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The Brillion News The starting time for the Brillion Electric Parade on Friday, June 1, has been moved up to 8:30 p.m. from the original time of 9 p.m. due to concerns about thunderstorms developing later. At 1 p.m., there was a line of storms developing in eastern and central Minnesota and moving to the East-Southeast. Those storms stretched along a line from Hibbing, Minn., to Sioux Falls, So. Dak. They can be viewed on radar at http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/minnesota/weather-radar?play=1

The following press release was issued to The Brillion News on June 8, 2016 following the June 7, 2016 shut down of Wolfschmidt Street in Brillion. On Monday June 6, 2016 an officer from the Chilton Police Department conducted a traffic stop. During the course of the stop items used in the manufacture of methamphetamine were located in the vehicle. The driver was taken into custody and members from the Calumet County Drug task force were called to assist. Informat Members from the Brillion Police Department, Calumet County Drug task force, Calumet County Sheriff Department, Chilton Police Department, Department of Criminal Investigations, Lake Winnebago Area MEG Unit, Reedsville Police Department, the Brillion Fire Department and Brillion ambulance worked collaboratively on this investigation. The hazardous materials were removed by Chicago Crime Scene cleanup.   A female subject from the home was taken into custody by the Department of Corrections.   Charges are being forwarded to the Calumet County District Attorney’s office for the male tenant involved. We would like to thank the owners of the rental property for their cooperation as well as the other tenants and the adjacent neighbors for their patience when asked to leave the area. Chief Jo Ann Mignon Brillion Police Department Lieutenant Mark Wiegert Calumet County Sheriff Department Chief Craig Plehn Chilton Police Department

By Ed Byrne The Brillion News HILBERT – The Hilbert School Board is considering a major revision to the district’s athletic code – the Co-Curricular Handbook – in the wake of negative fallout over the “Tweet heard round the world.” High school senior basketball player April Gehl was suspended for a quarter of the season, under the existing athletic code, after she posted a graphic criticism of the WIAA issued memo to schools calling on an end to sports cheers it didn’t consider nice. She posted her opinion on Twitter, during the school day. The district administration is now proposing changes to the athletic code. The biggest change creates a new class of less serious offenses – which the school is calling “misdemeanors” – to exact a lesser punishment for those transgressions. During the fallout from the Gehl controversy, Superintendent Tony Sweere and Athletic Director Stan Diedrich estimated they each fielded about five calls per day from within the district, in addition to calls from the news media in the state and around the nation. Most of the criticism was directed at the WIAA for its criticism of common cheers – such as “Scoreboard” and “Fundamentals” – as promoting bad sportsmanship. Diedrich said that once the school explained its disciplinary action, the criticism of the school faded. “The penalty imposed was from a code that was signed,” Diedrich said. He said neither April nor her parents appealed the discipline the school imposed. Please see the complete story in the May 19, 2016 edition of The Brillion News.

The Brillion News SHERWOOD – A high-speed chase that reached speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour ended on State 55 between Carney Road and Faro Springs Road, south of Sherwood, shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday, May 18. Calumet County Chief Deputy Sheriff Brett Bowe said the incident started on State 23 in Fond du Lac County when a Fond du Lac County sheriff’s deputy tried to stop a car. Instead of stopping, the driver sped off, eluding officers. The chase went north on 55, into Calumet County, through Stockbridge and ended three-tenths of a mile north of Carney Road. Two female juvenile runaways, passengers in the car, were taken into custody there. The male driver, also a teen  runaway, fled on foot. He was captured around 8:30 a.m. west of Sherwood near the roundabout at 114 and 55. All were from Menasha. They were all apprehended by the Calumet County Sheriff’s Department and turned over to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department.

By David Nordby The Brillion News MANITOWOC – Current Brillion High School Principal and longtime football and basketball head coach Pete Kittel was inducted into the Lakeshore All Sports Hall of Fame last week. Kittel’s enshrinement was a part of the fortieth annual induction ceremony for the Lakeshore All Sports Hall of Fame. The former state-champion coach in both football and basketball spoke for just a few minutes, but was honored by the induction. Kittel joined Keith Bonde, Pete Holmes, Mark B. Miller, John Stelzer and Patrick Stapleton in this year’s class. The induction is the latest in a busy year for Kittel, where he’s been consistently recognized for his long tenure in Brillion. Kittel was inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame last fall and was inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame last month. “It’s been quite a year … But it goes well beyond just me,” Kittel said true to his nature. “I’ve had a lot of great assistants, a lot of support. A lot of people are part of this recognition.” Kittel took over as Brillion’s basketball coach in 1989 when he was only 26 years old and led the basketball team to eight conference championships, three state tournament appearances and a state championship in 2012 before retiring in 2014. Kittel took over Brillion’s football team in 1992 and accumulated a 156-77 record – a nearly 67 winning percentage – as head coach. Kittel’s football teams were conference champions five times, had 15 playoff appearances and won three state championships in 2003, 2004 and 2010. Kittel’s teams also were awarded the WIAA Sportsmanship Award three separate times. To honor Kittel’s three hall of fame inductions Brillion High School held “Pete Kittel Recognition Night” before a home basketball game against Two Rivers on February 19. Please see the complete story in the May 5, 2016 edition of The Brillion News.

NOTE: The following is an opinion piece. The opinions stated in commentaries, here and otherwise in our newspaper, are those of the author and not The Brillion News, Zander Press Inc. or the owners or staff. The Brillion News welcomes letters to the editor to respond to this or any other topic of interest. Commentary by Ed Byrne There’s a story about Dane County that should be a huge wake-up call about the extent of the heroin problem in Wisconsin. NBC15.com reported that the emergency medicine division of the Madison Fire Department has seen a 300 percent increase in the number of times they’ve had to reverse heroin overdoses with Narcan from January to March. Nationwide, the heroin antidote has saved thousands of lives each month. The Madison Fire Department used it 42 times in February and 47 times in March. Two weeks into April, they had administered it 30 times. In the first three months, Madison Police brought people back from heroin overdoses by using Narcan 23 times. The summer season marks higher drug use. Over a year ago, I joined a group that planned to organize a regional response to the heroin epidemic. I joined a committee focusing on prevention. After several months of going to meetings where the talk was about statistics and how to get more government money for prevention, I gave up and decided it was a waste of time. The last straw was when the committee decided that its initiative to prevent heroin use would be encouraging families to have dinner together. I made some parting remarks to the folks on the committee that drew some angry responses. They felt I had an attitude problem. I can understand where they were coming from, though. Too often, the establishment doesn’t understand the seriousness of something like the heroin epidemic. If you meet with addicts trying to save their own lives, or the families of addicts who are holding on to thin strands of hope, you get a far different take on things than you do in a committee where the concerns are with “studying statistics” and getting someone to take meeting minutes. We have really underestimated the extent and seriousness of the heroin problem, and so much of our society’s response has been inadequate. Please see the complete commentary in the April 28, 2016 edition of The Brillion News.

The Brillion News DE PERE – Brillion High School alumni Silas Petrie continued his successful junior season with the UW-Milwaukee track and field team. On Saturday at the St. Norbert Invitational, Petrie broke the school hammer throw record with a toss of 59.91m (196-7) breaking the mark set by Nick Wichert in 2007. Wichert’s previous record was 59.25m (194-5). Petrie finished first in the discus and hammer throw at the St. Norbert Invitational, as well as the 2016 Warrior Track & Field Invitational the week prior in Milwaukee. Petrie was named Horizon League Field Athlete of the Week for the second time this season. The first award came after Petrie won the discus competition in his first outdoor meet of the year, and set a then-best personal record in the competition.

The Brillion News REEDSVILLE – Reedsville played host to their final track and field meet of the season last Thursday night. The boys took first place ahead of Manitowoc Lutheran, Elkhart Lake and Sheboygan Lutheran. The win for the boys was highlighted by a historic effort from senior Trevor Frank. Frank broke the 3200-meter run school record that stood for 30 years. Frank’s time of 10:03.8 broke the 10:05.8 mark set by Scott Kasten in 1986. Kasten was in attendance to congratulate Frank on his accomplishment. Frank also took first place in the 1600-meter run. Levi Otto took first place in the 400-meter dash and the triple jump. Other individual first team finishers included Andy Spatchek in the 800-meter run, Cole Knier in the shot put and Ethan Long in the pole vault. Spatchek, Otto, Jacob Schneider and Joe Shikoski took first in the 3200-meter relay. Otto, Schneider, Long and Derrick Cherney took first in the 1600-meter relay. Second place finishers included Nick Hein in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter runs behind only Frank. Michael Torres-Trevino joined Noah Roffers, Brandon Stelzer and Long for a second place finish in the 800-meter relay and later joined Stelzer, Roffers and Callen Boettcher for a third place finish in the 400-meter relay. Seth Luedtke and Stelzer finished second in the pole vault and long jump, respectively. Boettcher finished third in the 100-meter dash, Shikoski finished third in the 800-meter run and Cherney finished third in the triple jump. Lubner continues to hurdle ahead of competition The girls had a successful night as well finishing second with 95 points, just shy of Manitowoc Lutheran with 101 points. Faith Lubner led the girls by taking first in the 100 and 300-meter hurdles. Lubner, who won multiple state championships last season, has taken first in the 100 and 300-meter hurdles at every regular season meet Reedsville has had this season. Before the regular season schedule began, Lubner competed in the Lake Michigan Invite at Carthage College, where many Division I and II schools are present. On Thursday Lubner made the hurdle events look easy with 2.82 seconds ahead of her teammate and second-place finisher Abby Kocourek in the 100-meter hurdles and a 3.2 second win over second place Lauren Griepentrog from Manitowoc Lincoln in the 300-meter hurdles. Other first place finishers for Reedsville included Jenna Zahorik in the 200-meter dash, Lexi Wasmuth in the high jump, Marie Wedepohl in the pole vault and Beth Ebben in the shot put and discus.

By David Nordby The Brillion News BRILLION – The City of Brillion decided last week to temporarily close the ATV Park. In April the city agreed to continue operation of the park after it had been maintained by the ATV Club members for the past seven years. The city has always owned the land the park is on. The city anticipates that the park will open by the end of May or early June, around one month later than the usual timeline. The city plans to set stricter guidelines than the club previously did, including regulations on those who don’t live in Brillion but come to the park from surrounding areas. At last month’s Parks and Recreation Committee meeting, citizens of Brillion who live near the park voiced concerns over loose hours of operation and noise complaints that they said worsened the past few years. The park also had visitors coming to ride dirt bikes, something that likely will no longer be allowed, which is another aspect the city is reviewing in order to have set guidelines on what the park is used for. The city says the reason for the delay is to make sure restrictions are set once the park is in operation under the city, but they do not envision a scenario in which the park would be permanently closed.

By Ed Byrne The Brillion News STURGEON BAY – In a speech to the annual meeting of the Door County Economic Development Corporation, Dan Ariens explained the importance of his company’s ties to the Brillion Public Schools. He did it within the context of a topic that’s getting a lot of attention in Wisconsin lately: the inability of the state’s business sector to grow because of a shortage of workers. The Door County group asked Ariens, President and CEO of the Ariens Company, for ideas on how to grow a workforce in rural Wisconsin. “At Ariens Company, we are in a small town [and] we want people to care about what they do every day when they come in to work every day – we want them to want to be there,” he said. Right away, that filters out some applicants. Ariens described his company as a four-generation family business dealing with a world economy – a company that needs to stand out in a field of various competitors. The company has a philosophy of “lean manufacturing,” which he described as emulating Toyota’s manufacturing culture. “We have some behaviors we expect in all of our employees,” Ariens said. “What we are looking for is the balance between great cultural fits with our company and someone who’s a really a strong performer.” In short, that’s someone who can excel individually while also working well within a team. Ariens said the company can work with an employee who is short on individual initiative but works well on a team. It can’t work with someone who doesn’t work well within a team or individually. An important revelation came to the Ariens Company about 16 years ago, Dan Ariens said. “We weren’t seeing the kinds of young people who came out of Brillion High School look to us as an employer of choice – and we needed to find out why that was happening,” he said. After meetings with school officials, Ariens said it was clear that the company needed to communicate “who we were” better. Those meetings, Ariens said, also convinced the company’s leaders that it needed to know the local schools better. “It was eye-opening, because we found out that they were very interested in being more engaged with us,” he said. “We just weren’t really paying attention.” Ariens explained that the company made a financial commitment to the Brillion schools for the high school technology education program. Now it is financially backing the district’s commitment to develop STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education from kindergarten through grade eight. “In Brillion, Wisconsin, 3,000 folks will have a K through 12th STEM education like nothing else in the country,” Ariens said. “That’s really what it took for our students to look at us and for us to look at them.” He said the financial commitment Ariens Company made to STEM in the schools helped, but the two-way lines of communication were even more critical. He said the company began a dialogue with the students who were looking for career opportunities. Ariens highlighted the internship program that brings high school students into the manufacturing environment to solve problems. “They may be doing assembly work, they may be doing accounting work, they might be doing marketing work – but at the end of the day we are helping them challenge each other with problem solving,” Ariens said. He said the program does more than suggest manufacturing as a career choice, and he cited three students coming out of the internship program. One wanted to be an engineer, another wanted to go into manufacturing and the third wanted to become a nurse. “They learned about themselves and what they wanted to do,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re trying to figure out how to teach young people problem solving skills … We are looking for leadership that can solve problems.” Ariens drew an example from 2007, when the federal Environmental Protection Agency imposed new standards to limit the evaporation of gasoline from a tank on lawnmowers. “We got into a pickle where a supplier couldn’t complete the testing. These high school kids did it,” Ariens said. They also completed the testing on time. Ariens gave Ryan Geiger, a recent BHS graduate, as another example. He was a top student at the high school but didn’t want to go to college. “He wanted to work with his hands. He wanted to be a machinist, and he wanted to be a tool and die maker,” Ariens said. “Ryan is now working with us. We hired him right out of high school and he is an apprentice at Fox Valley Tech.” Ariens said Geiger is an example of how adults need to think about high school students. Please see the complete story in the April 14, 2016 edition of The Brillion News.

David Nordby The Brillion News This is the second of a series of articles on the Quad Communities of Brillion, Hilbert, Wrightstown and Reedsville trying to revitalize downtown commercial districts. REEDSVILLE – Someone traveling on Highway 10 will see a large “Reedsville” sign welcoming them to the village as they head east of Brillion. But if they drive too fast, or blink, they will quickly be out of Reedsville’s limits. Reedsville is faced with a unique situation of having their high school highlight the downtown area, and on a larger scale, the entire community. While Reedsville has businesses, like Equity Livestock and the feed mill, the high school is at the center of an agricultural town. A bulk of Reedsville is in the downtown area, a stretch on Manitowoc Street, where a few bars and restaurants are, as well as Denmark State Bank and a 24/7 fitness center. Village President Andy Bubolz says it’s an ongoing process to add life to the area. “We’re slowly working on some revitalization,” Bubolz said. But for the foreseeable future, the true fabric of the community comes from education. “The high school is the hub,” Reedsville School Superintendent and High School Principal Tony Butturini said. “It’s the focal point of the community.” Please see the complete story in the April 14, 2016 edition of The Brillion News.

The Brillion News The Hilbert School Board and the Wrightstown Village Board have both rescheduled upcoming meetings. The Hilbert Board of Education will hold its next regular meeting on Monday, April 25, instead of on Monday, April 16. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.at the high school conference/board room. The Wrightstown Village Board, which had its next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 19, had loved that meeting to Thursday, April 21, starting at 6 p.m. in the village hall assembly room. The change was ordered by Village President Dean Erickson.