Deputy Director Wade Labecki of the WIAA, third from left, returned to B-W for a presentation on Friday night. He presented the sportsmanship award from the WIAA to the Fusion girls hockey team that won the state title last winter. The Fusion is a co-op team with members predominantly from River Falls and B-W. Also pictured, from left, are JR Dachel, who occupies Labecki’s former place as Dean of Students, Athletic Director and Transportation Director; High School Principal Eric Russell; Labecki, Fusion Coach Matt Cranston; players Tanis Klingler and Tori Klingler; and Assistant Fusion Coach Karl Erickson.
Pilot project to test beneficial reuse of combustion byproduct
The state Department of Natural Resources intends to issue a grant of exemption to Xcel Energy and its project manager, Beneficial Reuse Management, to use spray dryer absorber (SDA) material in an equipment storage pad.
SDA material is generated by the combustion of coal and the injection of lime into stack gases, removing sulfur dioxide from air emissions and converting it to calcium sulfite. The material also contains fly ash. The purpose of this pilot project is to determine if SDA material can be used safely in the environment and function as a geotechnical fill, as in the construction of a storage pad.
The Xcel Energy A.S. King Power Plant in Stillwater, Minnesota, is the generator of the SDA material. The proposed pilot project is located at Blackhawk Nutrients, 645 270th St, in the Town of Springfield, St. Croix County.
Monitoring and sampling devices will be placed below the 160 by 270 foot pad to determine the quality of rainwater or melt water that filters through the compressed material. Engineers will also be evaluating the effects of freeze-thaw cycles on the material’s stability.
The proposed action is not anticipated to result in significant adverse environmental effects. The DNR has made a preliminary determination that neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement will be required for this action.
Public comments on the proposed pilot project are welcome and will be received through Oct. 7. Comments can be directed by mail to Michael Miller, DNR, 4732 Griffith Ave, Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494; by phone to Miller at (715) 421-7821; or by e-mail to michael.miller@wi.gov.
B-W students receive AP Scholar Awards
Nine students at Baldwin-Woodville High School have earned AP Scholar Awards in recognition of their exceptional achievement on last May’s AP exams.
The College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) program provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school. These students may earn college credit, advanced placement, or both at the college or university of their choice. Only about 18% of the nearly 1.7 million students worldwide who took AP exams performed at a sufficiently high level to also earn an AP Scholar Award.
At B-W, Elisa Folden qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average of at least 3.5 out of 5 on five or more AP exams. Jordan Hampton-Hayes qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning a 3 out of 5 on four or more exams.
Seven B-W students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more exams with grades of 3 out of 5 or higher. These AP Scholars are Josie Gheen, Ellen Hawley, Seth Kersten, Daniel Peterson, Dan Ramberg, Jordan Simons, and Rachelle Veenstra.
From the Exchanges
Interesting News Items from
Surrounding Communities
HUDSON STAR-OBSERVER: Two Hudson men face felony drug charges for something that came in the mail. Hudson police arrested the two in a parking lot of the Hudson post office last Friday afternoon just after they picked up two packages, each containing three pounds of marijuana . According to Det. Sgt., Eric Atkinson, a postal employee became suspicious because of the smell emanating from the boxes and the U.S. postal inspectors were called in. The inspectors searched the packages and allegedly found two carry-on size suitcases, each filled with three plastic bags with about a pound of marijuana in each. On Thursday, the inspectors notified Hudson police and a plan was set in motion. The post office contacted the two men Friday and told them their packages were available for pick up. Police were waiting in the parking lot. The men arrived at the post office around 2 p.m. One of them went in and retrieved both packages. As the man was putting the boxes in the trunk of his car, police moved in and arrested them both. One man was taken to jail and questioned. The second man was taken to his residence and interrogated there. The men’s names will not be released until charges are filed.
RIVER FALLS JOURNAL: Wisconsin State Troop Inspector Kirk Danielson of River Falls was honored for courageous conduct last week in Madison. He got a Meritorious Service Award from State Patrol Superintendent David Collins in the Governor’s Conference Room at the state Capitol. Danielson was one of 21 state troopers to be recognized for exemplary service at the ceremony. The daring rescue took less than a minute but inhaling smoke and dodging the shooting flames made it seem endlessly long. Danielson was trying to pull an unconscious man from the cab of a burning pickup truck. An eastbound pickup had veered off I-94 just inside Dunn County and crashed into a ravine some 100 feet below against a rocky culvert. For Danielson the scene triggered memories of a similar rescue attempt three years before. He and a St. Croix Sheriff’s deputy tried pulling a motorist from his burning car after a head-on crash with another driver who was drunk on Co. Rd. A near Hwy. 12. While the victim was probably dead, the two officers failed to get him out before his small car was engulfed by flames. “I wasn’t going to let another guy burn up. That was going through my head,” Danielson said about the I-94 rescue on a late afternoon last April. One motorist tried unsuccessfully with a fire extinguisher to douse the flames of the smoking pickup. Danielson cut the seatbelt and dragged the driver out but the man’s foot caught on the four-wheel drive shift lever. Besides smoke, flames were now flowing from the cab vents. Danielson crawled back a second time to reach in and free the man’s foot. Danielson started CPR on the driver, including chest compressions. Several minutes later Menomonie fire and ambulance paramedics arrived to take over. Despite the valiant rescue, the victim was pronounced dead.
THE SUN (OSCEOLA): More charges were filed Monday against Blake Charles Nelson, 19, of Stacy, Minn., stemming from a September 11 armed robbery of the Riverview Conoco station in Taylors Falls. Nelson was charged with aggravated robbery in the first degree, two counts of assault in the second degree and transporting a pistol by an ineligible person. According to the criminal complaint, Nelson came into the Riverview Conoco about 8:40 p.m. wearing an orange ski mask and carrying a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol. He then clambered a round, threw a bag at the cashier and demanded all the money. He pointed the gun at the cashier and a patron, and, after receiving the money, fled the store. Nelson stashed the gun, mask and money under a tree near the Taylors Falls Community Center where the police found it. The police then staked out the area and apprehended Nelson later when he came back to retrieve the items.
