Researched by Michael J. Caylor Jr.
4-25-79
Plans for a new school in Tomahawk have been put on hold after a lawsuit has been filed against the district. The board had planned on breaking ground on the new school to replace the former Washington Elementary School which was destroyed by fire this past August. Everything seemed on track for the project after a new location was found for the school. The voters approved bonding for the $4.2 million dollar project and building plans were approved, but according to the injunction in Lincoln County Court, the district never sought bids for the school. Instead, they negotiated a price from local construction company Johnson Brothers of Tomahawk. When reached for comment school Superintendent Ralph Johnson said he would not comment on the board’s no bid contract with Johnson Construction. He noted the board is scheduled to meet Thursday night.
Merrill Senior High School joined the list of schools throughout the state which unknowingly had been housing a dangerous and likely unstable explosive. The State of Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction put out a warning this past week that stockpiles of picric acid should be immediately stabilized and properly disposed of. Wausau Police Officer Emil Zenk, an explosive expert, came to the school and removed the product from the building. The estimated half-pound of crystalized material was placed in a sand filled dump truck from the Merrill Street Department and brought to the Merrill Sand and Gravel Company’s pit where it was destroyed in a controlled explosion. The acid was thought to be 20 years or older and had a variety of uses both in the classroom and in its crystalized state which was reported to be more powerful than dynamite.
4-26-89
Merrill native George M. Krembs made a rare visit to Merrill and took time away from his family visit to speak to local high school students about the exciting world and future of computers in today’s society. Krembs is employed by the prestigious IBM Company and is a graduate of Notre Dame University after having been awarded the Anson Scholarship in 1952. Krembs told students at the annual computer forum how he excelled in athletics, and it was only natural he pursued that as his father owned a sporting goods store in Merrill. Krembs now only works with the super computers of IBM and travels all over the world from scientific laboratories to universities where he helps develop new applications. Krembs predicts the computer, a device that was only once accessible to a sophisticated scientist, will soon be available to anyone who is willing to take the time to learn how to use it. He noted that at some point in the future computers would be on most desks. Krembs is married to his high school classmate, the former Shirley Rostal.
The Merrill Marching Jays are heading to Virginia! The high school band will perform in the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival held annually the first week of May in Winchester, VA. The band raised the $27,000 needed for the trip entirely by the fundraising efforts of the students and members of the band boosters. The buses pull out next Wednesday at 3:30 PM from behind the high school. (In today’s money that would be $55,000)
The Merrill Board of Education has agreed to a plan to reduce class sizes. The cost for the new initiative will range between $175,000 and $200,000. The plan calls for MAPS to rent classroom space from St. Francis School on W 10th St for the kindergarten classes currently being held at Washington and Franklin Schools.
4-28-99
By a vote to 20-2 the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors voted to go ahead with a downtown location for the expanded jail project. The gallery held about 70 interested citizens who at times expressed their disappointment at comments made by some supervisors. In the April spring election voters chose to continue having the jail downtown by a 75% vote, but board member Wallace “Red” Wurl called the vote a poll and indicated in the end the 22 supervisors should just vote how they feel on the project, as the referendum was non-binding. Supervisor Phil Cohrs and Melissa Schroeder introduced a measure that would keep the jail downtown, abandon any talk of a justice center, and cap the costs at $6.5 million. In making his case, Cohrs told the board that he has been accused of sending the building committee back to square one by holding them to a downtown location. However, Cohrs told the board he felt the building committee has never left square one, as they could never settle on a location after having debated for over three years while considering nine separate sites with architecture and consulting fees for the committee costing $138,000 with no results. The building committee will sit down with County Administrative Coordinator John Mulder and Sheriff Paul Proulx starting next week to help bring a better fiscal picture to the table for the project. A failed motion by Wurl prior to approving the project had eight of the 22 supervisors voting to table the measure for one more month for additional study.