Man dies after fall from bridge

A Hudson man was killed Sunday night, August 3 when he either jumped or fell off a bridge onto westbound I-94 and then was hit by three vehicles.

According to the Wisconsin State Patrol, Andreas Karl-Hubert Schoene, 34, of Hudson, fell or jumped from the 11th Street overpass. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy on Schoene's body is being conducted in an effort to determine whether he died as a result of the fall or from being hit by the three vehicles. The fall or jump and resulting death required re-routing vehicles in the westbound lane for about an hour and one-half.

The State Patrol said no one in the three vehicles was injured. The call to the State Patrol was received at 10:42 p.m.

Two accidents near Woodville sent five to hospitals

Two accidents near Woodville last week sent five people to hospitals, with one injured person suffering possible life threatening injuries.

According to emergency personnel who responded to the accidents, one was a T-bone accident on USH 12 near 260th Street on Woodville's northeast side. One individual was unresponsive with possible life-threatening injuries and was transported to Regions Medical Center in St. Paul. Three others in the accident were transported to Baldwin Area Medical Center with lesser injuries.

Another accident was at the intersection of CTHs B and N south of Woodville. Again, a vehicle was T-boned by another in the accident. Two persons from one of the vehicles in the accident were transported to Baldwin Area Medical Center for treatment with non-life threatening injuries. The occupant of the other vehicle refused treatment.

Agencies responding to the scene of both accidents were Woodville Police, Baldwin EMT Department and United Fire and Rescue.

Paulette Anderson's organizational skills a benefit to Hammond

Paulette Anderson admits she's good at organizing and that has proved beneficial to the Hammond area in several ways. Years ago she took a grant writing course at UW-River Falls and as part of the course applied for a grant for a fictional organization called the Hammond Arts Alliance. Her business is gardening, at one time operating Paulette's Gardens and now as a gardener for others, and her skills with plants have resulted in more beauty at the Hammond Hall.

For those activities and others that have benefited the community, Paulette has been recognized by the Hammond Heartland Parade Committee as Grand Marshal. Paulette will be walking in the parade perhaps accompanied by two-person llama costumes designed to publicize the upcoming premier of a documentary film "Running of the Llamas" by local filmmaker Heidi Freier.

Anderson is a native of Amery, or more specifically, Range, where her family had a turkey farm. She spent a couple years in college and then traveled and worked as a waitress for 20 years. Then she started her gardening business, which she has now been involved in for 20 years. She
had a retail operation for six or seven years, "Paulette's Gardens," but now is out of retail and does flower garden maintenance. At one time she had many clients, but at present has just a few.

Paulette admitts that gardening is a passion for her. She said for many years she tried to find a job she could do and have summers off so she could garden and now she is able to garden all the time. She volunteers her gardening expertise at Adoray Gardens and the container gardens at the Hammond Library and Hammond Post Office. About gardening she said: "I like it. I'm a part of it."

The Hammond Arts Alliance story is interesting. "Thirteen years ago I took a grant writing workshop," said Anderson. It was a day-long workshop at UW-RF. She said that afterwards she was excited about the prospects and was talking to the late Fred Kraemer and he said Bruce Foster would probably allow Foster Hall to be used for a gallery. A 501(c) organization was formed and that's how the Hammond Arts Alliance and Foster Hall got their start. "I like making things happen," she said. The Hammond Arts Alliance is now in its 12th year. Foster Hall is no longer the venue for the Alliance, and instead upstairs at the Hammond Hotel is used as well as
some remote locations.

Anderson said that over the years she's had many employees who were artists and so has a network of artists she knows. "I'm kind of a social person," she said, and knows art students, art teachers and everyone in between. She also said Hammond is an interesting place in which to have an art gallery.

Friday Paulette said she will be at the new farmers market, next to Hammond Hall. She will be selling flowers, be available to answer gardening questions and to talk about one of her new projects-establishing community education. Another of her current projects is to renovate the upstairs of Hammond Hall so it is usable year-round.

In addition to her organizing and gardening activities, Paulette has found time during the past eight years to serve as a trustee on the Town of Hammond Board.

Paulette and her husband Joe live just north of Hammond in a prairie style home filled and surrounded by plants and works of art.

The preview screening of the documentary "Running of the Llamas" will be on Thursday, September 11 at 6:00 p.m., which is just before this year's llama race which is at 7:00 p.m. The film will be shown in the Hammond Hall above the library. Next door, above the Hammond Hotel in the Kraemer Loft Gallery, will be a show of award-winning items made from llama fiber by members of the St. Croix County 4-H/FFA.

BAMC and Smestad team up to give students insights

Kit Smestad, left, B-W High School guidance counselor, took a course through WITC over the summer familiarizing herself with many aspects of the medical field at Baldwin Area Medical Center. Trudy Achterhof is BAMC's Human Resource Director.

A credit class through WITC taken over the summer by B-W High School guidance counselor Kit Smestad at Baldwin Area Medical Center has given her insight into medically related fields which will help her advise kids about them.

Smestad spent time over the summer in 16 separate areas at BAMC to gain knowledge about each of the areas and the qualifications needed for each.

"Now I have a better idea how to advise kids and can make them aware of different opportunities in the medical field," said Smestad. "It's not to tell them what to do but to give them information so they can decide what to do."

Smestad worked with BAMC Human Resources Director Trudy Achterhof to set up the course. Over the summer Smestad was able to spent time in departments or areas including: surgery, risk management, infection control, diabetes control; respiratory therapy, clinic, social services, lab, radiology, ER, OB and scheduling and registration.

Achterhof said that because BAMC is a smaller facility Smestad was better able to see the whole of the operation, rather than at a large medical facility which has thousands of employees spread across hundreds of areas. She added that the 16 areas visited by Smestad were probably three-quarters of the areas at BAMC. "It made it more manageable for Kit," said Achterhof.

Smestad said the course, practically speaking, involved spending time in each of the departments, speaking to the people in them "and finding out what they do." She also discussed schools that educate students in their areas. The connections she made with employees also provides Smestad with a contact person for a student if they have questions in that area.

"The great thing about health care is there are many options and the training varies from on-the-job to being a doctor," said Smestad.

"That's the message we try to send when we go to schools," added Achterhof, "there are many options." She said BAMC puts lots of energy into recruiting and working on partnerships with schools because of the shortage of health care workers. "We try to make ourselves available to their school programs and to be speakers and participate in their school programs and in interview days as a way of saying we care about students who want to advance themselves and help them achieve their goals in health care." Achterhof said

BAMC has between 20 and 25 students yearly from WITC and CVTC who do clinical rotations. She said that provides a pool of resources from which the hospital may recruit in the future. "Many people prefer to be in a small [hospital] environment," said Achterhof. BAMC also offers multiple rotations, she added, with nursing a great example. A nurse can be trained in four or five areas at BAMC, while at a large facility a nurse would work in only one area. "People who come here want the diversity and variety they get."

BAMC also offers a program called "Me and my shadow" for high school students to shadow a health care practitioner in an area of their interest, said Achterhof. "In surgery, for example, a student may get achance to be in surgery."