Brian Jopek

Recent Stories

One injured in Arbor Vitae duplex blaze

The owner of an Arbor Vitae duplex on White Pine Lane was injured in a July 11 fire that destroyed the structure. Even before Arbor Vitae fire chief Mike Van Meter arrived at the scene, he activated the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) because of a personnel shortage and the hot and humid conditions.

Fireworks at AV-W school board meeting

For the past several months, Arbor Vitae resident Tiffany Trainor has been conducting a campaign against Dr. Jocelyn Hardy, the Arbor Vitae-Woodruff (AV-W) school district superintendent in an attempt to get her fired or to get her to resign before her current contract expires on July 31, 2027.

Woodruff town board OKs parking ordinance amendment

The Woodruff town board, after the permit parking section of the town’s parking ordinance had been reviewed and received a first approval with amendments at the town board’s June 23 meeting, formally approved the amended ordinance at its July 14 meeting.

Minocqua Fourth of July fireworks location change draws mixed reviews

By many accounts, the change back to the Aqua Bowl for the July 4 fireworks display was a booming success. For years, the fireworks had been fired from a clearing northeast of the town’s water tower and southeast of the mill pond near Save More that town chairman Mark Hartzheim said was privately owned but the Minocqua Area Visitors Bureau had been able to use.

Attorney’s fees questions linger in Manitowish Waters

A question about attorney’s fees was a topic of discussion during the July 7 meeting of the Manitowish Waters town board. The question was brought up by town board member Doug Zeise, who asked the item be on the agenda; it was a continuation of his inquiry he made at the town board’s June 13 meeting in which Zeise said he wanted to specifically mention for the record he didn’t agree with the attorney’s fees of roughly $2,000 the town had to pay.

Lynne town board approves conflict of interest resolution

The Lynne town board, by a vote of 2 to 1, on July 8 approved a resolution establishing standards for conduct of town officials intended to “prevent conflicts of interest and maintain public confidence in town government.”

Phone survey underway for MHLT referendum

With the board of education for the Minocqua Hazelhurst Lake Tomahawk (MHLT) school district in June deciding to go to an operational referendum in November of this year, the next step is gathering input from the public regarding the issue.

New information presented to Oneida County in Willow Road issue

The town of Lynne, currently with a request submitted to the Oneida County Highway Department to take over Willow Road, has presented information to the county believed to show that at one time, Willow Road had been a county road. Its designation, according to a map discovered by a seasonal resident of Lynne, shows that as of 1939, it was County Highway T.

Manitowish Waters town board questioned about bass tournament

The position of the town board of Manitowish Waters regarding the use of wake boats was questioned during the public comment portion of the town board’s July 7 meeting. The towns of Manitowish Waters and Boulder Junction had a lawsuit filed against them on June 8 seeking to block enforcement of parallel ordinances the towns have adopted essentially banning wake surfing on the Manitowish chain of lakes.

‘Together for Tomorrow’

An effort to look into the possibility for a Lakeland area YMCA got a boost on June 13 from a fundraising event at Firemen’s Park in Arbor Vitae. John Weiss, who with his wife Shelly owns Lakeland Fitness and Golf in Woodruff, said what was done in the time leading up to the June 13 fundraiser was their business was brought together with Generations Senior Center and the YMCA of the Northwoods in Rhinelander.