After months of hard work, Door County Habitat for Humanity is pleased to announce the completion of two homes. This marks the 23rd and 24th homes built by the Door County branch. Executive director Rick Nelson says both families are in or are in the process of
moving into their new homes.
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More than 40 volunteers helped with each of these projects. Nelson is pleased to see so much help from the community on these homes. More volunteers means more Habitat homes can be built.
In addition to these two, Nelson anticipates the completion of two more Habitat homes.
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Nelson says while the number of volunteers goes up during the summer months, a small group of year round volunteers has been established. While volunteer numbers is not a huge problem right now, Nelson says Habitat is always looking for more help. Plans for 2008 include completing homes 25 and 26, construction of home #27 and possibly pouring the foundation of home #28.

Door County resident and Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton is continuing the fight on depression. In October, hundreds of employers, organizations and citizens from across the state participated in free depression screenings. Wide spread support for that
effort was built on recognition of the economic impact of untreated mental illness says Lawton.
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Lawton hopes to make history by guiding a bill for mental health parity and insurance coverage to Governor Jim Doyle's desk for his signature.
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Lawton invites you to join hundreds of others in Wisconsin for Mental Health Parity Action Day.
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Mental Health Parity Action Day will take place in Madison on February 20. Those participating will gather first for a few inspirational words, the materials you will need to make the case to your legislators and appointment assignments with them, and a chance to network with an amazing group of talented people. Click here for more information!!!

 Press Corps
January 17, 2008

.Troy Tauber, from the Door County delegation, will be playing a very important role in this year’s Youth in Government (YIG) program as the lt. governor. He will be working alongside governor Caroline Kitchens who is also from the Door County delegation. YIG was faced with a new situation this year. Troy did not run as lt. governor with Caroline last
year, in his place was Justin Henry from the Dane County delegation. However Justin could not serve as lt. governor this year because he will be on a mission trip. Caroline appointed Troy as her new lt. governor; after Troy was appointed he had to fill out application forms to make sure he was qualified for the job. Julie stated, “I am very pleased with Caroline’s pick of Troy, he is fair and has good legislation.” The official announcement of Troy’s role as the lt. governor took place on January 6th at the pre. government session in Steven’s point.
This will be Troy’s second year in YIG. Last year he was a very active member of the senate and was nominated outstanding senator. He has strong debate skills and attended CONA in North Carolina last year, which is a program for youth active in government. Troy has also been involved in Mock Trial and Mock UN and has helped on multiple
political campaigns. He is also in AODA (alcohol and other drug abuse prevention project), soccer, wrestling, track, and national honors society.
Troy has many responsibilities as lt. governor, he must run debate between next years governor candidates, help run bills, and general tasks around the capital. He must serve as the top advisor to the Governor and assist Caroline in any decisions she needs help with. Troy may also be required to give input in the selection of National Affairs delegates.
One of Troy’s goals this year is to meet as many of the delegates as possible. He also wants to be very involved in the program unlike past candidates and he will also attend the sessions. Troy excitedly said that he wants to make this the best year of YIG ever!
Troy is looking very forward to serving as lt. governor alongside governor Caroline Kitchens. When I asked Troy how he felt about working with Caroline he responded with, “I love Caroline! I am very honored to work with her.”

Special education policies and procedures could be changed for the Sturgeon Bay School District at tonight's school board meeting. The board will convene at 6:00 pm in the
Sturgeon Bay High School Library. The board will discuss the adoption of the DPI model for special education policies and procedures. Superintendent Joe Stutting said this will keep the district in compliance with state and federal laws.
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The board of education will look to approve the hiring of a high school teacher associate, discuss advertising on scoreboards, approve support staff contracts and decide on a grant approval process. Stutting said the district will look to delete the Door County Schools Uniform Attendance Policy.
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Preliminary discussion on the job description for the athletic director and school resource officer will take place. Finally, an executive session dealing with performance evaluation of the District Administrator and consideration of employment contracts for: High School Principal; Middle School Principal; Elementary Principal; Director of Pupil Services; Administrative Assistant/Office Manager; Business Manager; Business Manager - Assistant; Administrative Assistant Building and Grounds; Food Service Director, Technology Coordinator and Maintenance Technician will occur in closed session.

The world is changing at an always accelerating pace, introducing new technology, values, and global tribulations daily. An understanding of politics and an involvement in the government process are becoming increasingly more important. The Youth in Government
program, set up by the YMCA, assists children from seventh to twelfth grade in learning about and developing a passion for political affairs.
The Wisconsin branch of YIG involves more than four hundred kids from every area of the state. It actively involves kids in hands on experiences dealing with the three branches of government which include the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. There is even a journalism option, called Press Corps, which allows students to write and record news throughout the model government weekend.
The program begins in Stevens Point, where students meet for the Pre-Government assembly. Every student, excluding Press Corps members, writes a bill concerning the state government. After a short introduction and welcome the students break into pre-decided committees based on bill content and they begin ranking bills. Bills are ranked according to debate-ability, organization, originality, plausibility, and accuracy.
The next time the students meet is in Madison for a weekend of intense debating. Students
are each given a bill docket and debate commences. The largest quantity of bills that time yields are debated, starting with the highest ranked bill and going down the list. For a bill to officially pass it must be debated and accepted by the Legislature, Supreme Court, and the Governor. The weekend is filled with much debate and exercise of parliamentary procedure.
I chose to be in Youth in Government because I thought it was important to have a more thorough knowledge of government and the issues of my state. Over the past three years I have participated in the Door County delegation. The program has not only broadened my knowledge of the state government but also how issues on a state level affect the country and even the world. It has also given me an insight into the technique of presenting an idea to a group and persuading them to agree. I would recommend the Youth in Government program to everyone because it is a fun, interactive way to learn about government and debating. I think it is an especially time worthy program for high school students because the more informed we are about our government and the voting process, the more intelligently we will be able to make a decision when we are eligible to vote.
Youth in Government is an important program for the future of our nation. It teaches and inspires students about their government. There are a lot of important decisions ahead of our generation and we need to secure that our decision makers will be informed, conscious citizens. Youth in Government develops a solid foundation of informed and responsible leaders for the future of our country.

Last night at 9:35 p.m., Sturgeon Bay police officers responded to a report of a burglary in progress at the Younkers store downtown. The suspect had smashed a window and had gone into the store. By the time officers arrived, the single suspect had fled on foot. Sturgeon Bay Police Chief Dan Trelka retold the story.
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The suspect was located hiding nearby. A short foot chase ensued and the suspect was taken into custody. He is currently in custody at the Door County Jail where Trelka said he will possibly face several charges including burglary, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and breaking and entering.
This is the second time in a one-week time span that SBPD has used a tazer on a potential threat. Trelka said this was an example of a perfect time to use the alternate means to control a potentially dangerous person.
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The Police Chief thanked community members that were in the area of the burglary and used cell phones to alert authorities. Trelka said without caring citizens this man may have gotten away.

Sturgeon Bay will start to update its Comprehensive Plan at their kick off meeting on Thursday, January 31. It was recently decided that Planning & Design Institute would the consultants for this project. Community development director Marty Olejniczak expects this to be a lengthy process. He anticipates the process to take about 18-24 months.
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While updating the Comprehensive Plan was a task Olejniczak could complete, the Plan Commission and Common Council agreed that the update would be far too time consuming for him. This plan must be complete by January 1, 2010. 
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Sturgeon Bay's Comprehensive Plan kick off will be held at a special plan commission meeting on Thursday, January 31.

Preparing for the upcoming model government trip to Madison, the Door County Youth in Government Press Corps is brushing up on news writing and reporting. Y Delegation Advisor Brooke Tanck says the group is made up of 34 students and 4 of them make up the Press Corps. Tanck talks about Press Corps responsibilities.
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In the next few days, you'll hear from these Press Corps students, as they report on the Door County branch of YIG. Tanck says there are many exciting things happening this year.
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Door County Delegation Press Corps members Annika Paulson, Ali Cummings and Taylor Trelka are all gearing up for February's Model Government event in Madison. Throughout the week, we'll hear from the Press Corps as they tell us about the Door County Youth In Government Delegation.

Give your kids an allowance to teach them how to budget and have them do household chores because that should be their responsibility says FISC Consumer Credit Counseling Director Gay Pusdaver. What often happens, says Pusdaver, is that chores and allowance become a power play and kids will say something like "I don't care about the allowance, I'm not going to do my chores!" Taking this approach could be a very valuable lesson that they will really understand later on in life. 
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As a child gets older, their allowance should increase. Pusdaver says don't forget to work it out based on what you as the parent can afford. When Pusdaver's son was 5 years old, he received $0.50. As he got older, her son received more money but was also given new responsibilities. 
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Along with that, Pusdaver encourages parents to have kids set aside a certain percentage of that allowance for their savings account. She also says to have them consider the upcoming birthday presents they will purchase when invited to a friend's party and save accordingly. Pusdaver says taking this approach does not mean you are not a good parent or cannot afford it. She says giving kids an allowance and sticking with the concept will get them thinking about how much things cost, the value of their money and where they want to spend.

The remodeling project for the Kewaunee County Courthouse is off to a great start. Upgrades to the existing and the addition of a second courtroom are major areas of attention for remodeling crews. The second courtroom will be used if there are two cases going on at the same time or for family court. Kewaunee County Sheriff Matt Joski said the project will take the command staff of the Sheriffs Department and send them into the basement of the remodeled building. Joski described how the move will alter the department's offices.
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Joski said crews have a lot of work ahead of them, but ensures that the finished product make the facilities more user friendly for the community and the staff. The structural frame of the building is being worked on now.
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The Investigative Department has been displaced by the remodeling project. Joski said they have moved their office to the City of Kewaunee Police Department. The three investigators and the lieutenant of operations will hold office hours there until the project is complete. The new location was prepped and finished by Joski himself. He painted all of the walls and had another deputy help with refinishing the floors.

The January meeting of the Democratic Party of Door County will feature a presentation by Thomas Beebe of the Institute for Wisconsin's Future (IWF) about the initiative to change the current school funding system.

Recognizing that school funding in Wisconsin is in crisis, and produces great disparities in the adequacy of school funding among districts, IWF and the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES) have promoted school funding reform based on four core principles: sufficient resources are essential; resources should be linked to high standards; funding should come from statewide sources; control of schools must remain local.

Mr. Beebe will discuss issues around school funding reform, and Wisconsin Senate Joint Resolution 27 which promotes the core principles of their program.

Thursday, 24 January 2008
Door County Library
Basement meeting room
7:00 PM
Presented by Tom Beebe of the Institute for Wisconsin's Future
A question and answer session to follow.