Nov. 15, 2010 school district meeting

“Bullying Policy” adopted by Elmwood School Board


ELMWOOD, WI - On November 15, 2010 the Elmwood School Board met and adopted a policy to deal with Bullying. This has become a serious problem throughout the United States, leading to teens taking their own lives. The policy will ensure that all complaints are investigated immediately, and the parents of the victim(s) and the accused are contacted prior to the conclusion of the investigation. All documented information will be kept confidential to the extent required by law. An annual summary report will be prepared and presented to the school board, to help understand the trends of bullying and recommendations on how to deal with the problem better. The annual report will be available to the public.


(NOTE....the one thing I believe needs to be added is...how will they deal with adults being the accused...I know from personal experience that there are adults at the school that this very much includes..this should be addressed in the policy.)


In Administrative Reports, Principal Alwin spoke to the board first with her news. The Student Council will be having their annual food drive this week, with the attempt to get 1 ton worth of donations. The FFA will begin their sale of fruit and cheese also. The Haunted House was a total success with five boxes of food being donated to the food shelf and ninety nine dollars in cash. The Fall sports banquet was held last week with a spaghetti dinner. This was fully paid for by “free will donation”. Their were plenty of All Conference Athletes this fall. One in Volleyball, with two more as honorable mentions, nine in football, with three more honorable mentions. Alwin reported that a parent from the Baldwin area came in and gave a presentation on the risks of inattentive driving. He lost his daughter recently to an accident and is sharing the story now. The presentation information can be found at www.lifewins.net. Another program that started recently in the school, is the “Great American Mail Race”. This is a middle school program with Sue Thompson, to practice letter writing with other schools across the country. Heather Sand and her Special Ed class are planning a field trip to help serve meals prior to the holidays as well.

Superintendent Paul Blanford then began his report with informing the board of the Reading workshop held in Spring Valley to assist the K5 teachers. The Elementary WKCE testing was completed last week also. Blanford then spoke quickly about the fair funding proposal by Tony Evers, and a meeting that will be held in Eau Claire on the subject. The gym floor repair was discussed then, with hopes that everything will be completed this week. The sub-floor was getting destroyed by water that was getting under it. There was no insurance coverage for the problem, so the cost will come out of the schools funds. The floor will be ready for use by the December 2, 2010 game scheduled. “The roof over the elementary area is still leaking” Blanford added. The recent wet snow is not draining well off the flat roof, and the talks of getting the roof repair is now becoming a bigger priority. Blanford finished his report with a reminder of the WASB Annual Convention beginning on January 19-21, 2011.

In Action items, the board opened the sealed bid for the full size bus they had for sale. Mike Buckman of Illinois was the only person to put in a bid. The board accepted the bid of twelve hundred and fifty one dollars. The scrap value for the bus was twelve hundred. Short term borrowing was also approved to assist with any upcoming needs. Blanford and the board then discussed a position that needs to be filled to keep in good standings with the special ed classes. There is currently a need to hire another part time special ed teacher at this time to make sure the kids are receiving the help they require. The school has thirty students that are in need of assistance, with one full time teacher and a part time teacher. They really need to have two full time teachers to cover the students needs. The board approved the request. The board then went into adopting some policy revisions. First on the list was the bullying policy, then a policy revision on the Personnel Evaluations. The Board of Education Committee and Selection policies also had revisions approved The board then went into Executive Session.


The following was found on-line at the Pierce County Herald...some of this information was stated at the board meeting, but some of it seems to go deeper...the timeline for the roof repair was never stated....the cost was never stated either..


ELMWOOD - The Red Zone Gym floor at the School District of Elmwood suffered water damage due to heavy rains experienced in August.

On the evening of Aug. 10, over five inches of rain fell in the Elmwood area.
According to Superintendent Paul Blanford, “The unusually heavy rain that we received on Aug. 10 was likely what caused the water damage to the gym floor.

"On the morning of Aug. 11, it was discovered that we had a puddle of water on the southeast corner of the gym floor. The water was cleaned up right away with no apparent damage caused. That same day, the roof was examined for leaks; however, no leaks or damage to the roof from the storm could be found. Later in September, it was discovered that two areas on the south end of the gym showed cupping of the wood in the floor. Again, the roof was examined to look for possible leaks, as we had a number of additional rainfalls in September. Again, nothing could be found. In mid-October, two ‘humps’ in the floor appeared near the southeast corner of the gym. Again, the roof was examined. This time, a leak was found in a seam near the skylight in the southeast corner.”

What was the cause of the leak?

“Through an investigative process, it has been determined that the leak in the roof was not caused by wind or hail. The roof itself is over 12-years-old and the warranty on it was for 10 years; the roof has outlasted its warranty. The breach in the seam is apparently a result of aging.”

Blanford reported that, on Nov. 8, Stalker Flooring began repairing the damaged gym floor areas. Once the damaged floor area was removed, it was evident that much of the water damage was caused from water entering under the floor from the exit doors rather from a leak in the roof.

Blanford stated, “When the flooring was taken up on Monday, it was revealed that water damage occurred at the exit doors. It appears that water has been coming in under the doors for quite some time, likely a small amount each time we got a heavy rain. Without going into a lot of detail, the way the concrete met up with the outside of the door, it was letting water enter into the building under the threshold. Unfortunately, when this happened, the water went under the floor where it could not be seen. The cost of the repair to the floor is about $31,500. In addition to the floor, we are fixing the issue with the doors and will be replacing the gym roof within the next year.”

Blanford added that the gym will not be useable until about the first week in December, when Elmwood has its first home basketball games. Until then, basketball practices will need to be conducted in the older Lien Gym.

Nov. 2010 Elmwood Board Meeting

50% Turnout for November Election in Elmwood


ELMWOOD, WI - November 8, 2010 the Elmwood Village Board met for their monthly meeting. The numbers for the November 2, 2010 Election were tallied up, with 251 voters out of 501 registered showed up at the village hall to vote. All the Overseas and Military ballots , as well 18 Absentee ballots were received.

Prior to the regular board meeting, there was a Public Hearing held to Amend the Land Division/Subdivision Code. Plan Committee Head Bruce Hartung spoke to the board, stating the committee had recommended the changes to the code. The hearing was held open for four minutes, then closed after a unanimous decision to accept the changes.

During Public Input, the Elmwood Officer told the board and attendees that the seasonal parking has went into effect as of November 1, 2010. There is no parking allowed on streets within the village from 3-6 am from November 1 thru March 31, 2011. Trustee Hartung then spoke about the repairs done by Butternut Park and Main Street, saying “everything looks good.”

One Operators License was approved for the Longbranch, and the December Board Meeting was changed from December 13, 2010 to December 6, 2010, to approve the 2011 Budget. “We will have a Committee meeting tomorrow night at 6 pm to go through some final adjustments and vote on a few items” added Hartung.

The Committee and Board Reports then followed, with Trustee Knops giving the Nursing Home report first. On October 12, 2010 the board met and approved the remodeling of a Tub Room. “We have approved an architect to create some detailed drawings and bids for us” she stated. Other items approved were room dividers to give them 16 rooms instead of 14, as well as a fireplace and Beauty shop. There will be a total remodel of the Therapy Room with all the costs being between $50-54,000.00.

The Library Committee information was provided by Trustee Weix. He gave the members the numbers for the past month, stating there were 15 people in attendance for the Author visit, and a average of 42 people per day throughout the month. They had 1575 checkouts, and the Pumpkin Decorating. The committee also approved the roof repairs for next summer with the bid being $4,368.00, the committee approved $5,500.00.

Trustee Hartung then added, the Finance committee will have the Tax statements out prior to Christmas.

Pierce County Sheriff's Election

Pierce County Sheriff Election


I have had the experience of meeting one of the current candidate's for Pierce County Sheriff, and I must say It was refreshing to hear a person talk about the real activities of the Sheriff Dept that need changing ASAP. Candidate Oake C. Gregory came to my home to visit me, and speak about the needs of the Sheriff's Dept. He currently has been running a simple campaign without any outside monies. He is a resident of Plum City, and is 36 years of age. His beliefs are Constitutional, and he is very down to earth in his speaking. He explained to me how he has tried to get communications with fellow candidates, just be be ignored. He has sent several letters to Sheriff Hove that have never been answered. He even went to the extent to send these letters by certified mail, after having them notarized. Mr. Gregory told me of many cases where he has been a victim of crime, as well as the neglect he has seen by the Sheriff's Dept. He believes in hard work, helping people live better lives, and making our elected officials honor their oath to office. Gregory states some of his concerns for the County would include our natural resources, protecting our waterways from pollution. He also states he would donate 30% of his income as sheriff back to the county for a program to assist at risk teens, to help improve their lives and reduce future crime. "I want to make Pierce County the safest and best county to live in" claims Gregory. to learn more about Candidate for Sheriff Oake C. Gregory you can search for him on Facebook, or you can find his website at www.sheriffoake.com. You can also contact him by phone at (715) 307-0135. On his campaign flyers it reads, No matter who you vote for, VOTE and please get involved in the county and municipal process. Go to your county and municipal board meetings- make your voice heard and help to KEEP THEM HONEST.. One last notable comment on the flyer is, "Use a paper ballot so you know your vote is counted"

With my families personnal experience with the Pierce County Sheriffs Dept., I would recommend Mr. Gregory for the position to get change that is needed badly. The citizens equal treatment is a priority that seems to be lost, and I believe the current Sheriff has ignored this aspect long enough.

So on NOVEMBER 2nd, get out and vote, Your Vote does Count....

Respectfully,
Rick A. Talford