County capsules BUSINESS 51 IMPROVEMENT MEETING: The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting regarding a study to improve the Business Highway 51 (Post Road) corridor from County Trunk B in Plover through Whiting to the south Stevens Point city limits. The meeting will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, at the Plover Municipal Center, 2400 Post Road, Plover. Presentations are scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. A variety of exhibits and maps will be on display, and DOT staff will be available to answer questions. Attendees may submit written or verbal comments about the proposal. The corridor study is in the first phase of design activities that will eventually lead to the reconstruction of Post Road. The study is focusing on traffic patterns, traffic safety and operations issues to ensure future design proposals meet the needs of the community. The study also takes into consideration potential future land use patterns and how they might affect access issues. The final report is scheduled for release in September. Persons unable to attend the meeting may submit their comments by contacting Jim Wendels, SPO project manager, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, District 4, 1681 Second Ave., Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54495 or at (715) 421-8342. * * * CRASH INVESTIGATION UPDATE: The death of Alex Kurszewski, 68, Rosholt, Wednesday morning, March 27, was found to be due to natural causes and not the result of a traffic accident, a Portage County Sheriff's Department report said. Deputies were called to School Road in the town of Amherst after the semi tractor Kurszewski was driving left the roadway. He was pronounced dead at the scene. * * * AIRO POWWOW SET FOR SATURDAY: The annual AIRO (American Indians Reaching for Opportunities) Powwow will be held Saturday, April 6, at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UW-SP). The powwow, a Native American social event, will begin with a Grand Entry at 1 p.m. in the Berg Gym at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Reserve Street on the UW-SP campus. A feast will be held at 5 p.m. with another Grand Entry at 7 p.m. The powwow also includes vendors and giveaways. Admission at the door is $4 for the public and $3 for UW-SP students. This year's powwow will include an Honor Song for all who take part in educating others. Other specialty dances may include a Snake Dance, which imitates the life of a snake, or the Two-Step, one of the few dances in which females and males touch. All are invited to join in during intertribal dances. The Grand Entry, the main feature of the powwow, includes a Color Guard, Head Dancers, tribe ambassadors, male and female traditional dancers, grass dancers, fancy dancers and jingle dress dancers. For more information, contact the Native American Center at 346-3576. * * * CRAZY DAYS EVENT SCHEDULED JULY 10 AND 11: Downtown Stevens Point will celebrate its 2002 Crazy Days on Wednesday and Thursday, July 10 and 11. The event in CenterPoint MarketPlace will continue through July 13. For more than 40 years the event has been celebrated downtown, and the Association of Downtown Businesses reports this year's event will include sidewalk sales, live entertainment, nonprofit booths and a beer garden. Main Street in the downtown area will be closed to traffic on those days and retailers will offer sidewalk sales. Pat Laabs of Jim Laabs Music is in charge of the entertainment for the two days, using solo acts and groups, with performers of all ages. Groups that would like to perform should call 341-1666. Sidewalk space is provided to nonprofit groups for fund-raisers during Crazy Days. Groups that are interested should contact Lori Buchkowski at Arbuckle's Eatery, 341-2444. * * * SCOUTING FOR FOOD BEGINS: More than 600 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and adult Scout leaders of the Mushkodany District of Samoset Council of the Boy Scouts of America will be out for the 15th consecutive year beginning Saturday, April 6, for the Scouting for Food effort. Scouts will leave plastic bags at homes throughout Portage County, starting on Saturday. Residents are asked to place nonperishable food or personal care items in the bags and place them in the same location by 9 a.m. Saturday, April 13, when the Scouts return to collect the bags. Scouts will give the donations to the Salvation Army, Catholic Worker House, Operation Bootstrap and the Portage County Food Assistance Program for local distribution. * * * TWO LOCAL PRIESTS RECEIVE NEW ASSIGNMENTS: The Rev. Michael Klos, chaplain and instructor of religion at Pacelli High School and St. Peter Middle School in Stevens Point, and an associate pastor at St. Peter Parish in Stevens Point and St. Mary Catholic Church in Custer, has been named parochial administrator of St. James Parish in Camp Douglas and St. Michael Parish at Indian Creek, effective Monday, April 1. The Rev. Joseph O'Hara, associate pastor of St. Bronislava Parish in Plover, will replace Rev. Klos at Pacelli and St. Peter Middle School, continuing to reside at St. Bronislava Rectory in Plover. Bishop Raymond L. Burke of the La Crosse Diocese announced the appointments on Thursday, March 28, in The Catholic Times, the new name of the Time Review, the official newspaper of the Diocese of La Crosse. * * * EMPLOYMENT FAIR OFFERS EXHIBIT BOOTHS: The 2002 Spring Employment Fair will be held Tuesday, April 30, from noon to 6 p.m. in the former Stage Store in CenterPoint MarketPlace. Exhibit booths are available and booth location requests will be filled on availability at the time registration is received and on a first-come, first-served basis. The fair is sponsored by the Portage County Job Center, Mid-State Technical College and the Stevens Point Buyers' Guide. For more information, contact Janene Harper at the Buyers' Guide, 344-4700. * * * PLOVER DROPOFF OF YARD MATERIALS/BRUSH: The village of Plover will accept the dropoff of yard materials and brush at the Wastewater Treatment Facility, 4496 Coolidge Ave., beginning Wednesday, April 10, through Wednesday, Nov. 6. The materials may be dropped off from noon to 6 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. A load must be within a pickup truck box and village residents are limited to one load per day. Unacceptable materials include stumps, tree tunks, logs of any size, sod, dirt, timbers, rocks, concrete, boards or foreign material. Violators will be fined. * * * METHAMPHETAMINE LAB RAIDED: Several law enforcement agencies executed a search warrant Tuesday, March 26, at 3500 Highway A, in the town of Amherst, as part of an ongoing investigation of methamphetamine manufacturing, a Portage County Sheriff's Department report said. The agencies involved included the Sheriff's Department, including its Special Response Team, the Stevens Point Police Department, Central Wisconsin Drug Task Force and the state Department of Justice's Division of Narcotic Enforcement. A substantial amount of components needed to manufacture methamphetamine were found during the search, the report said. Also found were 9.8 grams of suspected methamphetamine, with a street value of about $1,000, and a small amount of suspected marijuana. Authorities took a 30-year-old town of Amherst man and a 35-year-old village of Plover man into custody on multiple drug related charges, the report said. * * * DISASTER PLAN TIP: Protecting family documents is part of being prepared to deal with natural disasters, according to the American Red Cross. An up-to-date household inventory is a valuable resource. When making the inventory, don't overlook tools stored in garages, lawn furniture or food in freezers. Inventories can also be photographed or videotaped. Accurate and current inventories help to determine if there is enough insurance to cover a household's contents. Copies of valuable record lists should be in the care of a lawyer, the administrator of wills, business associates or trusted family members residing outside the home. Some valuable papers that should be in a safe deposit box are stocks, bond certificates, property records, deeds, titles and leases, contracts, wills, birth certificates, social security cards and lists of insurance policies. Examples of valuable papers that should be kept in a person's possession, at all times in a waterproof, fireproof locked box are guarantees and warranties, educational records, health records, insurance policies, driver's license numbers, copies of income tax returns, appliance manuals, current bank balances, rental property records and safe deposit records and inventory of items. For more information on developing a disaster plan, contact the local American Red Cross chapter at 344-4052. * * * FLUORESCENT LAMP AND COMPUTER RECYCLING: The Portage County Solid Waste Department has scheduled its spring Fluorescent Lamp and Computer Recycling Day for Wednesday, May 8, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Portage County Highway Garage, 800 Plover Road (Highway B), Plover. The event provides recycling services at reduced rates and is available to all Portage County businesses, institutions and residents. All participants are required to pay for the services. The department works with Lamp Recyclers Inc. to properly recycle the fluorescent lamps (light bulbs) and computer components. Environmental regulations prohibit businesses and institutions from disposing of these items in landfills unless they are determined to be nonhazardous. Residents are exempt from these regulations but are encouraged to recycle these items whenever possible. Businesses with larger volumes can make arrangements for onsite collection at no additional charge. For more information call Portage County's Recycling and Solid Waste Hotline at 345-5972. * * * DEMOCRATS MEET TUESDAY: The Portage County Democratic Party will hold its monthly meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, in the Olympic Restaurant, 101 Division St., Stevens Point. Topics that will be discussed at the meeting include the upcoming 7th Congressional District Democratic Party Convention, and the party's planned activities for Trivia Weekend. All Democrats are invited to attend. For more information, contact the Portage County Democratic Party Chair Gary Hawley at 345-9587, or visit its Web site at www.portagedems.org. * * * OBEY ENDORSES BARRETT: Seventh District Congressman Dave Obey endorsed Congressman Tom Barrett in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor at a press conference in Wausau Tuesday. Obey said his confidence in Barrett was built in high-pressure moments during their service together in Congress. * * * PNAZEK APPOINTED TO NATIONAL COMMUNITY ACTION WORK GROUP: CAP Services' President and Chief Executive Officer Karl S Pnazek is one of three local leaders from across the nation chosen to participate in a new federal work group examining the future of community action. The eight-person work group was formed by Clarence H. Carter, director of the federal Office of Community Services, to review the current model of community action and to make recommendations for new approaches in anti-poverty initiatives. OCS administers the Community Service Block Grant which community action agencies use as their core funding for developing programs that help low-income households attain economic self-sufficiency. There are more than 1,000 community action agencies in the country. Pnazek has been CEO of CAP Services since 1976. CAP Services is a private, nonprofit corporation serving as the designated community action agency for Marquette, Outagamie, Portage, Waupaca and Waushara counties. It has been offering programs since 1966. * * * INTERSECTION SAFETY: According to a recent analysis by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, nearly 60 percent of all vehicle crashes occur at intersections. "The first rule is to abide by any posted signs or pavement markings that indicate how to turn at the intersection," said Capt. Jeffrey Frenette of the State Patrol district office in Wausau. "In the absence of signs or markings, following a few basic principles should make turns easier. For a left turn a motorist should turn into the lane immediately to the right of the centerline or dividing island. The only exception to this is if two left turn lanes are marked. Then you should move to the right lane as soon as safely possible. That will get you out of the 'fast lane' and allow you to accelerate to the proper speed without interrupting traffic flow. "Right-hand turns are almost the same. Both the approach to the turn and the turn itself should be made from the farthest right lane. If you're driving a large vehicle like a semi, it may be necessary to swing out into a middle lane or into the middle of the intersection to complete your turn. However, this should always be done with consideration for other traffic at the intersection." Turn into driveways with exactly the same precautions, Frenette said. Convictions for improper right or left turns, for failure to follow indicated turn signs or for improper turns into a driveway all carry the same $126.20 forfeiture in penalties and other court costs.