Last September, my husband and I were strolling through the Merchant Building at the Shawano County Fair when we stopped at a booth that advertised a pain relief program in a new, innovative way. The brochure caught my eye because my husband was dealing with back pain off and on for years, as well as complaining about his back being “tight.” I figured it was due to our livelihood.

We see and hear about people who are homeless and those who live in poverty.

Helen Raddant is the president of Home and Community Education. She was born in Gillett, graduating from Gillett High School. She worked at the canning factory there during high school and after she graduated. She married Allen Raddant and moved to Shawano, where she was the activity assistant at Birch Hill for more than 22 years.

Sometimes mail can be strange. In my teen years, I was pen pals with some of my cousins who lived far away, so I didn’t see them more than once or twice a year. I remember eagerly awaiting a reply from them after I had sent a letter. I don’t like to complain about the postal workers, as they are out doing their job in all kinds of weather, but it seems to me that mail traveled faster in the 1950s than it does in 2015.

I’m sitting here on Easter Sunday afternoon, with my husband snoozing in his recliner, and all is quiet. For the first time ever, our family had our Easter gathering on Saturday — and all because of the Milwaukee Brewers’ opening game on Monday. Actually, it worked out well. The hunt for Easter baskets (in the house) seems to get easier the older the grandkids get.

Grant Staszak, who lost a bid to return to the president’s post in Bonduel this week, has put his name in to fill the trustee’s position that will be left vacant by the candidate who defeated him. Staszak lost the race in Tuesday’s spring election to Trustee Sharon Wussow, 146-117. Wussow and Staszak finished in a virtual tie in the February primary to defeat incumbent Melvin Wendland, who has served as president for six years and as trustee for

Charles Elroy “Chuck” Massey, 59, began his journey to the spirit world on Tuesday, April 7, 2015, with his mother by his side at home in Keshena. Chuck was born July 26, 1955, in Keshena to Joan (nee Blumreich) Massey and the late William H. Massey. Chuck spent his early years, on the Menominee Reservation, Milwaukee, Spruce and Greenleaf, Mississippi. In 1967, he and his brother Butch moved to Mississippi to live with their father.

Lois A. Barry, 81, of Shawano, passed away on Friday, April 10, 2015, in Shawano. Arrangements are pending with Swedberg Funeral Home in Shawano. www.swedbergfuneralhome.com

A Cecil man was arrested Friday after a nearly four-hour standoff in the town of Washington. Authorities responded to a call of a disturbance at the Country Lane Estates mobile home park just after 2 p.m., the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department said. The initial report indicated that a 44-year-old Cecil man had been involved in a disturbance and subsequently barricaded himself inside one of the manufactured housing units. Authorities were advise