Waupaca School Board election
By James Card
Three new candidates are running for two seats on the Waupaca School Board.
The terms of Steve Hackett and Dale Feldt end in 2022. Hackett filed non-candidacy papers and Feldt will be an incumbent seeking re-election.
The new candidates are Ronald Brooks, Ben Warren and Kayla Van Dyke-Griena.
Van-Dyke-Griena
Kayla Van Dyke-Griena grew up in Waupaca and is a Waupaca High School graduate. She studied nursing at Fox Valley Technical College and is currently is a nurse at Thedacare.
She is married and has two young kids ages 4 and 7.
Her father-in-law, Kenneth Van Dyke, was active in local politics. His key achievement was spearheading a battle with the Department of Energy. They had a plan to put a federal nuclear waste disposal in central Wisconsin. This was defeated in a state referendum in 1983.
During the pandemic, Van Dyke-Griena became a founding member of Common Roots Rising, a local group that describes themselves as a “community collective committed to unifying for the common good through collaboration, cooperation and co-creation.”
The group does clean-ups on the Waupaca River and local trails, but also they are involved in regenerative agriculture, ecological awareness, rural community building and helping people collaborate on creative projects.
“I want to do more. I want to be a part of what makes Waupaca great. I’m looking for an opportunity that I can help out with,” said Van Dyke-Griena.
Warren
Ben Warren took a circuitous route to make Waupaca his home. He grew up in Illinois, went to high school in Wisconsin and worked in New Mexico where in the winter is was a ski patroller and instructor and in the summer he guided whitewater rafting trips on the Rio Grande.
At this time his wife was in medical school where she studied rural family medicine and later they moved to Idaho for her residency. She landed in her first job in Oregon and that’s where Warren got started in stand-up comedy.
From there they moved to Waupaca and they have lived here for about a year and a half.
He has performed as a comedian locally in Waupaca during the ARTicipation Week and on Waupaca Local Live.
Warren and his wife have three kids: a six-year-old, a four-year-old and three-month old.
“I feel like I could make a positive impact in the schools. I like giving and helping. We definitely love Waupaca,” said Warren.
Brooks
Ronald Brooks is a Waupaca native. His family has been in the area since 1855 and he operates a state-of-the-art 750-cow dairy farm.
His father and grandfather were educated in Waupaca schools and he has four daughters who are Waupaca grads.
After high school, Brooks studied at UW-Madison with a major in dairy science and a minor in geology and physics.
His plan was to go to veterinarian school but his uncle’s health was failing and he was needed on the family farm. The college made an arrangement for him to work on the family farm but he was welcome to resume his veterinary studies anytime he wanted.
Brooks later tripled the size of the farm and modernized it into a high-tech operation.
“My children got an excellent education here, I got an excellent education here and I want to make sure it continues,” said Brooks.
Feldt
Incumbent Dale Feldt’s first term started in 2019. In that election he received 2,033 votes.
Of the two other candidates in that race, Steve Hackett got 1,685 votes and Dmitri Martin 1,180 votes.
Feldt is a 1984 graduate of UW-Stevens Point where he studied mathematics and from there he worked as a substitute teacher at the Waupaca High School and later become a fulltime teacher.
Along the way he earned a master’s degree in education from UW-Stevens Point in 1991 and won several awards as a teacher and for his service to education.
During this time he advised the National Honor Society, Students Against Drunk Drivers and the math team.
He is currently a team member of the Waupaca Scholarship Foundation and in his bio he states: “I am a retired Comet. Teaching in Waupaca was one of the best decisions I ever made. I could not stay away after retirement and am currently enjoying my role as a member of the Waupaca School Board.”
The two candidates receiving the most votes on the Tuesday, April 5 spring election will serve full three-year terms.
As for the other school board members, board president Stephen Johnson and Patrick Phairs’ terms end in 2023 and clerk Betty Manion, treasurer Mark Polebitski and Steve Klismets’ terms end in 2024.