Colfax Messenger – 2017 – A Year in Review: A look back the top news stories in January, February, and March
Compiled by LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Messenger celebrated its 120th birthday this year.
And, as the newspaper did 120 years ago, the Messenger continues to bring news to its subscribers.
Here is a look back at the top news stories in 2017 from January, February and March.
January 4, 2017
• The Colfax Village Board is prepared to donate $7,000 toward remodeling the clinic in the former nursing home building on High Street if Marshfield Clinic decides to open a facility in Colfax. The entire remodel will cost $77,000.
• The Colfax Village Board has approved proceeding with Requests For Proposals for a new rail spur in Colfax. The estimate from the construction company Market & Johnson places the cost of a rail spur at $190 per lineal foot. The proposed rail spur would be about 4,000 feet long, so the cost of the spur would be somewhere around $760,000. The land where the rail spur would sit is expected to sell for $20,000 an acre for 20 acres in phase one and 20 acres in phase two, for a total land acquisition cost of $800,000.
• A Town of Colfax home was destroyed by fire Monday evening, December 26. The Colfax Community Fire Department was dispatched at shortly after 10 p.m. to the home of Pamela Graffice at E9781 810th Avenue. Graffice reportedly was the only person at home and was able to get out of the residence, although a dog died in the fire.
• Village employees and crew members from H&H Plumbing worked to repair a water lateral leak at 611 East River Street January 2.
January 11, 2017
• A 37-year-old Colfax woman accused of hitting Linda Salazar, owner of Mom’s Restaurant and Pub, while Salazar was walking to the restaurant around 5:30 a.m. December 9 has been charged with two felonies. Jami A. Golden made an initial appearance in Dunn County Circuit Court January 3 on one felony count of hit and run causing great bodily harm and one felony count of reckless driving causing great bodily harm.
• The Colfax High School Science Olympiad team won its first gold medal at the December 3 Boyceville Science Olympiad Invitational. Science Olympiad team members Hunter Larson and Wesley Kallstrom won Colfax High School’s first-ever gold medal in Material Science.
• The Elk Mound Village Board ended 2016 with five trustees and a president, and the board will remain that way until the April 2017 election.
• Scott Gunnufson, Colfax village president, has filed a non-candidacy form with the village clerk’s office and will not be running for election in April. Two candidates have filed nomination forms for the village president’s position: Gary Stene and Chris M. Olson.
• Kraemer Mining & Materials Inc., the company operating the Schindler-Sikora frac sand mine in the Town of Howard, has submitted two applications for borehole licenses and could eventually drill up to 30 new exploratory boreholes.
January 18, 2017
• Residents in Colfax can expect new “smart” water meters soon. The Colfax Village Board approved purchasing new residential water meters that can be read from the street at the January 9 meeting for a cost of about $82,000.
• A Dunn County judge has found probable cause following a preliminary hearing and has ordered 37-year-old Jami Golden, who is accused of a hit and run accident that left Linda Salazar critically injured in December, bound over for trial.
• A 56-year-old Ridgeland man who pleaded guilty to criminal damage to property and negligent handling of burning material related to a garage fire near Elk Mound in 2012 still has not paid restitution. Roger I. Thompson pleaded guilty in January of 2013 on one misdemeanor count each of criminal damage to property and negligent handling of burning material.
• Although it will be two years in June since a 27-year-old Colfax man convicted of a felony for stealing iron from the Colfax Railroad Museum was ordered to pay $7,000 in restitution, he has yet to pay any of the money. Donald J. Binder contacted Dunn County Circuit Court by phone for a review hearing January 9 before Judge Rod Smeltzer.
January 25, 2017
• The Elk Mound village board reversed its position on appointing a new trustee before the April election during the second January meeting. Tom Gilbert, current board president, appointed Steve Abraham.
• Randy Simpson of 24-7 Telcom out of Menomonie presented a class on cellular telephone software applications at the Colfax Public Library January 18.
• The Elk Mound school board has approved enrollment space openings for the 2017-2018 academic year. The third, fourth and sixth grades will be able to accept up to 10 students through open enrollment. The middle school’s special education program has six openings.
• The Colfax school board has accepted the resignation of Kimberly Myers as the girls’ golf team coach and has accepted the resignation of Melissa Prince as the Colfax High School cheerleading advisor.
February 1, 2017
• A 27-year-old Lake Hallie man was arrested last Thursday after being charged with disorderly conduct for an incident in Elk Mound. Brandon Judge was taken into custody after a vehicle licensed to him was discovered to have gone off the shoulder just outside Elk Mound.
• Karl’s Chevrolet became Colfax Chevrolet when the signs were changed January 26. The new owners of the business are Scott and Shannon Psak.
• The Colfax Village Board learned that Tim Rundle has been hired as the third full-time permanent public works employee.
• A larger-than-expected crowd attended the wine and craft beer tasting at the Colfax Health and Rehabilitation Center January 28. The event is a fundraiser for the nursing home.
February 8, 2017
• State Senator Terry Moulton (R-Chippewa Falls) visited the Colfax Health and Rehabilitation Center January 30 to hear concerns from residents and staff about funding for nursing homes and problems nursing homes are experiencing in finding Certified Nursing Assistants and registered nurses.
• A March trial has been scheduled for Jami A. Golden, who has been charged with two felonies in connection with the hit-and-run accident in December that left Linda Salazar critically injured.
• The doors in the commons at Colfax High School will become windows when the $7.2 million referendum projects are finished.
• During a joint meeting of the Colfax Village Board and the village board’s personnel committee January 30, changes were made to the employee handbook that eliminate village board approval of hiring new employees.
February 15, 2017
• Colfax Rescue, the Elk Mound Fire Department, the Wisconsin State Patrol and the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department responded to an accident in Elk Mound at the intersection of Holly Avenue and Menomonie Street February 10 when a semi failed to stop at the stop sign and collided with a van.
• Lonnie Eppers, a 43-year-old former Elk Mound man now living in Wheeler, is scheduled for a jury trial in May on five drug-related felonies.
• A Wheeler man died in a pickup truck versus train crash at the railroad crossing on state Highway 170 on February 19.
February 22, 2017
• Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker visited Elk Mound High School February 16 to tour the building and to speak to students and community members about the state’s education budget.
• The Colfax FFA Alumni Farm Toy Show will hold the 30th annual event at Colfax High School on Sunday, February 26.
• The financial situation for the Neighbors of Dunn County, the county’s nursing home, seems to be improving somewhat. The census is up to 91 percent, said Steve Rasmussen, county board president, at the board’s February 15 meeting.
March 1, 2017
• The Colfax Vikings statue in the commons at Colfax High School could find a new home in the mezzanine above the commons after the high school office is moved to the east side of the building.
• The Colfax Commercial Club will be sponsoring a village president candidate forum Sunday, March 5, at the Colfax Arts & Antique Mall. Chris Olson and Gary Stene filed nomination papers by the January deadline to become candidates for the position.
• The Elk Mound school board has approved annexing property to the school district owned by Ken and Kelly Book. The family lives in the Eau Claire school district but has several children open-enrolled at Elk Mound schools.
• Representative Rob Summerfield (R-Bloomer), 67th Assembly District, held a listening session about the governor’s proposed budget for 2017- 2019 at the Colfax Municipal Building auditorium.
• Governor Scott Walker ordered the flags of the United States and Wisconsin to be flown half-staff Saturday, March 4, as a sign of respect for Representative Tom Larson, who passed away after battling cancer. Larson was from Colfax and the founder of Bear Valley Electric.
March 8, 2017
• An environmental analyst with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has determined an Environmental Impact Statement is not needed for a proposed $15 million natural gas pipeline in northern Dunn County. Wisconsin Gas LLC has applied to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to install a natural gas pipeline from Wheeler through the towns of Hay River, Otter Creek, Wilson and Sheridan.
• State Representative Rob Summerfield met with residents and staff at the Colfax Health and Rehabilitation Center February 27 to discuss Medicaid reimbursement rates for nursing homes.
• The Colfax Lady Vikings are the WIAA Division 4 regional champions.
• The Elk Mound girls basketball team are the WIAA D3 regional champions.
March 15, 2017
• The Colfax Community Fire Department was called out to a vehicle fire shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday, March 11, at Anytime Fitness in Colfax. The driver of the vehicle, Connie Wald of Elk Mound, noticed fire coming out from under the hood as she was pulling into the parking lot.
• A plea deal reportedly has been reached for 37-year-old Jami Golden, who is accused in the hit and run accident involving the owner of Mom’s Restaurant and Pub, Linda Salazar, last December. A jury trial was scheduled later this month.
• A dedication for the 3,400 square-foot addition at North Running Valley Church is scheduled for March 19.
• The Colfax Zoning Board of Appeals has granted a conditional use permit to allow guns to be repaired at a Dunn Street residence. George Richards, who currently holds a federal firearms license which allows him to repair guns at 604 Main Street in Colfax, requested the conditional use to also repair guns at the home he rents at 101 Dunn Street.
March 22, 2017
• Marshfield Clinic has officially decided not to open a clinic in the former location of Mayo Clinic at the old nursing home on the north side of Colfax.
• A Dunn County judge has found that a 67-year-old former Colfax resident now living in Knapp is competent to stand trial for sexual assault. Elmer C. Shilts appeared before Judge Rod Smeltzer March 15. The alleged sexual assaults involved two girls, one who was seven years old at the time, and one who was between the ages of five and seven. The assaults allegedly happened in Colfax.
• Elk Mound High School won the regional Rube Goldberg contest hosted by UW-Stout. The school’s machine, called Santa’s Workshop, took first place and earned two other trophies to lead five teams in the technology and engineering challenge at the Memorial Student Center March 20.
• The Colfax Village Board and the parks committee have reviewed a loan agreement for $11,993 with the Colfax Softball Association that will be paid back in 12 installments over six years. The money was used to install additional lights and electronic scoreboards at Tom Prince Memorial Park last summer.
March 29, 2017
• A New York city tenement street and Hooverville were among the scenes from the Colfax High School play “Annie” performed March 24-26 in the Martin Anderson Gymnasium.
• Tyler Bauer, a Life Scout with Boy Scout Troop 71 in Elk Mound, would like to install a cement pad and shelter near the corner of Juniper Avenue and Menomonie Street just east of the Elk Mound Village Hall.
• The Colfax school board has locked in an interest rate of 3.45 percent on the referendum-approved spending of $7.2 million, saving taxpayers $270,000 over the projection of a 3.75 percent interest rate.
• The Colfax Board of Education has approved a request from the Colfax Sno-Drifters for an easement on school property near Evergreen Cemetery for a snowmobile bridge.
