One Member leaving Elmwood Village Board
Submitted by Citizen Journalist Rick A. Talford
ELMWOOD, WI - January 10, 2011 The Elmwood Village board met for their monthly meeting. The meeting opened earlier than normal, at 6:30 pm, to have a Public Hearing for the new village ordinance involving the synthetic marijuana. The Ordinance #2011-01 Synthetic Cannabinoid (K2) Prohibited was discussed by the village in a previous meeting, and this hearing was to allow any citizens the chance to ask questions. Elmwood Officer Matt Broehm was asked to give a short description of this Ordinance, a short discussion ensued about making the school aware of this Ordinance and Broehm assured the board he would contact Paul Blanford, to have it incorporated into the school codes/policies. Trustee Bruce Hartung questioned on the penalties of violating this Ordinance, and how it will handled. Bill Stewart stated “It will be handled just like any other ticket issued, such as a parking tickets in the Village.” The Public Hearing was then closed about 6:40 pm. The regular board meeting then began, with no Public Input received. The approval of the new Ordinance # 2011-01 Synthetic Cannabinoid (K2) Prohibited was introduced and moved into adoption, with all members in favor. Rick Stohr was absent from the meeting. The following people filed Candidacy Paperwork. Village President, only William Stewart (Incumbent), Village Trustees, Brian Buck (Incumbent), Neil Boltik (Incumbent), and Michael Sand. Robert Weix has filed his Non-Candidacy Paperwork. Mike Sand, owner of the Sandbar and Dick Tiffany, from Tiffany’s Bar, addressed the board about having a street dance on Saturday, August 27, 2011. They informed the board that their plan is to block off a portion of Main Street, and contain the crowd to that area. Bear Creek Band will be the featured entertainment. They will only serve cans, use wrist bands, have a porta-potty. They will be responsible for the clean-up of the street. Stewart acknowledged that the Elmwood Enrichment Council has donated money, for the replacement of the accordion door, leading upstairs. The cost of $878.00. Installing wainscoting around the elevator upstairs also, at a cost of $150.00. The Village Employees will do the work. Paul Peterson asked what the total increase of the property values in the Village, after the assessment. Clerk Wayne couldn’t answer, but thought it was around $2 million. He then addressed the board on the possibility on having an apartment on the lower floor at his property at Main St. There is a Zoning Ordinance (Sec 13-1-49) that prohibit such a thing. If Mr. Peterson wants to pursue this farther, the matter will have to be referred to the Zoning Board of Appeal. One Operator’s License for Renae Stohr, at the Longbranch was approved. Pat Nohelty resigned from the board on December 13th leaving an open seat that needs to be filled. Applications must be received by January 31, 2011, to the Village Clerk. Todd Dolan (All-Croix Inspections, LLC.) located in Hudson, WI. is our current Building Inspector and his contract renewal is due 4/1/2011. Hartung made a motion, to table this issue until next month so the Licensing Committee can have a meeting, to research this contract further. The Library Committee report was provided by Bob Weix. December 8th,was Christmas crafts with an attendance of 81 people. The Library will be hosting a Gaming night with the 4H on April 3, 2011 in the auditorium. December circulation was up to 1146, Books By Mail will be discontinued, Feb 12th will be a Valentines Day program, and January19th story time will start up once again. The Nursing Home Committee report was then given by Trisha Knops, and she reported there was no Dec. meeting. Instead, there was a Christmas party. The Personnel and Finance Committee report was provided by Hartung. The committee is conducting personnel/employee evaluations. There were no reports from the Public Works, or the Parks and Building Committee’s. The Board meeting then adjourned about 7:20 pm.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Elmwood Review for 2010
Elmwood year-end Review 2010
In January, Jim Baier, Elmwood postman since 1991, retired, and the high school athletics teams struggled to win victories against rivals. Also on Jan. 13th the Elmwood Argus, the smallest of three paper that did a article on this story printed theirs about the village clerk ending her job. Prior to printing the article, they made contact with me, to get my side before going to print. (This I applaud Paul Seeling for doing) When Pulk spoke to the Argus, she claimed “Her job in Elmwood was “CONTENTIOUS” and she just wanted to step back and concentrate on her family.” The Argus reporter Kaye Bird then spoke with me on Jan. 12th, and I explained to her “I had no contact with Pulk for over two and a half years, and the Chief had also been gone for over two years.” I also stated to them “I could not be held for her stress currently.” I told the reporter “When she was in office, our problems stemmed from her refusal in providing me “Public Records” that I gave written requests for. This led to the State being contacted, and her claiming that was harassing her. The charges that the village filed against me where thrown out by Judge Wing in Aug. 2007, and that was the “Lead” story in that weeks Herald Edition. I also informed the reporter that during the Jan. 11th Village board meeting, Rupakus clearly stated “Pulk was placed on a suspension prior to Christmas,” this was confirmed by the reporter to have happened Dec. 14th. Pulk then resigned during the suspension on Dec. 28th but continued to be paid through Jan. 11th. Rupakus refused to provide any information on the suspension. Rupakus then went on to tell how his wife was in Pulk’s position now until they hire someone. His wife is also a candidate for the job, so he stepped down from the committee that will do the hiring. Next they spoke over the clerks position and Deputy-clerk Vicki Lehmann was offered the Clerk-Treasurer position and she declined stating “ I am comfortable where I am” Rupakus spoke of how he thought the Village should only hire someone at 80% time. 32 hrs a week. He stated “This would save the Village $4,000.00 a year.” Vicki and other board members noted their feelings about the cut back, when their are many things to be kept in order and a lot more work involved then they believe. They went on to the Committee change that Rupakus requested. He wanted to step down from the Personnel and Finance Committee to stop any “Conflict of Interest” with his wife applying for the clerk position. He stated “The day after Jodi was suspended, he called his wife and Bill Stewart in regards to her taking over in the Village Office. She is volunteering now, but she plans to apply.” Stewart then removed Rupakus from the Committee and placed Bruce Hartung as the Chairman of the Committee. Bob Rupakus then told the board of the suspension of Jodi Pulk with pay on Dec. 14th through the Jan. 11th board meeting. He also told of the Dec. 28th meeting in which there was no action. (This was false because that was the meeting that Jodi gave her resignation. and they voted on accepting it)
In February, Gateway Publishing launched its new website, mygatewaynews.com. Citizen Matt Marose spoke to the board and stated “The village alleys had not all been taken care of,” just to get told by the President, Bill Stewart “There has been vacations causing this,” yet when speaking to Mr. Marose, he states “He directly was spoken to by the Village Worker, and was told that they have changed the way they take care of things,” after he tried jumping Mr. Marose’s throat for allegations told to him by the Village President. Instead of this being a simple question to answer, the President turned it into a complaint about the workers, to the workers. Nice Job Bill Stewart. (Mr. President) Mr. Marose then asked “How many people applied for the position of clerk,” to be told 40. This again is not believable, because I asked Stewart the morning of the meetings, and he told me 30, in front of the village clerk and her help.
In March, William Conley was confirmed as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. after Judge Barbara Crabb retired and left a vacant seat.In Early March, it was learnt that the Eau Claire Leader Telegram had filed a lawsuit against the village board for violating the “Open Records Laws of WI,” by refusing to provide the information in regards to the past village clerks suspension that was reported to be a resignation due to stress, due to the Talford family and the past Chief. This was known to be “LIES” to begin with, being Rupakus was the provider of the information as Head of the Personnel Committee. He has been the head of many controversies in the village, including the termination of the past chief, in which Rupakus was the Head of the Police Committee at the time. The resignation was filed on Dec. 28th, 2009. The suspension happened Dec. 14th, 2009. That was never spoke of, until the Elmwood Argus received the information after Rupakus explained that happened in the Jan. village board meeting. The Village refused to provide the information to the Paper, as did Village Attorney Robert Loberg. Again, the Leader Telegram wrote another article, explaining how they received information from the village board and Robert Rupakus. Now it has become that Jodi Pulk was stealing from the village and doing all kinds of bad things. This all coming from Rupakus mind you. Accusations going back to 2006, yet the village board used the Village Attorney, Robert Loberg to file a false restraining order against me, claiming harassment of this person. Then again, when I was assaulted by Robert Rupakus in the Street, they again used Robert Loberg to file a reverse order when I filed one for the “ASSAULT.” Loberg went to the County DA, and the two of them manipulated the laws for Rupakus, taking away my victim rights for the assault. Yes, Loberg respects the law, “MY BUTT.” I believe he violates every law he can get away with. He even created a “Policy” against my family, taking away our rights to equal protection by law enforcement. This was created Jan. 2006, and was one of the reasons for Chief Meyers lost his job. He did not follow the policy, as they directed him to. He was verbally threatened in the event he was to ignore there directives. Again, by the Head of the Police Committee. In the article , Rupakus stated “He felt it was the right thing to do, releasing the information on Pulk.” He was the one refusing the records to the Leader, when he gave them a false story to begin with. It was later found out, by a direct statement from Pulk, that Rupakus was the creator of the resignation letter, telling her “This was her best way of dealing with the trouble she was in.” This continues to prove he likes to lie, as he did when he assaulted me, claiming he never touched me, and my kids planted red substances on the ground to look like blood. The Police Report proves all of this, and when he filed his order against me, all the truth came out, with more continuous lies added of course. The Papers really need to investigate the entire board for violations, especially Rupakus. He has headed all the problems when they came about, always being the head of the committee with the problem. He goes to every board meeting claiming knowledge that everything is just fine, the records are correct, and all looks good. This is not the truth now is it, as to his own claims now. It seems that the board never even gave Pulk the list of Accusations, yet they had it ready for the Leader after the suit was filed against them. “CONVENIENT.” The Accusations listed seem to be really convenient now, stating things that they could not have proven, unless she admitted to it, such as destroying an application, who seen her do this? She gave herself a check, that she proved she should have received, yet this is claimed to be the “Final Straw.” She was suppose to get it, who was not paying her for her reimbursement then? Trustee Rupakus was responsible for verifying the records, and claimed “They were always ok,” why now is that False? I believe his hands are just as dirty, if not more. Village President Stewart should also be responsible for the actions that happen under his watch, I believe. The Elmwood Village Board loves to take target on people, and use any one they can for the scapegoat when problems arise, this is a proven fact. That’s why they continuously attacked my family and I. They began with the direct statement “They would get my family and business out of the community within three years,” back in 2004. This is on audio tape, and anyone can listen to it, if they would like to. Now the March Village Board Meeting has been written up by the Pierce County Paper, and more of the village non-sense is heard. Matt Marose questioned the board, and the blame went to Village Attorney Robert Loberg advising them that this was a law that is ambiguous (Confusing). This is a regular word for them to violate the laws. Stewart then claimed “No one contacted them about the records,” yet the requests where denied by the Village Office, and their Attorney Office. The Sun-Argus released an article late in March, in regards to the ongoing issue of the village board's actions with Jodi Pulk. Now Rupakus claims “They thought about “Criminal Charges” against Pulk. He states “She finally caused the “TRUST” factor to disappear.” He goes on to state “Pulk decided to resign instead of being fired,” yet he does not state, this was his direct statement to her to do, “claim stress as the reason.” He adds “They did not want to hurt Pulk's reputation, so he gave her the excuse to use, about my family and the ex-chief to do damage to our reputations instead.” He also stated “The resignation was made in “Open Session,” yet the minutes show that the resignation was made in “Closed Session,” and voted on during the open session. He also claims “The board was not able to react to the filing of the suit , due to it happened between meetings,” yet they could have called an emergency meeting, as they have many times before to get resolution. They just refused to do so. Rupakus then claims that the members are not able to check in the office to deal with everything on a regular basis, yet they are seen downtown daily at the Bars for sure. Rupakus himself was seen at the office on a regular basis, and the other members could stop in easily if they kept decent hours for the Village Office. In the minutes released by the village for publication on March 31st, It has now been stated by the village clerk, “Indeed Village Attorney and Judge Candidate for Pierce County Robert Loberg was involved by telling the village board not to give the Eau Claire Leader the information they requested through the Open Records Laws of Wisconsin.” Robert Rupakus gave this statement when questioned why the village would violate the laws, during public input. Now the Village President says “The Leader should have to pay for the records as everyone else does.” (Maybe when they first requested the records. The village should give them over without charge, being a suit had to be filed to get them to respond the right way. This shows just how professional and respectful they and Attorney Robert Loberg are! They think that the Leader will drop everything and pay them all they want, I Don't Believe that Myself. The Leader should continue their actions against the village and make them an example for the rest of the State to not violate their Laws!!! This is exactly how the village has reacted to citizen's requesting information in the past, so it is very nice to see that someone has stepped it up against them.) Do not believe them that Jodi Pulk was the only person involved in the missing funds they are claiming now. I have been stating the feeling that this was happening along time ago, and it can't possibly be just the clerk. The Head of the Committee needs to be investigated for sure, and even the Village President should be held responsible by the Citizens.
In April, Congratulations to Our new Pierce County Judge, JOE BOLES. It was a very good thing to see the people of Pierce County speak out, on who they wanted and trusted to become our next county judge. The votes made it clear that all the money that was spent by candidate Robert Loberg did no good. You can't buy your way into becoming a Judge in this county, Thank God. Again, Great Job Joe Boles on becoming the new Judge.........
In May, Elmwood High School celebrated its 100-year anniversary. I (Rick Talford) became a Citizen Journalist for the Spring Valley Sun/Elmwood Argus. It was stated by another citizen “Bill Stewart made comments that the money he receives for being the village president is far from what it should be for all he does.” In my opinion this is a statement by an over paid individual, being that every person that is voted into the village board should be doing it, without any pay. They put their names into the balloting to serve the village and make things better for the community, not to get a check. I have always believed that every member should give their time to the community without taking the funds, for the much needed programs within the village. To me, this shows “GREED,” as well as a largely swelled head of a Village President. Maybe the budget would not be in trouble every year if the members were not dipping into it themselves. In the minutes Bill claims “It was good to see so many people at the meeting, yet most were there with complaints. This came up in the board meeting, when Stewart wanted to change his claim. It was also told to me, “Mr. Rupakus took it upon himself, to go after a citizen that had a verbal agreement with the village president, in regards to a fence he put up, that appears to be too high. The landscaping of the property was going to be completed throughout the summer, and he spoke directly to the village president to keep from any problems arising with the fence, before all the work was completed. This did not matter to Rupakus apparently, because he had the village clerk send a “Violation of Ordinances” letter to the citizen.” This is just one of many personal targets that happen when no one communicates with one another, or just has a simple grudge against an individual. Maybe it was simply because a friend of Mr. Rupakus had a problem with the fence, without having any knowledge that there was an agreement that had already been made. A Special Village Board Meeting was held on May 25th, for a Beverage License for non-other than Robert Rupakus, former board member of Elmwood. It has always been known that any special meetings to be held, had to be paid for by the person requesting the meeting. Now, I wonder if the citizens have to pay for him and his request for the license. Being there is only a couple weeks before the next meeting of the board, I do not see why they had to hold a special meeting that will cost the citizens in paying the members to attend the meeting. I guess this also make it official that Rupakus in planning on running against his buddies as a bar owner in Elmwood. I will point out to everyone, that Rupakus caused many problems for the previous owners of the Longbranch with their Licenses and also with the Rules he pushed against the same bar, while standing outside the bar to get citations against them for after hours violations. This was a well known fact by people of the community. It was also noted that there have been rumors of Rupakus running for Village President in the next election. Wouldn't that be perfect then, he could run the village from behind the bar. Just a thought, being the village has been run from the bar meetings for the past several years....
In June, the whole country reeled from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and locals faced their own heartbreak when Elmwood grad Jessica Hartung and two of her friends were killed in a car crash. On a more positive note, the Elmwood/Plum City Boys track team won the Regional Title and placed fifth at the State Meet. During the Village Board Meeting on Monday night, the board discussed the “Auditorium Rental Agreement.” A wedding party on May 1st, 2010 ended with the elevator locked up on the first floor. This is a safety feature the elevator has, and when the technician came to do the repair, it was (ONLY) assumed that kids may have been playing in the elevator, (pressing all the buttons), causing the lock up mode to be reacted. The cost for the technician to come to the auditorium and reset the computer was $600.00. The members of the board agreed that they needed to make a change to the agreement to ensure they would not have to pay for this again. Village President Bill Stewart stated “During or after the event, Whoever rents it and this happens, will be responsible to repair it. Other than normal wear and tear, someone who uses the elevator with abuse and damages occur, will need to pay for it.” It was then questioned by a citizen (Delorse Radtke) about the groups that are given the auditorium without any agreement being signed, such as the 4H group. The Board responded by stating “They usually keep the elevator locked, unless needed.” Stewart then added “A line was being included in the agreement to state the liability of the renter for the elevator use.” “We need to notify the Public” was stated. The change was unanimously voted in. (Note-- This is the policy that the Deputy Village Clerk told Matt Marose about, just four days prior to his wedding date, causing him to take his wedding elsewhere after having an agreement already signed with the village, back in Feb. 2010. It was stated to Matt after the meeting by Village Clerk Wayne that the village was going to pay Marose his deposit back now. This after being told they would not refund his money due to he did not give them 31 days notice of the change, yet they did not give him any written notice to the change at all. we will have to wait and see how long they take to pay him back. it should have already been done in my mind) During Public Input, the final cost for the Eau Claire Press Co. lawsuit regarding the release of information on Jodi Pulk’s Suspension was requested. The attorney fee’s for the Leader Telegram were $3,042.09 with another $100.00 paid in Statutory Damages. The payment of this was approved last month during the board meeting. (the amount was not published in the paper, nor was it reported by Sari Gordon of the Pierce County Herald) I was given a slip after the meeting by Clerk Wayne, claiming $3,242.09 as the cost-- $100.00 over what I was told by the editor of the leader telegram. I do not understand why the two would have a different total. This does not reflect the cost of village attorney Robert Loberg's fees either. This cost is directly the cause of the lies by village trustee's and president in trying to state the clerk resigned, instead of she was being terminated through a suspension. If they would have simply told the truth to begin with, the village residents would not be paying for their lying. .tax increase coming to pay for this action again. Just like the Meyers case that cost the village at least 20K, Stewart even stated to a citizen “It probably cost them the entire budgeted money they had.”--that was 70K. all this for nonsense actions by Robert Rupakus and Bill Stewart
In July, I spoke to the Elmwood Officer and requested a copy of the report provided to the board on the Police Dept.’s activities, and he responded by stating “They do not do that anymore. He is not the Chief, so he does not make out any reports to the board.” I find this a bit troubling. Why is there no reports going to the board or the police committee. The officer has no protection of his job now, because he cannot prove what he does monthly for his job. I guess, the village president did not want Elmwood business to be provided to the papers, now he has accomplished that. It continues to prove the board wants information hid. No one is to know about all the Break-ins in the community,(unfortunately, My Son is accused of being involved with these cases. He has also admitted to being part of them, but he is the only one being charged. No surprise there) or if there are drunk drivers in the town. The past is catching up once again in Elmwood. “What happens in Elmwood , Stays in Elmwood”. Citizens have the right to know what the police dept. is doing, and I will be investigating this much more, to find out the “Citizens Rights” to this information, and the board responsibilities in providing the information. In the School board meeting, The Administrative Report was provided to the board by Principal Paul Blanford. The WASB Aid had been announced to be $96,588.00 for the Elmwood School District. These are funds received from the State Budget for School Aid, to help out the smaller rural schools. The program helps schools with less than 722 students, and have less than ten students per square mile in the district. These funds are able to be used for any budget areas the school may need. “A Welcome Relief” Stated School Board President , Greg Nelson.
In August, the Spring Valley/Elmwood area was pounded by heavy rain that resulted in devastating floods. The Village Board discussed the Grant Funds they will be receiving from Pierce County, for the repairs to be done from last springs flooding problems in Butternut Park and the property owned by Jerry and Joyce Webber. A total amount of $42, 976.34 has been awarded to Elmwood. An additional $4,717.39 will be received from Pierce County for the wages that were paid for the clean up. There will also be a $1,200.00 amount taken from the payment for the cost of a burm that was already put in place to slow the erosion problems caused by the flooding. The remainder of the funds will go towards additional repair to the park and repairs needed to the Webber Property. The Public Works Committee has started the process in getting bids for the work, and hope to have some to present to the Board at next months meeting. The Elmwood School District held their Board Meeting Monday Evening, and discussed a variety of changes coming. The longest discussion took place over the purchase of a new mini bus. The bus has been looked into for some time now, and they have found a couple different options for purchasing a new bus for a cost of near $54,000.00. The bus will be equipped to handle wheel chair riders. The board has a couple options also in how to purchase the bus, with having different funds available to them. The current bus did pass inspection this past week, but has been costing the district in the up keep costs. It was also stated “A trade in value was pretty low, at $1,500.00.” The Board then discussed the idea of keeping the bus, and selling it on their own. This would seem to have a better potential to get much more out of the bus.
In September, The Village Board then heard from Lynn Hartung on a ATV Trail Proposal for the village to connect with the trail system being run through the county. She also had a member of the SV Board and Co. ATV Association along to help explain the process they have went through, up to this point. The proposal is to have the trail enter the village on 110th street, and cross the road to Riverwood Drive, then to Eau Galle Drive, then connecting to the current snowmobile trail that runs through the village. This is the only area they can direct the traffic, due to most of the main roads in Elmwood are Numbered or County Roads. These roads are not allowed to be used for ATV traffic. There are plenty of hurdles for them to get pass for the trail to be allowed, with the private land owners, snowmobile club, village board, and the DNR all having to give the OK. They added, all the signs are provided by the association, with no cost to the village for the trail. Bob Weix of the Village board asked about who polices the trail, and it was answered the County Sheriff Dept. and the Village Officer would. This would be a issue for the board to send forward to their committee for more discussion. Monday, Sept. 20, 2010 the Elmwood School Board met for their monthly meeting. In Public Input, I spoke to the board, to let them know how two of their recent graduates were doing. Brandon Bauer completed and graduated from Basic Combat Training in North Carolina earlier this month, then went ahead to AIT, and Timothy Talford graduated late last month from training in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Timothy has went onto AIT in Maryland, were he set a new record for their two mile run. He continues to be an active runner, with the hopes of joining the Army running team and trying out for the Olympics. New Principal Jennifer Alwin then gave her first report to the board. She started by explaining her visit to Elk Mound School for the In-Service earlier this month. DR. Rich Allen gave a presentation to everyone on his book “Green light in the classroom”. One of the areas covered was teaching memory skills. She then “Thanked the Board” for being hired, and said “She believed she has found a home. In Action Items, the board reviewed the 2010-11 Budget. Paul went through a very long explanation of the budget, covering everything very well to the board. The student count for Sept. was 323. Going through all the numbers and using the 16.7 mil rate, the school district will have a tax levy of 4.2%, which is down from 10.7% last year. One of the biggest areas of savings was covered by a Fund 38 pay off. This will save the district $160,000.00 over nine years, in interest alone.
In October, the Spring Valley and Elmwood middle schools earned "exemplary" status from the AWSA. The Village Board then Approved the Crosswalk Project, with a short discussion on how they had just received the states’ approval today for the project. There will be a crosswalk put in by the new post office. The Committee met last Monday to put together the plans. The board approved the work to be done by Josh Shafer at the cost of $2,000.00. There will be an additional $500.00 for two rumble pads to be placed in the crosswalks also. These pads are made of steel, and are a new requirement by the state for all new crosswalks. It is understood that these pads are used to help the blind know that they are at a crosswalk. Stewart then finished up with some information he received concerning the need to replace signs within the community, due to changes being made by the DOT. There will be a change by the DOT, enforcing the changing of stop signs and others as well. These changes will need to be done by 2015. The signs will be larger and reflective. There will be a big increase in costs to communities for these signs to be replaced and updated. “Most of the signs we have right now, will be obsolete. It would be in the best interest for the village to start putting money away through the budget for the next two to three years to be ready and compliant,” stated Stewart. The School Board spoke over the Skylert Notification System for student management was approved for purchase. The cost for the system will be $1,300.00 for the Module and $973.00 annual service fee. The Module is a one time cost. Hopefully, this will be up and running within six weeks. The system will be used to notify parents, students and staff of school closings and other needs the school may find useful. The module can call the entire district within just minutes, saving the office staff a lot of time. The 2010-11 tax levy was approved at 4.2% as discussed last month. The board also approved the repair of the current Intercom System. A Technician came to the school and found the system to be in need of repairs, due to a possible lightning strike in August. This may be covered by insurance if lightning is found to be the reason for the repairs. A deductible of $1,000.00 would be the cost. If the damage is from age, then it could cost up to $7,000.00 to replace the components needed. Finishing the action items, the board accepted the resignation of Dick Jones as the Assistant High School Basketball Coach, and approved Samuel Sujecki as his replacement. Sujecki is a current student at Stout. The “Bullying Policy” will also be included. Superintendent Blanford told the members of the board that he has reviewed a DPI model policy that most of the school districts are going to use. There may be minor changes the board may want to make to enhance the policy to specific needs of the district. This policy will be used to ensure the investigations of bullying and harassment claims. “It has not been a major problem, but I have noticed it is a weekly problem that comes to my attention”, Blanford concluded.
In November, Elmwood student council members set a new record in their second annual food drive, raising more than 1,655 pounds of food for their food shelf. 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. 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 about the Student Council will be having their annual food drive this week, with the attempt to get 1 ton worth of donations.The Haunted House was a total success with five boxes of food being donated to the food shelf and ninety nine dollars in cash. Superintendent Paul Blanford then began his report with the gym floor repair, 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
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. 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
In December, the Spring Valley/Elmwood area was pounded with the fifth worst snow storm in western Wisconsin's history, which left residents snowed into their homes and traffic at a standstill. Village Office Matt Broehm spoke to the board in regards to a new ordinance. This ordinance will be in conjunction with the Elmwood Public School, and will need to have further discussion with them, and the village board. It is called a K2 Bann Ordinance. I have requested more information on this ordinance to give the public an idea of what it details, but have not received any response as of yet. I hope to be able to give more detail in the near future. No Action was taken. I have been given the information as of today, Dec. 14th, 2010. This is an ordinance against the new synthetic spray drug version of Marijuana. It has many other names, such as spice, k2, Genie, Yucatan Fire, and fake marijuana. This has not yet become against state or federal law, but many cities and smaller communities are taking action now.
In January, Jim Baier, Elmwood postman since 1991, retired, and the high school athletics teams struggled to win victories against rivals. Also on Jan. 13th the Elmwood Argus, the smallest of three paper that did a article on this story printed theirs about the village clerk ending her job. Prior to printing the article, they made contact with me, to get my side before going to print. (This I applaud Paul Seeling for doing) When Pulk spoke to the Argus, she claimed “Her job in Elmwood was “CONTENTIOUS” and she just wanted to step back and concentrate on her family.” The Argus reporter Kaye Bird then spoke with me on Jan. 12th, and I explained to her “I had no contact with Pulk for over two and a half years, and the Chief had also been gone for over two years.” I also stated to them “I could not be held for her stress currently.” I told the reporter “When she was in office, our problems stemmed from her refusal in providing me “Public Records” that I gave written requests for. This led to the State being contacted, and her claiming that was harassing her. The charges that the village filed against me where thrown out by Judge Wing in Aug. 2007, and that was the “Lead” story in that weeks Herald Edition. I also informed the reporter that during the Jan. 11th Village board meeting, Rupakus clearly stated “Pulk was placed on a suspension prior to Christmas,” this was confirmed by the reporter to have happened Dec. 14th. Pulk then resigned during the suspension on Dec. 28th but continued to be paid through Jan. 11th. Rupakus refused to provide any information on the suspension. Rupakus then went on to tell how his wife was in Pulk’s position now until they hire someone. His wife is also a candidate for the job, so he stepped down from the committee that will do the hiring. Next they spoke over the clerks position and Deputy-clerk Vicki Lehmann was offered the Clerk-Treasurer position and she declined stating “ I am comfortable where I am” Rupakus spoke of how he thought the Village should only hire someone at 80% time. 32 hrs a week. He stated “This would save the Village $4,000.00 a year.” Vicki and other board members noted their feelings about the cut back, when their are many things to be kept in order and a lot more work involved then they believe. They went on to the Committee change that Rupakus requested. He wanted to step down from the Personnel and Finance Committee to stop any “Conflict of Interest” with his wife applying for the clerk position. He stated “The day after Jodi was suspended, he called his wife and Bill Stewart in regards to her taking over in the Village Office. She is volunteering now, but she plans to apply.” Stewart then removed Rupakus from the Committee and placed Bruce Hartung as the Chairman of the Committee. Bob Rupakus then told the board of the suspension of Jodi Pulk with pay on Dec. 14th through the Jan. 11th board meeting. He also told of the Dec. 28th meeting in which there was no action. (This was false because that was the meeting that Jodi gave her resignation. and they voted on accepting it)
In February, Gateway Publishing launched its new website, mygatewaynews.com. Citizen Matt Marose spoke to the board and stated “The village alleys had not all been taken care of,” just to get told by the President, Bill Stewart “There has been vacations causing this,” yet when speaking to Mr. Marose, he states “He directly was spoken to by the Village Worker, and was told that they have changed the way they take care of things,” after he tried jumping Mr. Marose’s throat for allegations told to him by the Village President. Instead of this being a simple question to answer, the President turned it into a complaint about the workers, to the workers. Nice Job Bill Stewart. (Mr. President) Mr. Marose then asked “How many people applied for the position of clerk,” to be told 40. This again is not believable, because I asked Stewart the morning of the meetings, and he told me 30, in front of the village clerk and her help.
In March, William Conley was confirmed as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. after Judge Barbara Crabb retired and left a vacant seat.In Early March, it was learnt that the Eau Claire Leader Telegram had filed a lawsuit against the village board for violating the “Open Records Laws of WI,” by refusing to provide the information in regards to the past village clerks suspension that was reported to be a resignation due to stress, due to the Talford family and the past Chief. This was known to be “LIES” to begin with, being Rupakus was the provider of the information as Head of the Personnel Committee. He has been the head of many controversies in the village, including the termination of the past chief, in which Rupakus was the Head of the Police Committee at the time. The resignation was filed on Dec. 28th, 2009. The suspension happened Dec. 14th, 2009. That was never spoke of, until the Elmwood Argus received the information after Rupakus explained that happened in the Jan. village board meeting. The Village refused to provide the information to the Paper, as did Village Attorney Robert Loberg. Again, the Leader Telegram wrote another article, explaining how they received information from the village board and Robert Rupakus. Now it has become that Jodi Pulk was stealing from the village and doing all kinds of bad things. This all coming from Rupakus mind you. Accusations going back to 2006, yet the village board used the Village Attorney, Robert Loberg to file a false restraining order against me, claiming harassment of this person. Then again, when I was assaulted by Robert Rupakus in the Street, they again used Robert Loberg to file a reverse order when I filed one for the “ASSAULT.” Loberg went to the County DA, and the two of them manipulated the laws for Rupakus, taking away my victim rights for the assault. Yes, Loberg respects the law, “MY BUTT.” I believe he violates every law he can get away with. He even created a “Policy” against my family, taking away our rights to equal protection by law enforcement. This was created Jan. 2006, and was one of the reasons for Chief Meyers lost his job. He did not follow the policy, as they directed him to. He was verbally threatened in the event he was to ignore there directives. Again, by the Head of the Police Committee. In the article , Rupakus stated “He felt it was the right thing to do, releasing the information on Pulk.” He was the one refusing the records to the Leader, when he gave them a false story to begin with. It was later found out, by a direct statement from Pulk, that Rupakus was the creator of the resignation letter, telling her “This was her best way of dealing with the trouble she was in.” This continues to prove he likes to lie, as he did when he assaulted me, claiming he never touched me, and my kids planted red substances on the ground to look like blood. The Police Report proves all of this, and when he filed his order against me, all the truth came out, with more continuous lies added of course. The Papers really need to investigate the entire board for violations, especially Rupakus. He has headed all the problems when they came about, always being the head of the committee with the problem. He goes to every board meeting claiming knowledge that everything is just fine, the records are correct, and all looks good. This is not the truth now is it, as to his own claims now. It seems that the board never even gave Pulk the list of Accusations, yet they had it ready for the Leader after the suit was filed against them. “CONVENIENT.” The Accusations listed seem to be really convenient now, stating things that they could not have proven, unless she admitted to it, such as destroying an application, who seen her do this? She gave herself a check, that she proved she should have received, yet this is claimed to be the “Final Straw.” She was suppose to get it, who was not paying her for her reimbursement then? Trustee Rupakus was responsible for verifying the records, and claimed “They were always ok,” why now is that False? I believe his hands are just as dirty, if not more. Village President Stewart should also be responsible for the actions that happen under his watch, I believe. The Elmwood Village Board loves to take target on people, and use any one they can for the scapegoat when problems arise, this is a proven fact. That’s why they continuously attacked my family and I. They began with the direct statement “They would get my family and business out of the community within three years,” back in 2004. This is on audio tape, and anyone can listen to it, if they would like to. Now the March Village Board Meeting has been written up by the Pierce County Paper, and more of the village non-sense is heard. Matt Marose questioned the board, and the blame went to Village Attorney Robert Loberg advising them that this was a law that is ambiguous (Confusing). This is a regular word for them to violate the laws. Stewart then claimed “No one contacted them about the records,” yet the requests where denied by the Village Office, and their Attorney Office. The Sun-Argus released an article late in March, in regards to the ongoing issue of the village board's actions with Jodi Pulk. Now Rupakus claims “They thought about “Criminal Charges” against Pulk. He states “She finally caused the “TRUST” factor to disappear.” He goes on to state “Pulk decided to resign instead of being fired,” yet he does not state, this was his direct statement to her to do, “claim stress as the reason.” He adds “They did not want to hurt Pulk's reputation, so he gave her the excuse to use, about my family and the ex-chief to do damage to our reputations instead.” He also stated “The resignation was made in “Open Session,” yet the minutes show that the resignation was made in “Closed Session,” and voted on during the open session. He also claims “The board was not able to react to the filing of the suit , due to it happened between meetings,” yet they could have called an emergency meeting, as they have many times before to get resolution. They just refused to do so. Rupakus then claims that the members are not able to check in the office to deal with everything on a regular basis, yet they are seen downtown daily at the Bars for sure. Rupakus himself was seen at the office on a regular basis, and the other members could stop in easily if they kept decent hours for the Village Office. In the minutes released by the village for publication on March 31st, It has now been stated by the village clerk, “Indeed Village Attorney and Judge Candidate for Pierce County Robert Loberg was involved by telling the village board not to give the Eau Claire Leader the information they requested through the Open Records Laws of Wisconsin.” Robert Rupakus gave this statement when questioned why the village would violate the laws, during public input. Now the Village President says “The Leader should have to pay for the records as everyone else does.” (Maybe when they first requested the records. The village should give them over without charge, being a suit had to be filed to get them to respond the right way. This shows just how professional and respectful they and Attorney Robert Loberg are! They think that the Leader will drop everything and pay them all they want, I Don't Believe that Myself. The Leader should continue their actions against the village and make them an example for the rest of the State to not violate their Laws!!! This is exactly how the village has reacted to citizen's requesting information in the past, so it is very nice to see that someone has stepped it up against them.) Do not believe them that Jodi Pulk was the only person involved in the missing funds they are claiming now. I have been stating the feeling that this was happening along time ago, and it can't possibly be just the clerk. The Head of the Committee needs to be investigated for sure, and even the Village President should be held responsible by the Citizens.
In April, Congratulations to Our new Pierce County Judge, JOE BOLES. It was a very good thing to see the people of Pierce County speak out, on who they wanted and trusted to become our next county judge. The votes made it clear that all the money that was spent by candidate Robert Loberg did no good. You can't buy your way into becoming a Judge in this county, Thank God. Again, Great Job Joe Boles on becoming the new Judge.........
In May, Elmwood High School celebrated its 100-year anniversary. I (Rick Talford) became a Citizen Journalist for the Spring Valley Sun/Elmwood Argus. It was stated by another citizen “Bill Stewart made comments that the money he receives for being the village president is far from what it should be for all he does.” In my opinion this is a statement by an over paid individual, being that every person that is voted into the village board should be doing it, without any pay. They put their names into the balloting to serve the village and make things better for the community, not to get a check. I have always believed that every member should give their time to the community without taking the funds, for the much needed programs within the village. To me, this shows “GREED,” as well as a largely swelled head of a Village President. Maybe the budget would not be in trouble every year if the members were not dipping into it themselves. In the minutes Bill claims “It was good to see so many people at the meeting, yet most were there with complaints. This came up in the board meeting, when Stewart wanted to change his claim. It was also told to me, “Mr. Rupakus took it upon himself, to go after a citizen that had a verbal agreement with the village president, in regards to a fence he put up, that appears to be too high. The landscaping of the property was going to be completed throughout the summer, and he spoke directly to the village president to keep from any problems arising with the fence, before all the work was completed. This did not matter to Rupakus apparently, because he had the village clerk send a “Violation of Ordinances” letter to the citizen.” This is just one of many personal targets that happen when no one communicates with one another, or just has a simple grudge against an individual. Maybe it was simply because a friend of Mr. Rupakus had a problem with the fence, without having any knowledge that there was an agreement that had already been made. A Special Village Board Meeting was held on May 25th, for a Beverage License for non-other than Robert Rupakus, former board member of Elmwood. It has always been known that any special meetings to be held, had to be paid for by the person requesting the meeting. Now, I wonder if the citizens have to pay for him and his request for the license. Being there is only a couple weeks before the next meeting of the board, I do not see why they had to hold a special meeting that will cost the citizens in paying the members to attend the meeting. I guess this also make it official that Rupakus in planning on running against his buddies as a bar owner in Elmwood. I will point out to everyone, that Rupakus caused many problems for the previous owners of the Longbranch with their Licenses and also with the Rules he pushed against the same bar, while standing outside the bar to get citations against them for after hours violations. This was a well known fact by people of the community. It was also noted that there have been rumors of Rupakus running for Village President in the next election. Wouldn't that be perfect then, he could run the village from behind the bar. Just a thought, being the village has been run from the bar meetings for the past several years....
In June, the whole country reeled from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and locals faced their own heartbreak when Elmwood grad Jessica Hartung and two of her friends were killed in a car crash. On a more positive note, the Elmwood/Plum City Boys track team won the Regional Title and placed fifth at the State Meet. During the Village Board Meeting on Monday night, the board discussed the “Auditorium Rental Agreement.” A wedding party on May 1st, 2010 ended with the elevator locked up on the first floor. This is a safety feature the elevator has, and when the technician came to do the repair, it was (ONLY) assumed that kids may have been playing in the elevator, (pressing all the buttons), causing the lock up mode to be reacted. The cost for the technician to come to the auditorium and reset the computer was $600.00. The members of the board agreed that they needed to make a change to the agreement to ensure they would not have to pay for this again. Village President Bill Stewart stated “During or after the event, Whoever rents it and this happens, will be responsible to repair it. Other than normal wear and tear, someone who uses the elevator with abuse and damages occur, will need to pay for it.” It was then questioned by a citizen (Delorse Radtke) about the groups that are given the auditorium without any agreement being signed, such as the 4H group. The Board responded by stating “They usually keep the elevator locked, unless needed.” Stewart then added “A line was being included in the agreement to state the liability of the renter for the elevator use.” “We need to notify the Public” was stated. The change was unanimously voted in. (Note-- This is the policy that the Deputy Village Clerk told Matt Marose about, just four days prior to his wedding date, causing him to take his wedding elsewhere after having an agreement already signed with the village, back in Feb. 2010. It was stated to Matt after the meeting by Village Clerk Wayne that the village was going to pay Marose his deposit back now. This after being told they would not refund his money due to he did not give them 31 days notice of the change, yet they did not give him any written notice to the change at all. we will have to wait and see how long they take to pay him back. it should have already been done in my mind) During Public Input, the final cost for the Eau Claire Press Co. lawsuit regarding the release of information on Jodi Pulk’s Suspension was requested. The attorney fee’s for the Leader Telegram were $3,042.09 with another $100.00 paid in Statutory Damages. The payment of this was approved last month during the board meeting. (the amount was not published in the paper, nor was it reported by Sari Gordon of the Pierce County Herald) I was given a slip after the meeting by Clerk Wayne, claiming $3,242.09 as the cost-- $100.00 over what I was told by the editor of the leader telegram. I do not understand why the two would have a different total. This does not reflect the cost of village attorney Robert Loberg's fees either. This cost is directly the cause of the lies by village trustee's and president in trying to state the clerk resigned, instead of she was being terminated through a suspension. If they would have simply told the truth to begin with, the village residents would not be paying for their lying. .tax increase coming to pay for this action again. Just like the Meyers case that cost the village at least 20K, Stewart even stated to a citizen “It probably cost them the entire budgeted money they had.”--that was 70K. all this for nonsense actions by Robert Rupakus and Bill Stewart
In July, I spoke to the Elmwood Officer and requested a copy of the report provided to the board on the Police Dept.’s activities, and he responded by stating “They do not do that anymore. He is not the Chief, so he does not make out any reports to the board.” I find this a bit troubling. Why is there no reports going to the board or the police committee. The officer has no protection of his job now, because he cannot prove what he does monthly for his job. I guess, the village president did not want Elmwood business to be provided to the papers, now he has accomplished that. It continues to prove the board wants information hid. No one is to know about all the Break-ins in the community,(unfortunately, My Son is accused of being involved with these cases. He has also admitted to being part of them, but he is the only one being charged. No surprise there) or if there are drunk drivers in the town. The past is catching up once again in Elmwood. “What happens in Elmwood , Stays in Elmwood”. Citizens have the right to know what the police dept. is doing, and I will be investigating this much more, to find out the “Citizens Rights” to this information, and the board responsibilities in providing the information. In the School board meeting, The Administrative Report was provided to the board by Principal Paul Blanford. The WASB Aid had been announced to be $96,588.00 for the Elmwood School District. These are funds received from the State Budget for School Aid, to help out the smaller rural schools. The program helps schools with less than 722 students, and have less than ten students per square mile in the district. These funds are able to be used for any budget areas the school may need. “A Welcome Relief” Stated School Board President , Greg Nelson.
In August, the Spring Valley/Elmwood area was pounded by heavy rain that resulted in devastating floods. The Village Board discussed the Grant Funds they will be receiving from Pierce County, for the repairs to be done from last springs flooding problems in Butternut Park and the property owned by Jerry and Joyce Webber. A total amount of $42, 976.34 has been awarded to Elmwood. An additional $4,717.39 will be received from Pierce County for the wages that were paid for the clean up. There will also be a $1,200.00 amount taken from the payment for the cost of a burm that was already put in place to slow the erosion problems caused by the flooding. The remainder of the funds will go towards additional repair to the park and repairs needed to the Webber Property. The Public Works Committee has started the process in getting bids for the work, and hope to have some to present to the Board at next months meeting. The Elmwood School District held their Board Meeting Monday Evening, and discussed a variety of changes coming. The longest discussion took place over the purchase of a new mini bus. The bus has been looked into for some time now, and they have found a couple different options for purchasing a new bus for a cost of near $54,000.00. The bus will be equipped to handle wheel chair riders. The board has a couple options also in how to purchase the bus, with having different funds available to them. The current bus did pass inspection this past week, but has been costing the district in the up keep costs. It was also stated “A trade in value was pretty low, at $1,500.00.” The Board then discussed the idea of keeping the bus, and selling it on their own. This would seem to have a better potential to get much more out of the bus.
In September, The Village Board then heard from Lynn Hartung on a ATV Trail Proposal for the village to connect with the trail system being run through the county. She also had a member of the SV Board and Co. ATV Association along to help explain the process they have went through, up to this point. The proposal is to have the trail enter the village on 110th street, and cross the road to Riverwood Drive, then to Eau Galle Drive, then connecting to the current snowmobile trail that runs through the village. This is the only area they can direct the traffic, due to most of the main roads in Elmwood are Numbered or County Roads. These roads are not allowed to be used for ATV traffic. There are plenty of hurdles for them to get pass for the trail to be allowed, with the private land owners, snowmobile club, village board, and the DNR all having to give the OK. They added, all the signs are provided by the association, with no cost to the village for the trail. Bob Weix of the Village board asked about who polices the trail, and it was answered the County Sheriff Dept. and the Village Officer would. This would be a issue for the board to send forward to their committee for more discussion. Monday, Sept. 20, 2010 the Elmwood School Board met for their monthly meeting. In Public Input, I spoke to the board, to let them know how two of their recent graduates were doing. Brandon Bauer completed and graduated from Basic Combat Training in North Carolina earlier this month, then went ahead to AIT, and Timothy Talford graduated late last month from training in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Timothy has went onto AIT in Maryland, were he set a new record for their two mile run. He continues to be an active runner, with the hopes of joining the Army running team and trying out for the Olympics. New Principal Jennifer Alwin then gave her first report to the board. She started by explaining her visit to Elk Mound School for the In-Service earlier this month. DR. Rich Allen gave a presentation to everyone on his book “Green light in the classroom”. One of the areas covered was teaching memory skills. She then “Thanked the Board” for being hired, and said “She believed she has found a home. In Action Items, the board reviewed the 2010-11 Budget. Paul went through a very long explanation of the budget, covering everything very well to the board. The student count for Sept. was 323. Going through all the numbers and using the 16.7 mil rate, the school district will have a tax levy of 4.2%, which is down from 10.7% last year. One of the biggest areas of savings was covered by a Fund 38 pay off. This will save the district $160,000.00 over nine years, in interest alone.
In October, the Spring Valley and Elmwood middle schools earned "exemplary" status from the AWSA. The Village Board then Approved the Crosswalk Project, with a short discussion on how they had just received the states’ approval today for the project. There will be a crosswalk put in by the new post office. The Committee met last Monday to put together the plans. The board approved the work to be done by Josh Shafer at the cost of $2,000.00. There will be an additional $500.00 for two rumble pads to be placed in the crosswalks also. These pads are made of steel, and are a new requirement by the state for all new crosswalks. It is understood that these pads are used to help the blind know that they are at a crosswalk. Stewart then finished up with some information he received concerning the need to replace signs within the community, due to changes being made by the DOT. There will be a change by the DOT, enforcing the changing of stop signs and others as well. These changes will need to be done by 2015. The signs will be larger and reflective. There will be a big increase in costs to communities for these signs to be replaced and updated. “Most of the signs we have right now, will be obsolete. It would be in the best interest for the village to start putting money away through the budget for the next two to three years to be ready and compliant,” stated Stewart. The School Board spoke over the Skylert Notification System for student management was approved for purchase. The cost for the system will be $1,300.00 for the Module and $973.00 annual service fee. The Module is a one time cost. Hopefully, this will be up and running within six weeks. The system will be used to notify parents, students and staff of school closings and other needs the school may find useful. The module can call the entire district within just minutes, saving the office staff a lot of time. The 2010-11 tax levy was approved at 4.2% as discussed last month. The board also approved the repair of the current Intercom System. A Technician came to the school and found the system to be in need of repairs, due to a possible lightning strike in August. This may be covered by insurance if lightning is found to be the reason for the repairs. A deductible of $1,000.00 would be the cost. If the damage is from age, then it could cost up to $7,000.00 to replace the components needed. Finishing the action items, the board accepted the resignation of Dick Jones as the Assistant High School Basketball Coach, and approved Samuel Sujecki as his replacement. Sujecki is a current student at Stout. The “Bullying Policy” will also be included. Superintendent Blanford told the members of the board that he has reviewed a DPI model policy that most of the school districts are going to use. There may be minor changes the board may want to make to enhance the policy to specific needs of the district. This policy will be used to ensure the investigations of bullying and harassment claims. “It has not been a major problem, but I have noticed it is a weekly problem that comes to my attention”, Blanford concluded.
In November, Elmwood student council members set a new record in their second annual food drive, raising more than 1,655 pounds of food for their food shelf. 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. 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 about the Student Council will be having their annual food drive this week, with the attempt to get 1 ton worth of donations.The Haunted House was a total success with five boxes of food being donated to the food shelf and ninety nine dollars in cash. Superintendent Paul Blanford then began his report with the gym floor repair, 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
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. 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
In December, the Spring Valley/Elmwood area was pounded with the fifth worst snow storm in western Wisconsin's history, which left residents snowed into their homes and traffic at a standstill. Village Office Matt Broehm spoke to the board in regards to a new ordinance. This ordinance will be in conjunction with the Elmwood Public School, and will need to have further discussion with them, and the village board. It is called a K2 Bann Ordinance. I have requested more information on this ordinance to give the public an idea of what it details, but have not received any response as of yet. I hope to be able to give more detail in the near future. No Action was taken. I have been given the information as of today, Dec. 14th, 2010. This is an ordinance against the new synthetic spray drug version of Marijuana. It has many other names, such as spice, k2, Genie, Yucatan Fire, and fake marijuana. This has not yet become against state or federal law, but many cities and smaller communities are taking action now.
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