Inside the Portage County line By GENE KEMMETER of The Gazette Girl Scout Troop 188 at McKinley thanked the Stevens Point Common Council Monday night for approving the installation of flashing lights on Church Street at the intersection with Rice Street. Scouts presented the council with "Thank You" cards signed by McKinley School staff, students and parents. Girl Scouts led a petition effort to get the light to improve safety in the area and reported that a crossing guard was almost struck by a car that didn't stop when the guard went into the intersection to help students cross the street. * * * FINAL REMARKS: Two retiring aldermen on the council gave their parting comments Monday night. Len Perlak, 4th Ward, admitted he was a man of few words and spoke briefly. He complimented Mayor Gary Wescott for running meetings in an expedient manner while also allowing people to talk. He also thanked city department heads for helping to resolve complaints that he received from constituents. He said he would like to keep on talking but alderman John Kedrowski, 5th Ward, "took up a lot of my time" during discussion at the council meeting. Karen Aldinger, 8th Ward, said she enjoyed her one term on the council and plans to remain involved in city government. "The city is like a large business whose mayor and department heads do their best to ensure the quality of life in Stevens Point," she said. She learned not to mess up garbage pickup schedules, she said, and "Don't bring up sidewalks until you're ready to do battle." Perlak and Aldinger didn't seek re-election in the April election. * * * RETURN VISIT: Riverfront Rendezvous is always an excellent time to see former Portage County residents again, and the annual WWSP trivia contest is another. However, with trivia, you have to be up and about at 7 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday to see people at the running questions. And then you have to search through the crowd of 500 to 1,000 people to see what familiar face is among the throng. * * * ROGERS VISITS HOSPITAL: Gazette staffer George Rogers, a longtime community leader and Stevens Point Journal editor, underwent heart surgery Tuesday at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., to correct a condition he's been aware of for years. He told us "They said it's time to carve. They've done this operation often and several patients have survived." His wife, Jeanette, reported his first words were "Am I dead or alive" when he regained consciousness in the recovery room. George said he'll probably be in the hospital five to seven days and then recuperate at home for six weeks, "after which I should be good for another 100,000 miles." Readers needn't worry about missing George's weekly column "Woods & Water" during his recovery. He made sure we had plenty for the weeks he'll be gone.