Richard “Dick” Paiser, 78, of the town of Red Springs, passed away Friday, Aug. 9, 2013, at his home surrounded by his loving family. Born on Sept. 4, 1934, in the town of Red Springs, he was the son of the late Sylvester and Irma (Genke) Paiser. Dick was raised on the family farm in the town of Red Springs and was a graduate of Gresham High School.

August is the month that signals the slide of summer into fall, as much as I hate to admit it. Two of our children got married in this month, as did my brother and his bride of 46 years. I looked at my anniversary gift listing, which notes every single year, and for 46 years it notes “an original poetry tribute.” So I guess I’ll have to compose a fitting tribute, which I’m sure my brother will find “original”!

Awhile ago, I mentioned my husband and I might start raising pigs. Well. I must tell you that we now are, indeed, pig farmers. Hang on, we haven’t morphed into swine operators; we have acquired just two pigs, targeted for consumption. My husband dubbed our piglets Herman and Ed. We were talking to our middle son one day and let him know of our recent addition.

“What’s the word of the day?” I was asked yesterday. I wasn’t too sure what was meant by that, and I couldn’t come up with anything at the time either.

About the only positive for the record 73,738 fans at Lambeau Field to see the Green Bay Packers preseason opener, a 17-0 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, came on the team’s first possession. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers looked crisp on his only drive of the night, going three for five for 62 yards that included a 50-yard toss to wide receiver James Jones. The drive faltered near the goal line, though.

Two seemingly unrelated cases converged in the city of Shawano this week when authorities responding to a drug complaint nabbed suspects in a burglary committed earlier the same day. Felony burglary charges were filed Thursday against Anthony J. Oberhofer, 30, and Miguel K. Rosas, 17, both of rural Shawano.

Four of the newer dispatchers at the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department might be paid nearly as much as their veteran counterparts next year. The Public Safety Committee voted 3-1 earlier this week to increase the dispatchers’ wages from $16.72 per hour — the starting pay for dispatchers — to $19.79 per hour, equating to an almost $6,000 annual increase before taxes.

Fewer towns shipping their garbage to the Shawano landfill has put the facility in dire straits. The Shawano County Solid Waste Management Board on Thursday spent more than an hour discussing the issues and looking at options to stop the bleeding despite not being provided with financial information about the operation. City officials could not provide annual revenue or expenses for the landfill when the Leader requested the information Thursday

Football should be fun. That was the message Alan Tomow, Shawano Community High School’s new varsity coach, had for his assistant coaches and players as he led the program’s first few practices of the season this week. “Football is an enjoyable game,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be complicated, it doesn’t have to be not fun. I want them to have fun.