At 5:00pm We Six from Milwaukee, will be performing in the standard jazz sextet set-up. The last performance of the festival will begin at 7:00pm on Sunday with local favorite, jazz vocalist, Janet Planet.

The Riverfront Jazz Festival debuted on Labor Day weekend in 2004. Its goals were to promote local jazz musicians, nationally renowned acts, tourism and a family friendly atmosphere. In its first year it had an attendance of almost 2,000 people for the one-day event. In 2005 the festival expanded to a two-day event with attendance being over 3,000 each day making this event the largest Jazz Festival in Central Wisconsin in just two years! In 2007, the Festival gained new management of Riverfront Jazz Festival LLC, a 501-C3 non-profit designation and a new focus was added: to generate scholarship funds for local college music students. Under the first year of new management over $4000 was split amongst the recipients. In 2011, Riverfront Jazz Festival plans on raising the scholarship funds for UW-Stevens Point Jazz Music Students.

If you’re thinking about coming down to Pfiffner Park over the weekend, feel free to bring blankets and chairs; there’ll be plenty of food from local vendors for purchase. This Labor Day weekend make your plans to bring your family to the Riverfront Jazz Festival, and just kick back and enjoy what you hear. It’ll be a special treat that you won’t need to drive far for, and it’s FREE!

Lassa Calls for Hearing on WEDC Report

Madison – A plan for the use of tax credits submitted by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) doesn’t give the legislature enough information to protect taxpayers, according to Senator Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point).

Lassa wrote to the co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee today asking them to hold a hearing on the plan to deploy $25 million in economic development credits. The statute authorizing the tax credits requires WEDC to submit a plan for their use to JFC for its approval. “I think it is clear that the Legislature intended something far more detailed than the document the corporation has submitted,” she wrote.

Lassa wrote that JFC can’t fulfill its responsibilities to protect taxpayers’ investment in job creation unless it receives “a much more robust indication of WEDC’s plans for the use of tax credits.”

She criticized the report as lacking specific goals or action steps to achieve them. “The letter talks about ends and objectives (which are already stated in statutes), but nothing about how they will be achieved, and thus isn’t actually a plan,” she wrote.

Lassa said the lack of detail is especially distressing because much of the information is contained in WEDC’s internal planning documents. “As a WEDC board member, I am aware that such details exist,” she wrote. “The absence of actual planning details in the WEDC passive review request suggests, at minimum, a lack of sufficient respect for the responsibility of the Committee to protect the interests of taxpayers by ensuring the efficient and effective use of tax dollars.”

“In creating WEDC, the Legislature gave this quasi-private organization wide latitude in the use of both tax dollars and tax credits,” Lassa wrote. “To prevent the kinds of problems that this model has encountered in other states, it is essential that the Legislature employ those opportunities it does have to exercise its responsibility to oversee these public resources, and that we insist on receiving the detailed information we require to perform that duty. I do not believe the Committee can fulfill its responsibilities with the report WEDC has submitted.”

Pediatric Jump Kits for Portage County First Responders

All children deserve the best possible care in an emergency. To achieve this goal, the General Federation of Women’s Clubs – Wisconsin (GFWC-WI) formed a partnership with Emergency Medical Services for Children – Wisconsin (EMSC-WI) to offer the most efficient, well organized pediatric emergency kits to all ambulance services in Wisconsin at a reduced group price. Clubs throughout the state raised funds which helped ambulance services obtain the pediatric jump kits. Presently, 98% of the ambulances in Wisconsin carry these kits. In Portage County, The GFWC Stevens Point Woman’s Club has already provided the kits to our ambulances.

Founded in 1895, the Club has a long tradition of community service including founding the first public library, the Meals on Wheels program and the beginnings of St. Michael’s Hospital. GFWC-Stevens Point has now turned their attention to the First Responders in Portage County. First Responders are the people in our communities who respond immediately when an emergency call comes in from their area. They are our friends and neighbors who accept this responsibility in addition their regular jobs. They assess emergencies and provide some immediate care until well equipped and staffed medical transport has the time to arrive. They are the first help offered and they should have the best possible chance to succeed when an emergency occurs.

When a child is injured, seconds are crucial in emergency treatment. A well organized pediatric jump kit tailored to the needs of a First Responder saves time and improves the care a child receives. With grants provided by the Women’s Fund of Portage County, the Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin, the Koziol Family Fund and GFWC-WI, the GFWC Stevens Point Woman’s Club has arranged to provide 35 of the kits valued at more than $ 8,000.00 to First Responders in Portage County. Efforts will continue to provide approximately 65 more kits, so every First Responder is well equipped. If you are interested in helping raise the standard of care in pediatric emergencies, please contact us at PO Box 924, Stevens Point, WI 54481 or leave a message at 715-341-1235.

Remember, “Unless someone like you cares a whole lot, nothing is going to get better. Its’ not.”- Dr. Suess.