Mark Anderson In Serious Condition After Fall

On Sunday, September 16 at approximately 11:00 p.m. Mark Anderson, age 49, suffered a critical injury to his head while at home. Mark was sleepwalking and ended up falling down the stairs to the basement where he hit his head on the concrete. Mark's wife and daughter miraculously woke up a few seconds before Mark fell down the stairs. Both of them heard Mark fall and rushed to his aid. After an unsuccessful attempt to wake Mark they called 911.

Mark was transported to the River Falls Hospital by the Ellsworth Ambulance. Due to the severity of the injury to Mark's head the decision was made to transport him to Regions Hospital in St. Paul for further care. Mark was transported to Regions Hospital by the Ellsworth Ambulance.

When Mark arrived at Regions Hospital he was seen by the emergency room doctors and staff. A neurosurgeon spoke to the family about the dire need to perform surgery to save Mark's life. Mark was rushed into emergency surgery at approximately 2:00 a.m. to stop the internal bleeding on the left side of his brain.

The surgery lasted approximately 2-1/2 hours and the procedure went very well. The doctors were able to remove the blood clots on the left side of his brain without any issues. There is bruising and a small amount of bleeding on the right side of the brain but not enough to cause the doctors to operate.

Mark is currently in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) at Regions Hospital where doctors and staff continue to monitor his recovery.

A Meal Fund has been established through the Baldwin Area Chamber of Commerce, coordinated by Sue Lund at Associated Bank in honor of Mark, his wife Lori and their family of ten children. You are invited to make a donation to the fund by contacting Sue Lund, Associated Bank at 715-684-3266 or email to susan.lund@associatedbank.com. As donations are made to the fund, meals will be purchased at local restaurants and delivered to the family.

The Andersons own and operate Anderson Plant Farm south of Baldwin. Joan Doornink of Hillcrest Motors reports the Anderson Plant Farm's Greenhouse is full of Mums that are beautiful, huge and ready for purchase.

Everyone is encouraged to help Anderson Plant Farm's business by placing an order for mums with Joan who will make arrangements to pick up the orders and get them to you. The price is $13.00 each. Contact Joan about the colors that are available at 715-684-4610 or email to pjwl@baldwin-telecom.net.

House Fire Seriously Injured Four

A house fire early last Friday morning, September 21, as left four people hospitalized, including three seriously and connected to breathing tubes, said United Fire and Rescue Department Baldwin Station Chief Gary Newton.

Newton said the fire call came in from a neighbor lady of the home at 42 230th Avenue at about 1:22 a.m. Newton said the older, but apparently remodeled two story home was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived.

Newton said that neighbors had helped get the four people out. Apparently the four were a husband and wife and two children of the wife, a son who attended Spring Valley High School and a daughter who had recently graduated. He did not know the names of members of the family.

Newton said firefighters remained on the scene until 5:30 p.m. Friday when the State Fire Marshal arrived to investigate the cause of the blaze. The house was a total loss, said Newton, with floors collapsed inside.

The Red Cross is assisting family members, Newton said, including a son who is serving overseas with the U.S. military to return home.

Newton said United Rescue was assisted with mutual aid from the Spring Valley Fire Department.

Pine Lake Park Improvement Work Starts Monday

The boat landing at Pine Lake Park will be moved during work by a DNR crew during October. The present ramp angles to the right in the picture above. The new ramp will go straight to the north. The Park will be closed during the work.

Pine Lake Park, north of Baldwin, will be closed for most or all of October for construction of a new boat landing and driveway configuration.

According to Dave Larson, Operations Manager of St. Croix County Parks, the work will be done by a Department of Natural Resources Regional Field Operations (RFO) construction crew from Black River Falls that will arrive Monday, October 1. The crew will consist of from three to five workers including two equipment operators and a dump truck operator. The DNR's contribution has been valued at about $15,000 in labor and equipment.

Work will include a new ramp that will be built to the left of the present ramp. A new driveway configuration will be built, including a loop that will allow drivers to pull their vehicle and trailer around and then allow them to back straight up down the new ramp.

Larson is hoping that after the roadway settles a portion of the driveway can be paved next year. The original plan called for paving the park's driveway in three installments over three years. After paving the loop to the ramp the first year, the second year the road from the park entrance to the fork would be paved. The third year the road from the fork to the picnic area would be paved.

Between the entry and exit area of the boat ramp will be parking for two cars and three vehicles pulling boat trailers. A handicapped parking spot will be located adjacent to the boat ramp back up. Overflow parking will be along the other fork in the park's road, south of the picnic shelter.

The plan provides for boulders to be used to prevent access by vehicles to grassy areas not meant for vehicles.

A state grant for the work is in the form of labor and equipment, said Larson. The county will provide materials and has paid for the engineering.

The park will be gated and closed during the duration of the ramp improvement work, said Larson. The construction work will necessitate stockpiles of rock and dirt as well as use of heavy equipment, and Larson said that closing the park to additional traffic is to prevent accidents and the necessity of the equipment operators having to avoid other vehicles.

Other recent improvements at the park have included two fishing platforms that are reached by stairs and rip rapping the shoreline.

"Thank you for your cooperation and patience during construction," said Larson. He said questions about the work can be directed to the St. County Parks Department by phone, 715-684-2874, ext. 102, or e-mail at davel@co.saint-croix.wi.us.

"Finnegan's Farewell" To Be Presented By The Way Off Broadway Players

Cast of Finnegan's Farewell include, sitting, Amy Wicker (Baldwin), Betty Skelton (River Falls), Suzie Helgeson, (Baldwin) and Amber Thompson (Woodville). First row: Troy Bowen (Boyceville), Tori Thompson (Woodville) and Cindy McManus (Elmwood). Second row: Jill Faber (Knapp), Jack Mielke (Woodville), Theresa Bowen (Boyceville), Ben Perlick (Baldwin) and Sheryl Kendall (Elmwood). Back row: Michael Leitch (River Falls), Joe Clendenen (Baldwin) and Debra Bowen (Elmwood). Missing from the picture are Annette Colton (Baldwin), Tammy Bowen (Boyceville) and Char Merritt (Baldwin).

Mark your calendar! The Way Off Broadway Players announces their upcoming production of "Finnegan's Farewell" produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. on October 19 and 20 at 7:00 p.m. and October 21 at 1:30 p.m. at the Baldwin American Legion.

"Finnegan's Farewell" is an interactive comedy dinner show featuring you, the audience, who have come to pay your last respects to Patrick (Paddy) James Finnegan, a mailman who won 2.2 million dollars playing the slots at Turtle Lake Casino and then promptly dropped dead. As Sister Theresa presides over the funeral service, the audience is invited to eat, drink and be merry at an authentic Irish American wake, complete with eulogies, traditional Irish sing a-longs and a missing corpse.

"Finnegan's Farewell" was conceived by Kevin Alexander co-creator of the hilarious "Tony and Tina's Wedding." This production is directed by Terry Bowen of River Falls and Lori Leitch of River Falls. It has a large cast representing the Baldwin and Woodville area as well as other surrounding communities.

Come join your friends and neighbors and the Finnegan clan as they eat, sing, laugh, cry, feud and celebrate the life of Patrick Finnegan. There will be no walk in seating for this production. Tickets are $16.00 for the dinner and show. Advance purchase reservations only by October 13.
Call Nancy at 684-5904 or (651)343-4631 to make your reservation.