Portage County capsules HIGHWAY 10 WEST INFORMATION MEETING: The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting concerning proposed improvements to Highway 10 between Trestik Road and Interstate 39/Highway 51 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 25, at Kennedy School in Junction City. Information will be presented about a new modified highway alternative between Trestik Road and I-39 to obtain feedback comments regarding the alternative. The new alternative "Modified Bypass A Portage County X Alternative" bypasses Junction City to the north and parallels Oak Hill Road to the south between Highway 34 and County Trunk E. The previously identified "Bypass A Portage County X Alternative" also bypasses Junction City to the north but swings down to existing Highway 10 between Highway 34 and Marsh Road. The new alternative, along with other detailed study alternatives between Trestik Road and I-39, will be presented at the meeting. A brief presentation, summarizing the project's status, will begin at 5:30 p.m. * * * AMHERST FAIR PARADE: The parade for the Amherst Fair will begin at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, July 21, at the Amherst High School. The parade will go south on Main Street, west on Wake Island Drive, north of Christy Street, west on County Trunk B (Wilson Street) to the fairgrounds. Three divisions will be judged, businesses, groups of individuals and youth groups. The grand marshal for the parade, an honor for contributors to the fair, is the Tomorrow River Conservation Club. The club has been active for more than 60 years and operates a food stand at the fair. Proceeds from the stand go to promote hunting safety, walleye and pheasant releases, fish cribs, conservation safety, scholarships, boat landing repair, bat houses and other conservation projects. * * * CITY BAND WILL FEATURE "OPERA, BALLET AND BROADWAY": The Stevens Point City Band will present its weekly summer concert Wednesday, July 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the Pfiffner Pioneer Park bandshell along the Wisconsin River. The band, under the direction of Kathryn Kawleski, will feature music of "Opera, Ballet and Broadway." Music to be performed will include "Overture to The Bartered Bride," "A Bit of Broadway," "Marche from the Opera: Love for Three Oranges," "Theme from New York, New York," "Galop from 'Maskerade' Ballet" and "Highlights from The King and I." "Einzug's Marsch" from "The Gypsy Baron" by Johann Strauss, will be the music for the weekly children's march. Concerts are free of charge and will be performed every Wednesday evening through Aug. 1. Audience members should bring chairs or blankets for seating. In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be held in CenterPoint MarketPlace. * * * HIGHWAY 34 WILL BE DETOURED: Highway 34 south of Highway 10 will be detoured beginning at 8 a.m. Monday, July 23, through 4 p.m. Friday, July 27, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The detour is necessary to allow Wisconsin Central Limited Railroad to perform track repair at the railroad crossing on 34 just south of Highway 10 in the town of Carson. While repairs are under way, Highway 34 through traffic will be detoured onto Highway 10 and Wood and Portage County Trunk P. * * * TOWN OF AMHERST HOME EXTENSIVELY DAMAGED: The Sue Lueck residence, 4515 Lake Emily Road, town of Amherst, was extensively damaged in an early morning fire on Monday, July 16. The Amherst Fire District was called to a structure fire at the home at 3:38 a.m. and firefighters found the home mostly involved with fire when they arrived. A tanker from Plover was requested as mutual aid as well as an ambulance from Stevens Point to standby. Fire crews applied approximately 10,000 gallons of water to extinguish the fire. All of the occupants had left the home prior to the firefighters' arrival. There were no injuries, but the home sustained fire and smoke damage throughout the entire structure. Two cars were also total losses. The Portage County Fire Investigation Task Force was requested to determine the cause of the fire. Fire crews were on scene until 5:45 a.m. and then returned later to assist with the investigation. * * * EAU PLEINE MAN DIES IN FARM ACCIDENT: A 28-year-old town of Eau Pleine man died Thursday, July 12, after he was gored by a bull at his farm. Scot J. Stashek, 5484 Stashek Lane, died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield, where he was taken after the accident. Portage County Sheriff's Department deputies said they were called to the Stashek farm at 8:26 a.m. They said Stashek and others were attempting to corral the bull when it happened. * * * FINAL PROPERTY TAX PAYMENTS DUE: The final payment for 2000 property tax is due on or before Tuesday, July 31. Portage County Treasurer Alice Dorshak reminds all property owners that all payment of taxes for towns and villages in Portage County must be paid to the county treasurer. The treasurer's office requests those mailing in payment should send in the tax bill and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Mail must be postmarked no later than July 31. As of Aug. 1, taxes are delinquent and will be assessed a 1 percent per month interest charge, retroactive to Feb. 1, on the unpaid balance. For those wishing to pay their taxes in person, the county treasurer's office is on the first floor of the County-City Building and is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., including the noon hour, Monday through Friday. City of Stevens Point property owners must pay their 2000 taxes to the city of Stevens Point treasurer. City treasurer hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, and taxpayers are asked to use the Strongs Avenue entrance. Both the city and county treasurer's offices will be open on Saturday, July 28, from 8 a.m. to noon for tax collections. * * * CANCER SURVIVORS WILL PARTICIPATE IN RELAY FOR LIFE: Cancer survivors, their families, friends, and others affected by cancer will celebrate life and raise funds to fight cancer at the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life on Friday and Saturday, July 27-28, at the Amherst High School track in Amherst. Funds raised by Relay For Life will be used for the American Cancer Society's programs of research, education, advocacy, and service. Relay For Life begins at 6 p.m. Friday and continues overnight. A luminaria ceremony to honor those who have survived cancer and to remember those who have not will be held after dark and involves lighting candles set inside sand-filled bags that are placed around the track. No Limit will provide live entertainment at 7:30 p.m. Other entertainment and activities will be taking place throughout the event. The public is invited to attend the event at any time. For more information, please call Hans Suomi at 824-3477. * * * CABLE TV COMPLAINTS: Stevens Point City Clerk Victoria Zdroik said Wednesday that the fastest way for cable TV subscribers to get their questions or complaints about cable TV service resolved is to call the Charter Communications Customer Service Center at 1 (800) 581-0081. Center workers have been trained to be able to resolve a high percentage of questions or complaints on the spot, she said. If center workers are unable to resolve the issue on the spot, Zdroik said the caller should ask to speak to the worker's supervisor. Center supervisors have more authority than the workers, she said, and can often resolve additional questions or complaints. * * * FRANKLIN STREET RECONSTRUCTION: The Stevens Point Department of Public Works will reconstruct Franklin Street from Second Street to Crosby Avenue, beginning next week. Weather permitting, Street Department crews plan to start on Monday, July 23, and no later than Monday, July 30. The project is estimated to take five to seven weeks. * * * NEW ASSOCIATE PASTOR IN PLOVER: The Rev. Joseph O'Hara, a newly ordained priest in the La Crosse Diocese, has been assigned parochial vicar (associate pastor) at St. Bronislava Catholic Parish in Plover, effective Saturday, July 17. Rev. O'Hara graduated from Blair High School in 1982 and received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 1986. After working two years as an engineer in Genoa, Ill., he returned to school, going to Thomas Aquinas College in California and working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He spent four years in a Nevada monastery before entering the seminary and completing his theological studies at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. He spent the summer of 2000 working an internship at St. Anthony Parish in Cazenovia under the pastoral leadership of the Rev. Daniel Kiedinger, who formerly served in Stevens Point at Pacelli High School and St. Stephen Parish. * * * OBEY INCLUDES FUNDING FOR D-DAY CENTER: U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wausau, included $5 million in a federal budget bill to establish an education center at the American Battle Monuments Cemetery in Normandy, the site of the Allied D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. Obey said current facilities were inadequate, and that the new center would do a better job of teaching new generations of visitors about the role played by American soldiers at Normandy. "This was one of the great battles in the history of American warfare and was a turning point in World War II," Obey said. "Right now, there is no education center on-site to explain the significance of the battlefields and the sacrifice that so many Americans made in that place."