Portage County capsules FALL 2001 EMPLOYMENT FAIR SCHEDULED SEPT. 25: The Portage County Job Center, together with the Stevens Point Buyers Guide and Mid-State Technical College will co-sponsor the Fall 2001 Employment Fair on Tuesday, Sept. 25, from noon to 6 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Expo and Convention Center. Prior to the Employment Fair, the Job Center staff encourages jobseekers to create a professional resume. The Portage County Job Center offers jobseekers the use of resume preparation software and other resume writing resources. Services are free to jobseekers and the staff at the Job Center will provide assistance to create professional resumes. Stop in during the Job Center's office hours Monday 7:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The sponsors are expecting numerous employers at the fair offering full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal positions. Various types of jobs will be offered in multiple industries including technical, manufacturing, service, health, government, retail, possible apprenticeship programs and more. For more information please contact the Portage County Job Center at 345-5315. * * * LASSA SAYS FINAL BUDGET HOLDS PROMISE: State Rep. Julie Lassa, D-Plover, said she was satisfied overall with the final approval of the state budget, which includes education funding, prescription drug savings for seniors, property tax relief and environmental protections. "The working families of central Wisconsin are my top priority and I believe this budget represents most of these priorities," said Lassa. "While we didn't win every battle, I believe this budget holds overall promise for our area." Lassa pointed to five specific areas, which she fought to protect that survived Republican Gov. Scott McCallum's veto pen, including: · Education - Full funding of the smaller class size (SAGE) program for grades K-3 and continued support for four-year-old kindergarten. · Cutting Property Taxes - Providing local municipalities with the first increase in shared revenue payments in seven years and requires out-of-state businesses that use Wisconsin landfills to pay their fair share for disposal. · Prescription Drug Relief for Seniors -- Providing 280,000 seniors across the state with an average savings of $920 on medical prescriptions. · Environmental Safeguards - Protecting the state's recycling program, a $112 million increase for the Stewardship program and a ban on oil and gas drilling in the Great Lakes. · UW-Stevens Point - Providing $26 million in funding for Central Wisconsin Idea and the Fine Arts Building renovation. Lassa did say that there were a number of items vetoed by the Governor which were of concern to her including, 1,000 new Community Options Program slots, a grant for after school programs for at risk kids, and funding for a watershed management program at UW-Stevens Point. * * * LIONS WILL HOLD COOKOUT: The Stevens Point Noon Lions will hold a cookout of hamburgers, bratwurst and hot dogs at Wal-Mart on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6, 7 and 8, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. All profits go to charities. * * * GOVERNOR OKS AIRPORT PROJECT: Gov. Scott McCallum has approved a $5,600 project to replace the rotating navigational beacon at the Stevens Point Municipal Airport. The beacon is in deteriorating condition and has been a maintenance problem and safety concern. Airport personnel will supply the labor to remove the existing beacon and install the new one by the end of the summer. The beacon project is the third approved at the airport by the state this year. Earlier, McCallum approved a $166,667 project to slurry-seal the airports two runways and hangar taxiways and an $80,000 project to design future reconstruction of the terminal apron and connecting taxiways. * * * OVERNIGHT PARKING CHANGES: People requesting to park overnight on Stevens Point streets will have to call in nightly to avoid being ticketed. Between 2 and 6 a.m., it is illegal to park a vehicle for more than one half hour on any city street or parking lot, unless vehicles owners are granted permission by police. Requests that may be honored include out-of-town guests, a car that won't start, driveway repair or other home repair. The requests are not long-term solutions to parking problems or lack of parking. The Stevens Point Police Department sells permits for municipal parking lots on a monthly basis. More information on permit parking is available by calling 346-1506. * * * NATIVE AND NATURAL LANDSCAPING WORKSHOP: Eco-Building & Forestry and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) are sponsoring "Native and Natural Landscaping: Secrets to Success" on Saturday, Sept. 22, at the MREA's Custer facility. The instructor will be Tom Girolamo, owner of Eco-Building & Forestry and creator of "Systems for Success in Natural Landscaping." The all-day workshop will explore innovative methods of designing and installing native and natural landscapes. Participants will learn skills that can be used to solve landscape problems on their properties, with classroom and hands-on sessions. CEUs are available. For registration or more information, call Eco-Building & Forestry at 344-2817 or MREA at 592-6595. * * * MOTORCYCLE SAFETY BENEFIT: A Motorcycle Safety Benefit Poker Run will be held Saturday, Sept. 22, at Kathy's Roadhouse, highways 10 and 34-South, Junction City. Signup is from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the $10 per person charge includes food, live entertainment and door prizes. Proceeds go to the Rider Safety Program at Mid-State Technical College, ABATE Rider Safety, and is sponsored by USA Pride Inc. * * * FIRE LEAVES FAMILIES HOMELESS: A fire during the early morning hours of Labor Day destroyed a duplex at the northwest corner of Rice Street and Lindbergh Avenue, authorities said. The fire started on the western side of the duplex, occupied by the Robert Sanchez and Julia Leos family, and involved a vehicle. The fire spread to the eastern half, occupied by the Nathan and Amanda Gear family. Both families have small children. The fire was reported at 12:16 a.m. Monday, authorities said. When firefighters arrived, they found heavy fire coming from the structure. Firefighters fought the duplex fire and also worked to protect a house to the north at 2824 Lindbergh Ave., which suffered some melted vinyl siding. Most firefighters left the scene at about 3:30 a.m., but some remained until 6 a.m. Nobody was injured in the fire, authorities said. The duplex was torn down after the Portage County Arson Investigation Task Force completed its investigation. The results are not yet available. Persons wanting to donate items to the families can contact Portage County Chapter of the American Red Cross at 344-4052, which will then forward the callers' names and possible donations to the families. Needed items include clothing, furniture, appliances and kitchen utensils. * * * LASSA TAKES SEAT ON JOINT FINANCE COMMITTEE: State Rep. Julie Lassa, D-Plover, was given a temporary seat Wednesday on the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee, which approves all-important expenditures for the state. Lassa will replace Rep. Spencer Coggs, D-Milwaukee, and joins State Sen. Kevin Shibilski, D-Stevens Point, on the committee. Items scheduled for the agenda Wednesday included testimony from nurses about forced overtime and the need for higher wages, discussion on alternative funding sources for several assistant district attorney positions vetoed in the budget and purchasing additional stewardship lands to allow more open spaces. * * * RED CROSS ANNUAL MEETING SCHEDULED: The American Red Cross of Portage county will hold its annual meeting and volunteer recognition luncheon from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, at the Stevens Point Country Club. The group will elect new board members, hear the state of the chapter address and a special message from Deb Pierce, director of health and safety at the chapter. Special volunteer recognition will be done for the armed forces, administrative, blood and emergency services volunteers. For more information, call the American Red Cross from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 344-4052. * * * JAIL AND BAIL WILL BE HELD SEPT. 11-13: The March of Dimes Jail and Bail will be held Tuesday through Thursday, Sept. 11-13, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at CenterPoint MarketPlace in Stevens Point. Funds raised from the program are used to support life-saving research and innovative programs to find ways to prevent prematurity and help premature babies win their fight for life. To request an "arrest," serve time in the jail cell, volunteer or learn more about Jail and Bail or other March of Dimes programs, call 1-(888) 715-3463.