Stevens Point Journal from Stevens Point, Wisconsin • Page 2

Local News Friday, August 20, Steuens 1993 Point Journal 2 Hull areas put in city sewer service boundary By RICK SCHABER of the Journal The sewer boundary lines in the Stevens Point area were slightly rearranged Thursday with the city losing some ground to Whiting but gaining two areas from the town of Hull. In a highly disputed debate between the seven Stevens Point Urban Area Sewer Service Advisory Committee members and numerous residents of the Conifer Acres subdivision, Stevens Point won the right to provide sewer service to a planned 55-acre subdivision at the southwest corner of Old Highway 18 and Brilowski Road. Conifer Acres is an existing subdivision located just, west of the planned development. Residents were concerned that being included in the sewer service area would lead to immediate sewer installation, eliminating the need for private septic systems, which some people have recently installed. "We put our septic system in one month ago," said Dorothy Steuerwald, 5473 Conifer Drive.

"We don't want sewer service now." John Gardner, community development director for Stevens I Point, said being in the area doesn't mean sewer will be installed, the neighborhood would have to request annexation, and that takes support by the majority of the neighborhood. "This committee designates the areas where sewers can be extended," Gardner said. "Not that there is going to be, there is no time frame. The neighborhood determines when sewers come through." Despite these assurances, town of Hull residents from Conifer Acres requested the neighborhood be left out of the sewer service area. In a 6-to-1 vote, the committee granted that request.

John Holdridge, town of Hull, voted against the motion. The town of Hull wanted both parcels left out of the sewer area. The 55 acres of vacant land that was included in the sewer area is owned by Joe Somers. The land is planned for a subdivision, but no plans are on file. Somers did not return phone calls this morning.

Paving the way EASY DOES IT. Workers for Trierweiler Construction Supply Marshfield, start the repaving project on Highway 66 Thursday afternoon. The crew began at Green Avenue and is making its way west. (Journal photo by Doug Wojcik) Neighbors 010 Gilbert gives of herself By KELLY BERG of the Journal An off note or wrong key is still music to Sharon Gilbert's ears. The town of Hull music teacher loves a challenge, especially when it involves children.

gets plenty of that from the fifth-, sixthand seventh-grade students she instructs at Alexander School in Nekoosa and during summer music theater at the Stevens Point Area Public School District. "It's a real challenge to keep their interest," she says. "You do everything you can think of to make it enjoyable and interesting." Her older students in the adult choir of Assembly of God in Stevens Point have that enthusiasm built in, Gilbert says. They join be- Sharon Gilbert cause they want to be there, says opmentally disabled children. the 14-year choir director.

"Every child that comes is a Large holiday concerts, school family decision about whether we productions and playing solo piano will take that child," Gilbert says. at banquets around town are Gil- "We know their problems and reabert's way of giving of herself. sons for going into care and decide talent back to if we can do it." "It's a tithe of my the Lord. It's a way of using my Home and family are her spetalent," she says. cialty, further evidenced by her Utilizing her gift to the fullest rework in 4-H.

Gilbert has been involved in 4-H for 22 years, 10 of quires lots of practice, time in- which were childhood Gilbert She squeezes playing particisays. between her other commitments, pation. including being a mother of three "It's a marvelous program for children, Michelle, 20, Robin, 18, family involvement," she says. and Shawn, 17. Her other "great love" is crafts, Gilbert and her husband, Philip, or as she calls her passion, "craftalso have parented foster children mania." She excels at crocheting for the past 14 years.

Two children and counted cross-stitch. are staying with the family now. Gilbert's latest project i is stopped counting after 50," cheting fancy dresses for dolls that she says. "We have no idea how will adorn a wedding celebration. many foster children we've had." Her daughters are helping; it's Most about three months, their way of bringing the family stay closer.

others a couple of weeks or a year. The Gilberts care for abused or at- (If you would like to see somerisk children and occasionally offer one featured in Neighbors, contact respite care to families with devel- the Journal at 344-6100.) Residents of the adjoining Conifer Acres also requested some power in determining the layout of Somers' development, but committee members told them all they can do is express their opinions when the plans are reviewed. The city of Stevens Point was also granted the right to provide sewer service to 50 acres at the northeast corner of Highway 10 East and Brilowski Road. A commercial use for that area has already been agreed to by the city, town of Hull and Portage County, Gardner said. Currently, Jung Garden Center, 5620 Highway 10 is only commercial development on the site.

The balance of the land is owned Rhynold Shave with a small parcel owned by First National Bank. plans for a branch office at the site, just north of the garden center. In the same motion, the village of Whiting was given the right to service an 85-acre site surrounding the intersection of Highway HH and Feltz Avenue. The site includes approximately 50 acres acquired by the village from Stevens Point in 1991 for its wellfield, said Tom Hagen, president of the village of Whiting. The rest of the acreage is land that was not annexed at that time, he said.

In another 6-to-1 vote, the committee approved the motion. In this issue, town of Plover Chairman Robert Steinke refused to support the motion because of an annexation in 1990 involving the city of Stevens Point. "In 1990, Stevens Point annexed 40 acres in Plover but didn't take the rights to a roadway," he said. "Then the next year, Stevens Point took more land, creating an island for the town of Plover. That's why I'm voting against this." The advisory committee consists of the heads of Stevens Point, the village of Plover, the town of Plover, the town of Hull, village of Whiting, the village of Park Ridge and the town of Linwood.

Each municipality receives a 7 percent vote and the balance of the voting power is based on population. Obituaries Stephen Albrecht, 50, Amherst, died Tebo-Peppey-Klemmer Funeral Thursday, Aug. 19, 1993, at St. JoHome, Milwaukee, is in charge of seph's Hospital, Marshfield. Funeral arrangements.

arrangements are pending at the BosSurvivors include his wife, Emily ton Funeral Home. Edward Bronk. Edward B. Bronk, 79, Milwaukee, died Wednesday, Aug. 18, 1993.

He has relatives in the area. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Milwaukee. Briefly (Domask) Bronk, Milwaukee; a daughter, Kathie (Dick) Polacheck, Milwaukee; a son, Arnie (Sue), Milwaukee; and a sister, Lillian (Dick) Poull, Oak Creek. Stephen Albrecht Wisconsin River to be lowered The Wisconsin River between the Kimberly-Clark Dam at Whiting and the Biron Dam will be lowered beginning Friday evening, Aug.

27, and remain at a lowered level until Monday, Aug. 30. The river will be lowered gradually resulting in a temporary flow level approximately 18 inches below normal, according to Charles 1 L. Stanley, power engineer at Consolidated Papers. The level of the river is being lowered to allow shorefront property owners between the two dams to make minor repairs to their frontage land and to remove ASCS extends program deadline Farmers should be aware of the following Portage County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service program changes.

Growers involved in the 1993 federal feed grain program who want to destroy their corn because it won't reach maturity on time have an extended deadline to file for permission, according to Jake Bourget, executive director of ASCS. To turn their failed crop acreage into pasture, farmers have until Aug. 31 to contact the ASCS. Farmers in the conservation reserve program (CRP) can now apply for haying and grazing of their CRP acreage. on Initially, annual rental rates were at a 50 percent reduction in payment, but now annual rental rates are at a 25 percent reduction in payment.

If farmers chose to harvest their CRP acreage, landowners must go to the ASCS office and by apply for acreage release, Bourget said. For questions, call the office at 346-1313. Who's calling? By KELLY BERG of the Journal They may not be able to see you when the phone rings, but they will know it's you calling. A decision by the state Public Service Commission on a Wisconsin Bell request to offer Caller ID service to its customers is expected i in October. For $6.50 a month and an outlay of $40 or more for the technology, it could be in your home for Christmas.

Caller ID enables the subscriber to view the telephone number from which an incoming call was placed before answering the call. A display screen attached to or built into a telephone will show the number. Businesses and individuals may be interested in the idea, and county governments already are getting in on the act. Portage County is working on a plan to install an Enhanced 911 service. The upgrade allows emergency personnel access to the telephone number of the caller.

Enhanced 911 takes Caller ID a step further by providing a myriad of other information on the status of a call. Without such knowledge, emergency workers often are in the dark about the situation into which they are entering or they receive incomplete information. With it, lives may be saved, as has been proven in 1 other communities with Enhanced 911, according to Chief Deputy Stan Potocki of the Portage County Sheriff's Department. "They may call and say 'Send an ambulance to (Highways) 66 and J. There's been an Then they hang up and we don't know whether there were any injuries or what kind or if the road is blocked," Potocki said.

Caller ID already is available in 39 states, according to Pamela Bednarczyk, media relations manager for Wisconsin Bell. "Actually, it balances out the privacy issue," Bednarczyk said during an interview this week at the Journal. Formerly, operators introduced the caller to the person on the receiving end before putting it through, she said. The receiver has no rights under the current setting, she said. "This way, you can decide if you want the call," Bednarczyk said.

Wisconsin Bell cites the primary advantage of such disclosure as deterring crime. In Michigan, Caller ID tells Wis. Bell wants rates Changes in the way Wisconsin Bell is regulated by the state Public Service Commission suit the telephone company well. That's why the local carrier has filed to continue being regulated on prices rather than revenue, company representatives said. Customers are equally satisfied, according to Pamela Bednarczyk, media relations manager for Wisconsin Bell.

Approximately 80 percent of them saw reductions with at least one plan the company introduced during the three-year test period, she said. In 1990, the PSC agreed to regulate Wisconsin Bell using a price index to maintain stable rates. The telephone company formerly was regulated on its rate of return, or revenues. Bell argues that rate of return regulation discourages development of new technology. The new method, controlling prices, allows incentive for investment while protecting customers, the company claims.

In altering the way it is regulated by the state, Wisconsin Bell hopes to take on additional chal- harassing calls dropped 25 percent for those with Caller ID, Bell claims. Domino's Pizza reports a 90 percent reduction in robbieres of its drivers at stores with Caller ID, according to Wisconsin Bell fact sheets. Mark Gehin, manager at Domino's Pizza, 101 Division said he has been looking into getting Caller ID for the local store. "Especially with a campus town. A lot of college kids want to play pranks," he said.

"They'll call and order for friends and think it's funny." Caller ID would allow Gehin to assure that orders are legitimate, saving time and money for the company. He wouldn't hesitate to get the service at home, either. "Even to have it for personal use I think it's a good idea for everybody, for your own safety," he said. For those who feel that revealing access to their home phone is exposing too much, Wisconsin Bell will offer a way to obstruct access. That privelege will cost money, too.

Known as -call blocking, callers can stop display of their phone number by dialing a code before entering the telephone number they are based on prices lenges, ones that could bring new technologies into schools, businesses, libraries and homes, Bednarczyk said. The company plans $700 million in infrastructure investments, bringing fiber optics to schools and upgrading switches, during the next five years. A filing by the company with the Federal Communications Commission also reveals that Wisconsin Bell hopes to delve into areas formerly reserved for cable operators and long-distance telephone companies. "We would like to compete in cable and in long-distance in exchange for an open local market competition," Bednarczyk said. "There may come a day, and we think it's inevitable, that people will decide who their local provider will be." Cable companies have complained that the size of large telephone companies gives them an unfair advantage in providing technology.

Bell argues that cable companies are in a superior position because households already subscribe to that technology, Bednarczyk said. trying to reach. Domestic violence shelters like CAP Services' Family Crisis Center, would be able to obtain the service free, blocking all calls from that line. Concerns for women don't end in the shelter, though, according to Alice Davies, director. Women who have left the shelter or have gone to a friend's or relative's house for reprieve no longer will have the privacy of anonymity, she said.

"They may have a reason to call their partner or to let them know they are safe, but they want minimized contact with that person," Davies said. "It's more than just being in a shelter." Per-call blocking doesn't necessarily solve the problem, she said. Even if a safehouse has the service, "that's asking a lot of a person under stress to remember to dial a code," she said. "There are a lot of safety issues," Davies said. While not everyone is pleased with Caller ID, Wisconsin Bell's Bednarczyk sees the service as one of many technologies coming soon to a home or business near you.

"What it comes down to is that there will be more and more services, and companies will have to acknowledge and deal with that," she said..