Clintonville Tribune-Gazette reviews 2016
By Erik Buchinger
In the first of a two-part series, the Clintonville Tribune-Gazette takes a look at the year in the news from 2016 in Clintonville.
January
Judy Magee’s five-year tenure as the Clintonville mayor ended when she resigned on Jan. 1. Magee was serving her third term at the position.
Lois Bressette, Jonathan Bayless and Barbara Flaherty each requested candidacy papers seeking to be the mayor of the city of Clintonville.
The city of Clintonville ordered a new snowplow truck in late December, and it passed the first test with a snowstorm that followed immediately afterward.
Clintonville boys’ basketball player Tyler Petermann scored 40 points in a 66-57 victory over Weyauwega-Fremont on Jan. 4.
Five candidates file candidacy papers to be on the Clintonville School Board to fill two open spots, including Dirk Weber, Mark Zachow, Lori Jean Poppe, Samantha Ozment and Larry Czarnecki.
Clintonville High School Principal Lance Bagstad proposed a new schedule to the school board on Jan. 11. The idea was to be a “Day 1, Day 2” block schedule, which would amount to four periods per day with each scheduled class being around 85 minutes.
Bagstad announced he would run for the District 1 city council seat that was up for election.
After taking a year off from the Clintonville City Council, Mark Doornink said he was ready to return for a city council run.
A fire at Clintonville’s outdoor swimming pool jeopardized the future of the pool and whether it would be open for the summer.
Clintonville Chief of Police Terry Lorge announced he would retire from the police department on April 8. He had been in law enforcement for 43 years and almost 38 years with the Clintonville Police Department, including almost 20 years as the Chief of Police.
The Clintonville School Board voted to adopt block scheduling in a 5-1 vote on Jan. 25.
February
The University of Wisconsin marching band made an appearance at Clintonville High School. Bill Jartz was the MC of the event, which was hosted by Clintonville Lions Club and Clintonville Rotary.
The Clintonville campus of Fox Valley Technical College underwent renovations to create a permanent nursing assistant lab.
The School District of Clintonville moved forward with research and planning for a future referendum regarding its elementary school.
District 4 representative Mary-Beth Kuester and challengers Mike Hankins and Timothy Zilch make their case to voters.
A suit filed by former Clintonville City Attorney Tim Schmid against the city of Clintonville continued to move through the court system. Schmid wanted the money he would have earned if the council hadn’t dismissed him after he was already sworn in for a two-year term in May of 2014.
March
The city of Clintonville proposed increases to the sewer and water rates to help pay for sewer projects over the next 10 years. The largest project is to improve the wastewater treatment facility.
The Clintonville Tribune-Gazette was recognized with 13 Wisconsin Newspaper Association awards in the WNA’s 2015 Better Newspaper Contest.
Termination language was added to the contract of Clintonville City Administrator Chuck Kell to keep him with the city through at least June 30, 2017.
It was announced that Clintonville would host the American Legion Baseball Class A State Tournament for the summer of 2017. W.A. Olen Park will host the five-day, eight-team tournament for high school-age legion teams.
The Clintonville City Council learned that it could cost $460,000 to fix the flooding issues on Spring Street in the city’s industrial park.
James Beggs was appointed as the Clintonville Police Chief by the Clintonville Police and Fire Commission to take over for Terry Lorge. Beggs worked for the Clintonville Police Department for 40 years, including 20 years as captain.
Clintonville High School was selected as a 2016 Top Global Learning School by AFS-USA and The National Honor Society of High School Scholars. Clintonville was one of 76 schools nationwide to be selected for the award. There were seven AFS foreign exchange students attending Clintonville High School in the 2015-16 school year.
Clintonville boys’ basketball player Tyler Petermann was named first-team all-conference, and Nathan Krueger made honorable mention.
Clintonville girls’ basketball player Autumn Voigt made first-team all-conference, and Caitie Carpenter was named honorable mention.
Clintonville wrestler Cole Cotherman received all-conference honorable mention.
Eight Clintonville youth wrestlers advanced to the state competition in Madison.
Lacey Jung and Tabitha Breitrick of Clintonville High School took home championships in their weight classes at the WWF High School Girls State Championship in Wisconsin Dells on March 12.
April
The Clintonville Middle School and Clintonville High School both added a clothes closet for students in need of clothing.
Two new billboard designs promoting visiting Clintonville were designed and contracted for construction.
Two men were charged with killing Matthew Pagel, whose body was found in a ditch near Clintonville. Zachary T. Hohn, 16, Tigerton, and Adam J. Ozuna, 24, Bear Creek, were each charged with first-degree intentional homicide and robbery with the use of force.
Maintenance repairs to the bridge on Hemlock Street in Clintonville began on April 6.
All four incumbents on the Clintonville City Council who faced challengers lost their reelection bids on April 5. In District 4, Mike Hankins defeated Mary-Beth Kuester. In District 5, Mark Doornink returned to the council by defeating Jeannie Schley. In District 2, Chuck Manske defeated Gloria Dunlavy. Clintonville High School Principal Lance Bagstad defeated Jim Krause by just seven votes. Amy Steenbock ran unopposed to win District 3.
Acting Mayor Lois Bressette defeated Jonathan Bayless in the mayoral race.
Mark Zachow and Lori Jean Poppe were elected to the Clintonville School Board over Dirk Weber and Larry Czarnecki.
The future of the Clintonville High School wrestling program was discussed at a school board meeting. The Truckers started the season with 12 wrestlers and finished the year with five. The board said it will review the program in two years.
The Elementary Facilities Task Force held its first meeting. The task force included 31 members of the community.
Clintonville girls’ basketball player Autumn Voigt signed to play hoops for John Wood Community College.
May
Jim Dins was elected the president of the Clintonville School Board to become the third president in the last three years. Ben Huber, who served as president, was elected vice-president. Tom Neely was elected clerk, and Clyde Tellock was elected treasurer again.
The Clintonville Area Historical Society recognized Ann Fuge for her donation of a building to the historical society.
Clintonville High School sophomore Ashley McRann qualified for nationals in the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest in College Park, Maryland.
Robert H. Meisel, Ph.D. was selected by the Clintonville School District to receive the distinguished Alumnus Honoris award.
Clintonville’s Kara Pyatskowit broke a school record in the 3,200-meter run at the 36th annual Seymour Invitational on May 5.
Rexford-Longfellow Elementary School kindergarten teacher Stannye Meads was honored for 50 years of teaching, including the last 25 years in the Clintonville School District, with a surprise party.
A Clintonville family was displaced because of a fire on May 12.
Clintonville’s Kara Pyatskowit broke her 3,200-meter record run from a week prior at the Shawano Invitational on May 10.
Former Clintonville City Attorney Tim Schmid and the city of Clintonville reached a settlement agreement of $7,500.
Bill Kinzinger Sr., Nicole Hanson, Lee Wetzel, Sharon Oreskovich, Ron Wolf and Paul Chryst were each honored at the 24th annual Doug Jirschele Memorial Sports Banquet on May 14.
Clintonville students Doniven Coenen and Claire Crocker were named valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.
An investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice determined the cause of the fire that damaged the building located at the Clintonville municipal outdoor swimming pools was undetermined.
Clintonville native Kyle Petermann qualified for the 2016 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships for Michigan Tech.
June
Thanks to donations totaling $13,575 from the Clintonville Lions Club, the Gordy Noren Skate Park was scheduled to open in mid-June.
A gas leak on June 2 caused evacuation of part of the city of Clintonville.
A thunderstorm brought high winds through the Clintonville area on June 5. Winds downed trees and left scattered branches throughout the city. The Clintonville Fire Department was dispatched to several locations to assist with the cleanup.
Tim Sweet retired after spending 34 years in the Clintonville School District.
Clintonville’s Kara Pyatskowit finished in fourth place in the 1,600-meter run and a fifth-place finish in the 3,200-meter race.
The Elementary Facilities Task force discouraged relocating an elementary school, and instead either remodel or build new.
The Clintonville City Council unanimously approved accepting a gift of 17.2 acres of land from Lynne Simpson at its June 14 meeting.
Clintonville baseball player Keenan Doornink was named the all-conference second team utility player, and Jaden Doornink was named honorable mentioned infielder.
Clintonville’s Madelyn Didier was named first team all-conference for girls’ soccer, and Catherine Morse was selected to the second team.
Clintonville softball player Allison Stueck was named honorable mention as a catcher.
Clintonville’s Kara Pyatskowit was named to the third team in the 1,600-and 3,200-meter runs) and Allysin Booth was named third team in 100-meter hurdles.
The body of 16-year-old Austin Arnold of Clintonville was found on June 25 in a wooded area on the north edge of the city. Arnold had been reported missing on June 22.
The board unanimously approved the second reading of the proposed changes to the coaching structure for the wrestling program. One of the changes is adding a coach. This did not increase the coaching budget much, as the pay structure will be split between all the coaches.
After 10 years, Jerry Jiter stepped down as principal of St. Martin Lutheran School in Clintonville.